Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
“I didn’t think I was. I just…” He couldn’t tell them what Kala had proposed. It was too personal. She might have told her sister, but he couldn’t be sure, and he wasn’t giving it away. “She wanted to go to the dance, and I told her I’m not ready to be her permanent boyfriend.”
He was pretty sure he loved Kala Taggart. But he wasn’t sure he could handle everything loving her would mean. He wasn’t sure he could handle the intensity.
He mostly wanted to play ball and hang with his friends and yes, she was one of them, but she wanted more than he could give her.
A huff came from Tasha’s end of the line. “Okay. Well, I’ll bake some cookies and have a talk with her when she gets back. I think you should stay away for a while.”
“I don’t want to stay away from her, Tash. I…” He wasn’t going to say love. He wasn’t ready for that word, either. “She’s been my closest friend for a long time.”
“But you don’t like your other friends to know,” Tasha said not unkindly, though he could practically hear Kenzie cursing his name.
“She tends to be rude to most of my other friends.” He wasn’t the bad guy here. She was stubborn and would walk all over him if he let her.
“It’s her armor. If they would give her a chance…” Tasha stopped. “None of this matters now. She’ll stay away. She won’t be a problem anymore.”
His heart was the one breaking now. He was going to lose everyone. Lou would absolutely take Kala’s side, and TJ would, too, since he wouldn’t risk losing Lou. In so many ways, his best friend TJ was in the same position he was in, but he was handling it so much better. TJ wasn’t going to lose his friendship with Lou because she was in love with him.
“I’m going after her.” He knew in that moment he couldn’t. He couldn’t lose her this way. He was being a whiny ass. He did love Kala Taggart, and he wasn’t sure he could be whole without her. So he would suck it up and not care what anyone else thought, and they would find a way through.
He grabbed his jacket and walked out the back, locking the door behind him. It didn’t matter if she was going to throw some punches his way, he was going to make it right.
“I don’t think seeing her again tonight is a great idea,” Tasha replied. “Give her some time to cool off.”
If he gave her time to cool off, she would ice him out. “I would rather take the punishment now than three months from now when she decides to talk to me. We’ve been friends forever. We’re not ending like this. We’ll work something out.” He got to the gate and jumped it with the grace of an athlete. He didn’t even put down his phone. “I’m going to make this right. Even if I have to drink way too much boba.”
It was her go-to. When she was stressed, she either ice coffeed or boba’d.
“She’s going to toss it in your face,” Tasha warned, and he heard Kenzie’s wild enthusiasm for the idea.
He would have to work on her, too. “The good news is I can always clean up. I’ll text you when I’m with her.”
“How do you know if she’s coming home or going to one of her haunts?” Tasha asked.
“Because I’m going to check her location.” He could always find her if she had her phone, and she always had her phone. He made it to the street. “Which I can’t do if I’m talking to you.”
“She already blocked you.” Tasha sounded completely sure. “It’s the first thing she would do.”
He brought the screen down and realized he actually could check the app while they were talking. It was a multi-functional phone. He pulled up the app and sure enough, the only people he could select from were his brother and TJ Taggart. “Damn it.”
“I told you,” Tasha replied. “Give her some time. She’ll come around.”
But she wouldn’t. It was a real panic inside him now. She would write him off entirely. “I’m still looking.”
He hung up and tried her number. It rang once and then went to voice mail. She’d blocked him. She’d probably blocked him before she’d gotten out of the backyard. “Kala, I’m coming for you and we’re going to talk. Pull whatever crazy shit you want to pull, but we’re going to talk.”
He strode into the night, confident he could fix the problem.
Two hours later, he knew the problem was way bigger than anything he’d ever encountered and that his whole world had changed.
Chapter Two
Kala thought about going home and then turned the opposite way because going home would mean telling her sisters what happened. And then it would be real. Then she would have to admit to everyone Cooper was exactly like the others.