With that, they all set out to finish the couples hike.
Chapter Six
Carrie stared straight ahead in a daze.
I can’t believe I came…
Honest to goodness, actually had an orgasm.
And Blake had given it to her.
Did he know? She didn’t think he did. She didn’t know what to fake, though. To fake it for Kevin, or to continue the ruse and fake it for Blake, because if he knew she’d actually climaxed, what did that mean for them?
Was this real?
No, the pleasure was real, but they were in a fake relationship. So she’d keep that secret to herself for now and hope that Blake didn’t know.
Blake was chatting with the guide. When he found out Blake did a similar job in Colorado, the guy started talking his ear off.
“I think that’s the first time we’ve gone on a hike together,” Kevin said, coming up beside Carrie. They’d just finished the couples hike and were heading toward the resort.
She stopped and looked at him. She really wanted to point out that they would have hiked together if he had married her and they were on their honeymoon right now, but whatever.
Instead, she stuck to her plan of maintaining a strong front and getting the power back. Kevin wouldn’t break her.
“Well, walking through downtown Denver to the gallery kind of counts as a hike,” she joked.
“Yeah, well, we can still have those walks,” he said.
She frowned. “What?”
He shrugged, clearly losing his high. Oh yeah, he was high all the time. Marijuana was legal in Colorado, and Kevin took full advantage, saying he needed it for creativity. Or just to be a stoner. Not her problem anymore. But he never went long without it and had a knack for finding it anywhere.
“You run the gallery,” he said, like she didn’t know her own job title. “I have paintings there, so we’ll still see each other.”
Carrie hadn’t thought too far into that. Everything had happened so fast she hadn’t figured her professional life into the equation. That was intertwined with Kevin, too. He had his paintings up at a few galleries, including the one she ran. But surely now that they were broken up, they wouldn’t work together.
“I don’t think I’ll see much of you,” she said.
“Oh sure you will!” He gave her a half hug, and she wanted to cringe. “We live in the same city, and you love your job. I’m always going to post there. It’s a good gallery. We’ll always have a connection, Care Bear.”
It was starting to hit her how blind she’d been. Kevin really didn’t get it. Or didn’t care. Just did what he wanted, when he wanted. He’d proposed over a year ago, probably because he’d “felt right in the moment,” then left her because “it didn’t feel right.” It didn’t matter how she’d felt. Everything was always about him. His life. His vibe.
She shook her head and stepped back. The sand sank against her feet as if to remind her where she was. On a beach in Hawaii, with her ex-fiancé, talking about their future of working together.
What was she going to do when she got back to Denver? Keep her job and pretend for the rest of her life that Kevin hadn’t hurt her? Work with him? Keep up the fake of everything?
Blake walked up to her. “Everything okay?”
Carrie nodded.
“I was just going to invite you two out for dinner,” Kevin said.
“Oh that sounds…”
Terrible.
“Come on, Care Bear, we’re friends now, right?” Kevin pushed. “Co-workers at least. You can’t handle dinner?”