But this was different.
I wasn’t supposed to want Kandy. I wasn’t supposed to touch her or tell her to only use her lips on me, no matter how tempting they were and no matter how angry it made me that she’d used them on someone else. I wanted to rip a motherfucker in half when I found out she’d been touched and used, but how could I? She wasn’t mine—could never be mine—and I knew that.
The woman I was supposed to be with was sitting right across from me, begging me to give her this one thing. After treating her like shit, forgetting dates and always cancelling on her at the last minute, this was the least I could do. Seriously, it was. I owed Kelly more than she received. A part of me wanted to please her, even if I didn’t take whatever this was too seriously. She was good to me.
Mindy was dying to have Kelly go.
My friends mattered to me.
Kandy mattered to me too, but her crush, I hoped, would pass one day soon. I hoped she would forget about what had happened in my den and in her parents’ living room.
I was going to have to make it clear that I was a fucking fool, and that I was never going to let it happen again. She was a young girl. She had plenty of time to find someone else and get over me.
I needed a companion, someone who understood me, no matter how much I knew I didn’t deserve her. I knew who that companion was, so I grabbed Kelly’s hand and said, “I’ll consider it.”
18
KANDY
When Dad told me we were taking a private jet to Florida, I thought I was going to die of excitement. He’d said the jet was Cane’s, and that Cane was more than happy to give us a ride down there with him instead of letting us drive for five and a half long hours.
Dad put up a small fuss, saying he didn’t want us to get in the way of his flight, but both Mom and I told him to shut it and be grateful. His best friend was rich enough to give us a ride on a private, fully accommodated jet. Who in their right mind would turn that down? Dad would, because he hated feeling like he was in the way or being a bother.
Since Clay had summer camp for his college, and Frankie wouldn’t be going to UNC for another two months, she’d decided to tag along with me for the trip.
Mom and Dad were fine with her joining us. They didn’t want me to be bored, being the only teenager in the house and all. They kept saying I’d be surrounded by adults and “adult talk,” like I was still a child or something.
In my opinion, eighteen was old enough to be taken seriously enough for most people, but apparently not my parents. They were afraid to even argue around me, and don’t get me started on the swearing.
Dad treated me like a delicate little flower that always needed to be showered with love and affection, and Mom was close to being the same way, though she knew when to give me space.
I had been waiting for this trip to Destin for quite some time now. I knew my parents would spend a lot of time together and even go out, and Cane would be at the beach house by himself. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know him a little better.
We pulled up to the private runway in Dad’s truck, Frankie bouncing beside me and trying to hold back a squeal.
“I can’t believe this!” She slid closer to the window, staring ahead as we got closer to the jet. It was white, and on the side of it, printed in red, was the word Tempt. Yep, that was definitely Cane’s.
I looked around for him but didn’t see any cars. Just a man with a pilot’s hat and suit on, and another wearing an orange vest with a gas pump in his hand.
“You guys are lucky to have a friend so rich. Seriously. Who can say their best friend has given them a ride on a private jet to go on vacation? The best thing my best friend ever did was give me a big pink teddy bear named Pinx.”
I gave Frankie a nudge to the rib with my elbow as Mom and Dad laughed up front. “You are such a dork,” I laughed.
Frankie smirked. “But you love me.”
Dad parked the car not too far away from the jet and let out a hard sigh. “Well, we’re here.”
I grabbed the door handle. “Come on, let me out. I want to see that thing up close.”
“Okay, but don’t get too close. Looks like they’re still handling some important stuff.” Dad hit the button to unlock the doors and both Frankie and I burst out like prisoners who’d been freed from prison, rushing around the SUV to get a better look.