Page 43 of Chasing Xander
A better friend would’ve put him out of his misery, but Xander wanted a little retribution. Besides, harassing Finn was fun. “I told you. I saw it.”
“How? Better yet, why were you with Celeste?”
“I wasn’t. I was with Kylie. She has Celeste’s phone for the day.”
Finn’s jaw dropped, and his eyes widened even more, making him look like a wild, bug-eyed animal who’d been cornered. “You mean Kylie saw…?”
He nodded. “Yeah, not really happy about that, either. Shit. I only just got a kiss from her, finally, and she’s seen your junk already.” Her unexpected confession shoved its way to the front of his mind, and his already frayed nerves shredded even more. He rubbed his hands over his face and let out a loud snarl.
“Hey, you all right?” Finn’s tone was full of concern. “You know that picture wasn’t intended for her. I’m sorry she saw it. I didn’t mean—”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not the picture.” Unease furled in Xander’s gut. “Kylie’s still proudly toting around her V-card.”
“She told you that?” Finn asked slowly.
“Yeah.” Xander stood and paced, then threw his hands up in frustration. “A fucking virgin! God, why does this shit happen to me?”
“Okay, okay.” Finn held up his hands in a show of surrender. “Take a deep breath and calm down. This isn’t the end of the world.”
Giving him a dirty look, Xander flopped down onto the couch. “Calm down? That’s your advice?” He snorted and shook his head.
“Look”—Finn twisted to face him—“don’t let this get to you.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He narrowed his eyes. “You do remember what happened the last time I got involved with a virgin, don’t you?”
“Oh please.” Finn waved his hand dismissively. “Kylie is not Trisha, and we both know it.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He shrugged.Fuck!Kylie being a virgin was the absolute worst thing he could’ve learned about her. He wanted to go back to ten minutes ago when he was blissfully clueless. Lacing his hands on top of his head, he blew out a heavy breath.
“You like her. Don’t blow this before it ever starts,” Finn said.
He shook his head. How on earth could he keep seeing her now? Every second he was with her, he was consumed with thoughts of kissing her, touching her, getting her into his bed. And every time he got close, he put on the brakes because he was a coward who only knew how to have a physical relationship with a woman, and he wanted much more with Kylie. Maybe it was a sign. He wasn’t one to fuck with the universe, especially when it was trying to tell him something. He’d ignored the signs last time, and they’d been staring him in the face. As a result, he’d hurt someone he cared for. A lot. And he refused to let that happen with Kylie. Now, more than ever, he needed to slow things down.
“At least she told you,” Finn said, interrupting his thoughts.
Xander turned to stare at him. “What?”
“Kylie. She told you. That’s more than Trisha ever did.”
And just like that, he had a bit of clarity again. Finn was right. Kylie had told him about being a virgin, well before they were in a position where it would matter, and that counted for a lot. But it still didn’t calm the storm of fear and doubt swirling inside him. Just because she’d confessed her virginity didn’t mean things still couldn’t turn out the same way they had with Trisha. Without another word, Xander pushed off the couch and went up to his room. He didn’t want to stop seeing her, but he also wasn’t going to get involved in another mess like he had before. And the similarities were too close for his comfort.
Much like Kylie, Trisha had come into his life unexpectedly, a whirlwind of a girl who had intrigued him from the moment he’d met her. He’d thought she was everything he’d wanted—until, like a fool, he’d rushed into things and then destroyed them just as fast. Granted, the destruction of their relationship was mostly because of Trisha’s actions. She’d never told him she was a virgin, and once she started to regret what they’d done, she lied about how things had happened between them, blaming him and trashing his reputation. He needed to take precautions now, before he ended up ruining Kylie’s life like Trisha claimed he’d ruined hers.
“Shit.” He dragged his hand through his hair. Then he remembered he had a date with Kylie tonight. His breakfast threatened to come back up at the thought of canceling on her. That was the very last thing he wanted to do, but he knew himself, he knew how he felt when he was around her, and he couldn’t be alone with her. He was the first one to admit he liked to mess around, have some fun, but never at the expense of anyone’s feelings—especially not Kylie’s.
He raced back downstairs. “Finn, I need a favor.”
“Sure, anything.”
“I need you and Celeste to double with me and Kylie tonight.”
“Really?”
Xander nodded. His plan was stupid, and he was pretty sure Kylie would be pissed at him, but a double date was better than canceling completely.
“Sorry, man. Can’t. I’ve got that future leaders meeting tonight, remember?”
“Shit. Yeah, okay.” Defeated, he pulled out his cell phone. “Can you give me Celeste’s number?” He dialed as Finn gave it to him, hoping Kylie still had the phone in her possession. While he waited for her to answer, he racked his brain for another option, something he could do with her that would involve a lot of people with no chance of alone time. He came up blank.
