Will’s jaw flexes and he inhales a deep, noisy breath as if to keep himself in check.
Then he says it.
“But I do.”
He moves closer.
“I really… really…” Another step. “Fucking do.” He stares me dead in the eyes as he says it, his voice so weak it’s barely audible. He looks petrified by the mere thought of admitting that.
Luke scoffs. “You’re insane if you think she—”
“Luke,” I whisper.
He looks at me.
“Please, go.”
I hate being rude, but William Martins is talking about his feelings for once in a goddamn lifetime, and I don’t know how long it’s going to last.
It’s now or never.
Kass, why do you even care?
He kissed Zoey!
Luke frowns. “Excuse me?”
“I’m so sorry I brought you into this. I can handle it from here. Thanks for being such a good friend.”
The switch is instant. Luke becomes this entirely different person, his features twitching in fury.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Friends?” Luke snarls, rushing toward me, which kick-starts Will’s reflexes. Will extends his left arm in front of me, nudging me behind him.
Luke huffs out a bitter laugh at Will’s protective instincts, talking to me over my bodyguard’s shoulder. “It didn’t look like we were friends when you came running into my arms like a pathetic mess every time he fucked up. You slut, you did everything you could to make me think you liked me. Asking me out on a date? Texting me?”
Guilt sinks into me.
Will loses it. “Call her a slut one more time, I swear—”
“Stop!” I screech, wedging myself between them. “Luke, I admit it. At the beginning, I strung you along, and that was wrong. I’m sorry, I really am. Then we started working together and… I thought we’d become friends. I promise I never meant to play with your feelin—”
“Fuck this. You two deserve each other,” Luke snaps, racing toward the door. Seconds before he walks out, he stops. “Oh, and Kass?”
I know exactly what he’s going to say.
“Consider yourself fired.”
Here we go.
His footsteps fade down the stairs, and the front door closes with a bang. We don’t speak for several seconds. Until Will elbows my door shut. I morph into a nervous wreck. We all know what happened the last time we were alone.
“Golden boy has a temper. Who knew?” He tries a joke, but I can’t bring myself to laugh.
“Are you seriously making jokes right now? You just kissed Zoey. How can you do that, then have the audacity to show up at my house and pretend to care about me?”
“I’m not pretending!” he argues. “And she kissed me. I would never do that to you.”
I pace around my room, lifting my hands to my forehead as though it will help me understand his nonsense. “Yeah, but you still let her get close enough to do it.”
“She told me you slept with Luke.”
“You keep stringing me along and you—” It takes me a second to realize what he just said. “What?”
“She said you were together. That you’d opened your legs today.”
Classy.
“That’s bullshit.” I’m outraged.
“I know that now. Morgan told me. She cussed the fuck out of me after you left.”
I think back to Morgan’s text and smile. This is what a best friend looks like.
“I’m such an idiot. I should’ve known better than to believe that bitch.” He beats himself up.
“It doesn’t excuse what you did,” I remind him.
“I know, I know, and I’m so fucking sorry. You have to understand I didn’t even realize what was happening. I blacked out after she said… I couldn’t deal with the thought of you choosing him.”
I can’t believe I’m about to say this but…
I kind of get it?
It’s not like this was a consensual kiss.
“Zoey and I aren’t friends anymore,” I admit. “Since this morning, actually.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re not?”
“No, you were right. She only cares about herself.”
He pauses.
“What happened?”
“Oh, you know, I found out she was sleeping with Blake during our entire relationship. No biggie.”
At first, he’s shocked.
Then he heaves a bitter scoff.
“Of course she was.”
The reminder feels like a stab to the stomach. That’s right, I lost my oldest friend today. Oh, and my job.
Can this day fuck off?
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine.” I muster a faint smile. “With friends like that, you don’t need enemies, right?”
“If it makes you feel any better, I know a guy who’s going to get the beating of his life at training this week.”
I let out a laugh.
“I’m sorry, did I just get a laugh?” he teases. “I’m just saying I might not know where we stand if you still laugh at my jokes.”
“Sorry. Won’t happen again.” I fight a smile.
“Hey, for what it’s worth…” He nudges my shoulder. “I’m really proud of you.”
I know he’s referring to my standing up to Zoey.
“Thanks.”
I’m proud of myself, too.
In his own, clumsy way, Will was always looking out for me. He tried to warn me from the start.
“I’m not surprised she lied to you though,” I begin. “She told me she’d go after the guy I like since we’re not friends anymore.”
I only realize what I’ve done when his mouth dips open.
“The guy you like, huh?” he smirks.
Shit, shit, shit.
“Does that mean I still have a chance?” He chews on his bottom lip, his eyes gleaming with hope.
Stop looking so damn cute.
“Will.” I draw a breath. “We’ve been through this before. Sure, you may feel something for me, but… you don’t want a relationship. You made that more than clear last week. So, what do you want from me?”
It isn’t lost on me that I asked him that exact question the first time we kissed. He pauses, and for a second there, I think he’s going to bail. He has that look in his eyes, the one that shows up whenever we get too close to something real.
Only this time, he fights it.
He stands his ground, refusing to let the fear win.
“Everything,” he breathes.
“What?”
“Fucking everything, Kass. That’s what I want from you.”
He steps closer.
I let him.
“I want your control
