Something About a Hot Guy

I whirled around, bolting after her.

I was right at her said when I grated, “Not even close.”

She squeezed her eyes for a beat, like she didn’t want to look at me or acknowledge me or even hear what I had to say. She just carved an enraged path for the front door.

“You can’t leave like this, Kenna. This is your home, and you’re pissed, and we need to talk this out.”

She flipped her head around, heartbreak roiling in those brown, sincere eyes. “I can leave, Kyle. I can leave because you don’t own me. Oh, you almost did, but you don’t.”

Grief twisted through every line of her stunning face when she said it.

I had the staggering urge to reach out and wipe it away.

Hold all her hurt.

Be responsible for all her smiles.

Make her the fucking happiest woman who ever lived.

I just had to convince her I meant it with all of me first.

She flung the front door open and started out into the hall.

I was right on her heels as she raced down the hallway.

“You’re right, I don’t own you, Kenna. I don’t fucking own you, but you own me.” My confession was grit, scraping like razors as they raked up my throat as I scrambled to stay right behind her.

She stumbled in her haste, her shoulders riding up in surprise, but she kept going.

So did I.

I wasn’t about to give up.

“You own me, Kenna. Do you fucking hear me? This wasn’t some pity bullshit. And yeah, I messed up. Messed up bad. I never should have looked at your computer. There is no excuse.”

She spun around, almost tripping, and shit, I had to stop myself from darting for her to keep her from falling. Wanting to protect her.

Regaining her balance, she took an aggressive step in my direction.

Hurt shook through her voice. “You looked at my personal things. Invaded my privacy. You broke my trust before I even gave it to you. I didn’t give you permission to see those things. And I get it . . . I’m pathetic, right? Hopeless?”

She gestured at herself with both hands, the motion full of disgust.

I started to reject that assertion, to tell her I didn’t see her as pathetic for a second, but she held up a hand.

“At least, that’s the way I’ve felt in the past. But I don’t anymore, Kyle. Yeah, there are things I struggle with that I wished I didn’t have to. I wish I could go to work like everyone else and not have to fear a panic attack, and I wish I could go on a date without stumbling all over myself and making myself a fool, and I wish that you wouldn’t look at me with pity.”

She pressed her hands over her heart, pleading with me to get it. “Like I’m less. Like you’re doing me a favor.”

Grief punched a hole through my chest.

Is that the way she looked at herself? Is that the way she thought I was looking at her?

She sucked in a shattered breath. “But I know what I want, and I know what makes me happy, and I’m working on all the rest. I believe in myself. We’re all a work in progress, and I’ve made a ton of it. And I’m not about to settle for someone who is aiming to make me feel better about myself. Bolster my confidence when I don’t have any.”

Her head shook, and for the first time ever, there wasn’t a tentative bone in her body. The girl bleeding honestly. Not shrinking for a second.

Fuck.

I liked that, too.

“I get it.” Her voice quieted. “You care about me on some level because of Vanessa. Feel obligated to me in some way. You probably really do want me to experience things I’ve never experienced before. But believe me when I tell you I don’t want to experience those things with anyone who doesn’t want me for me. I want the real deal, Kyle. I mean, for a second I thought I’d take you any way that I could have you, but that’s not me, and I don’t want it to be. I’m not going to cheat myself.”

The softest smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, and I eased forward and inch. “You think I feel obligated to you because of my sister? Because I feel sorry for you in some way?”

Uncertainty filled her expression, and disbelieving laughter rippled up my throat, like it was trying to reach out for her, hold her, words tender in their delivery. “You do realize my sister would cut my balls off if she found out I kissed you? Skin me alive if she knew I touched you. Believe me, I’m not doing her a favor.”

Kenna frowned the cutest frown.

I took another step forward, unable to stay away from this girl.