Page 35 of Unofficial

Taking a deep breath, Kade tries to calm himself. He's been taking time to himself after the drink throwing incident and seeing Landry to figure his shit out. He can't tell if it's worked or not. "I'm sorry to bug you during bedtime. I know better, but I guess I am kind of freaking out."

"Are you in the bathroom trying to figure out how to get some chick out of your place?"

He'd laugh if it hadn't actually happened to him. Twice. "No."

"And no one told you that you're gonna be a daddy?"

"No."

"What else is there to freak out about?"

Swallowing, he runs a hand through his hair. "I... I called Jess."

"Why?"

"What do mean 'why?'"

"You shattered that poor girl's heart after leading her on for five months. It's been three months since she walked in on you screwing someone else. Why call her now?"

As much as Kade loves Drew, the man can be a direct asshole sometimes. "Because I've been doing some thinking."

"About?"

"About me. Her. Me and her."

"Yeah... that gives me pretty much nothing to go on. What are you saying?"

Swallowing, he starts pacing. Move. He has to move or he might jump out of his skin. "I miss her."

"Of course, you miss her. She was perfect for you."

"You really think I led her on?"

"Kade, no man in the history of relationships has introduced a woman he's dating to his family and still screws other women without being a lying asshole or leading her on. The only downside is that you led the rest of us on, too, because we liked her."

He has a point. Damn him. "I didn't mean to."

Drew sighs. "I know. Which is why I can't be completely angry with you about it. She can."

"She wasn't."

"She wasn't what?"

"Mad. When she caught me with Lena, and then I told her how I don't do commitment and what not, she wasn't mad. She was sad, upset, hell, I'd even say disappointed, but she wasn't mad. I think it would’ve been easier if she was."

The pain on Jess's face mixed with knowing he'd made her cry still bothers him. But hearing her cry on the other side of that door when she gave him his box of things from her place wakes him up in the middle of the night.

"What's going on, Kade?"

Here goes nothing. "I've been doing some thinking."

"We've already established that, and it's usually pretty dangerous when you do. What exactly have you been thinking about?"

"About Jess. But mostly about me. About how I think I can give this a real try with her."

Drew coughs, and Kade knows he just choked on whatever he was drinking. "What?"

"I want her, man. I'm going crazy without her, and I want to give it a shot. Being in a..." He swallows hard, forcing the word out. "Being in a relationship."

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