Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kaylee
Kaylee couldn’t sleep, and after tossing and turning for several hours, she texted Josie.
Hey, are you awake?
The three dots popped up, and then her response: Yeah, I’m just watching a Christmas special, why?
I can’t sleep. Can I come over?
Yeah, where is Rick?
Asleep on the couch
How are you gonna get by him without being tackled?
What are you talking about? I’m like a ninja.
LOL okay, see you in a few.
Kaylee got out of bed and slipped on her house boots, cracking the door open a smidge.
She tiptoed down the hallway, doing her best not to wake Rick when she unlocked and opened the door.
Kaylee thought she was caught for sure, but he just kept quietly snoring.
She shut the door behind her and carefully traveled down the steps in case they had ice on them, making her way across the yard and into Josie’s.
She found the hidden key under a gnome and let herself inside.
Josie was sitting on the couch, her cat, Roy, curled up on her lap. The big brown tabby chirped when Kaylee sat down but otherwise didn’t move. The Phineas and Ferb Christmas episode was on TV, and Kaylee arched her brow. “What are you, twelve?”
Josie pointed the remote at her like a sword. “Hey, I liked these episodes when I was twelve, and I find them very comforting. Back off.”
Kaylee threw up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Who am I to judge?”
Josie’s house was identical in design, but inside, she had painted her walls sage green, saying it promoted a calming energy.
Her kitchen had gray tile and white cabinets, and she chose bright, floral paintings in a hint of sage green to tie the walls together.
Her couch was pink and boneless, like Kaylee’s, which is where she’d gotten the idea to buy one from how comfortable Josie’s was.
Kaylee looked around Josie’s house and remembered how much fun Elasia had decorating their dorm room for the first time.
They made trips to T.J. Maxx and Hobby Lobby, picking up all kinds of decor.
Josie nodded regally and paused the show, turning slightly without disturbing Roy. “How are you doing?”
“What?” Kaylee asked.
“You said you weren’t feeling good earlier.”
She’d completely forgotten about the lie and wondered if her face was as red as it felt. “Oh, I am feeling better now. Well, I don’t know, kind of.”
“What do you mean?”
Kaylee nervously played with the frayed edges of the blanket thrown over the back of Josie’s couch. “I promised I’d tell you everything, but please don’t interrupt me until I finish, okay?”
Josie nodded, sitting quietly as Kaylee spilled her guts. With the exception of her eyes widening or a distressed gasp, she stayed silent until Kaylee finished.
“I never did buy the two of you being friends,” Josie said.
“Why not?”
“You could cut the tension with a knife. At first, I thought you were exes and maybe he’d cheated on you or ghosted you, but that didn’t seem right, either. And then I thought, secretive about her past, cop shows up … It just made sense.”
Kaylee bit her lip, weighing the repercussions of telling her friend about this afternoon, and ultimately decided to go for it. “I may have had sex with Rick.”
Josie’s eyebrows skyrocketed up her forehead, making her eyes owllike. “You may have, or you did?”
“Oh no,” Kaylee said, unable to fight her sheepish grin. “I definitely did.”
Josie cocked her head to the side, furrowing her brow. “And it made you sick?”
She laughed. “No. You came by when we were sort of in the—”
Her hands swung through the air like she was waxing on and off, cutting off Kaylee’s explanation.
“All right, that’s enough. I don’t need any details.
” Horror spread over Josie’s face, her mouth flopping open like a fish.
“Oh God, like he was— Oh no, geez, okay, all right. The visuals are assaulting me,” she said, closing her eyes.
“I don’t know if I can come back from this because now I am picturing you in compromising positions. ”
Kaylee wrapped her arms around herself, guffawing so hard her stomach hurt. “Please stop picturing me in any way, shape, or form committing a sexual act with anyone.”
“Well, I can’t help it! I am picturing you and him, and good God, what I mean … Is it as big as I think it is?”
“Girl, what are you even saying to me right now?” Kaylee reached behind her for the throw pillow and swung, catching Josie in the shoulder. Roy skidded off her lap and to the ground, watching Kaylee with his eyes narrowed and his ears back, but she ignored his disgruntlement.
“Are you kidding? First, you’re like ‘don’t give me any details,’ and now you’re asking how big his dick is?”
“Yes, because I am a complex person who craves the particulars. It’s the counselor in me.” Josie grabbed the pillow to her left and hit Kaylee in the shoulder, too. “Now talk!”
Roy jumped back onto the couch, giving Kaylee a baleful look before he spun in a circle and curled up between them. Kaylee ran her hand over his back in apology and heard the deep rumble of his purr.
“Stop using my cat as an excuse to stall,” Josie grumbled.
“Rick is satisfactory, and that is all I’m going to say about it.”
“So it was just satisfactory, huh?” Josie’s expression was so crestfallen, Kaylee almost giggled. “Dang, I thought he’d be amazing. Just based on the way he walks.”
Kaylee giggled. “The way he walks tells you how good he’s gonna be in bed?”
“Oh yeah, see a guy who has too much swagger”—Josie held up her fingers, mimicking legs walking with a lot of sway—“you know he’s a minute-man, but if he is all relaxed and cool and doesn’t have to prove it by flexing his arms, he knows what he’s doing.
” She stopped demonstrating and sank back into the couch with her head back, pouting. “I’m a little disappointed now.”
“Why? Did you wanna sleep with him?” Kaylee teased.
“No, I’m disappointed for you. I mean, he’s been tormenting you for days … At least if he’s gonna be crashing on your couch and you’re gonna have hate-sex with him, it might as well be good hate-sex.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t good or that I hated him.”
“You said it was satisfactory. And I believe you did, in fact, say ‘I hate him’ on more than one occasion.”
“I said his penis shape and size were satisfactory, but his skills in the bedroom were”—Kaylee held up her fingers to her lips and made a smooching sound—“chef’s kiss.”
“I flipping knew it,” Josie said, hitting her with the throw pillow again. “So if you had sex with him, why are you here?”
“We had sex earlier today, and then I kind of freaked out and decided that I was going to go back and testify.”
“Oh, Kaylee.”
“No, let me finish. Let me get this out.” Kaylee’s vision blurred, and she wiped at her eyes.
“I’ve been the people pleaser who never wanted to make waves, and Elasia was the adventurer.
She kept talking about how she was gonna drag me to Europe after we graduated, and we were gonna go backpacking.
I told her no way because I didn’t want to get pickpocketed and have to deal with the US Embassy overseas.
My big idea for our trip was to rent a cabin by the lake and just relax and swim, because I’m the sidekick.
She was a hero.” She choked on the word, and Josie reached out, pulling her into her arms. Roy meowed and squeezed out from under them, jumping off the couch and glaring at them, before he swished his way out of sight.
Josie laughed. “I don’t think he appreciated being the meat in our sandwich.”
Kaylee chuckled. “He already hates me. I take away your attention.”
Josie squeezed her. “You were saying, about why you decided to testify?”
“I owe it to her,” she said softly. “She was someone who stood up for what was right, and now that she’s gone, I realize that I need to do that for her.”
“So you told Rick that you were gonna go back?”
“Yes, but I told him that I had a few conditions. I’ve made a list of things I want to do before committing to this, because I’ve heard some of these trials can last years. If I’m going to be locked away and have no freedom, then I want to accomplish a few things first.”
“Like what?” Josie asked, relinquishing her, and they each tucked a knee under them, facing each other.
Kaylee smirked. “Well, Rick helped me milk a goat last night.”
“I’m sorry, what?” she spluttered.
“We snuck into McNally’s barn, and I milked one of his goats. Then his dog chased us, ripped my pants, and we kissed.”
“Again, why are you not in bed with him right now?” Josie asked.
“Because we got back to the house and he was being sweet and we were drinking bougie hot cocoa, and I ran away like a coward.”
“So he’s still on your couch?”
“Yes.”
“You let him into your va-jay-jay, but you made the man sleep on your couch?” Josie’s voice rose an octave higher, but Kaylee kept her tone even and cool.
“Yes.”
“I just wanted to make sure I understood that correctly,” she deadpanned.
“No, you did. I left him on the couch, and he didn’t even argue or try to convince me to let him into my bed, either, so I don’t know if he was reading the room or if he didn’t want to do it again.”
“Well, do you wanna do it again?”
Kaylee bit her lip, her hand subconsciously going to the back of her neck where Rick had left his mark. “I do.”
“So why can’t sleeping with him be a part of your demands? No strings. No promises. Just a good old-fashioned fuck-fest.”
“Because I think he regrets sleeping with me. He tried to apologize earlier, saying that he took advantage of me.”
Josie grinned wickedly. “And did you tell him that you liked it when he took advantage of you?”
Kaylee huffed. “I just told him that he needed to own what happened, and it’s not about regret, and we can just move on.”
“And did anything else happen after that?”
“We kissed a couple of times after the goat-milking incident.”
“Should I be alarmed that the two of you are turned on by milking a goat?” Josie snickered.
“Shut up,” Kaylee laughed, slapping her friend’s leg gently. “That’s not what I meant; it was just the adrenaline of sneaking in and out and getting chased. We kissed, but then I let my intrusive thoughts get in the way.” Kaylee closed her eyes and groaned. “This is so hard.”
“I bet it is,” Josie teased.
Kaylee scowled at her. “You’re supposed to tell me what to do.”
“As your friend or as a counselor, because as a counselor, that is not my job. I’m supposed to help you work through it on your own so you come to your own conclusion. As a friend, honestly, I’m just happy that you’re actually doing things other than marinating on the couch with me.”
“I love marinating,” she said sincerely.
“I know, but the issue with us being friends is that we’re both introverts who enjoy being alone, and that’s not always good for us. Sometimes we need to be around the loud and energetic people, and you let them, I guess, be themselves and don’t judge.”
“So you think that Rick and I should continue to have sex until we head back to California so I can testify at trial.”
“Yes, that is what I think you should do.”
Kaylee sat with that for several moments, thinking about her past relationships.
She’d never had anything casual because welcoming someone into her world was hard enough, but when they started trying to change her, to make her wilder, more adventuress, she wouldn’t just tap the brakes—she’d slam down on them.
She didn’t think back on her ex-boyfriends and regret breaking up with them, but something in her heart warned her that Rick might be different.
When things ended, as they inevitably would, she would regret giving him up.
“I don’t know if it’s worth the heartache.”
Josie nodded sympathetically. “What made you run tonight?”
“He wanted to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. That was Elasia’s favorite Christmas movie. I don’t want to watch it without her.”
“I get that, but she’s gone, babe. Isn’t it better to honor her memory by doing the things the two of you loved?”
Kaylee paused, mulling over Josie’s question. “Yes, I suppose I should, but it’s heartbreaking. I miss her.”
“It’s supposed to be hard when you lose someone you love.
You’re supposed to grieve, but you should also celebrate your time with them and remember all the good things that they brought to your life.
How they shaped and changed who you are.
” Josie reached out and squeezed her hand.
“No matter how short their time with us might be.”
Kaylee squeezed her hand. “I bet your clients love you.”
“Not always.” Josie smirked. “But they do say I give the best hugs.”