Every Kiss(21)

Wes lifts my chin with the tip of his finger. “Didn’t say I had to. You were decent to me yesterday, even after I was an ass to you. You called me out on my bullshit, and you didn’t let me wallow in my own misery. I can use a friend like you. So I did what any good friend would do . . . I made sure I was around to get you a trash can in case you needed to puke.”

Such a guy thing to say, but nevertheless, still very nice of him. “Friend, huh?”

“I’m sorry if I led you on by kissing you, but that’s all I can be. Not because of Allison . . . because of me. I don’t want to be in a relationship. I’m not going to screw with some girl’s emotions and pretend that my heart is in it. I can’t be that guy.”

“You didn’t lead me on, Wes. It was just a kiss.” A damn good one. “But I appreciate your honesty, as I’m sure most women would. And I just happen to be in the market for a new guy friend. My last one, Tanner, decided to just use me for sex, so he got fired a couple of days ago.”

“Hmm, so I guess adding some benefits to our friendship is out of the question?”

When I narrow my eyes at him, he laughs. “Kidding! Come on.” He stands and pulls me up to my feet. “You’ll feel better after you eat something. Trust me.”

I follow Wes downstairs, which I realize far too late that it opens me up to some intense questioning later. Makenna’s lazy gaze widens after watching me follow the half-naked Wes downstairs.

“Mornin’, Mak,” he calls out to her before turning into the kitchen. “Where’s Shane?”

Before she can answer him, the back door swings wide open, and Shane steps through with an empty trash can. His eyes sweep from Wes’ bare chest, to me, and then back to Wes. “Hey, bro.”

Wes throws the standard guy nod in his direction. “Hey. Everybody already gone?”

“Yeah, we had a bunch of people still passed out in the living room when I got up, but they left a bit ago.”

“Good. I’ll help you clean up after breakfast. Want some pancakes?”

Shane looks at him as if he’s speaking a different language. “You don’t cook.”

“I cook all the time, asshole. Just not normally here.”

He throws his hands up and chuckles. “Okay, fine. Mak and I will both have some. We haven’t eaten yet.”

“How about you, Callie? Pancakes okay?”

“Sure. Want some help?”

“Nah. I’ve got it under control. Why don’t you just relax until those pain relievers kick in?”

“Okay.” I sink into the cushion next to Makenna, and I can feel her looking at me.

While he cooks, Shane continues to make order of the chaos in the house, and Makenna and I sit silently on the couch. She may not be saying anything, but I can almost hear the questions racing through her mind right now. She thinks she’s intuitive, but she’s rarely right. She’s notorious for jumping to conclusions, and she’s practically bounding right now.

Makenna nudges my side. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she whispers.

“What do you mean?” Playing dumb drives her crazy, and I’m happy to be her chauffeur.

“You know exactly what I mean!” She “whispers” loud enough that both Shane and Wes whip their heads in our direction. She looks back at the television until they go back to their own business.

“Callie, please. The suspense is killing me. First, you and Wes were nowhere to be found for half the night. Then, he comes and finds me after two in the morning to tell me that you passed out, but he had gotten you safely in bed. Then, you walk down here together this morning, looking quite pleased, I might add. Your hair is still damp from a shower, and he never walks around me without a shirt on. He’s even concerned with you having a headache. Not failing to mention, he’s suddenly Mr. Happy after being grumpy all day yesterday. Did the two of you . . . you know . . .”

“God, Makenna, slow down. You’d make a horrible detective.”

Wes must have heard me because he looks at us with a grin. I’m sure he knows what she thinks, and he seems awfully pleased with himself.

“Cal, I can’t be totally off base here. There are far too many factors that seem to match my theory.”

I don’t say a word. I just get up and walk to the fridge and pull out some juice and grab a glass from the cabinet. While I’m pouring, I whisper to Wes. “Wanna have some fun?”

“With Makenna? I’m always game.”

“Play along.” I put the juice back in the fridge and lean against the counter to take a long sip, making sure that Makenna can see me looking up and down Wes’ body with a satisfied grin. Looking through my glass as I drink, I can see her jaw drop. It’s killing me to keep a straight face. I finish my drink, rinse my glass, and stand next to Wes, pretending to watch him cook.