Page 50 of You Kissed Me First


Font Size:

I consider it for a moment.

“I don’t think it really can. We are too different. We want different things. I mean, he hasn’t had a single steady girlfriend the entire time we’ve known him.”

“True, but have you ever asked him why? I mean, I know I have and he blows me off and makes a joke of it, but maybe he has a real reason for it. And who knows, maybe you have more in common than you think.”

“Whatever. Changing the subject, why did Barrett call out to you guys when he caused me to be thrown?”

Nessa looks thoughtful for a moment. “I think he wants you back.”

“What?” I screech.

“He was really worried about you. Even pissed Candice off because he wanted to come back and check on you. Grant told him Dominic had you. He didn’t like that.”

I scoff. “Barrett is a child. He’s like a toddler who was tired of playing with his toy, so he set it down, but as soon as someone else picks it up, he wants it back. He doesn’t actually want me. He just doesn’t want Dom to have me.”

“You may be right. Either way, seeing you with Dom has been making him jealous. Even after the stunt he pulled before dinner last night, he was still acting like a jealous ass throughout dinner. I think the only reason Candice has stuck with him at this point is because he’s been paying for her shit.”

“Dominic told me that Barrett used to always want the girls he would date in high school. Do you think that’s why Barrett’s acting like such a twerp?”

“Could be. Grant said something similar to me earlier. Whatever it is, do you even want Barrett back?”

“Fuck no. He’s a big child, not to mention the fact that I’m pretty sure he was stealing money from me.”

“What? You didn’t tell me that.” Nessa looks serious.

I wave her away. “Honestly, by the time we broke up, I wasn’t even that upset. I realized that maybe I was only with him because we had your wedding coming up. It wasn’t love. So if he was taking some cash from my wallet from time to time, it wasn’t that big of a deal. I can always make more. Besides, I had bigger worries, like losing my job and if he gave me an STD. But I got checked right after we broke up and I’m clean. So no harm, no foul.”

“What an asshole. I really hate that Grant’s mom guilted him into including him in the wedding. They aren’t even close.”

“The way Barrett makes it sound, they are the best of friends. When we were dating, he would always tell me he was headed over to visit Grant or that he had plans with him. It’s one of the reasons I suspect he was cheating to begin with. At the end, he had said he was going to your apartment to meet Grant for a guys night so I called you to ask if you wanted to go out with me, but you had told me you and Grant were out to dinner and you were planning to do a movie afterward. I didn’t confront him, but at that point, we were already booked on this cruise, so I was going to stick it out until after the wedding. Then I caught him in the act and couldn’t stay. No way could I let that stand.”

“Oh, Kit Kat. I wish you had told me. You shouldn’t have even considered staying with him, even if it was for this trip. We would have figured it out. I mean, look at you now. You’re staying with Dominic and things seem to be heating up. I saw the way he was kissing you.”

I frown. “Yeah, but this isn’t reality. It’s a vacation. Sure, things seem hot and heavy now, but who’s to say that when we get back home and all the excitement is gone? What if he only wants me because we are sharing a cabin and his options are limited?”

“I think you need to ask yourself why he bothered to tell Barrett you were dating in the first place.”

I shrug. “He has a hero complex?”

“I think you should have an actual conversation with him. Find out more about him. I think you’ll be surprised at who he is. I know you always avoided him before, but he’s a great guy, Katie.”

I think back to the elevator. He was open with me about everything that happened with Barrett and his business. I almost want to mention it, but I remember Grant telling me it was Dominic’s story to tell. Maybe I should keep it to myself.

I rub my hand down my face. “I know. He has been great so far. He refuses to let me pay him back for any of the excursions or for my part of the cabin and drink package. I mean, I still am going to pay him back somehow, but it’s sweet. Not only that, but he told me he was going to give me the girlfriend experience. I figured it would be some kisses and light touching, but he is legitimately doting on me. What if I’m falling for a facade he’s putting on and when we get back, he isn’t the same man I’ve gotten to know here?”

“Only one way to find out. You have to communicate.”

“Communication is key?” I tease her, knowing it’s something my mom always instilled in us.

“God, I sounded like Mom there, huh? Well, I hate to break it to you, Katie, but Mom was right. Grant and I haven’t always had it easy. We have our issues. The only way to get through them is to sit down and talk. It’s not always perfect. Sometimes we yell and things seem to get worse, but when we finally calm down and talk rationally? We figure it out. I know you and Dom aren’t a real couple, but maybe you could be. Talk to him. Isn’t it better to figure it out now rather than make assumptions and miss out on something great?”

I let what she said sink in. We sit in silence for several minutes. When I hear the door to her room open, I let out a sigh.

Grant is back.

Turning to her, I whisper, “I’ll think about it, but maybe not until the last day of the trip. I don’t want to have to bunk with you because I made things weird with Dom.”

She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Are you coming out with us tonight? With tomorrow being a sea day, we were thinking about hitting up the nightclub. It’ll start as a girls’ night while the guys go to the sports bar, but I’m sure they will join us eventually.”