“I want you,” he says. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I…” Yes, I wanted him to want me because he likes me too. Not because I’m dressed up like a glam rock god with hair like a target to him. He hated it, but only because it… turned him on?
“You kissed me. I kissed you,” he says. “There’s nothing to be awkward over anymore.”
“Humph.” A high-pitched sound escapes my nose. I tug on the end of my ponytail. My fire engine red pony. My cheeks feel like they’re scalding. If he was trying not to make this more awkward, he failed spectacularly. I’ve never felt so mortified in my life. “This isn’t what I wanted.”
“Lily.” His hand grazes my arm as I jump out of the way. “Don’t be like that.”
Kiki throws her arms around me, having finally caught up. “Are you all right, Lily?”
“Asshole,” I snap at Vale as I bunch my hand into a fist. I want to take my shoe off and slap him upside the head with it. The infuriating nerve. “If you were trying to help me get over you, then it worked. I don’t want you to kiss me. I don’t want anything to do with you at all right now.”
“Good.” He glances away from me. Rubs his thumb over his upper lip. “That’s the smartest thing I think I’ve ever heard you say.”
I shake my head. Tears stinging my eyes, I grab Kiki’s arm. “Let’s just go.”
Chapter Fourteen
Lily
Cap’N Crunch: Sorry. Something came up.
Violet Queen: It’s okay. My night was eventful anyway.
Cap’N Crunch: In a good way I hope.
Violet Queen: I would tell you but then I’d have to kill you for your crunchy oat and corn goodies.
Cap’N Crunch: Wow. Are you okay?
Violet Queen: That guy you thought might like me… he kissed me.
Violet Queen: It was not in a good way. He was a complete jerk.
Violet Queen: I’m still fuming.
Cap’N Crunch: Want to fill in the details? I’m here to listen.
Violet Queen: I don’t know what he was thinking.
Cap’N Crunch: That he liked you?
Violet Queen: Oh no, that definitely wasn’t it.
“Are you doing okay?” Kiki drops down beside me amongst the cushions on the sofa facing the fireplace.
It isn’t on. It’s not that cold. But it’s a nice spot to debrief after tonight’s unfortunate adventure.
“Donut or Fruit Loops?” She holds out a box of the breakfast cereal and the almost empty bakery box from this morning.
“Fruit Loops.” I toss my phone onto another section of the couch. It bounces a couple of times before it disappears between the cushions. She hands me the box, and I open it so I can shove a fistful of colorful loops between my lips.
“Tonight was a clusterfuck, wasn’t it?” She’s cleaned off her makeup and gold glitter and changed out of her outfit into a pair of comfy pajamas and white terry cloth slippers with little embossed daisies that match the polish on her toes. She flips open the lid, picks up the last cruller and nibbles on it.
“That’s one way of putting it.” I snort. “Cap stood me up. And then Vale. How could he do that? How could he kiss me and think that would put everything back the way it was?”
“Guys don’t make much sense,” she says. “Want to ring Lewis and see what he thinks?”
“No. I know he’d say Vale is an asshole. And this time it seems like he’s right.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.” Her brow furrows. “It seems a lot more complicated than that. I have half a mind to believe that boy is fighting himself when it comes to you.”
I press my fingers to my lips. I can still feel him in the slight beard burn on my cheeks and the subtle tingling of my lips. I swear I can still taste him though I’ve showered and brushed my teeth. I’m so clean there’s not a trace of red left in my hair. Cindy Lauper has officially exited the building and left me in my pajamas, confused and replaying the entire night in my head while I ram my face full of Fruit Loops. “How do you figure?”
“He chased you all the way to L.A.” She finishes her donut.
“He didn’t. Callan or Fleetwood sent him. The manager here was bitten by a shark.”
“Really?” She gapes at me. “That’s… wow.”
“Poor guy.” I shove another mouthful of dry cereal in my gob and pray the loud crunching will block out any thoughts of Vale Westerly.
It doesn’t.
“Yeah.” She taps her fingers against her lips. “Still I think he’s here for you.”
“Sure,” I say sarcastically. “He figured he’d fly out to L.A. so he could kiss me.” All right, it was the best freaking kiss of my life, but that isn’t saying much when I don’t have a lot to compare it to. I press my fingers to my lips. “And generally make me feel even more shitty than I have since the last time I saw him. But at least we’d be even.”
“I didn’t say he was dealing with it in a smart way,” she says. “People act stupid all the time. Like Lewis did when I was dating Beau Darling.”
“Yeah.” He’d practically stalked them on their dates. “He loses his mind over baseballers.”
“Doesn’t he?” She rolls her eyes as she settles back on one elbow. “What’s to say you’re not the dill pickle’s version of a baseball legend. He volunteered to come to L.A., right? To fix things with you? That’s what he said, isn’t it?”
I shrug. “He just doesn’t want my brother to kick his ass.”
“What if that’s an excuse?” She steals the cereal box from me and takes a handful of the colorful rings. “What if he kissed you because you’re driving him out of his mind? What if when he said he wanted you, he meant it?”
“He didn’t.” I take the box back. “He wanted to put us on equal footing so we could go back to normal.” Like that’s even possible at this point.
“What if he just fucked it up?” she asks. “Lewis said he thinks he’s commitment phobic. What if he’s just a virgin?”
“A virgin.” I scoff. “That’s the complete opposite of what Vale Westerly is. The guy only has one-night stands. He’s probably drilled and hammered his way through more women than Bob the Builder has construction sites.”
“Exactly,” she says. “He doesn’t do intimacy. You’re his best friend’s sister. You’re the longest relationship with a girl that we know of. What if he doesn’t know how to deal with you?” She makes mini explosion gestures around her head. “What if you blow his mind?”
“Oh stop it.” I throw a cushion at her.
“Think about it,” she insists.
She could have a point, I suppose. He’s here after all. In L.A. He didn’t even come out here for the opening of the new club. Said he preferred to keep the new guys in line back home.
The door chime goes off.
“What the heck?” Kiki sits up and checks the time on her watch. “Who visits at this time of night?”