Calmer than I would have been, Kiera walked over and put her hand on my cheek. “Kellan…filter.”
I blinked as the anger in my body dissipated. I’d hoped she wouldn’t sleep with him…but he was her boyfriend, what did I expect? I was the outcast, the usurper, the third wheel. I was the bad guy here, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t put all of my anger on her. I gave her a small, embarrassed smile. “Right…sorry. I’m just…I’m not okay with this, Kiera.” If there is no hope, cut me loose. Please.
A tear fell onto her cheek as she kissed me. “I’m not either, Kellan. I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want to feel guilty. I don’t want to lie. I don’t want to hurt people. I just don’t know how to choose.”
She doesn’t know which one of us she wants…There’s still hope for us. I stared at her for long seconds as that thought sank into my brain. “Can I plead my case?” I whispered. Grabbing her head, I pulled her in for a deep Choose me kiss.
As we sought comfort in each other’s embrace, a light knock sounded on the door. Wanting whoever it was to go away, I ignored it. “Guys? It’s me…Jenny.” Kiera and I both continued ignoring her; whatever she wanted could wait. Kiera and I didn’t have much time together, and she tasted so good…
Jenny wasn’t one to be ignored for long, so she opened the door and came inside. Since she knew everything anyway, Kiera and I kept right on kissing. “Uh…Kiera, sorry, but you wanted me to find you?”
Kiera nodded and I smiled, but we didn’t stop kissing. I never wanted to stop kissing her. Jenny, sounding a little irritated, told us, “Uh, okay…can you guys stop doing that?”
My reply was instant. “No,” I muttered around Kiera’s lips. Whatever she wanted, she could tell us while we kissed. And if it made her uncomfortable, she didn’t have to watch.
While Kiera laughed in my mouth, Jenny sighed and said, “Okay, then. Well, two things actually. One, Kellan, you’re up.”
I gave her a thumbs-up, which made Kiera laugh again. I took the opportunity to stroke the roof of her mouth with my tongue. If I had more time, I would have stroked a lot more of her with my tongue…
Jenny sighed again. “Second, Denny talked to Griffin.”
That got my attention. Fucking Griffin.
The moment over, Kiera and I broke apart. Looking over at Jenny, we simultaneously said, “What?”
Jenny’s expression was sullen as she shrugged. “I tried to sideline Griffin, but Denny was talking about you having a hard time leaving your family.” She paused to give Kiera a withering look. “Denny casually mentioned Anna, so, naturally, Griffin told him every gory detail of their time together while she was here.” She cringed. Jenny had heard those details before. We all had. Except Kiera…and Denny. “Denny, of course, brought up Kellan and Anna, and the fight between you and Kellan in the bar. Griffin got all bent out of shape. He vehemently denied that Kellan had ever slept with her. That he actually took Anna out from under Kellan, and that…” She looked over at me, and seemed reluctant to finish her thought. “…Kellan was a prick for trying to…and I’m quoting here…‘nab his score.’” She cringed again, then looked over at Kiera. “I’m sorry, Kiera…but Denny knows that you lied.”
So that was it. The charade was over. Oddly enough, I felt completely calm. I guess all of my preparation for this moment had paid off. Kiera couldn’t choose, Denny was about to figure it out. It was time for me to go. It was time for my final goodbye. Silently wishing I’d brought the necklace with me, so I could give it to Kiera tonight, I thanked Jenny for relaying the message.
She apologized again, then left us alone. Kiera started panicking. She wasn’t prepared for this moment, like I was. Clutching my shoulders so hard I could feel her nails digging into my skin, she said, “What do we do?” Searching my face, she started running though complicated scenarios that, in the end, wouldn’t save us. “Okay…it’s not so bad. I’ll just tell him that you lied to me…and Anna lied to me…and…” Seeing the pointlessness of lies upon lies, she looked away.
“Kiera…that won’t work. He’ll just be even more suspicious if you start saying that everyone else is lying. No lies will work, baby.”
She looked back at me, a small smile on her lips as my term of endearment warmed her. It fell off her face in an instant though. “Then what do we do?”
I say goodbye and let you have the better man, before it’s too late and you lose him forever.