Page 55 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

“Yes, because I am a complex person who craves the particulars. It’s the counselor in me.” Josie grabbed the pillow to her left and hit Kaylee in the shoulder, too. “Now talk!”

Roy jumped back onto the couch, giving Kaylee a baleful look before he spun in a circle and curled up between them. Kaylee ran her hand over his back in apology and heard the deep rumble of his purr.

“Stop using my cat as an excuse to stall,” Josie grumbled.

“Rick is satisfactory, and that is all I’m going to say about it.”

“So it was just satisfactory, huh?” Josie’s expression was so crestfallen, Kaylee almost giggled. “Dang, I thought he’d be amazing. Just based on the way he walks.”

Kaylee giggled. “The way he walks tells you how good he’s gonna be in bed?”

“Oh yeah, see a guy who has too much swagger”—Josie held up her fingers, mimicking legs walking with a lot of sway—“you know he’s a minute-man, but if he is all relaxed and cool and doesn’t have to prove it by flexing his arms, he knows what he’s doing.” She stopped demonstrating and sank back into the couch with her head back, pouting. “I’m a little disappointed now.”

“Why? Did you wanna sleep with him?” Kaylee teased.

“No, I’m disappointed for you. I mean, he’s been tormenting you for days … At least if he’s gonna be crashing on your couch and you’re gonna have hate-sex with him, it might as well be good hate-sex.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t good or that I hated him.”

“You said it was satisfactory. And I believe you did, in fact, say ‘I hate him’ on more than one occasion.”

“I said his penis shape and size were satisfactory, but his skills in the bedroom were”—Kaylee held up her fingers to her lips and made a smooching sound—“chef’s kiss.”

“I flipping knew it,” Josie said, hitting her with the throw pillow again. “So if you had sex with him, why are you here?”

“We had sex earlier today, and then I kind of freaked out and decided that I was going to go back and testify.”

“Oh, Kaylee.”

“No, let me finish. Let me get this out.” Kaylee’s vision blurred, and she wiped at her eyes. “I’ve been the people pleaser who never wanted to make waves, and Elasia was the adventurer. She kept talking about how she was gonna drag me to Europe after we graduated, and we were gonna go backpacking. I told her no way because I didn’t want to get pickpocketed and have to deal with the US Embassy overseas. My big idea for our trip was to rent a cabin by the lake and just relax and swim, because I’m the sidekick. She was a hero.” She choked on the word, and Josie reached out, pulling her into her arms. Roy meowed and squeezed out from under them, jumping off the couch and glaring at them, before he swished his way out of sight.

Josie laughed. “I don’t think he appreciated being the meat in our sandwich.”

Kaylee chuckled. “He already hates me. I take away your attention.”

Josie squeezed her. “You were saying, about why you decided to testify?”

“I owe it to her,” she said softly. “She was someone who stood up for what was right, and now that she’s gone, I realize that I need to do that for her.”

“So you told Rick that you were gonna go back?”

“Yes, but I told him that I had a few conditions. I’ve made a list of things I want to do before committing to this, because I’ve heard some of these trials can last years. If I’m going to be locked away and have no freedom, then I want to accomplish a few things first.”

“Like what?” Josie asked, relinquishing her, and they each tucked a knee under them, facing each other.

Kaylee smirked. “Well, Rick helped me milk a goat last night.”

“I’m sorry, what?” she spluttered.

“We snuck into McNally’s barn, and I milked one of his goats. Then his dog chased us, ripped my pants, and we kissed.”

“Again, why are you not in bed with him right now?” Josie asked.

“Because we got back to the house and he was being sweet and we were drinking bougie hot cocoa, and I ran away like a coward.”

“So he’s still on your couch?”

“Yes.”