Page 147 of Faux Real
Maxine expels a defeated grumble. “Okay, yes but I didn’t know until like two years ago, and by then, I figured enough time went by that it didn’t matter, right?”
“Two years?” Kennedy slams her hands against her thighs. “Max! That app almost ruined my life!”
“Ruined your life? Please! That app was a blessing!” Maxine huffs, taking a step toward Kenny. I blink at the two puffed up girls. Yikes. “If the app didn’t exist then you and Ollie would’ve never gotten together! It was a blessing!”
“A blessing?” Kennedy’s voice rises. “Was it a blessing when...”
“Ladies,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Perhaps there are moreimportant thingshappening today, and this littletiffcould wait until, I don’t know—” I glower at Maxine. “Tomorrow?”
“She started it,” Max states in a sour tone, turning away from Kenny.
“Doesn’t matter who started it, Max.” Kennedy rolls her eyes. “You should’ve told me as soon as you found out.”
“I wanted to but...” Max grumbles off.
“But what?” Kenny asks.
“But...”
“What?”
“I didn’t want you to hate, Clifford, okay?” Max whispers softly. “He didn’t know us back then and he needed the money from the ads and...”
Kennedy sighs, closing her eyes. This is good. She’s powering down. “I wouldn’t have hated him.”
Max cranes her neck. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Kennedy mutters, shrugging. I smile at her. Good girl. “I mean, I probably would’ve kicked him in the balls or something but... but he makes you happy.” She tilts her head. “How could I hate him?”
Maxine’s face scrunches up, like she’s fighting the words. “I’m sorry, ‘kay?” She looks at me. “But seriously... it all worked out, right?”
“Yeah...” Kennedy’s posture relaxes as she smiles at me. God, that smile. It’s like the warmth of a million suns. The center of my universe. My source of life. “I guess it did.”
“I’m going to head back,” Maxine says, casting me an unreadable look. I blink at her, and she nods down to my pocket. “Take your time.”
Time.
It seems to be slipping away. In a blink of an eye, five years have passed. Five years of adventures, five years of laughter, five years of love.
Five years ofherlove. An uncomplicated love. Simple. Easy. Effortless. Being loved by Kennedy is like driving down a freshly paved road. Her laughter is the wind. Her touch is the crisp ocean air. And her kiss? It’s the direction I always want to drive.
“Can you believe that?” Kennedy asks as Maxine leaves the coffee lounge. She leans against the counter, tapping her nails against the drawers. “I should’ve known. It all makes so much sense now.”
“So much sense,” I whisper, admiring the woman who believed in me when no one else did. She stayed with me. She chose me. She chooses me every goddamn day. And I chose her. Always. “Kenny...” I take a step closer to her, my hands trembling. “I—”
She frowns. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say, patting my pocket. “It’s just—um...”
“If this is about the surprise party happening on the roof, I already know about it,” she says, giving me a proud look. “I’m not stupid, Ollie.”
“Wait? What?” I blink, thrown off. “You know? How?”
“Seriously?” she laughs. “Do you think you’re James Bond or something?” She wraps her arms around my neck. “Baby, you’re not that good.”
“Oh,” I hum, chewing on my lip as I look down at her. Just do it. Ask her. Say it.
“Don’t worry though,” she says, stroking my cheek. “I’ll act surprised, I promise!”
