Page 26 of Blindsided By Fake Love

Mike:

Go get ’er, Tiger.

Chuckling at his response, I send one last text before putting down my phone.

Beau:

That’s my plan.

Leaving a trail of clothes in my wake I’m sure my mother would chastise me for if I still lived at home, I head down the hall to the bathroom. Usually, I’m not this messy, but then again, it’s not every day I get to take Kit Garrett out on a date.

I hop in the shower without a second thought about the mess I’m gonna have to clean up.

Thetwominutesittakes me to get to Kit’s house has done nothing but exacerbate my churning stomach.

Wiping my hands on my pants, I get out of the car and take a slow, deep breath. Running my hands along my collar and down my shirt, I glance up as I hear a door close. When my eyes land on Kit standing on the porch, I stop dead in my tracks.

Her long auburn hair is hanging in curls, framing her face and resting on her shoulders. She’s wearing a simple light blue dress with fitted long sleeves that has her skin glowing. I let my gaze slowly trail the length of her before returning to her face. My heart quivers at the gleam in her eyes.

I wipe my hands down my pants again before heading up the stairs.

“You look incredible,” I lean in, kissing her cheek gently. If I moved an inch, I’d be touching her lips, but the name of the game here is patience. One thing I usually do not have. Pulling back, I let my eyes take in her face.

“Thank you.” She smiles. Her eyes lower to my shoulders and linger on my chest before she brings her gaze back to mine. Her cheeks color, and my smile brightens. “You look good, too.”

I quirk an eyebrow and smirk. “Is that a compliment, Garrett?”

“Don’t make me regret it, Matthews.” She giggles as she walks past me down the stairs. “Where are we going?”

Rushing to the car, I reach out for the door handle before she can. When she turns to me with a raised brow, my brow pulls in confusion. Her giggles wash over me and send quivers down my spine.

“I asked: Where are we going?”

“Oh,” I huff a laugh. “Sorry, I was a bit distracted.” I hold the door open for her and hold her gaze. The sweet scent of honeysuckle teases my senses, and I swallow hard. She slips into the passenger side seat, and I find my voice. “The Glowing Fork.” Closing the door, I walk over to the driver’s side.

“I love that place,” she beams as I start the engine.

“I know.” I shift into drive. “That’s where I wanted to take you when I asked you out the first time. It’s just a few years later than I had planned.”

She turns away and fiddles with her bag. I also notice her chewing her bottom lip. I turn my eyes forward and pull away from the house.

“Beau?” Her voice is hesitant. “Why didn’t you tell me about Luna that night?”

My stomach drops, and I swallow to get rid of the cotton filling my mouth. The weight of her eyes on me as she waits for my response. I grip the steering wheel a few times before answering.

“I never intended to say anything about how I felt that night. But then we started talking, and I did.” Kit doesn’t say anything, and the only thing I hear is the sound of my heart pounding. “When you said you felt the same, everything else stopped mattering. It wasn’t until I went to kiss you that I remembered about Luna.”

“Which would’ve been the perfect time to tell me.” At the hardness in her voice, my stomach clenches. I glance at her only to find a soft expression and a teasing glint in her eyes. The knot in my stomach eases.

“Yes it would’ve. I see that now. But…” I bite the inside of my cheek, thinking about the reasoning of my eighteen-year-old self versus how I would handle it today. He was such a child. “You intimidated the heck out of me, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. Not to mention, I didn’t want to take the chance that you would get mad at me and think I was trying to play you. In layman's terms, I panicked.”

She lets out a small chuckle and runs her fingers through her hair. My fingers itch to be the ones running through the silky waves.

“Besides, with how much I believed you hated me and how much I knew you didn’t like Luna, it just seemed like the best option at the time.”

---