Chapter 35 #2
She picks up her phone from beside her and checks the screen.
“Can I answer that question in a couple of hours? I have an interview at another bike shop. If I don’t fuck it up and they aren’t bothered with previous employer references, then my tiny apartment and I should be golden for another few months. ”
She slides off the stool and grabs her leather jacket. “I like you, Kendra. I think you’re in danger of becoming the first friend I’ve made in a while.”
I tip my head to the side and smile. “Better make sure you’re offered the position then, right?”
She gives me a little salute. “Doing it for you and me and our blooming love story. See ya!”
When she pushes out of the café and passes by the window in front of me, she blows a kiss before disappearing out of sight.
I sit there in a daze for a few seconds. She’s like a whirlwind but in the best way. The kind of person you meet and then wonder if that actually happened.
I’m still staring out the window when my phone buzzes on the bar, and I swipe it up, knowing all too well it’s too soon for a Collins-related job update.
Jack
So, our flight got delayed. It’s going to be tight between landing and the game tonight. I’ll call you when I can, Kitten.
P.S. Away series suck.
P.P.S. You looked beautiful this morning.
Me
*picture of teapot*
When are you taking me to the UK so we can stock up on Yorkshire tea bags?
Jack
I thought you’d never ask.
I’m typing out a response when the text chat disappears, and my happy mood instantly shifts to kind of pissed.
“Aren’t you boarding a plane soon?” I answer, not bothering to say hello.
“Don’t hang up on me,” Tyler says quickly. His surroundings sound quiet, and he’s whispering.
Feeling uncomfortable, I push off my stool and grab my bag, waving to Ed on my way out.
“Well, that depends on why you’re calling.
If it’s to ask if we can be friends, then no, we can’t.
You set any chances of that alight when you acted like a prick the other day.
Jack told me what you said to him in the gym. No one is preying on anyone.”
There’s a short pause as I step out onto the busy sidewalk and head back to Jack’s apartment.
“Believe it or not, Kendra, and despite the fact that you hate my guts, I still care about you.”
I blow out a disbelieving breath. “Word of advice: I’d up your caring game for the next girl you meet.”
He doesn’t say anything as I reach a quieter part of town and root around in my pocket for my key.
“Is that all you called to say?”
“I need you to see something. I get that it’s coming from me, and you don’t exactly see me as a credible source, but like I said, I care about you, and I can’t let you make a mistake without letting you see it.
I don’t think I could live with myself.” Tyler sounds kind of pained as he delivers a sentence that makes my stomach roll with nausea.
“Tyler, what are you talking about?” I’m agitated—a product of how vague he’s being and how anxious it’s making me feel.
“Look, I might be a lot of things, and I genuinely accept there’s no way back for us.
” He exhales deeply when my phone buzzes in my hand, and a message with an attachment comes through from him.
“But I’ve known about this for a long time.
An old college buddy of mine showed it to me back then because he thought I should see it.
I did nothing about it, but kept it close to me since …
” He trails off. “Since I always knew there was something I didn’t trust about him.
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Kendra.
But whether you think of me as a friend or not, I do you.
And friends wouldn’t let you make a fool of yourself like this. ”
I bristle at the last sentence. “I’m not making a fool of myself. I’m happy.”
“Just … look at what I sent you and then ask yourself again if you really believe this whole thing is real to him. I was always about you, Kendra. Not sure if he can say the same thing.”
Dread crawls through my bones as I stand motionless and a few hundred yards from Jack’s apartment.
“Open the message, Kendra. I gotta go.”
When the line goes dead, I keep the phone to my ear.
I don’t trust a word that left his mouth, but that isn’t going to stop me from reading whatever he sent. I know it isn’t.
In slow motion, I open the thread with him and then click on a compressed file of messages.
The first thing I notice is the date stamp from over three years ago. We were just finishing up on our second year of college.
The next thing I see is Jack’s name, along with a couple of other guys from his former team. I knew he hung out with them at the time, and one of them was also friendly with Tyler.
My heart beats wildly in my chest as I scroll through the first few. There’s nothing here but typical nineteen-year-old boy banter about girls.
Until there isn’t, and my back thuds against the wall behind me as I slide down and sit on the cold, damp ground, drawing my knees up in front of me.
I’ve read this all wrong. There’s no way it says that.
I look up and blow out a calming breath, trying to steady my shaking hand before I center myself and read it again.
Ben
So, to be clear, you want to fuck Kendra Hart?
Kurt
Don’t deny it. It’s obvious.
Jack
Yeah, I do.
Ben
Called it!
Kurt
She’s with Tyler.
Jack
So? It would be as easy as taking candy from a baby. Flash her my smile, promise her a good time, and she’d be in my bed in seconds.
Kurt
Wait. You’re serious?
Jack
Deadly. I get to fuck the hottest girl on campus and then see his face the next morning. With any luck, might make her scream loud enough so he can hear it too.