My head whips around to look at Linden, who shrinks from my gaze.
“And,” Stephanie continues, “I told Kayla that.”
Now I’m staring accusingly at Bram. “You know that wasn’t a date. You practically forced me to do it.”
“I know!” Bram exclaims. “I know. By the time I got here, they’d already told Kayla and she’d left. She was upset.”
I groan and place my head in my hands. “It was just to secure the investment. That’s all.”
“I tried to text her that but she’s not answering me,” Steph says. “The messages aren’t being delivered. She must have turned her phone off.” She briefly puts her hand on my shoulder. “I only told her because she asked where you were and I didn’t want to lie. I know she likes you…I just didn’t think she had it that bad for you.” She pauses. “Honestly, she’ll kill me for saying this, but you’re making her behave like…I think she’s head over heels.”
Hearing that makes me both warm and cold at the same time.
“Did you and Justine…” she starts. “You know…”
I glare at her and she moves an inch away from me. “No, we didn’t. But still.” I get up just in time to see James approaching with a bottle of sparkling wine. “Tell me where she lives,” I say to Steph.
“What? You’re going to go over there?”
“Yes,” I say, bringing out my phone. “What’s her address?”
She tells me and I enter it into my phone. “Thank you,” I tell her, then I turn on my heel and walk off. Bram calls after me but I don’t turn around. Let him celebrate. This is his baby, his project. This is his passion.
I need to go fix mine.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kayla
I floated through the entire day, as if on cotton candy clouds. It didn’t matter that I’d only had a few hours of sleep or that my eyes were rimmed with plum colored circles. I didn’t care that it was Monday, that I hate where I work now, that I won’t be joining the ranks of the writers on the other side of the office.
I know I should care about all of that. I know that on Sunday morning it was still a big fat splotch on this new future I had somehow built in my head.
But Lachlan, he’d erased everything. He’d taken over everything in me and had replaced all the shit with…well, I don’t know what. Something to look forward to. Something to look back on.
Fuck, I needed to see him again. He’d said we could do coffee this week, but I didn’t want coffee this week. I wanted him now. I wanted to quit work and just go back to his apartment, show up at his door like they do in the movies, and maul the shit out of him. That kiss was everything and still just the tip of the iceberg. If his lips could leave such an imprint on me, I couldn’t wait to see what else they could do.
I checked my phone obsessively throughout the day, wondering if he would text me. Wondering if I should text him. I lamented that the normal Kayla, the one who had no problems chasing after men, was missing in action. I was scared to hear the word “no.” I was scared to fuck something up before I even had a chance to have it.
On the other hand, I knew he was leaving soon. Very soon. So there wasn’t really anything to fuck up. I just wanted to see him again.
But he didn’t text, and I didn’t either. Nicola and Steph did though, completely freaking out. When my phone finally charged this morning, I had a billion frantic texts from them all pouring in at once. I didn’t want to divulge too much information, so I told them that my phone had died and that we’d rescued some dogs. Neither of them knew what to say to that.
Later, Steph told me to come to the Lion for a drink. And stupid, silly me, I did. Because I thought there might be a chance that Lachlan would be there.
I decided to make myself look extra pretty. Put a few waves in my hair. Contoured up my face. Slicked on liquid liner. I squeezed myself into a snake-print leopard skirt, black high heels, and a black lace top. I looked pretty damn good.
I sashayed my way into the Lion, electric flutters in my stomach, my eyes casing the joint, hoping to see the big, bad Scot somewhere. Steph and Linden were in a booth, but I knew from the moment they spotted me and Steph gave me a hesitant wave that something was off.
I slowed my pace, my fingers anxiously twitching at my side. “Hey,” I said.
“Looking good, Kayla,” Linden commented, and I eyed him suspiciously, wondering if that was the truth or he was just trying to “be nice” like Steph had told us to.
“Thanks.” I looked at Stephanie, but she wasn’t meeting my eyes. “What’s wrong?” I asked her.
“Well, nothing,” she said. She patted the seat beside her. “Sit down. You look pretty. Is there a special occasion?”
I gave her the stinkeye. “Do I normally not look pretty? Why would I need an occasion?” I sat down. “So…” I looked around. “Is Bram here?”
“Not yet,” Linden said.
I stared hopefully at Steph, hoping she would read my mind. She looked down at the cider in her hands instead.
I cleared my throat. “How did you guys like the rest of the concert?” I asked. “I missed the last part...”
“It was good, yeah. Good.” Linden took a swig of his beer.
I sighed and bit the bullet. “Do you guys know if Lachlan is coming here later?”
“I don’t know,” Linden said. A little too quickly.
I turned to Stephanie and punched her lightly on the arm. “Hey, what’s going on? Why are you guys being all weird?”
Steph exchanged a look with Linden and chewed on her lip before facing me.
“You and Lachlan,” she said cautiously. “You guys just kissed last night, right?”
I jerked my head back. “Yeah. What…why does that matter?”
She swallowed thickly and looked at Linden again. “Well, I just wanted to make sure how freaked out you would or wouldn’t get. If you just kissed, then you should be fine with it.”
“Fine with what? What the hell, Stephanie? Just say it.”
“He’s on a date with Justine,” she said, and then quickly downed the rest of her cider.
My heart lurched. Actually lurched, like it was saying goodbye to my chest and moving on out. “What?”
She shrugged. “Linden told me.”
I turned to him, as if it was all his fault. “Bram told me,” he said defensively. “Sorry, Kayla. I’m sure it’s just for business. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Ugh. I wanted to be sick. “How do you know that?”
“She doesn’t seem like his type.”
“Well, neither do I and…” I paused and shook my head. “Fuck. Fuck this shit. I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not,” Steph said. “It’s just a date.”
“No, I know that,” I told her, rather harshly. “He’s leaving soon, so what’s the difference, right? I’m just such an idiot for caring. Like, Jesus. One kiss and I’m fucking broken-hearted that he’s gone on some date. Who is this Kayla? I don’t like her.”
“Hey,” Steph said, putting her hand on my shoulder and shaking me. “It’s okay to care, you know. I’ve never seen you care before. Maybe it’s a good thing…to know what you want in the future.”
I shrugged away from her. In that moment I didn’t want to hear any of that crap. “But what I want is now on a date with some rich bitch he’s been on a few dates with before. I just…ugh. Whatever. I’m out of here.”
I angrily slid out of the booth and got to my feet. I left the bar in a cloud of defeat and went straight back home. I kept berating myself over and over again for the feelings that were moving through me like a swarm of hornets.
This was exactly what I didn’t want. This was why I decided to shun off men. I thought that by avoiding sex I could avoid disappointment, but I hadn’t even had the chance to fuck him yet, and here I was, disappointed as hell.