Page 32 of Dark Cravings

I wondered if Thomas had made his decision yet. He and Shelby might have had a conversation as well and he’d hesitated with her as he had with me. I needed to talk to him and try getting to the bottom of this mess.

Kenley: Hi, Thomas.

Thomas: Hi, Kenley. I’m surprised to hear from you.

Kenley: Yeah, I’m a little surprised too but we need to talk.

Thomas: Okay, what’s up?

Kenley: Have you talked to Shelby?

Thomas: Not since the three of us got together. Why?

Kenley: Because I just had the most confusing conversation with her.

Thomas: What do you mean?

Kenley: I told her that I had made my decision. I told her I was all in. Then she told me she didn’t know what she wanted to do.

Thomas: What the fuck? She’s been pushing for this from the beginning!

Kenley: I know! I thought maybe you two had talked and you hesitated with her like you did with me .

Thomas: I haven’t. I’m sorry, Kenley. I never meant to hurt you. I also haven’t said I don’t want to be in a relationship with you two.

Kenley: Cut the crap, Thomas. The very fact you’re not sure it can work makes it damn well seem like you’re not in it.

Thomas: It means I have a lot to think about, just like you did. Maybe we should try getting ahold of Shelby and see if she’ll talk.

Kenley: We’re not going to convince her if you don’t even know what you want. What the hell would even be the point in that?

Thomas: Shit, you’re right. I’m still not sure I can do this but I am thinking hard about it.

Kenley: You better be because I think we’re both going to lose Shelby if you don’t sort your shit. This can work, Thomas, if you want it to. When you figure it out, you just let me know.

Thomas: I will, Kenley. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re in.

Kenley: Yeah, well let’s just hope it makes a difference. Talk to you later.

He was right about needing to talk to Shelby but what would I even say at this point? Me being all in means nothing without also having Thomas. If he didn’t hurry up it will all have been for nothing. I had no idea where I would go from here. Would I even be happy with someone else at this point? It might have taken me some time to come around but I was falling fast for both of them.

It had been a week since I’d spoken to either one of them. Shelby was flat-out ignoring my texts and I was too annoyed to even bother texting Thomas. I was starting to think it was over before it really ever started. I was beginning to lose hope that we could work this out.

When my phone pinged later in the afternoon, I was surprised to see Thomas’ name. My heart rate jumped and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d come around. I breathed deeply and opened the message.

Thomas: Hey, Kenley.

Kenley: Hey. I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to hear from you again.

Thomas: I’m sorry about that. We have one bouncer on vacation and another out sick, so I’ve been covering extra shifts this week.

Kenley: You must be exhausted.

Thomas: It’s been a long week. So, listen. I think we should talk to Shelby.

Kenley: Does that mean you’ve made your decision?

Thomas: I think we can make this work… if we can pull Shelby back in.

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