Page 124 of Slay Ride

“Come in,” Kindra calls from inside, and I open the door.

She’s seated on her bed, a brown brush in her hand as she combs through her curls. As I enter, she pulls her long, dark hair into a ponytail, then pats the mattress beside her. The gesture is familiar enough, but I’m not accustomed to seeing her eyes so puffy. Kindra isn’t usually a crier.

“Ezra said you wanted to see me,” I say. “I guess you have some questions.”

Kindra pulls her legs up so that she’s sitting tailor fashion, but she doesn’t respond. She just looks at her nails and picks at the skin around her thumb.

I sit beside her and try to think of where to begin. But how can I do that when I don’t even know where this started?

Kindra clears her throat. “The night . . . at the cabin . . .”

“It just happened.”

“Did he force you?” Kindra finally looks at me, and her eyes are filled with tears. “If he did, I’ll never . . . I’ll kill him, Cat.”

“Oh god, no!” I pull her against me, and she weeps on my shoulder. “Kindra, I know it’s hard to believe, but everything that’s happened between us has been completely consensual.”

She sits back and plucks a wad of tissue from the rumpled covers. After blowing her nose, she shakes her head. “It’s not that hard to believe. Any woman with functional eyes can see he’s attractive, but why did you feel you couldn’t talk to me about this?” She blows her nose again. “You’re my best friend, but I don’t feel like I’m yours anymore.”

“I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d be disappointed in me. I’ve admired you for so long, and I couldn’t bear the thought of you thinking less of me.”

“Did you ever stop to think that I admire you too?”

My mouth opens and closes, but I don’t know how to respond to that. I can only come up with questions. “Why would youadmire me? The girl who can’t do anything well. The girl who was bullied in school. The girl?—”

“The girl who makes everyone smile, even when they don’t want to. The girl who befriended the unwilling serial killer. The girl who is so beautiful and intelligent and too humble to see it for herself.” Kindra shakes her head. “Cat, you are everything I’m not. There are parts of you that I admire to the point of jealousy. Who you choose to fuck has no bearing on any of that. I still admire you. I’m still your best friend.”

“So you aren’t upset that I’m sleeping with Bennett?”

She sighs and flops back on the bed. “I’m more upset that you didn’t feel you could tell me.”

“No offense, but you’re kind of a judgmental bitch.”

“Fair.”

“But I wouldn’t want you any other way, either.” I lie on my side beside her. “Will we be okay?”

Kindra nods. “I still need some time to wrap my head around this, and Bennett is in for a fucking lecture, but yes, we’ll be okay.” She grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “If he hurts you, though . . .”

“The funny thing is, I don’t think he will. The Bennett we know is the real Bennett, but there’s another side to him. He can be kind, caring. Hell, he’s even been vulnerable.”

“Does he make you happy?”

I roll onto my back and look up at the ceiling. “Yeah, he does.”

“Does this mean we have to stop picking on him?”

I bite my bottom lip and laugh. “Absolutely not.”

Kindra laughs too, and the tension melts away.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Kindra says as she rolls to her side. “One day, we’ll be sisters.”

“Hang on. We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. I mean, we’ve only been fucking for a few days.”

“That’s a few days more than Bennett fucks anyone, so I’d say it’s a done deal.”

We both giggle at that.

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