Chapter 2
Kelly
Icurled up on the couch with my pillow, my fuzzy blanket, and in my comfortable pjs. My face was void of all make up, my hair was up in a messy bun, and my contacts were off.
The inside Christmas lights were casting a soft glow on us and I was content.
There was no one else in my life who would do this with me. No other friend I had understood the bond I had with Josh, how he figured me out in a way no one could. How he soothed me when my hackles were up.
In fact, if people didn’t think we were dating, then they assumed he was gay. Both being the furthest thing from the truth.
I took a sip of my water before accepting the Mike’s Hard Lemonade from him.
“Thank you,” I said, taking a drink before setting it down. “What are we watching first?”
He placed the popcorn topped with chocolate drizzle between us and grabbed the remote.
“There was actually a Christmas one about a duke or something. I saved it because I figured you would like it.”
“Oh, that sounds amazing.”
I grinned at him before taking some of the popcorn. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head and I cocked a brow.
“What?” I asked.
He sat the controller down once he started the movie and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.
“Like this, not one single person would believe that you are a bad girl. That you go around with a scowl on your face, all in black, looking like you are ready to kill someone.”
“I do not look like that all the time.”
“You do too, Kelly. I mean, I find it cute, but that’s because I see this and know how you truly are. No one would ever buy that you watch RomComs. People think you watch murder shows, or true crime deals.”
I shuddered at that, making him laugh. “That reaction says it all.”
I glared at him, throwing a piece of popcorn at him.
“Don’t kill the messenger,” he teased, picking the piece up and eating it. “You’re just a walking contradiction. It’s not a bad thing.”
“It’s not that I want to show the world one side.
A lot of people know I’m caring. But that doesn’t mean you can mess with me.
I protect those I love, and I don’t give a rat’s ass what anyone says.
I want someone who loves me the way these dumb men love these hopeless females.
It’s sweet to see, even if it’s not real life. ”
“It can be, if you give it a shot.” I watched as he opened his own can, taking a deep chug before setting it down. He knows my dating history, so why he would say that was beyond me.
“I do give it a shot.”
“No, Kelly, you date the jerks that you think you can change. Or that appeals to your better side, the dark, mean girl side. But those types of men would run scared if they saw you like this. You need someone who can handle both versions of you, not just the surface one.”
I opened my mouth to argue back, but I couldn’t, because he was right. My taste in men leaned more to the biker type of guys or the fighter type of ones. Ones who would be just as angry and dark as me. But they wouldn’t get this side either.
The side that’s comfy in footie pjs and hanging out on a couch, watching chick flicks.
So, yeah, guess he was right that I was a walking contradiction. But if I was, so was he. Just in a totally different way.
“You don’t think I can find love that way?”
“Nope, not even close, babe. You need someone who is a little twisted like you, but not too far gone to not sit here with you and whine.”
I pouted a little, hated it even more when he made me think.
He glanced over at me, giving me a smile and a wink before he grabbed my feet, pulling them out from beneath me and plopping them on his lap.
I just shook my head at him, taking another drink of my liquor before getting lost in the movie.
“That was so cheesy,” Josh muttered, two hours later, making me laugh.
“They’re all cheesy, though. That’s part of their charm.”
“A guilty pleasure, I know.” He grabbed the empty cans and walked into the kitchen to toss them. “Want another?”
“Yes, please.” I took the controller, flipping through the movies he saved, grinning at one of my top favorite ones. It took place in Ireland and had something about a forbidden love.
“This one again? You know, we watch it every year, probably about three or four times a year, in fact.”
I moved my feet so I could sit up.
“No one says you have to watch them with me,” I told him. “I’m fine to watch them on my own, ya know.”
“I do, but it’s not as fun to yell at their dumbasses by yourself.”
“No lie there.” I took the can he offered, taking a deep drink before setting it down. “When I meet the right man,” I told him, pointing at the TV just as the movie started, “I’m going to know he’s perfect for me because he will plan a trip to my favorite place ever.”
“Kelly, you’ve never been to Ireland.”
“No, but I want to go. Someday. Maybe for my wedding. Or honeymoon. Or an engagement. I don’t care; I just want to go. And he’ll know.”
“Trust me, that is so not a biker guy.”
I rolled my eyes at him before shoving him.
“Okay, can we not talk about my love life right now. Geez.”
“Come here.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me to lean against him.
I sighed, breathing in his scent, feeling like he was my home.
And he was.
Sure, I had my family, whom I loved and was close to, but no one was better to me than Josh. He was the one person I could be me with, and I did not have to worry about it.
I glanced up at him, looking at his profile in the glare of the TV light and thought for the millionth time just how lucky I was to have him in my life.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I replied.
He turned to look at me, a smile tugging on his lips and before I could stop it, we moved closer, our lips brushing in the sweetest of movements.
The shock through my system, though, was something new. And before I could think twice about it, I crushed my lips to his, groaning as his hand found the back of my head, holding me against him.