Chapter 34
Jackson
I locked the bar’s front door and turned around to find Kevin and Lauren standing in the middle of the room.
My stomach dropped.
Kevin was supposed to be alone. His text had said just you and me.
“Hey,” I said, because apparently I could still do basic speech. “What’s going on?”
Kevin glanced at Lauren, then back at me. “We need to talk to you.”
“Both of us,” Lauren added.
Right. There it was.
They knew.
The night at the bar was still unfinished between all three of us.
Kevin had kissed me and then stopped everything, said not here, said we talk first. And then Lauren had gone home with him and I’d gone upstairs alone, and nobody had said another word about it since.
So I still didn’t know what he’d decided.
Didn’t know if he’d thought it over and landed on a mistake.
“Jackson,” Lauren said softly. “Come sit with us?”
I didn’t want to.
Every part of me wanted to fake a phone call, remember an emergency, walk straight back out the door I just locked. Anything but sit there and let them say it where I had to watch their faces.
But I couldn’t say no to them.
I never could.
I crossed to the booth they’d picked and slid in across from them. They were sitting close, Lauren’s hand tucked in Kevin’s, and I tried not to stare at how easy they looked together. How right.
“So,” I said, forcing my mouth into something close to a smile. “This looks serious.”
“It is,” Kevin said. “And before we say anything, I need you to know you’re my best friend. Whatever happens here, that doesn’t change.”
My mouth went dry.
“Okay.”
Lauren’s fingers tightened around his. “We need to ask you something. And we need you to be honest with us. Completely honest, even if it’s messy.”
“Alright.”
Kevin and Lauren looked at each other. Not long, but long enough for me to see them decide who was going to take the first swing.
Kevin did.
“Do you have feelings for Lauren?”
My heart slammed once, then seemed to forget the rest of its job.
“Kevin.”
“Just answer the question.” His voice was careful, but not cold. “Please.”
I had three answers ready — all of them easier, none of them true.
No.
She’s great, but no.
You’re imagining things.
But Kevin was looking at me like he already knew and was asking me not to insult him by hiding behind it. Lauren looked scared.
I couldn’t do it.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry. I know she’s yours, I know it’s wrong, I know I had no right to let it get this far.”
Kevin didn’t look away.
“Do you have feelings for me?”
I stared at him.
Nothing came out. Not a word, not even a decent breath.