Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“How long have you been feeling this way, KC?” Kai asks, looking legitimately shocked.
“Fuck.” I’m panicked. Reeling. C-Bomb’s sister, Miranda, is close friends with Ruby, and everyone sitting at this table is also good friends with Titus. Oh, god. Fish’s and Colin’s wives are friendly with Ruby, too! And both of those women are close friends with Violet, who’s one of Laila’s closest friends. Fuck me. With all those connections, Savage’s drunken slip of the tongue will definitely get back to Ruby, one way or another, and ruin everything for me, if I don’t lock this shit down right fucking now.
“Guys, listen to me,” I blurt in a panic. “This conversation seriously can’t leave this room. Please. My life’s happiness depends on it. This is life or death for me.”
Everyone promises, looking like they’re waiting with bated breath for whatever I’m going to say next. Kai, especially, looks like he’s on tenterhooks.
“You can’t tell anyone,” I repeat. I look at C-Bomb. “Not even your sister.” I look at the other guys. “Not even your wives.”
Everyone assures me they won’t say a word to anyone, not even the women closest to them; and slowly but surely, I start to genuinely believe them and calm down.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Kai says. “How long has this been going on?”
“For me? Since day one. For Ruby, only recently. But like Savage said, Ruby thinks we’re only flinging for the fun of it—and with a firm expiration date.”
Kai looks flabbergasted. “So . . . When you asked her to audition for the band . . .?”
“You were right. I wanted her.”
Kai’s jaw drops. But apparently, he’s too floored to form words.
“To be honest,” Fish says, breaking the thick silence between my brother and me. “I’ve often wondered why you and Ruby even bothered dating other people. Your chemistry has always been so damned obvious.”
I do my best to explain the history of our close friendship.
“That’s why I told him, he’s got to be a Doberman now,” Savage says.
“Kendrick, fuck that,” Fish says. “Fuck being a Doberman. You’re a golden retriever, man. Through and through. Just tell her how you feel.”
“I don’t know, Fish,” Colin says. “Amy had some diabolical tricks up her sleeve at the very beginning. You know, when I had my head up my ass. And it was only thanks to her scheming that I was able to figure out how I was feeling about her. I needed a wake-up call, you know? And I needed time. And that’s what I got.”
“That’s exactly what Ruby needs,” Savage says confidently. “A wake-up call and some time. And Kendrick’s providing both.” He snickers. “One bribe of her building manager at a time.”
“Savage! What the fuck, man?”
Not surprisingly, everyone jumps in to ask what Savage means, at which point he gleefully tells the story of how I’ve bribed Ruby’s building manager, twice, in order to keep her at my house long enough to allow our forced proximity to work its magic.
“All’s fair in love and war,” C-Bomb grumbles.
“That’s exactly what I told him,” Savage says proudly. “Sometimes, the ends justify the means.”
I look at C-Bomb and Savage and suddenly realize neither man is a paragon of emotional maturity. If they both think what I’m doing is A-okay, maybe that’s a surefire sign . . . it’s not?
“Are we sure about this, guys?” Fish asks, giving voice to what I’m thinking myself.
“Well, whether what he’s been doing is right or wrong,” Savage says, “there’s no turning back now. He’s in it to win it, baby, so he might as well keep going now, till she’s madly in love with him.” He smiles at me. “Or she hates your guts forever for lying to her.”
“What?” I shout. “You never said she could wind up hating me!”
“Well, I mean, it’s common sense. Nobody likes to be lied to.”
I thwap Savage’s head, and he laughs.
“I was joking,” he says, rubbing his head. “Ruby could never hate you. She thinks you walk on water.”
“She could absolutely hate me, Savage. Shit. What have I done?” I lean back in my chair and rub my forehead. “I should go home and come clean to her.”
“Absolutely,” Fish agrees, while the rest of the table speaks over him to disagree. To say the time for that is not yet upon me. To stay the course.
“It’s not like I can keep her at my place indefinitely,” I say. “At some point, I’m going to have to let her leave and accept her feelings for me, whatever they are.”
“Okay, but is that moment now?” Savage asks. “You’re so close, KC. Even Laila thinks so.”
“You told Laila?”
“Yeah.”
“Savage.”
“She’s my wife. You knew I would. I told you that.”
He’s right. He did. But I can’t resist teasing him about it, anyway. “You keep telling me to be a Doberman, but you’ve turned into as big a golden retriever as me.”