Page 44 of Strip Bare

"But you—" He shook his head. "You don't care about what he said?"

I snorted. "I couldn't give less of a shit if I tried."

It was like it was all sinking in for him now and I watched as his cheeks turned pink and he sat down heavily in the discarded stool by the breakfast bar.

"You love me?"

"For a long time, now."

"You don't want Harley?"

"Not even a little bit," I said truthfully and his shoulders slumped, alarming me, before he quickly stood and crossed the room.

"Thank god," he said, and kissed me back. It was like he poured his relief into me, his worry and frustration, and I took it in and gave it all back to him so he could see how much I'd wanted him too.

"Fuck," I pulled away, breathing hard and he grinned breathlessly.

"I know right."

"No, not that, although yes the kiss was good. But fuck I need to get across the park to campus for my exam."

"Fuck," Kit said, eyes wide and I grimaced, grabbing my bag and shoving things into it before making my way to the door. "We'll talk about this later," he said, but it sounded more like a question.

I nodded. "Of course. Wish me luck."

He stopped me before I could leave, planting a soft kiss on my mouth. "Good luck."

* * *

I walked out of the exam room feeling surprisingly good. Given everything that had happened just beforehand, I'd been worried my head would be in another place too completely to be able to focus on the questions. But whether it was the brisk walk, or the calmness that had sunk in after Kit's kiss, my head had felt clear by the time I'd taken my seat and opened my exam paper.

"Leo, can we talk? I'm sorry about before—"

I looked up in surprise to see Harley. I'd assumed he would just brush the whole thing off and act like he wasn't the one in the wrong. Unless he didn't realize how much I'd heard?

"You're not my friend," I said softly, but firmly, and he swallowed. "I have nothing to say to you."

I walked away and was only mildly surprised when he followed.

"I don't know what you think you heard—"

"Don't insult my intelligence. After all, that's the only thing I have, right? Unfortunately a bag of rocks has more personality than me." I stated the words he'd so cruelly thrown out at Kit with zero emotion, watching him with a raised eyebrow. This time when I walked away, he didn't follow.

I shot a quick message off to Kat as I walked back through the park to get home. I'd see her later tonight because we had Jamie's party—something I wasn't particularly looking forward to—but I doubted we'd get much of a chance to speak.

Leo: exam done. Contract signed?

Kat: The paper eagle has left the nest

Leo: ???

Kat: ...Yes. Want to be my maid of honor?

Leo: No

Kat: Fair enough

Leo: I kissed Kit. He nearly punched Harley

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