Someone to Love(19)

I catch her gaze and hold it. Here we are, two wounded birds bearing our souls, pretending we don’t give a shit. Kenny is the princess who grew up without a father telling her she was special, that she was beautiful, that she deserved so much more than a series of one-night stands.

“You care,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around her waist without waiting for an invitation.

“Maybe a little.” Her lips curve as she touches the back of my neck. “But that’s over. I can protect my heart now that I know better—now that I know love never works out in the end. Right?”

My heart thumps unnaturally. I believed in it once and it didn’t work out in the end, but trying to satisfy my body with a revolving door of girls isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either.

“Let’s get that star on top of the tree.” I hoist her up in the air and elicit a squeal from her in the process. She starts to slip and I place my hand over her bare thigh for support. My entire body enlivens touching her this way.

“I’m afraid of heights.”

“Then you’d better make it quick.” I tighten my grip and sit her on my shoulder. It feels good holding Kenny, touching her like this without decimating her body in a fit of smoldering passion—although, that’s pretty damn high on my wish list this Christmas.

She lands the star on top of the tree and slinks down my body as if I were a pole. Her face lands next to mine, panting from the effort.

Kenny sighs into me. Her lips bloom into a perfect smile, and for the first time in a long while I feel like I’ve done something right. Suddenly, I want to be the one to tell her she’s special, that she’s beautiful, that she deserves so much more than a series of one-night stands.

“Yesterday, at the tree lot, you gave me a beautiful gift.” I meant for it to come out playful, but it burns from my lips as if I were stepping too close to the flames. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to give my gift now.”

“I’ve been waiting for it all morning,” she says in less than a whisper.

I crash my lips over hers and dive in for one luscious exchange. The warm pool of her mouth draws me in, and I fight a groan working its way out of my throat—my jeans already cinching with a surge of desire.

I can feel the dark cave of my heart beginning to glow like that star on top of the tree.

If anything, Kenny has made me believe in magic again.





The next day, Kenny and I hit the gym. My longtime friend, Cal, owns the place, so I talk him into giving her an indefinite day pass. Kenny heads off to Zumba while I hit the weight room.

“So fill me in, dude.” Cal tosses a towel over his shoulder and awaits the dirty details. I’ve made the mistake of filling him in with tales from the mattress, far too many times.

He’s got his head shaved and his body ten shades darker than his face.

“When you going to dye that bowling ball that sits on your neck to match?” I lie down on the bench and start in on a series of lifts. “Spot me, would you?”

“Bowling ball? What are you talking about?” He ducks and jives until he catches a glimpse of his ugly mug in the mirror. “I’m a fucking work of art. Three different women offered to give me a blowjob just this past week.”

“Yeah? How’s that working out for you? Is Lauren going to stand by and oversee the situation? Make sure they’re doing it right?”

“Lauren.” He balks at the mere mention of his girlfriend. “She’s got a stick up her ass these days. Christmas Eve was a train wreck. She full-on expected me to pull a diamond out of my dick. And when I didn’t, she raised all unholy hell. Now I’m paying for it, and I’ve got the blue balls to prove it. Speaking of train wrecks, you hear from Blair?”

“She called. I ignored.” Strange. Haven’t heard from her since June and out of the blue she’s called twice, both times I’ve managed to have the stones not to pick up, And now, Cal’s calling her name out like he’s trying to conjure her ghost.

“Saw her at a party up at Herald hall. She must have asked a million questions about you. I guess things didn’t work out with that douche from Dartmouth.”

“Too bad.” A searing pain jolts through my chest at the thought of Blair asking about me. Kenny and those hot kisses blink through my mind. Somehow Kenny instantly made things better. She applied the salve over my soul with her own lips—began healing what a thousand girls before her could never hope to do “What Blair and I had is over. If you see her again, you can be the bearer of bad news. She’s the one who made that decision. I’m just backing her for once.”