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I rear back. What the fucking fuck?

“No, he wasn’t. I heard him. He said ‘a two-man’—”

“A two-man is a double date.”

“A double—” I scoff. That’s how he spun it? “Kota, that’s not what a two-man is.”

“Yes, it is. Guy said—”

I throw my arms out wide. “Guy lied. He fucking lied.” I don’t even care if he hears me. I’ll say it to his motherfucking face. “A two-man is a threesome.”

“Maybe where you’re from, but here in Sea Haven, it means double date.”

“According to Guy.”

“And others.”

The first person I see, I stop to ask, “What’s a two-man?”

Dude’s already feeling his warm beer because he looks at me, then Kota, his gaze traveling all the way down to her feet before he asks, “Are you offering?”

“Get the fuck outta here,” I grit while shoving him away, making him stumble.

After I’m sure he’s not coming back, I face Kota again.

“Told you.”

“That proved nothing. He didn’t even answer.”

I point at the retreating form. “He thought we were gonna run a train on you.”

“What?” Kota practically shouts. “That is not what he thought.”

“He didn’t think we were taking you out to dinner, I’ll tell you that.”

“Maybe he’s not from around here.”

“It’s not a geography thing. It’s a commonsense thing.”

“Are you saying Guy’s stupid?”

“Yes. You are, too, if you believe him.”

“I have no reason not to.” Probably because Guy gaslit the shit out of her until she agreed to believe him. I saw him in action. He blamed Kota for him not checking on her when she was blacked out.

“Does Lisann even have a man to take on a double date?” Because I’ve never seen one.

“It was for one of Guy’s friends. He was trying to set them up.”

One of his friends? She believed that?

You know what… Fuck it. What else do I have to lose?

I close the gap between us.

“What are you… Khaos…”

Crowding her space, I walk her backward until her back’s against the porch balusters again and I’m caging her in, exactly how Guy had Lisann at that party.