And neither could I.
I’ve already said I can’t lie to you, so I’ll tell you the rest. I found myself staring at Kayden’s chest again and remembered how incredible it’d felt pressed against mine. Memories of tasting his spicy cinnamon gum when our lips pressed together swirled through my mind. If those thoughts had consumed me, you could bet Kayden was in the same boat.
I’m not saying I wanted to kiss him again. That was the last thing Iwanted. A deeper part of me felt compelled to kiss him. I craved it. I had a need to fulfill. The fact that Kayden Preston—asshole extraordinaire—would ignite those feelings in me made zero sense. I’d been stripped of so much control.
“I don’t want to argue,” I said. “I just want to help.”
“Don’t.”
Ugh, this guy was impossible.
“You’re really going to pretend like nothing happened?” “That’s what I told you before, bro.”
“Figures.”
“This again?”
“Yeah, this again. Just so you know, I’m as freaked out by this as you are. I’m trying to make sense of it, and here you are trying to rewrite history.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“Nope. I’m trying to erase history. Big difference.”
Of all the guys to lock lips with, Kayden Preston was the worst. Not that I’d wanted that to happen with any guy, but you already know that. If I could’ve picked, I would’ve fallen into the arms of someone with more than a handful of brain cells.
We’d reached a stalemate. No way could he do the common-sense thing and confront this. Like I said, he was scared. If I said that again, he would freak, which wouldn’t help anything.
In movies, you solve this problem by kissing again. The characters overcome their fears and realize how much they really wanted it after all.
That was out of the question. I wanted to confront the issue and then move on.
Kayden turned and headed for the door. If I let him go now, I would lose my chance to move on, and the kiss would drive me nuts forever.
“Wait a second,” I said. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’m getting the hell away from you. What does it look like?”
“We’re not finished yet.”
“You’re not the only one who can bail on an important conversation.”
“Yeah, but this is different.”
“Why?”
“Because I actually have something intelligent to say.”
Kayden turned, shoulders tensed, and pursed his lips into a tight line. He wanted to slug me. I know he did. He could go ahead and try if he wanted. I readied myself for the blow.
“I’m out of here, bro,” he said. “I’ve got girls to text.”
“Ah, overcompensating, I see.”
“What the fuck does overcompensating… Never mind.”
He pushed past the door, and I followed. God, I was turning into Kayden.
