AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrugged and wished I’d packed a few wine coolers in my pockets. In my frenzied rush to leave, I’d completely forgotten my sugary alcoholic confidence booster. “Nothing. I’m a busy man with a busy life. I don’t have the time to sort through the pile.”
“Do you realize which picture you just gave me?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes, looked at it—then screamed. My heart raced and my mouth went dry. I was unsure who I’d screwed over in life that life thought it was a good idea to keep mowing me down in every humiliating way known to man. The irony was simply too much.
It was a picture of Kurt. He’d put himself in the pile, and I’d picked the bastard without even knowing it. Karma was a stinky whore.
“That’s an awful thing for you to do,” I snapped.
Kurt looked crushed. It broke my heart and made me want to smack him.
“I’m that repugnant to you?” he asked quietly.
“No,” I shouted. “I mean, yes. You’re dating someone yet you’ve been hitting on me!”
“What?” he asked, wildly confused.
I rolled my eyes and picked up the picture of him and his lover. “You have a boyfriend, Kurt. You have no right to play with me like this. What would your man think? This behavior is unacceptable.”
Kurt’s face reddened in anger. “You think that I would ask you out if I was committed to someone? That’s the kind of man you think I am?”
I was speechless. I didn’t know how to respond. However, the proof was in front of me. What the hell was I supposed to think?
“Hang on a sec,” he said tightly, pressing the call button on a speaker. “Mom, is Kiefer here?”
“He is!” Cha-Cha answered. “Just got here.”
“Send him in please.”
My hands got clammy and I was pretty sure I’d just fucked up royally. I didn’t know how, but if the last several days were any indication it was a doozy.
The lover from the photo walked into the office with a wide smile on his handsome face. He walked over and slapped Kurt on the back. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”
The guy in the picture was his brother, Kiefer the police officer, not his lover. I was such a dummy. I wanted to die a death by a thousand papercuts.
“So, I finally get to meet the one and only Johnson Jones,” Kiefer said warmly, extending his hand.
“Delighted to meet you,” I choked out on a mortified whisper.
“Right back at you! Kurt’s been talking about you nonstop. Johnson this and Johnson that. And my mom freaking loves you!”
I was sure my forced smile looked like a grimace or that I was seriously constipated. Kurt wouldn’t even glance my way. I’d ghosted him then besmirched his character in the worst way possible. I couldn’t have felt lower than pond scum if I’d tried. Helen’s words bounced in my mind—“I’m having a tough time wrapping my head around the thought that Kurt is a two-timing dog. It doesn’t sit right. Sometimes some of the clues are missing or hidden.”
It hadn’t sat right because it wasn’t right.
I didn’t hear a word Kiefer said and I had no clue how I’d responded. My ears were ringing with shame and all I wanted to do was leave. There was no coming back from this one. Most of my replies were one word and I wasn’t sure what word. Apparently, I’d made appropriate responses since Kiefer didn’t seem alarmed. I even smiled and gave him a friendly hug when he said he had to get back to work.
The silence after he’d left was loud.
Two times I tried to speak. I opened my mouth and nothing came out. The third time was the charm.
“Sorry won’t even begin to cover it,” I finally said. “However, I am sorry—so very sorry.”
Kurt still wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to be me right now.
He looked like a broken man. I felt like one. We were even again and it didn’t feel good.
“So… I’m just going to go,” I said, walking towards the door. “I wish you the best, Kurt. You’re wonderful. I mean it. I’m an ass and I regret jumping to loathsome conclusions. You’ll make some lucky guy a very happy man someday.”
