Page 169 of Bonding with the Beta

I grin back at her. She places her hands on her hips with an annoyed expression. “Go,” I encourage her. “You’ve got this.”

She makes a strangled noise in the back of her throat. “Fine.”

I stalk her every move as she walks across the room, slipping between the sea of people to reach Nathan. I hold my breath and hiccup when she actually says hello, and he smiles back at her, creating conversation.

I beam at the sight before removing myself from the sweaty living room and heading out to the front of the house for some peace, quiet, and fresh air. It’s empty when I reach the porch.

“Kayleigh.” I twist to find Jessica approaching me.

My stomach clenches at the sight of her.

“What do you want?”

Jessica sighs and swipes her hair from her face. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about everything and the way we treated you after you and Josh broke up.”

“Mm.” I tilt my head. “Funny you only want to apologise when the truth comes out. You all saw how he treated me, and you still took his side when you knew he was a narcissist.”

Jessica’s eyes lower, guilt evident on her face. “Yeah.” She frowns to herself. “I guess that’s true, and we were wrong. I’m sorry about everything.”

“It’s fine,” I murmur. “I’ve had my closure.”

“Right, well…have a good night.”

I don’t bother saying anything in return when she walks away. I take a breath and perch on the top step of the porch.

My phone is clamped between my hands, and the tightness in my chest increases. I want to call him. I want to call him all the time. But I keep telling myself that these moments are for myself until I miss him so hard I can’t breathe.

Before I know what I’m doing, the phone is dialling, and I’m calling him.

Just to hear his voice. One time.

“Kayleigh?”

I almost fall off the step at the raspiness in his tone.

“Sorry,” I mumble. “It’s late.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I admit. “I’m good, really good, actually.”

Kayden clears his throat. “I’m glad.”

“It’s good to hear your voice,” I blurt before biting down on my bottom lip.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Yours too, blondie,” he exhales, and a chill rushes over me at the nickname. “Where are you?”

I glance back as a couple walk through the front door with their arms around each other at the same time an Uber pulls up on the street. “At a party,” I say. “I’m having such a good night. It’s the first time in a while I actually shut off my mind and had a nice time.”

“You’re at a party, and you’re calling me?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I laugh before I hiccup.

“Are you drunk?”

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