Page 43 of Utah

For the second time in five minutes, I attempted to eat, but my stomach rumbled in protest.Nausea is a bitch.

She scooted closer, clutching her bowl in her hand so as not to spill her dinner. “I need some good gossip. Is it about anyone we know?” I pointed at myself, and her eyes widened. “Ooooo… out with it.”

My sister would be the first and, if I could help it, only person I’d talk to about what happened between me and my coworker. I wasn’t even planning on telling Lena.

“Do you remember Will? The guy I work with?”

“I think so. Is he the dark-haired guy? The skinny one?”

“Yeah, that’s him. Well, last night, he walked me to my carafter my shift, which he’s done countless times before. Only this time he told me he liked me. Then he kissed me.”

Evie gasped. “What did you do?”

“I was confused. I—”

“Don’t tell me you like this guy,” she mumbled over a mouthful of food. “I mean, come on. He’s nothing like Utah.”

“Stop getting ahead of yourself and swallow your damn food.” We exchanged smiles. “No, I don’t like him. Not like that. I thought we were friends, but after he kissed me and I told him I didn’t like him like that, he acted like I was the one who led him on. Which I didn’t. And he only apologized because he didn’t want me to tell Utah about it,” I said with a long sigh, “and now I think it’s gonna be awkward between us when we work together again.”

“Yeah, that’s not great.” Her scrunched expression only served to make me feel worse about the entire situation. “Are you gonna?”

“Gonna what?”

“Tell Utah he kissed you.”

“Uh… no,” I said emphatically. “He’d kill him.”

“You’re probably right.” The clank of her fork hitting the bottom of the bowl echoed between us. “You don’t want that on your conscience.”

“No, I do not. I’m upset with Will for putting me in that predicamentandfor trying to blame me for leading him on, but I don’t want him to be physically harmed. Which is exactly what would happen if Utah ever found out. So, you can’t say anything.”

“I won’t.”

“I know. I just have to say it.”

“I get it. Speaking of, where is Utah? Is he still staying here?”

We hadn’t discussed how long he’d be staying with us while he recovered, but now that he was well enough to travel toMexico, he could be planning on going to his place when he got back.If he comes back.My last thought upset me, but before I completely lost it in front of my sister, there was one other thing I wanted to tell her.

“He had to do something with the club. And I’m not sure what his plans are going forward.”

A wave of something unfamiliar traveled through my belly. It wasn’t nausea. Lord knew I was used to that at this point. It was more like a subtle cramping, almost as if I was starting my period. Nothing too painful, and it disappeared as quickly as it happened.

But I must’ve altered my expression because Evie looked concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Because I didn’t want to dwell on whatever just happened, I diverted the conversation back to the man we’d been discussing. Partly, anyway.

“Speaking of kissing—”

“Oh, now who? Who else have you made out with?” she asked.

“If you let me finish, I’ll tell you. And I’m not randomly making out with people. That certainly didn’t happen with Will. It was only seconds, and I didn’t like it at all.” I allowed a moment to pass to make sure Evie was going to remain quiet before I dove into my story. “Utah kissed me.”

“When?” Her eyes lit up like I’d told her I’d won the lottery, which perhaps I had for a moment.

“Two days ago. Maybe three. These days are blending into one another.”

“Give me more context. Did he give you a quick kiss, more like a thank-you for something, or was he intentional? How long did it last?” She bounced in her seat. “I told you he wants you, most likely loves you.”

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