28. 28
Harlow
“I don’t think I heard right. He fucked a fleshlight on top of you?” Keysha says.
I laugh bashfully, my face burning hot.
“Yes. It was hot, though.”
It’s not a typical conversation for a public place as we sift through a clothes rack, hunting for work scrubs.
I don’t know the girl Keysha towed along, either, but I had to share.
Charlotte seems sweet, anyway. Her eyes are bright, and her frizzy blonde hair is tied up in two buns on either side of her head.
She’s soft, curvy, like me, but more on top.
“It was good, too,” I whine. Tears prick at the corner of my eyes. “I am so in love with Killian. I shouldn’t have told him. I can’t believe he reacted like I was a crazy stalker. It was mortifying. I cannot see him again.”
“Time to get your old job back,” she says, as if that fixes everything.
“I already texted my old supervisor. She said she has hours for me. I just have to tell Clark I’m quitting.”
“I know how you feel,” Charlotte whispers. “I’m in love with a guy, too. It was a disaster.”
I perk up. Finally, someone who understands.
Keysha snorts, causing her braids to fall forward. “For real, Charlotte. Is the guy you love a crackhead?”
“Killian isn’t a crackhead,” I defend.
“Oh, sorry. Cokehead. So much better.”
I roll my eyes, but smile weakly. “He’s been sober for six months. What if he doesn’t turn out like Evan?”
“He will. Once an addict, always an addict. That’s why I left Brax. I didn’t want to deal with his mood swings.” She looks at Charlotte. “Sorry, I don’t mean to talk shit about your brother.”
“It’s fine. He’s a jerk.”
Keysha nods. “Plus, I’m fairly sure he was cheating on me. Was he?”
Charlotte winces. “I really wouldn’t know. I didn’t even know Brax was dealing drugs until the cops showed up and arrested him.”
Keysha points at me like a strict but caring mother. “See. The drug scene is nothing but losers. Stay away, girl.”
I don’t argue. She’s right.
She holds up her phone. “Charlotte, your little brother keeps texting me. Tell him to stop. He’s crushing.”
“Atticus?” she says, astonished.
“Yeah, but he’s too young for me. I don’t think I could date another one of your brothers, either.”
“Right. He’s a lot nicer, though.”
“That’s still five-years younger than me. He’s super sweet, though. He says good morning and goodnight over text every day.”
Charlotte and I swoon, but then frown.
“Killian doesn’t do that,” I say glumly.
“Grayson would never,” Charlotte mumbles. “I bared my soul to him. We had sex and... never mind.” Her chin trembles.
All of a sudden, she cries.
Hysterically.
“Sorry, I’m emotional!” Charlotte wails.
“Oh, my gosh.” I glance at Keysha, looking for help with her friend.
She returns a subtle smile, like it isn’t a big deal. Then she rubs Charlotte’s shoulder and clutches her jaw, her fingers dark against Charlotte’s pale and flushed face.
“Pay attention, you softy. You dodged a bullet. Grayson is trouble. So is Killian. You both need new men.”
We stare at Keysha, then blurt in unison: “But I love him.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“Hey,” says a deep voice.
We spin in that direction.
Killian approaches, hands in his pockets. My heart leaps from my chest and runs away, afraid he’ll stab it for a second time.
“Killian?” I say, confused.
“What?”
“You are at Wal-Mart. You... shop here.”
“Mm-hm. I saw you and swung over to say hi.”
“Oh.” I squint, skeptical. “What are you buying here, Killian?”
“Why’s it so surprising I can shop at normal places?”
“Because your family doesn’t even buy groceries! Your chef does.”
Charlotte steps forward. “Your family is rich? I didn’t know that.”
He must’ve not seen her. He grins, surprised.
“What up, Piggy?”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not one of the guys anymore.”
“Sure.” Then he ignores her.
“What are you shopping for?” he asks me.
“Uh, work clothes.”
He notices the sign over the rack. “In clearance?”
“They’re affordable clothes,” I whisper, and stare in confusion.
How can he even be talking to me? I thought he’d avoid me like the plague.
He glances at the other racks.
“Those look nicer.” Casually, he retrieves a credit card from his wallet. “Charge them to this.”
“Mmm.” Keysha holds her fist over her mouth, stifling her words. She faces me, concealing her stunned expression from him.
It takes everything in me not to laugh at the way she is eyeing me right now.
I pluck the card from Killian’s hand, holding it like it’s radioactive. “You want me to charge my clothes to your card.”
“It’s a work expense.”
This man is going to put me in a mental institution.
I can’t.
I gesture for him to take his card back.
“I don’t need it. I saved for new scrubs. I plan to buy some new shoes too, and—”
“Shoes? Finally,” he says with a smirk. Early on, he left a new pair in my car — my size. I couldn’t bring myself to wear them. It felt insulting. Like a butler having to wear a suit in an employer’s home.
But now, this feels… different.
“Very funny. Yes, new shoes,” I say, smiling softly.
“And more frumpy panties?”
“Okay!” Keysha hooks her arm with Charlotte’s, and they head in the opposite direction. She calls over her shoulder. “We’ll be right over here.”
I smile at her, then insist he take the card back.
“I want you to have it. Use it for whatever,” he pushes.
I blink, too confused to speak. It seems like a romantic gesture, sort of, but maybe this is an act of mercy brought on by guilt.
“Killian, I meant what I said at the dance studio.”
“I know. I listened.” His expression softens and voice lowers. “I want to treat you better.”
My heart stumbles.
Don’t panic, Harlow.
This is good. He could be making a move. Accept it.
“Thank you,” I say softly. “I’ll use it.”
I bite my bottom lip, trying not to smile like a fool. I need confirmation. I need to make a move back.
“Maybe I’ll buy some sexier panties.”
His gaze drags down my body, then those wolf eyes set on mine.
“Just for me?”
I’m slammed back to our first time when he asked me the same thing. I shiver hard. Like a stumbling fool, I bump into clothes hangers as I move closer.
“Um, yeah! Just for you... I...”
Wait. Make him say if this is more than sex.
Shoot. I don’t know how without putting myself out there a second time. Damn. He’s so handsome. He’s wearing that crooked smile. He’s looking at me that way he does when it doesn’t feel like just lust. The only words on my tongue are insane but desperate to break free. Say it.
“Killian, I love—”
“Thanks for stopping by,” Keysha interrupts coolly, appearing out of nowhere. She gives Killian a playful wave.
His eyes linger on me for a moment, then he backs away, surely knowing Keysha isn’t leaving me alone.
I watch until he’s out of sight, then hiss at Keysha.
“What the hell was that?”
“I was saving your ass. Were you about to tell him you love him again — in Wal-Mart?”
“Uh.”
“That’s what I thought.”
We burst into riotous laughter. Dang, Killian makes me lose all my common sense.
Still, I hold his card tightly in my hand like it’s precious.
“He finally made a move,” I say happily, then wince as I look at Keysha. “Right? This means he’s interested in dating. Not just sex.”
Keysha tilts her head. “It means he doesn’t want you to leave. That isn’t necessarily the same thing.”
Charlotte’s eyes brighten as she clutches her hands over her heart. “I think it’s romantic. I’ve known Killian through my brothers for years. He never does things like this for women.”
I want to believe Charlotte.
“You’re right. He wants more.”
I am on cloud nine.
He’s finally ready. I don’t know what changed his mind in a couple of hours, but I won’t fight it.
I’m ready.