Page 17 of Son of a Preacher Man
“I’m not.”
His eyes widening, he proclaimed, “You like him.”
“We’re just friends.”
Leaning back against the counter, with a swish of his ponytail, Leo’s arms crossed over his chest. “With benefits?”
“Maybe.”
“You like him,” he sing-songed, glossy lips breaking into a grin.
“I do not.”
“Leo knows. You don’t want to, bebé, but you do.”
She did.
“That FWB thing almost never works out, you know.” He pulled her close against him and smoothed her hair. “Feelings always get in the way. Someone falls in love…”
“I won’t.”
“…someone else gets hurt.”
“That’s not going to happen, trust me.” Kelly put some space between them. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Girl, you know how much I love you, but I don’t think that you do.”
Leo was right about that.
She didn’t have a clue.
It was three days before Kelly saw him again. Friday night, just as Beanie’s was closing, Kodiak strolled in carrying a jumbo-sized bag with familiar blue stripes. Garrett’s popcorn.
“Is that Chicago mix in there?”
“Maybe,” he teased.
Buttery caramel and cheesy deliciousness. “Gimme.”
“Uh, uh, uh. Not so fast.” Kodiak moved the bag just out of her reach. “I’ll share my popcorn, but you have to take a walk with me.”
“Not walking.”
“All right then.” He turned to go.
“Kodiak. Wait. I’ve been here since six this morning.” He turned right back around. “I’m too tired, but I have a better idea.”
“And what’s that?” he asked, the corner of his mouth slowly creeping up.
“We can go upstairs. Watch a movie maybe.” Leaning over the counter, Kelly peered into the bag, then smiled up at him. “I can put my feet up and you can feed me popcorn.”
She didn’t want it to look like she was trying too hard.
After opening a bottle of pinot and arming Kodiak with the remote, Kelly left him on the sofa to shower away sixteen hours of sweat and coffee grinds. She glanced at herself in the foggy bathroom mirror and throwing her hair up on top of her head, decided to forego the makeup. Lash extensions and microblading. Best inventions ever. Some tinted moisturizer and lip balm would do. An oversized Bears T-shirt and a pair of cotton boy shorts and she was ready.
He was sitting there, scrolling through his phone, Netflix home screen frozen on the TV, when she returned. “Didn’t you pick a movie?”
“Don’t know what you like yet.” Shrugging with a smirk, Kodiak set his phone down and picked up his glass. He took a sip. “We should probably get to know each other better, being we’re friends now.”
