“This acting is almost as bad as a porn,” he criticizes.
Kirby laughs at Kane’s complaint.
“You are not wrong, but I think it’s safe to say that no one is actually watching this for the acting. I mean, look at the way Channing moves those hips,” Kirby responds, making a clucking sound with her tongue. “Who is that hunk dancing with him?”
I clear my throat. Watching this scene between Channing and Twitch is making me way too hot and bothered. I imagine Kane doing the things I’ve been watching, and the thoughts of him spinning me around while grinding on top of me, in me—heck, all over me—is making my body heat to impossible levels.
“Twitch,” I respond, my voice betraying the cool and calm I had been trying to fake.
“Who?”
Turning my eyes from the television before I attack Kane and beg him to strip for me, I look at Kirby before addressing her question.
“Twitch, I forget his real name. He was on Dancing with the Stars, no … the other one, what was that called?”
“So You Think You Can Dance,” Kane offers, and I turn to look at him. He gives me a knowing smile, and I feel my face heat. “He actually was in a few movies before that show made him better known. I don’t know a lot about him, but I think he’s choreographed some of those dance movies too. Last I saw, he had been doing a lot on Ellen.”
“What he said,” I tell Kirby and smile when Kane throws his head back and laughs, reaching out to pull me to his side.
“Well, wherever he’s from, he’s just as delicious as Channing.”
I ignore Kirby and settle into Kane’s side, turning my head to look at him. “So…?”
He laughs even harder. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll get naked for you, baby, but there won’t be any of that stupid dancing going on.”
“I’ll dance for you, Willow.” Kirby giggles.
I open my mouth to send a sarcastic comment her way, but the lock clicks from the front door and the door opens with enough force to slam against the wall.
“Hello, my best friends! Eddie is here, and he wants some hugs from his best girls!”
“Eddie!” Kirby and I both scream at the same time and jump from the couch to run to him. There’s a lot of talking after that—excited gabble of nonsense, giggles, and even some tears—before Eddie goes silent and openly gawks over our shoulders. Oh, my God, I had completely forgotten that Kane was here.
“Holy shit,” Eddie gasps.
I elbow him, and Kirby giggles.
“Eddie, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Kane. Kane, this is my other best friend, Eddie.” I pull Eddie into the room and bring him to where Kane is standing, smile on his face, dimple out, and thankfully, for Eddie’s sanity, fully dressed.
Kane reaches out a hand in greeting, but Eddie, for the first time I have ever witnessed, is completely star struck. I give him an elbow to the side, but he doesn’t even register me.
“Seriously, Edward?” Kirby hoots. “I have never seen him like this, Kane. You should probably just ignore him. I bet he wouldn’t even blink if the room fell down around him at this point. Hey, Willow?” She starts to laugh even harder now making me wonder where she’s going with this.
“Yeah?”
“I bet we could snap him out of this trance. Come over here and let me give you another kiss. Bet that would shock him stupid enough to come to his senses.” She’s laughing so hard now that she falls down on the couch, tears leaking from her eyes.
I close my eyes and try to remember why I love her so much and why I would be sad if I killed her. Well, I would be sad tomorrow, but right now, I wouldn’t be.
“Kiss again?” Eddie asks, finally turning away from Kane. “You two bitches kissed and no one told me?”
“Like you care! You just thought it was funny because it made me uncomfortable when you brought us to the club with you and someone asked if Kirby and I were a couple.”
“Did you see this kiss?” Eddie questions Kane, all signs of his stupid star-struck trance gone. “Tell me someone caught this on tape. I’ve been waiting to have them drunk enough to get a blackmail kiss for years!”
“Sorry, man, I can’t say I was around for that one,” Kane responds and then lets out a loud belly laugh when I roll my eyes at him.
“Nice to meet you. Sorry about that.” Eddie reaches out and I watch the two most important men in my life shake hands.
They start talking, and I look over at Kirby. “I’m going to strangle you,” I tell her, unsmiling.
“Yeah, right. You told me we shouldn’t tell him because he would never let it go. I didn’t agree.”
“Whatever. Now, he’s going to try to get us to kiss again. You know he’s been convinced we would have been the best lesbian couple ever.”
“Well, we probably would have.” Her giggles pick up speed, and I can’t help but to join in.
Grabbing the wine bottle, I refill our empty glasses before picking up the one that had been waiting for Eddie and pouring him some.
We spend the next few hours talking and laughing. Having all the people who I love together in one place is one of the best feelings. I hate knowing I won’t see Eddie much after tonight. Even if I weren’t moving to California in a few days, I still wouldn’t have moments like this often. He’s living a transient lifestyle now that he is traveling full time for work. The plus side though is that he will often be on the West Coast, LA specifically, when he’s on location.
“I still don’t know how you two have managed to dodge reporters for this long.” Eddie laughs. “I saw a few pictures of you guys together while you were down South, but none that show Willow clearly enough. Shockingly, there hasn’t been any mention of Kane Masters and his new mystery woman.”
“He kept her tied to the bed,” Kirby jokes, pointing her finger and narrowing her eyes toward Kane. “I swear when we weren’t on set I hardly ever saw her. Even when she was in the same house as I was. Those two would disappear for HOURS!”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Eddie whines at Kirby before turning back to where Kane and I are cuddled together on the couch. “So when you weren’t locked away doing sordidly delicious things to our Willow, how exactly did you manage to keep your relationship locked tighter than the nation's secrets?”
Leave it to Eddie to throw that out there. Sure, it’s something I’ve wondered myself, but I figured Kane had his reasons, and if I had doubted our relationship, then maybe it would bother me, but I just left it as it was.
“Just because I haven’t gone out of my way to give them the pictures they want doesn’t mean I’m trying to keep her or us a secret.” Kane answers Eddie with a strong conviction in his voice. I smile at Eddie, hoping that is enough for him to lay off. I should have known better, though; Eddie seems to be on a mission.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with all the rumors flying around about Mia Post, does it?”
Eddie’s question makes me tense. I try not to, but Kane’s still holding back when it comes to explaining more about Mia and his relationship—or better yet, explaining to me why he refuses to give me more when those rumors in question are thrown in my face.
I trust him, but it’s hard to get upset when he just asks you to call upon that trust and drop it.
Kane shifts; the legs holding me between them flex with his movements. “No, Eddie. There isn’t some nefarious reason for me to want to keep my private life out of the media. Mia and I are friends. Because of the closeness we’ve had through years of friendship, the media chooses to make it seem like more in order to sell their garbage.”
I can tell Eddie wants to press him about Mia. Part of me wants him to, but I know if Kane won’t tell me everything yet, there is no way he’s going to tell Eddie. I just have to trust he will tell me when he’s ready. I’m starting to think that maybe they did have a relationship at one point that was more than just friends, but it just didn’t work. I could see why he wouldn’t want to tell me about it; Mia is a beautiful woman, and I’m pretty sure she would intimidate anyone if they were faced with a friendship and old flame.