But it’s not. It’s me putting him over Kenny, even if I hadn’t been awake for it. I hadn’t set an alarm to make sure I woke up in time to have brunch with my best friend because I was too busy getting off over and over again at the hands of her brother. She made a point last night when she asked me to brunch that it was important and I had completely disregarded it. What a shitty fucking friend.
And what an asshole he was to make that choice for me, to deem this temporary fling more important than my lifelong friendship with his little sister.
“Let me make something perfectly clear to you, Maddox Whittaker,” I seethe, jumping to get my jeans all the way up. If I wasn’t so fucking angry at him, I’d commend him for not letting his eyes wander down to my tits when they bounced. “My friendship with Kenny is much, much bigger than whatever this is.”
He sighs, rolling his eyes as he pulls himself out of bed. I think I should also be commended for not lettingmyeyes wander down to his hard cock. “We were up late last night. You were exhausted. You’re not even that late.”
“Considering you don’t eat breakfast until you’ve alreadybeen up for a few hours, you should understand the concept of brunch better than anyone, but I’ll spell it out for you. It’s a meal that takes place in the late morning. Do I need to define the word morning for you or are you capable of realizing that it ended at noon?”
I’d tugged the rest of my clothes on while lashing out at him, so it’s with great pleasure that I get to sit on the edge of the bed, with my back to him, as I pull on my socks and boots. Might as well forgo brushing my teeth… and showering, apparently. Kenny’s going to be irritated enough as it is.
I’ve only got so much time left with her and it hits me all of a sudden that I’ve been spending way too much of it in the wrong Whittaker’s bed. This has to end. I don’t even give him the kindness of a goodbye as I stomp towards the bedroom door, tapping out a quick text back to Kenny.
“When you’re done with my sister, make sure you come back for the spanking you’re fucking begging for.”
“Oh, shut the fuck up.”
The front door slams behind me.
The diner is less busy than usual, but they’re no longer serving breakfast and it changes the entire atmosphere of the meal. Kenny swears up and down that she’s not angry with me, but she’s a shitty liar and has a tell. My eyes drop pointedly to her fingers fiddling with the ends of her hair. She stops immediately and shoves her hands under her thighs.
“I really am sorry,” I tell her again. “I ripped your brother a new one for not waking me up.” She grimaces and I do, too. A reminder that I sleep in her brother’s bed most weekends was probably the last thing she wanted to hear. “I know you said you had something important to talk to me about and I fucked up bysleeping in, but I swear I won’t let something like this happen again. Maddox and I are done with each other, Kenny. I promise.”
I can’t lose Kenny. I can’t lose her before I leave her, at least.
“No!” she’s quick to say, a little too loudly. The tables near us hush and look our way before going back to their own conversations. My eyes flit around for someone who may be listening a bit too intently. Brittany is watching, glaring, but she always is, and she’s far enough away I don’t think she can hear us.
“You can’t do that to him, Aus. You do realize he’s a human being with actual feelings, right?”
I rear back in surprise and my mouth opens a bit, but nothing comes out of it. “Excuse me?” I finally settle on.
“You have an issue with men, I get that. I know something happened to you that you’ve never felt comfortable enough to tell me and that really sucks, but that doesn’t mean you can go around treating every man you come in contact with like shit.”
My mouth is fully open now, jaw dropped. Kenny has never, ever yelled at me. Never given me any indication that she didn’t approve of the way I acted or what I did with my body. I’ve never felt judged. Until now.
“Uh, you guys need a minute or…?” Brittany’s voice interrupts us and Kenny pastes on a quick smile as she places her order. When the waitress turns my way, her lip curls. She’s always hated me—mostly because I don’t let her in my bar like she thinks I should—but the past few months, it’s been disgust on her face, not hatred.
I ignore it. “Hamburger and fries, please,” I tell her quickly, not trying to be rude, but needing her at least three hundred feet away from me before I can figure out what’s crawled up Kenny’s ass.
She wastes no time. As soon as Brittany’s back is turned, before she’s even walked far enough away for me to be comfortable with continuing this conversation, Kenny’s at it again. “Mybrother is head over heels in love with you and you’re dragging him around behind you on a leash.”
“He isnot,” I argue immediately, though the part of her statement Ishouldbe arguing doesn’t register until a few seconds later. “And I do not. We’re just casual. What the fuck is this even about?”
“Casual enough you’re cussing out my other brother at a family bonfire? Casual enough he was watching you all night like you were the reason the moon was shining over us all?”
“I sucked his brain out through his dick the day before, if you must know, Kendall,” I snap back, tired of sitting here and letting her berate me. “Any look you think he was giving me was because he’s pussy-drunk, not because he’s fallen in fucking love with me. And as far as the thing with Colt goes, I only said what he’s been needing to hear for years now.”
She just scoffs and rolls her eyes, but doesn’t argue about Colt. I noticed his pickup was gone when I left the ranch earlier, so if I had to guess, he’s headed back to the next stop on the rodeo.
Kendall’s quiet, almost glaring at me. We’ve definitely fought before but it’s never been like this. I’ve neverfeltlike we were on the edge of a knife. Maybe this was for the best. If we left things like this, maybe she won’t be sad when I leave Cedar Creek in a couple of months.
But the second the thought rolls through my mind, she huffs and deflates a bit, softening again. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not fair of me to ask this, and I know we weren’t supposed to let this thing come between us, but… I need you to promise me you won’t break Maddie’s heart, Austin. This is the happiest we’ve seen him since Dad died and?—”
“You’re right. That’s ridiculously unfair of you to ask. I can’t control how your grown-ass brother feels about me, Ken. I’ve made it insanely clear to him that this is all just temporary.”
“So he knows you’re leaving?” she asks and my stomach drops.
“Leaving?” I repeat, trying to buy time. How in the hell did Kenny even know I was planning on leaving?
