Page 24 of Kiss Me, Maybe

I roll to my side, avoiding my bad shoulder as I nestle back beneath the bedspread. It doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep, but I don’t have any answers by the time morning comes.

After starting a pot of coffee, I open my laptop at the kitchen table. I’m about to type into Google when I draw a blank. What am I supposed to put into a search engine to find the answers I’m looking for?I thought I was asexual until my hot bartender breathed on me?Please.

The sound of approaching footsteps startles me so bad, I close the laptop, revealing Julian’s suspicious face.

“What was that?” He arches a brow.

“None of your business.” I take a sip from my mug, avoiding his curious gaze. “There’s coffee if you want any.”

“Thanks.” He reaches for a mug from the cupboard. “Did you talk to Briana yet?”

Nope. And I’m not going to.Maybe it’s stupid, but I’m avoiding her and that whole situation for as long as possible.

“I know she texted you,” he says before I can brush him off. “I don’t know what happened between you guys, but you should probably clear it up before it blows out of proportion.”

“You mean beforesheblows it out of proportion.” I lift a brow and take another sip from my mug.

“You know how she is.” He waves me off, but I’m sick of being dismissed. The only reason I lied to her in the first place was because I was tired of being dismissed, harassed, and made out to be a freak just because I didn’t want to kiss a guy. “But she’s family.”

I don’t need to tell him blood relation doesn’t equal family. Not him, of all people. This is where we’ve always differed. He’sfar too forgiving of the situations our family members put him in, and I hold on to even the smallest of grudges until I’m buried with them.

“What did Briana tell you, exactly?” I ask cautiously.

“That you’re lying on the internet for attention.”

“I’m not lying.”

“I know that,” Julian says. “They’re straight, so they don’t get it. You haven’t had any experiences that actually mean something to you. When I tried explaining that to them, they accused me of taking your side and then, well, it just got ugly from there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Briana’s hurt that she found out about your identity through the internet.”

I’m taken aback by this information, though judging from Julian’s reluctant expression, it has to be true. I kick out a seat and gesture for him to take it. He plops down with a raised brow.

“I lied to Briana and Esme the summer after high school,” I confess. “That’s why they think what I said on TikTok was a lie.”

“What did you lie to them about?”

“Do you remember when they used to make fun of me for having never been kissed? When the three of us were in high school?”

“Sure.” He nods. “They were kinda mean about it.”

“It went on for two years, and I was sick of it,” I tell Julian. “So, I lied about a summer fling to get them off my back. As much as I appreciate you giving me grace while defending me to them, I’ve never been kissed byanyone.”

“Oh.” He doesn’t look at me any differently, which I’m grateful for. Only mildly surprised. “I can’t say I blame you. They were pretty ruthless.”

“I shouldn’t have lied, though.” I shake my head. “Hell, I shouldn’t have told Esme I’d never been kissed to begin with. I should’ve just kept it to myself; then I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”

“Yeah, I learned that lesson from you,” he says dryly. When I cast him a look, he explains, “I didn’t have mine till last year.”

“Twenty-three’s not so bad,” I tell him. “Twenty-seven, on the other hand…”

“Is also not bad,” he says, and relief fills my chest. “No matter what anyone says.”

“They wouldn’t agree,” I reply. “So, Briana’s hurt I didn’t tell her, huh? Is Esme hurt too?”

“It’s a mix of hurt and jealousy, I think,” Julian says. “You know Esme’s been talking about becoming a beauty influencer for years. She’s still bitter her YouTube channel never took off. You should’ve heard her go off about the views you’re getting.”

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