Chapter 26 Thayer
THAYER
We hadn’t even made it through the door, and my mouth was on hers, backpedaling her into the living room. We had the house to ourselves for one more night. And after our conversation with Kason tomorrow, who knew if we’d ever be able to be this free around him.
Giselle laughed against my mouth as we bumped into the sofa.
I shoved off her jacket, and she pulled off my Henley.
“What the fuck?” Kason said.
We jumped apart, looking at him standing in the doorway with his mouth gaping open.
“Kase,” Giselle began.
“We need to talk to you,” I said, my heart racing in my chest.
His eyes jumped between us. “Since when the hell is there a ‘we’?”
I tugged my shirt back on. “Look, we wanted to tell you.”
“Wanted to tell me what exactly?” Kason asked, his eyes narrowed on me like he was about to kill me.
“I broke up with Gino,” Giselle said, as if that would help.
“For him?” he asked.
“I’m your best friend,” I interrupted. “Not some asshole off the street.”
“Exactly why you have no fucking right to be doing that with my sister.”
“Bro, I’d do anything for her. You gotta know that,” I said.
“And he has,” Giselle jumped in. “He left Big Bear because something happened when I went to Florida.”
Oh, fuck. I wouldn’t have led with that one.
“What?” Kason seethed, having no clue that one, she went to Florida. And two, I took off to help her.
“I saw the man who robbed the boutique,” she explained.
“What?”
“He’s Gino’s friend.”
Kason had the look of murder in his eyes. “You’re fucking kidding me?”
She shook her head.
His eyes grew softer. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
Kason’s eyes clouded again as he glared at me. “You knew, and you didn’t fucking tell me?”
I had no time to react before he charged at me and tackled me to the ground. I went down hard on my back with his weight on top of me.
“Stop!” Giselle cried as I struggled to fight him off.
His fist shot out, but I somehow dodged the punch and avoided more punches.
“Dude. Knock it the fuck off!” I said, holding him at arm’s length.
“Get off him!” Giselle cried as she grabbed Kason from behind.
“Careful, G!” I said. “I got this.”
“Stop fucking talking to her!” He continued to try to punch me.
“Then stop trying to hit me!” I continued to hold him off.
“You lied to me!” Kason growled. “You’ve been fucking lying to me.”
I shoved him off, and he rolled onto his back. “Would you let us talk?” I said, out of breath and exasperated as I pushed myself to my feet.
He climbed to his feet, his eyes still shooting daggers at both of us.
Giselle jumped between us, pressing her palms to his chest. “Kason. You need to relax.”
“You called him, and he didn’t fucking tell me!” he yelled.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We were going to tell you.”
“When? Next fucking year?”
“Kason, we know you,” Giselle explained. “You would’ve been on the first flight to Florida. We needed to figure it out first. It all came at me out of nowhere. I needed to process it.”
“So you called him?” His hand shot out in my direction as if I were a piece of trash.
“Dude. I’m the same person you trust with everything. Why am I suddenly not good enough to be that person for G, too?”
“Stop calling her that,” he said.
“You’ve got to know it’s always been her,” I continued. “My world’s revolved around her for as long as I can remember.”
Giselle looked to me, cocking her head and flashing me a sad smile.
“I can’t hear this right now,” Kason said. “Did you go to the cops?”
“I had no proof,” Giselle explained. “I would’ve sounded ridiculous.”
“My father’s helping,” I added.
Kason looked at me, then he looked back at Giselle. “You sure the guy didn’t hurt you?”
She shook her head. “I was in shock. I got the hell out of there.”
“That son of a bitch. He’s gonna pay,” he said.
“They both will if we find out Gino was involved,” I added.
Kason’s eyes cut to mine, but his expression gave nothing away.
“I should probably go so you two can…” Giselle started to walk toward the door.
I grabbed her wrist. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Kason stared at my hand on her skin.
“He’s going to have to deal with it,” I said, like he wasn’t standing right there.
“The fuck I am.” Kason made for the front door. “Neither of you better be here when I get back.” And then he was gone, disappearing outside and slamming the door behind him.
Giselle
“Well, that went well,” Thayer said.
I laughed because the alternative was crying. I touched his face, looking for signs of bruising. “Are you okay?”
Thayer wrapped his arms around me. “Yeah, he didn’t hit me.”
“He tried.” I couldn’t conceal my guilt. “I’m sorry.”
“I was more worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “I expected the worst. So, him not breaking your nose is good.”
A sad smile touched his lips.
“I hate that I’ve come between the two of you. You’ve been best friends forever.”
“He’s just upset. And I get it. I’d be pissed too.”
“I called him after I saw Carlo. But, like you, he didn’t answer.”
“I’m not sure that would change his mind right now.”
“Come home with me,” I said.
“Don’t you think Kason’s heading there?” he asked.
“Better chance he’s heading to a bar.”
Thayer chuckled, probably because he knew I was right.
“Come on,” I urged, tugging on his hand. “You can use the door this time.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Thayer held my hand as he drove, and I loved that he needed to be touching me. It was so different from my relationship with Gino. I hadn’t realized how little time we had actually spent touching. Talking. Being together. My phone vibrated in my lap.
Shay
So…
I laughed.
“Is it from Kason?” Thayer asked.
“No, Shay.”
Me
How is he?
Shay
How’s Thayer? Heard Kason landed some punches.
I stifled a smile, but Thayer could plainly see.
“What?” he asked.
“Seems the story has taken on a life of its own.”
“Don’t even tell me…”
“Oh, yeah. He came out the victor.”
“Idiot,” he grumbled.
Me
Thayer’s fine. Talk some sense into your bf.
Shay
“All good?” Thayer asked.
I nodded. “It will be.”
He squeezed my hand. “It will.”
“What are you up to tomorrow?”
He smiled. “I’ve got class in the morning.”
“Since when do you go to class?”
He chuckled. “I do have to show up every once in a while.”
“Are you heading to the mountain after that?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Can I meet you there?” I asked.
“You planning to snowboard with me?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I just want to watch you.”
“You do?” he asked.
“Yep.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
He pulled into my parents’ driveway and cut the engine. He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. This kiss was slow, and I knew he was saying something. He pulled back with a smirk. “Wait there.” He jumped out and circled the truck.
I was being honest when I told him he’d changed.
There was no way the once-reckless snowboarder would’ve been caught dead holding my hand and opening doors for me.
This—the two of us—was supposed to happen now.
Our hearts had both been shattered in different ways this year, but we were meant to help each other put the pieces back into place.
The finished product may have been a patched-up jagged heart when we got done with it, but we were both good at being imperfect as long as we ended up together in the end.
Thayer opened my door and helped me out. “Think they’ll be up?”
“I don’t care if they are. You’re my boyfriend.”
He froze, his eyes blinking like I’d startled him.
“What?” I asked, amused by his reaction.
He shook his head, as if snapping out of a daze. “I like the sound of that.”
I leaned close, my lips lingering an inch away from his. “Get used to it. Boyfriend.”
His lips collided with mine, his tongue eager and his lips holding me prisoner. I linked my arms around his neck and melted into the kiss, not caring that the cameras were on and my parents would see. Just like Kason, they needed to get used to it, too.