Page 17 of Get Further

“Cole?”

I frowned and turned to the sound of my name, my eyes widening on someone I never thought I would see again. “Trent?” I said, hearing the shock in my voice rather than the disdain behind it. This couldn’t be my luck.

But yeah, Trent was really there—in the flesh—smiling back at me awkwardly as if he wanted to be anywhere else. He stumbled towards me in his ripped black jeans and his vintage band T-shirt. Trent always wanted to appear grunge, but he was really a boyband fan in disguise. He craned his head towards me, his eyes trying to focus, his face almost as red as his Converse sneakers. He was definitely drunk. Perhaps he would forget this encounter completely. Which would be absolutely perfect, given we did not break up on good terms.

“I thought that was you up there. What the hell are you doing here?” Trent slurred, looking me up and down. “Thought you lived in L.A?”

I chuckled awkwardly while looking around, hoping to find Kara and wave her over. “I do. I’m just here for a little business.” Rarely was I a damsel in distress, but tonight was definitely the night to call in some backup. “Are you here on vacation?”

“My boyfriend and I take a long weekend to NOLA every other month. He’s a successful divorce attorney in Houston. You should meet him.” He waved at a tall man in line for the bathroom. “He’s always saying that you dumping me was the best thing that ever happened to us.”

I found Kara near the stage and as if she could read minds, she turned from the current performer and met my gaze. I crooked a finger in the air and she nodded, then said something to J.P. Soon they were both edging their way towards me through the crowd, but it was a struggle with the place packed to near capacity. J.P. slipped in front of her pushing his way forward with his bulk, like a sexy battering ram.

Thank God!

“Kara + Cole, right?” Trent sneered. “I can’t believe you two are still joined at the hip.”

Ugh. Not this again. Back when we dated, he was always bringing up Kara and then getting angry at me for having the slightest bit of fun without him.

His tone was bitter and resigned. “So, I guess you finally came clean to Kara and told her you loved her.”

My eyes widened while Trent leaned against a stool, looking anything but happy about his assumption. I stood there speechless. I had no words at all. In all the time we dated, I never once told him how I felt about Kara. Fact was, I’d hoped my attraction to him would help me move past my crush on her, but Trent and I had gotten into such a huge fight over how much time I spent with her that he demanded I choose between them.

I thought he would have gotten over that whole thing by now. But maybe that was wishful thinking, because the look on his face in that bar was almost identical to how he looked the day I told him I chose Kara. Of course, I chose her.

“I mean, you married her, right?” Trent continued while stroking the bar with one finger. “I would say congrats if you weren’t such an asshole.”

Fuck, if I didn’t end this conversation now, he would say something in front of Kara, and then she would pester me with questions until I finally told her the truth. That wasn’t how she should find out.

Trent’s eyes narrowed on me and he leaned forward, a bitter smirk marring his usually handsome face. “Wait, what’s that look on your face, Cole? Don’t tell me the love of your life is still just giving you blue balls and nothing else.” Trent tossed back his head, a manic laugh leaving his lips, earning some curious and concerned looks. “Ha! What are you a cuckold or something for that guy up on stage with you?”

“Who are you calling names?”

I flinched and spun around, finding J.P. standing near me with Kara right behind him. Did he hear everything? Did Kara? I glanced between them both. J.P.’s face remained calm and collected, yet there was a fire in his eyes as he stared at Trent.

Kara’s eyes widened. “Trent?” she said, unable to hide her grimace. “You’re...here. Well, isn’t that a surprise.”

Trent scowled and straightened himself. The bartender handed him two mint juleps in plastic cups, which he pinched together in one hand. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get out of your way.” He twiddled his fingers at the three of us and shoved past the group of guys standing near me. “Enjoy married life while you can.”

Kara wrinkled her nose, and my body instantly relaxed when she closed the distance between us and placed her hand on my arm, squeezing gently. “Cole, you look like you’re about to pass out or explode or something. What did he say to you?”

I gazed down at Kara. She looked so beautiful under the glow of the neon lights, just utter perfection. Somehow in the crowd, I managed to get my arm around her. I just wanted to hold her against me, and the feel of her was like coming home.

“Nothing...some incoherent bullshit. I have no idea what he was talking about,” I murmured.

“I’ll get the beers,” Kara said, pulling away. “Why don’t you and J.P. find another table?”

Before I could protest, J.P. pressed his hand to my back and directed me towards a corner near the window. Outside, people gathered in groups, drinking from ridiculous cartoon-like cups, as they watched a bucket drummer and a saxophonist go to work on some funky jazz. They sounded amazing, but rather than getting lost in the positive energy crackling around me, all I felt was worry over the reason J.P. looked so concerned.

“You overheard Trent, didn’t you?” I asked, unable to meet J.P.’s gaze, afraid to see the judgment in his eyes for keeping a secret this big for so long.

“Yeah, but just me. The woman next to Kara was singing at the top of her lungs.”

I wasn’t expecting him to try to put my mind at ease. “Look, um...

“Why don’t you want her to know how you really feel?”

I shook my head. “From day one, she always assumed I was gay. By the time I realized she didn’t know I was bi, she’d already made it perfectly clear one of the things that made her feel so comfortable around me was I would never try to be more than her friend. That was not the time to say...‘Well, actually, I can’t stop thinking about sinking my dick into you and then cuddling you for the rest of my fucking life.’” I laughed in a way that said just how unfunny that was and shook my head. “And I’ve been screwed ever since.”

“You’ve been lying to her.”

“I didn’t want to lose her. I don’t want to lose her.”

“You need to tell her.”

“I’ve been trying.” I shook my head. “But what if it’s too late?”

“It’s not too late.” J.P. grabbed my hand and that’s when I lifted my gaze up to him, finding him staring at me so earnestly he looked like a different man, one that knew more about what I was feeling than he cared to ever admit. “I know you and Kara are lying to the world about your relationship, but don’t lie to Kara about this. This is a recipe for disaster. I know. I’ve been there.” I watched J.P. release my hand and run it through his hair, looking almost as intense as he’d been when Kara fell into the Everglades.

I sighed. “I don’t know how to get out of this mess. She’ll be angry at me, feel betrayed. I can’t lose her.”

“Tell her now, or you will lose yourself for certain. You two have the kind of history together that most couples would die to have. Try to explain it to her.” The desperation in J.P.’s voice made my heart swell. I had never met anyone who cared so much for me and Kara. He continued, “My wife, my ex-wife now, pretended to be in love with me. Pretending not to be in love with Kara is just as bad. She deserves to know the truth.”

I stared into J.P.’s eyes. He was right. This lie had gone on for too long. Where did I begin? No matter what I said, Kara was going to be hurt.

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