Page 28 of Tangled

“I guess a little of both. I mean, the thing with Trevor sure has rattled me. I never thought I’d be that woman who was cheated on, which I think hurts my ego more than anything. But when I was with Kane the other night, we had more than just a physical connection. I think if the alcohol hadn’t been involved, we probably would have gotten to know each other a bit more. At least, I wanted to.”

It’s the first time I’ve resigned myself to the fact that seeing him again made me even more curious about him. I know he was in the Army, and now I know he’s a teacher too. But there is definitely more to him, the pain in his eyes I saw clearly telling me there’s a story there.

He’s sexy and charming—when he’s not acting like an ass—and the man definitely has moves on and off of the dance floor. I just wish the circumstances in which we met were different now, my mind reeling with the possibilities.

“Okay. So don’t smack me until I’ve finished,” Clara says, scooting forward on her couch cushion. “But it’s clear to me that you felt more than just sex. And maybe the reason Kane is acting this way is because he felt the same way too. What if you actually tried to get to know him?”

I shake my head at her before shooting her down. “I seriously doubt it. You should have seen the way he looked at me. Plus, we’re co-workers now. It could get even messier than it already is.”

“Men act like assholes when they like you, right?” Amy asks, her lack of experience in dating makes her question things in our love lives quite a bit.

“Yeah, in elementary school maybe,” Perry replies with a roll of her eyes. “Sometimes, yes that’s the case. But most of the time, men are just dicks to be dicks.”

“True. But I saw the way he was looking at her Perry,” Clara speaks up, defending her position. “Sure, there was lust there. Hell, he probably would have mounted her right then and there if we hadn’t returned from the bathroom. But there was something else there too.”

“Okay, before we all start sharing theories on whether Kane actually liked me more than for sex, can we focus back on the problem, please? I have to work with him. How do I make this less awkward?”

“Well, I really see that there are only two options here,” Clara provides. “One, you try to be his friend, move past the uncomfortableness and tension. Or, you channel that sexual tension and have sex with him again.”

Perry shakes her head, Amy laughs, and I stand, throwing my hands up in defeat.

“You guys are useless. I need new friends,” I say while making my way back to the kitchen, taking the stuff out of the fridge for the pork tacos I made in my crock-pot.

“Hey, we’re the best friends you could want, Liv,” the three of them follow me, Clara pulling me into her for a side hug.

“I know. I just hate this. My entire life has been turned upside down, and the one spontaneous thing I do to let go and try to move forward comes back and bites me in the ass.”

“Did he bite your ass? Oh, that’s hot,” she says, which makes me question how this woman can be taken so seriously in her job. She must put on one hell of filter when she’s wheeling and dealing.

“No, he didn’t bite my ass. But, there may have been a spank or two,” I say with a glance over my shoulder and a Cheshire grin while I dig through the fridge.

“Lord almighty,” Clara fans herself while Perry giggles and Amy’s jaw is dropped.

We feast on tacos and a few more margaritas before they all call it a night, early wake-up calls for all of us pending in the morning.

While snuggling into my bed that night, I think about what my friends said. Clearly, I’m not separating my feelings about the one-night-stand as well as I thought I could. But the question is: is that because I felt more with Kane? Or am I just an emotional mess right now about everything in my life?

Succumbing to sleep, I remind myself that I don’t need to have answers right now. I just need to focus on my job, myself, and try to avoid getting involved with any of my other co-workers. Maybe I should just ask any man I meet at this point whether we work together before I pursue a conversation so there are no more surprises thrown my way.

Chapter 14

Kane

It’s Friday and my guilt has been eating away at me for the way I treated Olivia the other day. Well, it’s more like Drew laying on the guilt, but I guess it’s finally hit me. To make matters worse, Drew told his wife Tammy about our situation (why must married couples tell each other everything), so she’s been on my case too.

When I was in the drive-thru for Starbucks this morning—my Friday morning treat—I decided that maybe a peace offering was necessary. Contrary to how surprising it was to see her here as my colleague, it’s not her fault that things between us played out this way. In fact, I can’t help but smile at the fact that I ended up seeing her again. I sure as hell know that once I left her place Friday night, I wished there would be a repeat. But now that she’s working with me, I know I can’t continue to punish her for the surprising twist to our encounter.

I pull into the parking lot, shutting off the engine and grabbing my stuff, including the two venti coffees I purchased, hoping to deliver the sustenance before class starts. If she’s a creature of habit like I am, I know she’ll be in her classroom early like she was that first day.

I stop by my room to drop off my lunch box and finish setting up my plans, then grab the coffee and head for her room. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t feel nervous for what I’m about to walk in to. Given our few interactions since Monday, I’m going to say she’s not a huge fan of mine right now, and I can’t really blame her. I was an ass, even though the woman gave it back to me. And I’m not going to lie and say that that side of her isn’t hot as hell, because it is. It’s the side I got in the bar that night—full of sass and fire, not afraid to speak her mind and stand up for herself.

So now I hate the fact that I can’t stop wondering what other sides there are to her—the sides that aren’t full of pissed off energy directed at me. The woman I caught a glimpse of Friday night has held more of my mental attention than I care to admit over the past week, and the fact that I want to know more about her makes an uneasy feeling settle in my stomach.

I don’t let myself care about women. I know, I know… that makes me sound like even more of an ass. But after what Natasha did to me, I couldn’t let myself care. I promised myself I would never let someone have that hold on me again. I gave her everything. I loved her and wanted to spend my life with her, and she threw me away.

But then here comes Olivia in my life, the bold and beautiful redhead that mesmerized me and made me think with my dick for a night, and suddenly I can’t stop thinking about her. It scares the shit out of me. And especially since we work together, I know I can’t just shut her out. I can’t act like the dick I usually am. She doesn’t deserve that because it’s not her fault that we’re in this mess.

Hence, the peace offering. I don’t know of any mishap that can’t be smoothed over by a surprise Starbucks coffee.

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