Page 58 of She Was Made for Me

I know what I need to do. What might finally force him to act like the powerful, decisive man I know he is.

“Okay,” I say at last, trying to keep my voice even. “I was waiting to see if anything would happen with us, but since it won’t… I think I will go out with Owen. He was cute.” He certainly wasn’t bad looking, even if the thought of him does nothing for me. Still, he was nice enough. Spending an evening with him won’t exactly be painful.

Not for me, anyway.

Kyle’s shoulders stiffen at my words. I wonder if he was expecting more of a fight from me.

Well, he’s not going to get it.

“In fact, I’ll message him now.” I pull my phone out, opening my inbox. Owen’s email is still there, unanswered, and I take a deep breath. I send off a reply apologizing for not responding sooner, telling him I’d love to see him and that I’m free tomorrow night. I ask him to text me. “Done.”

Kyle still stands with his back to me, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he stares at the river. His posture gives nothing away, but that’s okay. I’ll need to really call his bluff here, to go out with Owen, and make him see I’m not kidding around. I don’t want to play games; I’d much rather that Kyle simply stop fighting this and come home with me now, but this is the way he wants to do things. And I’m not giving up on this, not after getting a taste back in the garden. We practically mauled each other. I’ve never felt a need for someone so badly, and I’m not going to forget about it now.

22

Kyle

Violet doesn’t stay to see the rest of the show. I offer to walk her home, or order her an Uber, but she insists on walking home alone. I want to follow her to make sure she’s safe, but I know that’s the last thing she wants.

I’m tired of being treated like a child.

Is that what I’ve been doing? Worrying about her, looking out for her, refusing to lay a finger on her?

Well, that all went to hell tonight, didn’t it?

I take a cab to Fruit Street and let myself into the house. Violet isn’t back yet and it makes me uneasy, but I force myself up to the top floor all the same.

I know I won’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about what happened in the garden; I’m still shaking from it. The way her tongue tangled with mine, the way she pulled me hard against her, the feel of her softness against my stiff cock as she wrapped her leg around me. And, God, the wet patch on the crotch of my jeans that I noticed when we jumped apart. I wasn’t sure if it was from me or her. When I think about the fact that she almost came, grinding on me right there in the garden, my dick throbs in my jeans.

But I’m not going to jerk off tonight. Tonight, I’m going to sit with the shame of what I’ve done, dry humping my best friend’s daughter in a public garden, for fuck’s sake. I’m lucky the lights came on when they did, bringing me to my senses, or I might have just fucked her right up against the wall. It’s like my self control completely evaporated.

But… I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been fighting this so hard, when all I want is to have Violet in my arms, in my bed. I want to make her laugh, hold her close, make her feel good. Hell, I want a future with her.

I sink onto my bed and drop my head into my hands. I can’t have any of those things, and I’ve known it all along. I would never be okay with betraying Rich, and it’s probably already too late.

I try to tell myself it’s not; after all, wedidstop, and it won’t happen again. It can’t, because I did the stupidest thing I could have possibly done—I told her to go out with Owen. Smooth, shiny, age-appropriate Owen. I thought she might protest a little more, maybe say she wasn’t interested in him, but she didn’t take much convincing at all—even contacting him on the spot.

So that’s that. She’s going out with him and I have no one to blame but myself. I have to force myself to accept something that makes me want to vomit.

I take out my phone and, with shaking hands, send off the letter of recommendation I drafted for her earlier today. I’d hesitated to send it, for reasons I didn’t want to acknowledge, but after letting myself get way too close tonight, I know it’s the right thing to do. The sooner we can get back to our normal lives, the better.

At least, I really want to believe that.

The sound of the front door closing downstairs makes my shoulders sag with relief. At least Violet is home safe. Now I can get some sleep.

But I don’t sleep a wink. Everything has changed tonight, and I’ll never be the same man again.

23

Violet

Iwake up to a text from Owen—a little too eager, if you ask me—saying he’d like to take me to dinner tonight. We make plans for him to pick me up at eight, which gives me plenty of time to pop out and buy a new dress, then put extra effort into my hair and makeup.

Not that I’m doing any of it for Owen.

Guilt twists through me as I curl my hair in the bathroom mirror. It’s probably not fair to drag Owen into this, to use him to get Kyle’s attention. I might not be interested in him, but he’s not a bad guy. He doesn’t deserve to be led on. I make a mental note to ask Sadie if she has any single friends I could introduce Owen to after tonight. Or maybe that barista from Joe’s, Daisy. She’s about our age, and she might hit it off with Owen.

Today was awkward as fuck. True to his word, Kyle behaved as if nothing happened between us last night. He wouldn’t look my way, and he barely said two words to me, but that’s not unusual for us. I tried to stay out of his way, and spent the day in the yard, ripping out more weeds, with gloves on this time. I made sure to avoid the ladder, too.

---