Page 68 of Honey Undone
I ignored her jab completely, wrapping my arms around my girl and peppering her skin with kisses until she begged me to stop in a fit of breathless giggles.
“I had practice and I’m two minutes late,” I said to Kaia, setting Adeline back on the ground. “How are you feeling?” I asked her.
“Better,” she said, keeping her hand knotted into the back of my shirt.
“Alright what’s this big surprise?” I asked as another car whipped into the parking lot.
Adeline’s body went rigid and I followed her gaze to the slamming door as Kaia pushed off the car to meet the guy stomping across the asphalt toward us.
“That’s Christian,” she sighed, pressing her face into my shoulder, meeting my gaze. “Kaia’s boyfriend.”
I wanted to ask her why we didn’t like the guy because it was written all over her face that we didn’t but he was in ear shot and I wasn’t going to tempt starting an argument with a guy I’d never met before over my girlfriends silent disdain.
“Jensen,” I introduced myself, holding out my hand to him. He was tall, with a wiry frame and dark hair, his lip pulled to the left in annoyance as his beady brown eyes flickered down to my hand.
“Chris,” he grunted in return but didn’t shake my hand, leaving me hanging awkwardly. “Is this the latest conquest Kaia won’t stop talking about?” He asked Adeline, and talked about me like I wasn’t standing in front of him.
“Stop,” Kaia scoffed, “I wasn’t talking about him last night while my mouth—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Christian said, cutting her off as his hand wrapped around her throat and roughly kissed her to keep her quiet.
I could feel how uncomfortable Adeline was by the way her body pressed tightly into mine and she completely avoided the weird display of affection between the two of them.
“We’re going to a pop-up at the Hollow,” Kaia said, “Adeline’s oldest brother has a band and they’re playing their first live gig tonight.”
“You have a brother?” I looked down at her and she sighed.
“She hastwobrothers,” Kaia laughed maniacally. “There’s yoursurprise.”
“Consider me shocked,” I said quietly and dug my fingers playfully into her side to draw a smile out of her. “You were just going to throw me into the deep end tonight with your brothers?”
“Oh, baby,” Adeline scrunched her nose up at me, “they’re not the deep end.”
“Zane and Taylor are easy…” Kaia interjected, “it’s the Hollow that should scare you.”
“The pub downtown?” I looked at her confused.
Kaia didn’t answer, a smile spreading across her face. Suddenly my relaxed state was on high alert. Even though I was sure that I had passed the best friend test long ago, Kaia being the main instigator between our relationship it was clear that tonight had been created to test me.
She wanted to see how far she could push me before I broke.
But the joke was on her, there was nothing in the world that could trip me up. I wasn’t going to mess up what I had. Not for anything. It was also very obvious that Kaia’s boyfriend was another test, I just couldn’t quite figure out what one. Was I supposed to get along with him, or did I follow Adeline’s hushed body language and keep my guard up?
We all piled into Kaia’s car, Adeline forcing me to sit in the back with Christian. The second she hit the gas I knew we were in trouble. Kaia backed out of the parking lot with one hand on the wheel and the other on Adeline’s seat.
She was going at least twenty over the speed limit as she pulled the car into a quick one-handed drift around the corner on a red light, her right hand never leaving its relaxed position behind Adeline’s head. She slid in and out of traffic causing Christian to grumble something from beside me. Adeline was flipping through music completely unconcerned with the friend's lack of safety as she ripped through the streets of Harbor.
“Let me guess, theFast and Furiousobsession extends to you?” I said between the hiccupped radio channels.
“You afraid of a little speed, fuckboy?” Kaia laughed, and I swear the car moved faster.
“I didn’t say that,” I said, leaning forward to snake my hand around the seat and find Adeline’s skin. I needed contact, craved it like a lovesick idiot.
“You can say it… it’s okay if you are. I’ll show your girl a good time if you’re too much of a coward,” Kaia teased with a honey-like giggle.
“God Kaia,” Christian groaned, his eyes on his phone.
“I surrender. Sorry Belle, you don’t need me, you already have the perfect boyfriend.” I rose both hands to Kaia, our eyes meeting in the rearview mirror.
