Inflame (Explosive) (12 page)

Like I said, your happiness means the world to me. Just make sure he treats you well. I don’t think he’d appreciate my fist in his face if he doesn’t. Gotta run. Miss you.

JT Kale (He obviously had better timing)

P.S. I don’t care who you’re dating. I’m never deleting those photos. ;)

I hesitate as the mouse hovers over the send button. Do I really want to put it out there that I have feelings for her? I know I’ve hinted at it, beaten around the bush, but I always play it off like a joke, never actually saying the words. I force myself to stop thinking about it and just click send, immediately regretting my decision. I know it’s unfair of me to unload on her now that she’s dating someone, and I pray to God that this doesn’t change or affect our relationship. The last thing I want is Lucy feeling awkward around me or her new man hating my guts. Well, I could really actually care less about that, but if he doesn’t like me, that’ll bleed over into our friendship, and I can’t have some asshole coming between us.

Looking at the calendar, I check off one more day. Only one-hundred and twelve more to go. Until I’m back in Tennessee. Back with Lucy. And call me an asshole, but I silently hope that not only will I be back with Lucy, but that I’ll be with her completely. Not as her friend. Not as her buddy. Not as her fucking wingman. I don’t give a shit who she’s dating. When I step foot back on American soil, it’s going to be my goddamn mission to make Lucy Dawson realize that I’m the only one who should be her man.

T
HE SOUND
of my ringing phone draws me out of my sleep and I reach my hand out, fumbling to find it. Without bothering to see who it is, I put it up to my ear, mumbling out an incoherent greeting. Charlie’s excited voice fills my ear, and I have to pull the phone away. My head is still pounding, thanks to the twenty-four-hour migraine I’ve been suffering from, and the loud noise is nearly unbearable.

“Lucy Dawson, it’s about damn time you made it official!” she exclaims.

I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about, and I tell her so. She advises me to check my Facebook, and even though I don’t want to, I drag myself out of bed and go to my desk, opening up my laptop. When I get to my page, I immediately see what she’s talking about.

“What the hell?” I ask as my eyes read the declaration that I’m in a committed relationship with Aidan Van Buren.

A pit forms in the center of my stomach when I see that it already has twenty-seven likes, the most recent one by none other than Kale Montgomery. He knows about Aidan—kind of. I’ve tried to keep them separate as much as possible, especially since I still didn’t know where my relationships with either of them were headed. Maybe I’ve been stupidly keeping myself from really committing to Aidan because of some false hope that Kale will come home, sweep me off my feet, and tell me that he can’t live without me. I shake the thought out of my head as I stare at the thumbs up next to his name. Wishful thinking, and I need to accept the fact that we had a fun summer and I’m lucky to have gained such a great friend.

“Why do you sound surprised?” Charlie asks, jolting me from my thoughts.

“I haven’t logged onto my computer since yesterday. I’ve had the migraine from hell and been in bed ever since. Aidan stopped by last night and must’ve gotten on my computer to change it,” I tell her, feeling annoyed at the small but very irritating violation.

Aidan’s been fine without labels, but ever since I went away for Christmas to visit my family, he’s been hinting that he’s ready to take the next step, and I vaguely remember telling him last night that yes, he can finally start telling people that I’m his girlfriend. The thing is, my head hurt so bad I would’ve said anything to get him to go away and leave me alone. Apparently, the damage is already done, and now I, and the world, know that I’m now in a relationship for the first time in years.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. You guys are a couple, and you have been for months. Just because you don’t say it out loud doesn’t mean it’s any less true. Lucy, this is so exciting! I don’t know why I didn’t think to introduce you to Aidan sooner. Who’d have thought we’d end up dating cousins?” She’s practically squealing at the idea, and I can just picture her staring at her engagement ring with thoughts of a double wedding. Drew proposed when I was gone over the holidays, and although they haven’t set a date, Charlie’s done nothing but talk about wedding plans for weeks.

“Certainly not me. Don’t even think of spreading the marriage bug to me. I’m barely okay with being in a Facebook relationship,” I warn her, and she just laughs.

We talk for a few more minutes before she lets me go. With how shitty I felt yesterday, I suddenly remember that I didn’t email Kale. I’ve never missed a day, and I start to worry what he must be thinking, first with Facebook and second with the missing email. Logging into my email account, I let out a deep breath when I see that I have mail from him.

My heart plummets as I read it though, first at how he’s handling being over there. It’s not until I read the rest that I start to tear up. Kale Montgomery, thousands of miles across of the planet, just confessed that he has feelings for me.

As I read on, I realize that he’s resigned himself to the fact that I’m with Aidan and it’s too late for us. I want to get on Skype right now so I can yell at him, to tell him that if he wants me, he can have me. But then I reread the email and I start to wonder if this is another one of his jokes. If he says he’s happy for me, happy that I’m with another guy, his feelings can’t run that deep. Sighing, I type out a reply, wondering how I got myself into this mess. Love triangles? I hate them. I don’t do them, and I have no idea how I’m going to fix this.

2/1/13

JT Kale (How long are you going to call yourself that? And yeah, our timing sucks),

I know, I know. I suck so bad right now. Please don’t take away my Mila title. That’d be the worst punishment. Also, please don’t fire me as your keyboard pal. I don’t know what I’d do without our daily emails and I don’t want to find out. I’m so sorry I missed yesterday. I had the worst migraine and spent the entire day in bed wishing I could slice my forehead open and cut out the pain. It was awful.

As for Aidan…yeah, I didn’t know he had done that. We haven’t had that whole middle school “boyfriend/girlfriend” talk and he must’ve gotten on my computer and changed it when he stopped by last night. I know you and I haven’t talked about it much, but I guess the cat’s out of the bag so I might as well explain.

I’m not trying to boost your ego, so don’t go getting a big head. I’m probably making a mistake by even admitting this, but here goes. After you left, I realized I could never have a better FWB than you, and I knew if I tried, I’d fail. He’d fail. When I met Aidan, I wasn’t looking for a relationship at all. At the same time, I decided to open myself up to the possibility of something more than casual. Now I’m not saying you’re going to be getting a wedding invitation anytime soon, but we’re seeing where things go. Who knows? You may have cured me of my relationship phobias. Or this will end in total disaster and I’ll be crying on your doorstep, needing to be cheered up.

Okay, enough about me. I hate what you’re dealing with, Kale, and while I can’t possibly understand it, I wish I could help you through it. Just remember what you’re doing is admirable, and no matter where or what you’re doing, you can probably guarantee you’re on my mind. I think of you all the time, often, wondering if you’re thinking of me, too. You can’t spend every single day with someone for nearly four months straight and not develop feelings for them. I guess I was fooling myself, too. Ha, it only took a few thousand miles and Charlie setting me up on a date for us to finally admit it. I guess we’re a couple of idiots.

I have no idea what will happen with Aidan, or how I’ll feel when you get back. Just know, Kale, that I care about you, too. More than you could possibly know, and I can’t wait until you’re home.

Lucy (Mila, fingers crossed)

P.S. Those photos are for YOUR EYES ONLY!

I
T’S BEEN
hours since I read Kale’s email and I still can’t get it off my mind. Right now, I feel more confused than ever where he’s concerned. If he were actually interested in pursuing something, he would’ve said so. Either way, it’s now out that we both care about each other, and even though I should, I don’t feel bad where Aidan’s concerned. I have no idea why he thought I’d be okay with his hijacking my Facebook. I assume he was trying to send a message, and it irritates the hell out of me. We’ve been seeing each other exclusively but haven’t had the whole relationship talk. Apparently that’s now on the agenda.

As if on cue, my phone rings and I see that it’s him.

“Hey, babe,” he says casually when I answer. “Feeling better?”

I smile at his concern and some of the irritation melts away. “A little bit. I still have a headache but most of the nausea has subsided.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. Can I see you? I’ll bring you something to eat if you feel up to it.”

The words from Kale’s email come back to mind, and even though I’d like to just go back to bed, I know if I’m alone I’ll do nothing but think about him. Having Aidan as a distraction is the perfect solution. I feel guilty the moment the thought comes to mind, but I push it away.

“That’s sweet, Aidan, but you don’t have to. I can’t imagine I’ll be the best company.”

He chuckles, and I know he’s not going to take no for an answer. “Babe, just let me take care of my girlfriend, okay?” he says, confirming it. I can hear the smile in his voice, and part of me feels guilty for stringing him along for the past few months.

When Kale left, I tried to tell myself I was ready for a relationship, but when it came down to it, I kept avoiding it. I tell myself I need to give Aidan a chance, and I let the irritation fade, ready to give in.

“You totally took advantage of me when I was at my weakest,” I tease, deciding to just get used to the fact that I’m now someone’s girlfriend.

“Can you blame me? You’ve been dodging it for weeks, Lucy. I want the whole world to know you’re mine. Everyone should know how lucky I am that you’re my girl.” He says the words playfully, but I don’t miss the undertone of jealousy, and I know exactly who he’s thinking of.

As much as he wants the label, he wants Kale to know even more. I’m not happy he used my social media to pee all over me like I’m his own personal fire hydrant, letting all others know to stay away, but for now, I just let it go and continue to wonder what the hell kind of mess I’ve gotten myself into.

April 2013

“I’
M GOING
to fucking kill him,” Charlie seethes as she does another shot of tequila. “No, better yet, I’m not going to kill him. I’m going to sneak into his bedroom, cut his damn dick off, then let him live. It’ll be a long, slow, boring, sexless, dickless life, and I’ll send him copies of all his favorite porn videos to watch, but then he won’t be able to jack off. It’ll be the sweetest kind of torture for that cock-sucking, janitor-fucking son of a bitch.”