“Wait?” she asks, her voice growing louder. People turn to look at us. “I’m the mother of your child, and you want me to wait?” She points to her chest and looks like I just struck her across the face.
“God, Kelly, can you cut the theatrics? Just give me a minute.” I tip Friday’s face up and kiss her really quickly, and when I raise my head, Kelly is rushing toward the stage where Hayley is standing. She’s not even waiting for me.
“You better go and deal with that,” Friday says.
I heave a sigh. “What do you think that’s about?”
She pinches her lips together so hard that a white line forms around it. “She’s nearly green with envy,” she tells me.
“No, not Kelly,” I protest. Kelly doesn’t get jealous. We’ve both been f**king other people for years and that never even bothered her. But she did have her jealous meltdown at the apartment the other day. Maybe?
Friday points her finger in Kelly’s direction. “She’s jealous. Mark my words.”
“Fuck,” I say.
“Go talk to her and get your props done. I’ll see you at home.” She steps up on tiptoe and kisses me again, and it feels so good that I never want to stop. But at least I have her to look forward to. Now and forever. She leaves hand in hand with Jacob. Henry goes with them.
I can’t find Kelly so I go and start loading the props into the storage room, and my brothers help me. I’m alone in the storage room, bent over picking up a piece of paper when I feel a hand on my back. I immediately hope it’s Friday and that she’s come to find me because she can’t be without me. But when I stand up, Kelly is suddenly in my face. Her lips touch mine. Actually, her lips crush mine, and I grab for her shoulders and push her back.
“What the f**k, Kells?” I say. I push her back again, and she looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “What the f**k was that for?” I really want to wash my mouth out and spit because all my kisses are reserved for Friday now, and I feel like she just f**king spoiled my kisser. “Why did you do that?”
“I think I made a mistake, Paul,” she says. “I know I probably caused this when I agreed to marry my boyfriend and told you about it and it pushed you away, but I ended that tonight.” She wrings her hands in front of me.
“You ended what?”
“The engagement, silly,” she says. She laughs like I should have a chance in hell of knowing what the f**k she’s talking about. “I ended it.”
“Why would you do a stupid thing like that?”
“I saw the way you were looking at me during that song,” she says.
“I wasn’t looking at you.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “You looked me right in the eye. You were singing directly into my heart, and it made me realize what a fool I have been. I can tolerate your brothers. I can. I will.”
“I wasn’t singing to you, Kells,” I say. “I was singing to Friday. All that was for her.”
“No,” she whispers. She points to her chest. “It was for me.”
“No,” I say strongly. “You and I are done. That was all for Friday. I’m sorry you misunderstood.”
She steps back. And this time, she does look like I slapped her. “Why her?” she asks.
I shrug. “Because she’s Friday.” I don’t know more than that.
“But what’s special about her?”
“Everything.”
She glares at me. “Give me a list.”
“I don’t need to give you a list.”
“Give me reasons.”
“Why are you jealous?” I finally ask.
“We were good together,” she says quietly.
“Yeah, we were good until we weren’t. You really should go and catch up with your boyfriend.”
She shakes her head. “That’s over.”
“Good,” I say.
“What do you mean?”
“The whole time you were sleeping with him, you were telling him you love him and then sleeping with me, Kells. He deserves better than that. He should have a woman who loves him so f**king much that she would never think about sleeping with another man. And if she did think about someone else, it better be a f**king fantasy she comes home and lets him play out with her.” I shake my head. I don’t even know how to give voice to my thoughts. “I’m sorry you misunderstood.”
“I was hopeful. I guess I read it wrong.”
“You’re not in love with me. You want what could have been.”
She nods, and her eyes fill with tears. “Just tell me why her.”
“She loves me. She loves my daughter. She loves my family. She loves my business and my work. She loves the hustle and bustle of my life. I can see my life with her fifty years from now. That’s why her. So, don’t kiss me again.” I scowl at her.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“We’re friends, Kells,” I tell her. “But don’t ever hope I’ll fall out of love with her and into bed with you because it’ll never happen. And don’t come between us. You understand?”
She nods. “I get it.”
“Good.” I adjust my shirt for lack of anything better to do. “One day, you’re going to meet the right one. And when you do, you’ll see f**king sparks. You’ll feel it from your head to your toes.”