for good, there’s one thing I always wanted to tell you,” he called out.
I paused.
I looked back. “And what’s that, Reed?”
Reed was standing again.
Staring right at me.
He smiled.
“I love you, Abby.”
I stood in place.
In silence.
Reed didn’t say anything else.
But he moved closer to me.
Step by step. Second by second.
And I wasn’t moving away.
“If I told you that this entire thing came down to me loving you… you’d probably get really pissed at me.”
“Yeah, I would,” I said.
Reed kept walking closer.
“And if I told you all I wanted right now was for you to be with me… and let me love you and only you… you’d probably think I was crazy.”
“I definitely would,” I said.
Reed was just a few feet away.
He stopped walking.
“So that’s it?” I asked. “You say that and just stop?”
“If I take one more step, honey, I’m going to kiss you,” Reed said. “And if I kiss you, I’m going to tell you I love you again. If I do that, then I’m going to put you on the back of my ride and that’s it. You’re all mine.”
I slowly turned. “That’s awfully confident, Reed. You can kiss me and tell me you love me. But I’m going to walk away. With your heart. Because… fuck you. How’s that sound?”
“You don’t mean that.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I can see it in your eyes, honey.”
“You left me on the side of the road, Reed.”
“I fucked up. I’m sorry I did that.”
“Yeah… and I’m sorry I misled you. I’m sorry I kept taking those calls. I was chasing my own dream too. I didn’t mean to fall for you. And I knew we couldn’t do anything about it back then. It wasn’t the right time.”
“But now is the right time, Abby.”
“You just want me to sing backup on your songs,” I said. “You’re worried that RAUNCHY RECKS is going to scoop me up.”
“You think I’m using you right now?”
“I just like hearing you like this.”
“I shot whiskey and snorted fun from two women last night, honey,” Reed said. “And I fell asleep thinking about you.”
“You poor thing,” I said. “So are you talking with your rock star heart or your rock star dick?”
“Can’t it be both?” Reed asked.
He took another step.
I sucked in a breath.
And that was it.
He didn’t gently touch me and go in for some romantic kiss.
He was still a rock star.
His hands grabbed my ass and he pulled me against him.
His mouth slammed down to mine with force.
My knees bent and his fingers dug into my ass to hold me.
Our tongues touched and I began to melt.
My hate for Reed switched to hate for myself, as I couldn’t help myself from wanting this. From wanting him. From needing him.
I broke the hot kiss…
“I love you too, Reed,” I said. “I loved you then. I loved you this entire time.”
“Oh, honey, I needed to hear that,” he whispered.
He moved in for another kiss and I stopped him. “Wait. There’s something else.”
“What?” Reed asked.
“I still hate you,” I said.
“Good,” he said.
“Good?”
“The hate will keep you around. The love will make you smile.”
“Reed…”
He brushed his lips to mine. “Or look at it this way… in the morning when our eyes open and flirt and we kiss each other with morning breath, sip coffee and smile… that’s loving each other. But at night, when we’re tearing each other’s clothes off and I’m fucking you so hard you can’t feel your legs… that’s the hate.”
I grabbed his shirt and curled my lip.
That sounded like a disastrous relationship to have.
But I was fucking okay with it too.
“I want to know everything about those calls, too. Okay? I’m going to handle it. I’ve got money. And I’ve got power. This is my fault, Abby. You’re not going to suffer anymore over this. I can’t imagine losing you. Ever.”
I could have argued with him, but he was kind of right. The gambling debt was because of him. Because I was desperate to survive. He could keep the money from the recording sessions if he could make the debt go away. That was fine.
Reed kissed me again before I could tell him any of that, and I kissed him back just as hard.
I loved him with all of my heart.
But this moment and kiss was about hate… which wasn’t so bad at all.
I turned around and saw Jess was gone.
She must have seen the tongue fucking going on and assumed it was okay to leave.
Which wasn’t exactly a smart decision.
What if I decided to kiss Reed goodbye?