Page 75 of Tangled

“Oh, come on, Liv. Don’t act like you’re not completely smitten. I would be too if a fine piece of man meat like that was bringing me to orgasm every night.” Clara rolls her eyes.

“Dear Lord,” I lower my head in my hands while Kane’s deep laugh rumbles beside me, his arms pulling me into him while we’re both perched on our stools.

“Don’t be embarrassed, babe. She is right, you know.”

“Kane! Don’t encourage her! If you accept her vulgar mouth, she’ll never shut up and will keep pushing her limits with you.”

Kane casts a gaze at Clara, and then focuses back on me. “There’s nothing wrong with a woman who can speak honestly about sex. And hey, it’s nice to know you’re smitten with me… because I’m smitten with you too,” he nuzzles his nose with mine as my friends collectively sigh beside me and my smile spreads wide across my face.

“Oh, my God, you guys are too cute!” Perry croons.

“That’s it. I’m starting a fight with my husband when I get home so he knows he should act like that with me,” Amy snarks.

“Hey, don’t be jealous ladies,” Clara argues. “Be happy for our friend. But Kane, if you have any single friends who know how to woo a lady such as yourself, you can send them my way,” she winks just as the cocktail waitress comes over and takes our drink order.

“So ladies, what are the down and dirty stories I should know about Liv here?” Kane drills my friends. It’s his turn for my elbow in his ribs, which makes everyone at our table laugh besides me.

“This is not going to turn into a gang up on Olivia night, or I’m leaving.”

“Oh, come on, babe. From what you’ve told me, these women know you better than anyone.”

“Exactly, and if they wish to remain those women, they will keep their lips zipped,” I shoot a warning look at all three of my friends.

“Don’t worry. We’ll just wait until you’re in the bathroom to divulge all of your secrets,” Clara waves me off, which entices a laugh from Kane, Amy, and Perry.

The five of us continue to talk, my friends sharing stories of their kids and husbands, and tales of our teenage years I deem acceptable.

“So Olivia thought a perm was a good idea…” Clara continues with her third story of the night.

“In my defense, it was the nineties and perms were all the rage.”

“Uh, I think that was the eighties, babe,” Kane pesters while whispering in my ear.

“Well, then I was born in the wrong decade.”

“Anyway,” Clara speaks, cutting off my protest. “She left the chemicals on too long and ended up looking like a cross between weird Al and Carrot Top,” she snorts as Perry and Amy fall back in laughter as well.

“Curly hair was in and I was desperate to have it. I admit, it wasn’t the best look on me, but I learned my lesson, okay,” I drop my head in embarrassment as Kane pulls my face to his.

“Don’t be embarrassed, babe. We’ve all been there. Hell, I had bleached tips back in high school.”

My eyes go wide with his confession, struggling to imagine Kane with bleach blonde hair on any part of his head given his jet black, dark and mysterious thing he has going on right now that makes my panties wet for him ‘round the clock.

“Oh, God, no you didn’t!”

He nods in confirmation. “Yup, and I thought I was the shit. Justin Timberlake and all the boy band members were doing it, so I thought I could too. Looking back on the pictures now, I wonder what the hell I was thinking. But hey, we were young and stupid, right?”

“Awww, it’s like you two were bad hair soulmates,” Clara bats her eyelashes at us.

“See, meant to be,” Kane kisses my cheek before excusing himself to the bathroom.

“So what are the plans for Thanksgiving?” Perry asks once Kane walked away and we’re knee-deep in our second round of drinks. He’s currently leaning against the bar talking to Tony, who Kane told me is a close friend.

“Kane is coming over to my house. He wants to meet my family,” I smile, watching him intently while he’s focused on Tony and their conversation.

“Oh, girl, you’ve got it bad,” Perry shakes her head at me, grinning like a fool over the rim of her glass.

“Seriously, Liv. It’s written all over your face,” Amy adds.

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