Page 64 of Three Sweet Nothings (The Blindfold Club)

Chapter

TWENTY-THREE

Holy shit. My eyes went wide and I spun to face Kyle. He looked pissed at himself that he’d said it, because it revealed a lot. Did he still believe the lies I’d left on his voicemail, saying he was just a good fuck and he’d been nothing more to me?

“I wasn’t—” I tried to defend myself, but his angry eyes accused.

Wait a minute.What was he playing at here? Why tell me we couldn’t have a relationship and then demand I act like we were in one?

“You don’t make any sense,” I said, more to myself.

He stormed over, wrapped his arms around my waist once again, and lifted me. “That’s your fault. You cause it.”

Was he drunk? This was the most he’d ever let his guard down with me. And . . . oh my God. Was this because of the scene we’d just done? I’d given him my trust tonight. Was he attempting to do the same now?

I wrapped my legs around his hips and held on as he laid me down on the bed. If I was going to curl up beside him in his bed, he needed to concede something as well. At least it seemed like now was the perfect time to get what I wanted.

I waited until he had us positioned with our heads on the pillows, the sheets over us, and his arm around me like he used to do when we were together. “What happened in New York?”

His shoulders tensed.

“Hey,” I said. “You wanted to have a conversation. Seems fair I get to pick the topic.”

He was silent for ages. He didn’t look at me, he just stared vacantly over my shoulder, as if he could wait me out.

“This conversation is fascinating, counselor,” I said, “but I think I better get going.”

He locked his arm tight, preventing me from leaving his side, and his focus came back to me. “Sharon wanted a ring.”

“Ah,” I said. “She gave you an ultimatum.” Was this Sharon an idiot? Kyle wouldn’t like that. And why would anyone want to force a proposal, anyway?

“I don’t know how to talk about this with you,” he said.

“Why?” I kept my tone light. “I thought we were partners.”

He sat up, scooting back in the bed, so I rested my head on the comforter covering his thigh. His hand slipped into my hair. “She pretended she wanted me to spank her.”

I hesitated. “Pretended?”

“It was a tactic. When she realized we weren’t going to be more, she changed her story.” His fingers toyed with my hair, absently combing through it, even as his tone changed to a frustrated one. “She used what I’d done against me, and took all my options away. That’s why I came crawling back to Chicago.”

Well. This explained his worried expression when I’d come out of the bathroom. He’d been concerned I was freaking out.

The rule was never to ask a question you didn’t already know the answer to, but I did it anyway, my heart lodged in my throat. This wasn’t violating our agreement, either. It only specified we couldn’t talk about feelings for each other. “Did you love her?”

I shouldn’t care if he had, but logic didn’t work when it came to him.

His answer was immediate. “No.”

Tightness eased in my chest. Damn, that had been one dangerous fucking question. We’d been together ten months, and not once had Kyle said, “I love you.” I had convinced myself that was okay. Even though he didn’t say it, he’d shown it to me in plenty of other ways. I’d repeated the mantra relentlessly to myself how actions spoke louder than words.

So, if he’d said yes, he’d fallen in love with this Sharon chick, I might have broken down in tears. Thank God.

Skip this line of questioning, Ruby.“Do you miss it? New York?”

“Not really. Big cities are a lot alike. It wasn’t that different from Chicago.” He looked relieved I wasn’t going to press him further about Sharon. “It’s crowded. Filled with rude people. Lonely.”

His voice tightened on the last word. I pushed upright, bringing my eyes level with his. Once again, he seemed upset with what he’d revealed. Was this why he asked me to stay? Was Kyle lonely?

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