Page 66 of Absolutely Pucked
“Let’s go,” Killian said softly. “We’ve lied enough as it is.”
He was right. But it was killing me that it wasn’t killing him because telling Jonah likely meant this was all over. Tucker loved me, but he would ask me to make a choice. And it would have to be him.
Pushing the door open, I let Killian walk through, and then I closed it behind me and locked it. I didn’t give a shit if a school bus full of toddlers came in on a field trip. I wasn’t letting anyone interrupt this moment.
“Should we, uh, sit?” I asked.
Jonah was standing by a shelf, resting his shoulder against the wall, and Killian was hovering in the opposite corner, staring between my face, Jonah’s face, and the kitten sleeping in Jonah’s hands.
“I’m fine where I am,” Jonah snapped.
Killian shrugged, froze, then said, “Me too,” like he was remembering he had to be verbal.
“Fine, okay. We can do it like this. Whatever.” I cleared my throat. “So, Jonah. I’d like you to meet Killian Banks, my…lodger.”
Killian winced, and I hated myself because while it was true—mostly—it was unnecessarily hurtful. I needed to fix it.
“But he’s more than that. We’re also fucking.”
“Ford!” Killian said, horrified.
“Fine. Making love?”
“Jesus Christ,” Jonah whispered. He turned his face toward me. “What is happening? Like, this dude must have a solid-gold dick that comes beer because I don’t know what the fuck else would possess you to do this.”
Shame and guilt ripped through me. But so did a sort of righteous anger because before this moment, Jonah had loved Killian. A lot. When he was just Ian, he was a godsend who had been kind and loving. He was Jonah’s new favorite person. He had gotten him a kitten, for fuck’s sake!
“I didn’t come here to tear anyone’s life apart,” Killian said softly.
Jonah scoffed. “Really? So you pretended to be a homeless guy for what? Shits and giggles?”
“He’s not pretending,” I immediately defended.
Jonah laughed bitterly. “Right. The rich lawyer with the hot wife and everything Tucker lost is suddenly down on his luck?”
Killian stared at his feet and took a breath. “I was never rich, and my hot wife figured out that wasn’t in the cards. So…”
Jonah’s head whipped to face him. “So she what? Left you?” At Killian’s silence, his lips curled into aknowing smirk. “Ah. Shecheated. Well, isn’t karma abitch?”
“Mm.” Killian sucked his lips between his teeth and rolled them. “She’s currently pretending to be pregnant with my baby because she’s not going to get jack shit for alimony after my boss fired and blacklisted me to make her happy.”
Jonah was silent for a long moment. “And you want me to what? Feel sorry for you?”
“No,” Killian said very quietly. “I don’t. I came here because I found some stuff out about Delia, and I wanted to tell Tucker. I wanted to apologize—without expecting his forgiveness,” he added quickly.
“So tell me how you tripped and repeatedly fell on Ford’s dick, then,” Jonah demanded.
I fought back a cough as Killian flushed.
“I saw how happy he was. Tucker, I mean,” Killian clarified. “He was happier than I’d ever seen him before. He’s so in love with that guy. I only saw them together for a second, but…” He trailed off and let out a slow breath. “If I said something to him, I’d ruin that. I was such a giant, insecure dickhead at the bachelor party, and at the very least, he deserved an apology for that.”
Jonah scoffed, but I could see something in his face softening. “Sorry I stole your girl, took your life, then was a giant asshole to you and made you feel like shit about yourself?”
Killian laughed bitterly. “I might not have put it inthosewords, but maybe I should. They’re very honest.”
Jonah grunted. “Will you stop fucking agreeing with me!”
“No, because you’re not wrong. I mean, some of the details are wrong. I didn’t steal Delia. We didn’t get together until after Tucker shut us both out. I didn’t know she told him we—” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. Shit, this was entirely new information. “It doesn’t matter though. What matters is how much he was hurt. But he’s always been so much better than me at everything. God, even having his body shattered apart, he’s wildly successful and happy, and I’m a miserable, broke, jobless loser.”
