Page 6 of Kiss Me Kate

How in the world is Calvin marrying before me?

“I realize this is sudden, but Annie captured my heart before I even realized it. She’s amazing—the best thing that has ever come into my life,” Calvin exclaims with genuine adoration while he scrolls through his phone, pausing on a picture of a red-haired girl with freckles who looks uncomfortably familiar.

My jaw drops in astonishment as I stare at the person standing in front of me. "Is that my cousin Anne?" I manage to stammer out, unable to believe what I am seeing.

As Calvin continues to stare at the photo of Anne, a sinking feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. While his goofyexpression reflects nothing but love, my gut tells me he might be biting off more than he can chew. I’ll have to tread carefully with my next words.

“Do you have any idea how much Cyrus loves his little sister? Probably as much as he dislikes you. He needs no reason to do you bodily harm and he won’t be thrilled living with the knowledge that you’re sleeping with his sister,” I say, wishing Calvin wasn’t such a clueless jackass. He isn’t going to listen to a word I say.

Calvin gives a single nod, confirming my worst fears. "You're overreacting. Cyrus already knows about us. Annie introduced me to her parents at their Sunday dinner two weeks ago, and I even asked her father for her hand in marriage. Cyrus may not be thrilled, but Annie can handle him. You need to stop imagining the worst and just be happy for me." Calvin leans back in the chair across from me and takes a swig of whiskey, finishing off the small glass in one loud gulp.

“Remind me again—how old is Anne? She can’t be more than twenty-one now.” I gaze into Calvin' shifty eyes and can't help but wonder if my longtime friend is about to disappoint me.

Calvin leans in close, his whiskey-scented breath only inches away. "Hear me out," he whispers, the words slow and thick like molasses. His eyes dart left and right, never settling on my face. He licks his lips nervously, one hand fidgeting with the zipper of his jacket. I feel my stomach tighten, my palms growing clammy as I brace myself for whatever he's about to say. “She’s nineteen.”

I nearly choke on my beer as I try to comprehend how I ended up being friends with such a lowlife. "Nineteen? Seriously?" I cough out. “I wasn’t good enough for your sister but you’re marrying my teenage cousin!”

“I’m twenty-six. That’s only seven years, jackass. And for your information, she’s mature for her age. She’s got a goodhead on her shoulders and frankly, behaves more like an adult than me,” Calvin responds, trying to justify his actions but only revealing his own immaturity. This explains why he would connect with someone so much younger than him. “Don’t forget Katie was eighteen when you hooked up with her.”

My frustration flares up at the mention of Calvin’s baby sister—my greatest regret. Three years have passed, and I’m still angry at myself and the fool standing in front of me for guilting me into letting her go. Kate Benson should be here with me instead of gallivanting all over Austin, likely enjoying life with a hipster gigolo who drinks kale smoothies and will never love her as much as me. I’m the world’s biggest fool for letting that little girl slip through my fingers. I should have swallowed my pride and followed her there. She said she’d stay and I should have let her. There is more than one way to chase your dreams.

Once I manage to rein in my racing thoughts, I reply to his unfair comparison. “Kate and I didn’t hook up. We were in love, dumbass. She was eighteen when I was twenty-one, and thanks to your bullshit meddling, it imploded before we had the chance to truly get it off the ground. Why the hell did I let you get into my head.”

Incapable of sympathy, Calvin scoffs and rolls his eyes. “One of these days, you’ll need to stop blaming me for trying to protect my little sister, and be a man. You've had years to crawl to Austin and marry her. I did my part by telling you the truth about her plans. After that, the ball was squarely in your court.”

My anger rises and my hands clench into fists. “I fumbled that ball and there are no replays. She was so excited to tell me about staying behind and starting her life with me and instead of thanking her, I questioned her motives. There are no secondchances for guys like me. We don’t deserve them,” I blurt out through gritted teeth.

“Kate is better off where she is now—far away from here and me.” The sound of my panicked heart echoes in my ears as each bitter word slips from my tight throat. In truth, that’s how I should feel, but I don’t mean a word I say. Kate is mine and one day I’ll find the courage to do what I should have done three years ago. I’ll march up to that girl, take her in my arms and kiss her until I make her fall back in love with me.

“You’re way too hard on yourself, Silas. I know I got in your head and made you feel like you weren’t good enough for my sister. It’s a big brother thing. You don’t understand because you don’t have sisters. My sister was crazy about you, and I was afraid she’d be dumb enough to let you knock her up and keep her in the tiny town forever. She wanted a different life in the big city.” Silas casually raises his hand to call the server and orders another whiskey. He’s not the only one who needs a drink. His words are like a punch in the gut, but deep down I know that Kate deserves better than what I could ever give her.

I lift the mug of beer to my lips and shrug, pondering his words as I try to drink away my sorrows. Maybe I wouldn’t have held Kate back from pursuing her dreams, but perhaps I would have been a burden that slowed her down. “Your sister was a one-in-a-million catch and I destroyed my chance with her—one I never deserved in the first place,” I murmur, my voice riddled with remorse. “Maybe in another life.”

Calvin smirks, clearly finding entertainment in my pain. "Don't worry, buddy. If everything goes according to plan, you'll see her soon”.

Chapter 7

Kate

Austin

“Kate? Are you still here?” My friend, Suzette, waves her hand in front of my face, trying to snap me out of my dazed state and bring me back to reality. “Where did you go?”

I shake my head and grip my phone tightly as I struggle to remember the exact words my brother said. He had to be joking. There's no way he convinced some poor girl to spend the rest of her life with him. How desperate could she be?

"Calvin's getting married," I say, placing my phone in my purse and turning to Suzette, who looks like her jaw is about to hit the table.

“Oh, my goodness, I think hell must have frozen over. Who could he possibly have convinced to marry him?” Suzette asks sarcastically, her eyes widening in shock as she stirs her cup of coffee. Once upon a time, she had a crush on my brother, but that was before his lack of manners sent her running in the opposite direction. “Either he's changed for the better or he’sfound someone foolish enough to fall for his charm— not that he has much of it.”

“Do you know Annie Gentry? She must be related to Cyrus and Darlene, since she's from Jackson Hill. Calvin didn’t say which family she’s from, but he’s always been tight-lipped when he knows he’s done something wrong,” I say, still trying to make sense of my brother dropping this news on me out of nowhere.

Whoever she is, he couldn’t have known her for very long. I spoke to him last month and he didn’t mention anything about having a girlfriend—not a word.

“Anne Gentry? She’s Cyrus and Darlene’s baby sister. My cousin used to babysit her before she married that roughneck and moved to Stockton. Anne can’t be older than nineteen. Of course, Calvin would pick someone who is young and naive.” Suzette huffs and rolls her eyes. She takes a small bite of her cookie, her lips pursed as if she wants to say more but decides against it for my sake. Frankly, there’s nothing she could say that I haven’t heard before. It’s my lot in life to be related to the town’s troublemaker.

“Nineteen? My brother’s twenty-six years old. Is it me or does that sound unsavory?” I scratch my head, pressing my palm to my temple as I struggle to alleviate the pain in my throbbing head.

Suzette fails to answer, emptying her teacup to prevent her from stating the obvious.

---