“You’re damn right.” My blood is boiling. “But don’t worry, I’ll tell him for you. With. My. Fucking. Fist.” I move to storm out, but she’s fast. Her hand grabs my bicep tightly.
“Kaden,no! Please stop.”
I halt, barely.
“Why?” I snap, turning on her.
“You c-can’t hit h-him,” she stammers, her eyes wide and full of unshed tears.
The fact that she’s trying to protect him makes something inside me snap.
“What the fuck, Effa? Why are you protecting him?”
She looks wounded, almost crushed. “Kaden… just breathe. Please.”
I’m spiraling, I can feel it. The fear of losing her is eating me alive, making my vision blur and my chest burn. I spin toward the door again, ready to break something, but I can’t do it.
I can’t leave her like this.
I turn back, and she cups my cheek. Her touch is firm, grounding. Her hand doesn’t tremble.
“Kaden… stop.”
“Why should I, when you’re defending him?”
She tightens her grip and forces me to look at her. “Because, asshole… I’m falling for you.”
Everything in me freezes.
My lungs forget how to work.
My thoughts scatter.
“You’re…falling for me?” I murmur, my voice ragged.
She nods. “Have been since the day we met.”
I search her eyes, still lost in the storm. “Then why protect him?”
“Because we have a show tonight. I don’t want you getting arrested over that piece of shit. And we need that asshole to perform. I don’t want his teeth busted so he can’t sing. I want the set done, clean, and then I never have to see him again.”
The logic cuts through the noise, but barely.
I pull her into my arms, crushing her to my chest. Her warmth, her scent, the way she clings to me, it drowns out everything else.
“You’re falling for me,” I whisper again, just to be sure.
“I am.”
I kiss her, tasting berries and something that tastes like ours. Something real.
“I’m falling too,” I murmur against her lips.
But I’m still not letting this go.
“There’s something I need to do before we talk more,” I say as I pull away and head for the door.
Effa groans. “Please don’t get in a fight. I like you with all your bones intact.”
