Page 45 of Strip Bare

Kat: !!! I need more details

Leo: Those are the details?

Kat: You're the worst

I chuckled as I walked, looking up from my phone as I reached the house and finding Kit had tidied away the remaining mess on the breakfast bar. I dropped him a text with a thank you and he responded with a smiley face that made butterflies stir in my stomach. I scoffed at myself.

Damn, I had it bad.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Kit had been out most of the day and Jamie's party took up most of our evening before we could make an escape. Nick had shown up and the spark of jealousy I'd felt when he'd spoken to Kit had actually been somewhat minimal. Liv had wound up being invited to one of our basketball games, though I suspected Bryn was behind that. They'd been spending a lot of time together recently, and I'd noticed Kat standing close to Max all night too. I’d shot her a look when nobody was looking and she'd turned pink, making me snicker.

Jamie had been curled around Ryan on the large sofa that took up space at the back of the room and seemed happily buzzed as Max fiddled with the speakers, trying to get Jamie's song to play.

"Come on," Kit murmured, hooking his hand around my elbow and steering me toward the door.

"What is it?"

"We're getting out of here," Kit said into my ear, sending a bolt of heat through me.

"Okay," I said easily, letting him lead the way back home. I wasn't sure if he wanted to hook up, or talk, or both. Either way, this was long overdue.

We were quiet as we walked back, both a little buzzed, and Kit sniffed when I blew a cloud of strawberry vape into the air.

"When did you start smoking again?"

I shrugged. "It's been a stressful few weeks. Besides, it's only a disposable. "

He didn't say anything more about it, but I knew he disapproved. The thing was, I didn't think he cared about smoking in general, which meant he was worried about me. Again.

"You really do care," I said bemusedly and he shot me a look.

"Did you ever think I didn't?"

"Yes," I said honestly and he frowned.

"Well, I'm sorry. I've never not cared, Leo."

“Okay,” I said and he opened his mouth, like he had something to say and wasn’t sure if now was the right time.

“I need to tell you something.”

Why did those words fill me with such absolute dread? “Alright,” I said slowly and Kit looked at me before avoiding my eyes, sending his gaze out into the trees as we walked.

“I fucked with your parent’s car.”

A startled laugh flew out of me. “What?”

He pushed a hand through his hair before reaching for my hands and tugging us to a stop. “Well, more specifically, I texted Ryan and got him to fuck with your parent’s car.”

“Why?” I scrunched my nose, trying to make sense of what he was telling me.

“To buy me some more time. I wasn’t ready to lose you.”

He— “You liked pretending.”

Kit huffed out a laugh and the sound was pained. “Liked it? No. It was driving me crazy. But it meant I got to hold you and touch you… kiss you.” His eyes were hooded and warmth was a slow slide through my body as he stepped closer. “I wasn’t sure if you actually wanted me, and I was too scared to find out.”

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