Page 355 of One More Kiss

Cole

I watch Jules leave,unable or unwilling to force my feet to follow her. Everything I remember from more than a decade ago rearranges itself in my head with the new information I just learned. She came back. For me. Jules came back for me, even though I know it would have gotten her into so much shit with her parents. But she did it anyway. For me. And I wasn’t fucking here.

After she left, things became unbearable for me at home. I was staying with Deac’s family more than I was at my own home. But his mom was working two jobs just to support Deac and his little sister. They didn’t need the added burden of another mouth to feed. One day, I’d had a massive fight with my old man. He’d threatened to have me arrested. So, I’d gone to the recruiter’s office before he could follow through. I’d figured I’d make something of myself. I thought that maybe Jules’ parents would finally see that I wasn’t a deadbeat. But it didn’t matter, in the end.

A sharp pain twists in my gut at the thought of her returning, going to my house, facing my father and hearing that I was gone. I know how I’d felt when she’d left, but at least I’d known she was safe. She might not have been happy with her parents, but she wasn’t in danger. I try to imagine how it would feel to know she might be in someplace dangerous or even dead. I don’t know how I would have handled that.

I think about our interactions since her return. All the times I’ve been an asshole to her. All the different ways I’ve shunned her or ignored her. Shame washes over me and I wish I could take it back. All of it. I wish I could go back to that morning on the beach and smile at her instead of scowl. I could have talked to her instead of said whatever shitty thing I’d said. I can’t even remember it now. But I remember the hurt look in her eyes just before I’d turned to go. Damn it. I’m such a prick.

“Dude, what the fuck?”

Deac’s angry voice hits me with the force of a truck. I turn to see him striding across the parking lot toward me. His face is a mask of fury. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen Deac truly angry over our more than twenty years of friendship. He’s so good-natured, always down for a laugh or a joke. It takes a lot to make him angry. But right now? He’s furious. And all that anger is directed at me.

I stay rooted in place, waiting for him to haul off and punch me. But he doesn’t. Instead, he stops a few feet away from me and looks at me in disgust. That hurts more than the anger. I’ve never seen Deac look at anyone this way.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Deac asks.

I open my mouth to answer, but he keeps going.

“Don’t give me any bullshit about catching you off-guard, or you’re just tired. I know you, Cole. You’re deliberately being shitty to Jules, and I want to know why.”

I feel a wave of shame hit me and my shoulder slump. “It’s between me and her, Deac,” I say in a tired voice.

He’s already shaking his head. “No. Not when it upsets Anna, it’s not. Whatever your problem is with Jules, you need to get over it. Put it behind you. Because I’m not choosing between my friends. And neither is Anna.”

I scrub a hand over my face and look my best friend in the eye. “You’re right,” I say. “I’ve been an asshole. I know. I’m going to fix it.”

“I sure as hell hope you can,” he says. “Because whatever you’re doing now isn’t working. What happened between you two all those years ago? It’s over now. It’s in the past. And you’ve got to stop letting it ruin whatever good might come from her being here now. Jules is back, man. She’s here to stay. You’ve got a second chance, if you stop fucking it up.”

Deac’s words hit me hard, square in the chest. He’s right, I know. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to realize it. I’ve been holding on so tightly to something that happened so long ago. And I just realized that I didn’t even have all the facts from back then. Jules was right to storm off. She doesn’t deserve the anger I’ve been pushing at her. Deac and Anna don’t deserve all the crap I’ve been putting them through either.

“I’m sorry, man,” I say. “I know I put you and Anna in the middle of this thing with me and Jules. You guys have been here for me through everything. You don’t deserve that.”

“Damned right, we don’t,” Deac says.

I manage a smile. “I’m going to fix it,” I say with more force this time.

“Good,” he says.

“Tell Anna I’m sorry?” I ask.

He shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Nope. That one’s on you.”

I sigh, but I’m smiling. “I’ll think of something,” I say. “But first, I gotta fix things with Jules.”

He nods. “Go. I’ll tell Anna to expect groveling soon.”

“Thanks, Deac,” I say. “For trying to knock some sense into me. Even though I fought you on it.”

He shrugs. “I’ve always got your back. Even when you’re being a dumbass.”

I laugh. “Good to know.” Then I turn to leave, my feet carrying me across the street in the direction of Cabin 4.

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