Page 21 of Forget Me Not

“And who are you?” She eyes Demi up and down, the smile dropping from her face. “I hope you’re not dating Asher, considering he still fucks my best friend.”

Demi’s cheeks heat and she looks uncomfortable.

“Demi is my younger sister,” I say, yanking my arm out of Kayla’s grasp. “Dem, this is Kayla, my ex.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister.” Kayla looks at me skeptically, and Demi looks hurt for a second before masking the emotion. I’ll have to explain to her later that Kayla never knew about her because I didn’t share anything with her, not because of Demi herself.

“Yeah, you have fun with that. I’m going to go find Lo.” Demi doesn’t even spare Kayla a second glance before walking away. Asher looks between the two of us before excusing himself from the conversation right after her.

I look over to where Demi is headed, only to find Logan’s gaze locked on mine. She looks curious, apprehensive, and even a little jealous. It shouldn’t matter, but every part of me is dying to go over there and assure her she has no reason to be. That the only one I can think about these days is her. Before I can try and portray any of that to her though, she yanks her eyes away from mine.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Kayla?” I return my attention to the current problem at hand.

“I miss you, Kade.” She attempts to move closer to me, but I only move farther away, not wanting to give even a sliver of hope for her to grasp on to. “We were so good together, baby. Don’t you miss me too?” I can smell the booze on her breath, letting me know she clearly had a few drinks before coming here.

“No, Kayla. I’m sorry, I don’t. You’ve got to stop showing up to things like this.”

“I didn’t come only for you, Kade.” She changes direction, clearly unhappy that this isn’t going the way she planned. She does this every time, it’s a constant pattern that I’m used to by now. “Trix invited Sabs and me, and it would’ve been rude to decline. Not everything is about you, you know?”

“Alright, well then go hang out with Trix and Sabrina and leave me alone, Kayla.” I walk away from her, heading inside the house to take a breather from everyone outside. Unfortunately for me, Kayla has other ideas because she follows me inside.

“You don’t have to always be so cold to me, Kade,” she yells, acting as if she is seriously hurt. Manipulative is more like it. “We were together for a long time, and we had a lot of good moments. Does all of our history mean nothing to you?”

“No, Kayla. But we broke up over a year ago. I’ve moved on. It’s time for you to do so as well.” I realize my mistake too late.

“Who the fuck have you moved on with?” All hurt disappears and anger takes over her features. Telling Kayla that I’ve movedon is like poking a bear, considering she still feels like she holds some sort of claim over me, even though she doesn’t and frankly never did. It’s definitely not the quickest way to get out of a conversation with her like I was looking to do.

I hear the sound of the door we just walked through opening, and the footsteps coming toward us grab my attention. I turn around, thankful for whoever is interrupting this conversation. Except, what I’m not expecting is to see a flustered Logan standing there looking all sorts of uncomfortable.

“Sorry, I was just looking for the bathroom.” She awkwardly points toward the hallway. The idea pops into my head and I’m walking toward her before I can register what a terrible one it is.

“Kayla,” I say, wrapping my arm around a confused Logan. I pull her close to me, trying to ignore the heat of her body burning against my own and how perfectly she fits into my side. I pray she follows my lead and does what seems like the best-case scenario at this very moment. “This is my girlfriend, Logan.”

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

Logan

Girlfriend. Yup, I’m pretty sure he just said girlfriend, and I’m pretty sure it was followed by Logan. Me, my name, Logan. I try to keep a firm mask over my face, assuming he’s doing this for a reason, but internally, I’m freaking the fuck out.

Not only am I still beyond wound up from when he left me standing a horny mess in my kitchen two and a half weeks ago, but now all I can focus on is that I’m pressed up against him once again.

His fingers are wrapped tightly around my shoulder, pulling me close to him. My body molds into each individual crevice of his body, fitting perfectly into his side. Heat sears from where his touch even through the fabric of my dress. I never thought I could be turned on by a man holding my shoulder, but here we are.Fuck, Lo. Get it together.

The heat between the two of us isn’t the only thing burning me though. Kayla, his ex-girlfriend, from what Demi mentioned outside, is looking at me with such fire in her glare it feels like any second, I could turn to ash.

“You’re dating her?” she asks. It’s not what she says necessarily, but how she says it. Venom drips off her tonguewhen she refers to me. As if I’m beneath her, the scum on the bottom of her shoe, and she’s disgusted by the idea that Kade may actually be associating with me.

I’d be offended if I cared what she thought of me. The fact that Kade is standing next to me, even if it is fake, already gives me a leg up on her. I lean farther into Kade, plastering a fake smile on my face.

“Nice to meet you.” I keep my voice sugary sweet in complete contrast to how she’s treating me. One of the things I’ve learned in life is that the best way to piss someone off is to make them believe that no matter what they say to you, they can’t affect you. Kill them with kindness and all that. She can try to get under my skin all she wants, and maybe she’ll even succeed, but she won’t ever know it.

“This has to be a joke, Kade.” She completely ignores my statement, choosing to focus her attention back on my apparent boyfriend. “You had me.” She gestures to herself like the prize she believes herself to be. “And instead, you’re telling me you’d rather have her? She looks like a little boy, Kade, at least pick someone good-looking next time. I just don’t buy it.” She laughs like the idea in itself is comical.

“It’s not a fucking joke, Kayla. Logan, who, by the way, is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, is my girlfriend.” His voice is cold, leaving no room for argument. “And if you are rude to her one more fucking time, I’ll make sure you and Sabrina are not allowed anywhere near work events ever again. Are we fucking clear?”

My heart beats a little faster at the way he stands up for me, even if it is all for show. It makes me realize that I wish it wasn’t. I wish that his words were the truth. I’m not necessarily insecure, and I don’t think I’m ugly. But I also can’t deny that his ex, Kayla or whatever her name is, is stunning.

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