13. Dane
Chapter 13
Dane
I wanted to kill him.
I grabbed Lennox’s right wrist and jerked it down, catching him off guard. Gritting my teeth, I brought my right hand up to his shoulder and pushed him backward. Heaving my weight forward, I shoved off the wall and moved him back, slamming his back against the door with a grunt.
Leaning in with my right hand around his throat, I pressed my body along his to hold him in place.
“You motherfucker,” I growled in his face. “I could kill you with my bare hands.”
He laughed manically before he cut me with his words. “You can’t do that any more than you already have. So, how about you finally come clean with me?”
Anger surged through my veins as I slammed him back against the door again. It was better than the alternative and gave me the edge I needed to push out of this hold. Lennox didn’t stop me, and that almost hurt me more. He remained against the door as I paced away, needing some distance.
“I hate you so goddamn much,” I said, perching on the edge of my sofa. “You could have just stayed the fuck away and we would have been fine. But no. You have to pick and prod until you open all the old wounds.”
I held my head in my hands as my head throbbed. Dropping onto the sofa, I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to quell the pain. The last thing I needed was a migraine on top of all this.
I lost track of him moving across the floor until the sofa dipped, and he took a seat next to me.
“You don’t hate me, Dane. And I sure as fuck will never hate you, no matter how hard you try.”
The pain was replacing the anger I’d survived on. I hadn’t made this easy on either of us, but I wasn’t sure I could admit anything to him.
“Just say the words.”
“There’s nothing to say. Go back to your mansion, Lennox, and let this shit between us die.”
Even I heard the agony in my tone. I was breaking, and he knew it. He ignored my plea and went for the heart.
“No matter how much you try to deny what we are to each other, I know the truth. You’re my person. The one who held me and let me cry when my parents divorced, and then again when my father told me he was moving without me. You are and always have been my safe place and my best friend. I would do anything for you. Don’t you get that? You could cut my arm off and it would have hurt less than losing you. And it still fucking hurts twelve years later. It isn’t any better. So I’m begging you to tell me what happened because I’m not leaving until you do.”
Being this close to him was worse than any injury I’d received. I was a strong man, but hating him at this level was exhausting. And I knew I could never move on with my life until I put this to rest. Like Camile said, I owed it to myself. I had nothing to lose but him, and I’d already done that.
“We’re going to need a beer for this.”
Lennox shook his head and chuckled. “No, we’re not. That’s what started all this. We’re staying right here.”
I opened my eyes and turned to him.
“Come on, Dane,” he whispered. “You can trust me. I need to hear it from you.”
I was momentarily caught in his eyes before I nodded. He was looking at me just like he had that night. It gave me hope that maybe this would be okay.
“We were drunk. You were stumbling around and talking about crazy shit. You wouldn’t stop laughing, but it was better than the crying.”
“Sounds like me.”
I looked away. “You wanted to go swimming, and when we made it through the pool gate, you were singing really loud.”
Lennox smiled and glanced at the floor. “Then what happened?”
“I had to shut you up before you woke my parents. If my dad had found you drunk, it would have been bad. So I slammed you into the wall and put my hand over your mouth.”
My heart pounded as I got to the part I knew was going to freak him out. I took a deep breath.
“I was leaning against you, and you put your arm around me. And….”
I shook my head as the memory swirled in my throbbing head. Then he said the last thing I ever expected him to say.
“We kissed, didn’t we?”
I nodded, embarrassed at allowing it to happen, and for being such a coward to tell him.
“Yes.”
Lennox froze in place. I expected him to get up and leave, or yell, or something. But he didn’t.
“Show me.”
My gaze whipped to his, making my head swirl.
“What?” I asked, breathy.
Lennox looked at me. “I need you to show me what happened.”
I shook my head furiously. “No. No way. I’m not kissing you.”
His brow furrowed. “Why not? It’s already happened, and I fucking missed it. The least you can do is show me what happened. You owe me that.”
I stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief.
He stood and went to the door. I was sure he was going to leave, but he didn’t. He turned and leaned against the door.
“Come on Calloway. Show me what I missed before I start singing again. Nobody wants that.”
“Wh-What?” I stammered out. “I’m not kissing you.”
“Oh, you are,” he chuckled, motioning for me to come to him. “And you know why?”
I was afraid to ask. And when I didn’t, he flat-out told me.
“Because you love me. And you’d do anything for me. So get over here and show me what was bad enough for you to ditch me. I’m gonna pester the fuck out of you until you do.”
With a sigh and a heavy heart, I got up and walked over to him. My blood was rushing in my ears, and I thought I might pass out. But when I stopped in front of him, I saw the boy I loved. The man who I knew loved me, but not how I loved him.
“This is going to obliterate what’s left of our friendship. You know that, right?”
Lennox shrugged. “I don’t think so. But I’m willing to take the chance.”
I looked back and forth between his eyes, looking for any kind of animosity or revenge, but it wasn’t there. So I gave in to Lennox, just like I always had.
Stepping closer, I pressed my body to his. We were chest to chest, causing my dick to harden. I pulled my hips back, but Lennox snaked an arm around me and pulled me closer.
“Don’t move,” he said, his eyes melting into mine. “What happened next?”
I swallowed thickly. “You put your hand around the back of my neck.”
He lifted his right hand and did exactly what he did that night.
“Like this?”
I was spellbound as our breathing sped up. “Yeah.”
“Then what?”
I swallowed again, my mouth suddenly parched. “You pulled me in and…”
Lennox wasted no time and covered his mouth with mine. His tongue explored my lips as he held me in place.
I was hard.
He was hard.
And when he brought his left hand to my face, he pulled back and looked at me. “Kiss me back, asshole.”
I finally surrendered my heart to him.