Nathan Scott would never fail me the way Kellan would.
Too bad he’s fictional.
* * *
What the fuck just happened?
One second, I am kissing the girl that I have already decided I need to marry. Not only is she gorgeous as hell, but she is kind, understanding, patient, and has a heart of gold. She also has some feistiness to her, so I know she won’t put up with my shit.
Now I ruined it all.
I run my hand through my hair and pull at the roots. She makes it seem like I knew they were here before we kissed, but I didn’t. I only didn’t want to get caught kissing the hell out of her by security. They don’t tend to like that kind of thing as they are worried it will turn into more.
When I looked after the kiss is when I saw them.
She knew all along. She knew who I was. If anyone was played, it was me.
My chest feels tight, and it becomes hard to breathe. I rub my hand over my heart, trying to calm myself down.
I feel betrayed, but not enough to not want her anymore. I should care more that she’s been lying to me, but the truth is I get why she did it. She likely knows everything between Grace and me. If I were her, I wouldn’t have even given myself the time of day. Yet she did.
Now I know why she looked familiar. Jesus, I’m an idiot. I remember seeing her after that one game last year. I thought she was cute then, but I was more worried about Grace. What a stupid mistake.
Fuck. I need to fix this. I can’t let this end here.
I turn, planning to go over to Clay, but he’s already in front of me. In fact, he looks spitting mad.
He pushes me into the wall, his arm across my throat. “Leave my sister alone. You don’t get to fuck with her because you want to fuck with me. Leave her out of our beef.”
“I didn’t even know she was your sister till just now. I thought our beef was squashed. What the hell, Clay? I can’t breathe,” I try to tell him, pushing at his chest.
Grace is at his side, pulling him away. When he finally backs off, I rub my throat. Fuck, that hurt.
Security comes over then. “All three of you out. No fighting.”
I hold up my hands, making my way out the front door. Clay and Grace come out behind me.
I walk a few steps down the sidewalk before turning around. “I really didn’t know, but I like her. A lot. She’s amazing.” I admit my feelings to them.
Clay scoffs. “You expect me to believe you didn’t know? Bullshit.”
He still looks like he wants to punch me. Maybe I should let him. It would hurt less than this feeling in my gut right now.
“Clay, give him the benefit of the doubt. She told me about him. You’re the guy she’s been dating, right? The one with a reputation Clay wouldn’t approve of?” Grace asks.
She told her that? Fuck.
“Yeah. We’ve been dating since the first week of school,” I tell her.
She frowns. “Listen to me closely, Kellan Henry Cooper. Cora is a good girl. She is kind and wants to see the best in everything. She does not deserve your serial monogamist ways. She deserves a man willing to make her the priority and date her and only her without getting bored with her after a few months. I swear to whatever God above, if you hurt that girl, I will kill you.”
It’s weird seeing Grace so angry about something. She looks like she really might pull the trigger if she had a gun in her hand.
I’d deserve it.
“I already have, but not on purpose. She saw you two and thought that I only kissed her for your benefit. As for my past, I haven’t dated anyone since Monica. I haven’t wanted to. I think Cora could be someone special for me. I don’t want to lose her,” I admit to them both, knowing I look like a putz right now.
How did it come to this?
