Free Read Novels Online Home

Begin Again: Allie and Kaden's Story by Mona Kasten (24)

Chapter 24

The remaining vacation days dragged on. Dawn had called to tell me about her own Thanksgiving drama: Her ex had showed up with his new girlfriend. So I wasn’t the only one who’d had a terrible break. Today she’d be back in Woodshill, and I couldn’t wait to see her again, after spending so much time in bed watching TV series to distract myself.

Kaden and I had been avoiding each other. We didn’t even drink our morning coffee together anymore. Each of us prepared our own, which was a real step backward for us. I’d seen him only twice since we got back, and both times he was just leaving the apartment.

This radio silence hurt. On the first night it was hard not to go to him, whether he wanted me or not. I missed him and longed for his presence. My heart physically ached to be near him. But at the same time, it was clear that we were better off going cold turkey. We needed distance.

And I had to get out of this apartment, even for just a few hours. When Dawn wrote that she was back in the dormitory and I could drop by, I dropped everything and headed over there. We could compare notes about our holidays and binge on candy. Nothing sounded better to me right now.

The dorm wasn’t dead, but it was still pretty quiet.

I knocked a couple of times on Dawn’s door; two seconds later it burst open.

Confused, I froze and blinked.

It wasn’t Dawn. It was Sawyer standing there. Kaden’s non-girlfriend, the one I’d run up against on my first weekend in Woodshill and never seen anywhere near our place since.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out.

Sawyer didn’t look surprised to see me but just rolled her eyes. “I live here,” she said, stepping aside so I could enter. “Unfortunately.” She added.

“If you can get her to stop crying, I’ll pay you.” She pushed past me and closed the door hard behind her.

Stunned, I stared after her. So Sawyer was the weird roommate, the one Dawn was always trying to avoid. Unbelievable.

I shook my head. There would be time to mull this over later. For now, Dawn needed my help.

She lay curled up on the bed, with the blanket pulled up around her.

“Dawn?” I ventured.

“She’s nuts,” came her muffled voice from under the blanket; a corner lifted up, revealing a bit of Dawn’s face. She looked just the way I’d been feeling since Thanksgiving. Not great. “I’m not crying at all.”

I knelt beside the bed and lifted a lock of chestnut hair from her forehead. “Are you just tired?”

She shook her head.

“No. I’m just hiding.”

“From whom?”

“The world.”

I nodded and kicked off my shoes. “Is there room in your cave?”

Right away she shimmied over and lifted the blanket so I could slip inside. With me lying next to her, she pulled the blanket over our heads.

“You’ve got it good here,” I joked.

Dawn’s cheeks were flushed, but she didn’t look like she’d been crying. Just pissed off.

“What happened, Dawn?”

She sighed. “It was a disaster. The idiot brings his new girlfriend along to the dinner at my father’s place. I could have killed him.”

“Once an asshole, always an asshole,” I said.

“That was my worst Thanksgiving ever. Hope yours was better.”

I kind of wanted to tell Dawn everything—even about Russell Anderson and my breakdown. But even though I’d never trusted a girlfriend so much in my life—I couldn’t do it. Not yet. So I stuck to the story about mom’s phone call. And course I told her how Kaden had come to me, and even accompanied me to the gala.

When I finished, Dawn sighed. “This guy is so into you.”

“I wish,” I said, only then realizing how it sounded.

Dawn sat up a bit. “So you have feelings for him?”

I swallowed. “Yes.”

“But that’s great, Allie!”

“I overheard him tell his mother that I have too much baggage,” I blurted out, before she got too happy.

Dawn’s mouth dropped open. “Say what?”

“He told her he didn’t want to get involved with anyone who falls apart so easily.” It hurt to repeat those words aloud.

Dawn slumped back, then pushed the blanket off our faces to get some air.

“What a jerk.”

I snorted. “You can say that again.”

“What a-”

“Dawn!” I interrupted her, laughing, and turned to my side. We grinned at each other.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating chocolate, gabbing, and sharing secrets from our past. Even though I couldn’t tell Dawn everything yet, and it was probably the same for her, I felt good. These hours had brought us together again. We were on the right path. It was me and Dawn against them all.

“I think we should stop hiding, and go out to conquer the world,” Dawn said at some point.

Now she was on her back, her legs stretched up against the wall. And I was lying on my stomach.

“Conquer the world?” I raised an eyebrow. “You think we’re ready for that?”

“Well, I didn’t mean today. But we could—I don’t know—do something.” She wiggled her toes and for the first time I noticed her socks didn’t match.

Dawn grinned at me. “So, are you in?”

And how.

For the first time since we’d known each other, Dawn and I were the same height—but only because she was wearing the highest heels I’d ever seen in my life, and I had to make do with my flat boots. She had lent me one of her tops with a deep neckline. Since I was bustier than Dawn, it was pretty tight on me. But who cared?

We were fabulous, and the rest of the world—with its devious mothers, dishonest ex-boyfriends, and relationship-challenged Kadens—could suck it.

Today we were going to go out and flout everything. It wasn’t that we were trying to numb ourselves, the way I always used to do. Quite the opposite. Dawn and I wanted to have fun and celebrate.

We arrived at Hillhouse at exactly the right time. The line was short, and after flashing our fake IDs, we were let right in. Groups of people were standing around or dancing, but it wasn’t too crowded. We ordered cocktails and even found good seats at a table in the back, where we toasted to each other.

“Let’s do Thanksgiving together next year,” Dawn suggested.

“That’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”

“We’re really—shit.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t turn around,” Dawn hissed and stared at me, doe-eyed.

But of course I did.

Monica, Ethan, Spencer, and Kaden had just come in. I wanted to look away and pretend I hadn’t seen them, but Monica had already spotted us and was making her way straight to the back.

“Should we leave?” Dawn asked, but I shook my head.

“We live together anyway. So hanging out here won’t make a big difference,” I mumbled, chewing on the end of my straw.

“Hey you two—how are you? Have a good break?” Monica asked, as she reached our cozy table with the guys in tow.

“We’re fantastic,” Dawn said, staring at Kaden. He seemed not to notice. For a split second he glanced at my cleavage, then looked away.

“Yes, we’re terrific,” I agreed with my friend, and we both let loose a giggle.

Ethan eyed the full glasses in front of us on the table. “Is this your second round?”

“No, we just ate a ton of chocolate,” Dawn said, proudly.

Spencer sat down unbidden on the stool next to her. Her cheeks flushed.

Monica perched on the stool on the other side of Dawn, and Ethan sat across from her. So Kaden had no choice but to sit next to me. Great. He hesitated as if undecided. I made it easy, getting up without even looking his way.

“I’m going to dance,” I announced and disappeared toward the dance floor.

I left the drink on the table. Alcohol wasn’t my thing tonight. I just couldn’t. Nor could I be in Kaden’s presence and act like nothing had happened. Especially now that I’d admitted I felt something for him. Distance was what I needed. Now. But unfortunately that wasn’t so easy, if you lived with someone. And had the same friends. We’d all become pretty close, and there was no way I wanted to mess it up.

Instead of going to dance, I sat on the opposite end of the bar, where the others couldn’t see me. I ordered a water and stirred it with my straw, listless. I let two bad songs go by one after the other, and put off a couple of guys who tried to engage me in chitchat.

After a while, Spencer appeared at my side. “Allie?” He leaned against the counter next to my swivel chair.

“Hey,” I said, forcing a smile and sipping my water like hard liquor.

“What’s up?” he asked. When I didn’t answer, he continued: “Come on, Allie. I’m not blind. Kaden’s feeling crappy and so are you. Something happened.”

“Then go ask him,” I hissed, immediately regretting my tone. I shook my head. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”

He gave me a half-grin. “No worries. Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head again.

“Okay,” Spencer said. “Then I’ll talk. Since you moved in with him, Kaden’s changed. I’ve never seen him so relaxed, and I’ve known him a long time.”

“That has nothing to do with me,” I murmured.

“Oh yes it does, and you know it, too,” he countered. “It was just a question of time with you two.”

“I-”

“No,” he interrupted. His gaze was penetrating. “Listen, Allie. Kaden went through a lot of shit and needs more time before he can let someone get close to him. You’ve come pretty far already. I’m not going to sit by this time and watch him destroy the only thing that makes him happy.”

He held out his hand. Confused, I stared at him.

“Either you’re coming with me now or I’m telling everyone I know that you cried at the sight of a pizza.” I knew Spencer meant it. Not just about the pizza story, but also when he said he wouldn’t let Kaden get out of this one.

And to be honest, I also wanted things between me and Kaden to be okay. Only I didn’t have the foggiest idea how to fix things.

I pushed the water aside and put my hand in Spencer’s; he led me to the dance floor with a meaningful gaze. In the middle of the space he stood still, threw his arm around my waist and pulled me close.

“What the hell?” I pushed my hands against his chest, trying to get away.

“Trust me,” was all he said. He started moving in time with the music. From here the others could see us, for sure.

“Are you serious? You want to make him jealous?” I asked, laughing. Spencer’s touch was not demanding but friendly, and I relaxed, letting my hands rest on his waist.

“Ten,” he murmured and pulled me a bit closer.

I didn’t dare look around. “Spencer, this is a joke.”

“Nine,” he continued unmoved and led me into a spin.

Kaden would never react to such a silly alpha-male display. After all, he hadn’t even batted an eye that time Scott and I had danced together.

“Eight.”

Although nothing had happened yet between Kaden and me at that point.

“Seven.”

I was giving up hope. Kaden didn’t want me and would never want me. I’d heard what he said to his mother, and he always told her the truth

“Six.” Spencer smoothed my hair out of my face before he pulled me close again. Man, he was good. He should try this with Dawn—he’d have her eating out of his hand.

“Fi-”

Kaden appeared out of nowhere.

“What the fuck, man?” he growled, grabbing Spencer by the shirt with both hands.

Instead of showing the tiniest bit of concern, Spencer smiled. “Just because you treat her like garbage, Kaden, doesn’t mean the rest of us have to.”

Kaden punched Spencer in the face. He staggered to the floor.

“Kaden!” I cried and held him around the waist from behind.

He was trembling with anger as he shook out his hand and cursed. People nearby looked uneasy. I saw two bouncers approaching from a distance.

“Go,” hissed Spencer, struggling to his feet. His right eye was already starting to swell. He touched it and winced. “Get out of here.”

“Spence,” murmured Kaden, but Spencer lifted a hand to stop him from speaking.

“It’s all good, man. I shouldn’t have taken it so far.” He tried to smile but all he could manage was a pained grimace. Then he repeated for the last time: “Now go.”

Kaden seemed to be awakening from his shock. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the emergency exit. I hoped the doormen wouldn’t follow us.

A cold wind whipped my face as I followed Kaden past the heavy metal door. He strode across the parking lot and ran his hand through his hair.

“Dammit!”

His voice echoed.

“Kaden,” I began, but he whirled around and raised his hand.

“No,” he growled.

“Kaden, please.”

“Leave me alone, Allie. Just let it go.” He turned around and practically ran the last few yards to his Jeep. Ignoring me, he got in and started the engine.

And before I knew it, he had taken off, squealing his tires behind him.

Search

Search

Friend:

Popular Free Online Books

Read books online free novels

Hot Authors

Sam Crescent, Zoe Chant, Flora Ferrari, Mia Madison, Alexa Riley, Lexy Timms, Claire Adams, Leslie North, Sophie Stern, Elizabeth Lennox, Amy Brent, Frankie Love, Jordan Silver, Bella Forrest, C.M. Steele, Dale Mayer, Jenika Snow, Madison Faye, Mia Ford, Kathi S. Barton, Michelle Love, Delilah Devlin, Sloane Meyers, Piper Davenport, Penny Wylder,

Random Novels

Bound by Light (Cauld Ane Series Book 7) by Piper Davenport

Billionaire Retreat by Summer Cooper

Born to It by Chelsea Camaron

Exodus by Pritchard, Christina Leigh

The House of Secrets by Sarra Manning

An Unlikely Debutante by Laura Martin

Whisper of Temptation (Whisper Lake Book 4) by Melanie Shawn

by Lili Zander, Rory Reynolds

Accidental Daddy: A Billionaire's Baby Romance by R.R. Banks

Billionaire's Secret Baby: An Older Man Younger Woman Pregnancy Romance by Cassandra Bloom

The High Road by Lauren Runow

Low Down & Dirty by Addison Moore

The Highland Secret Agent (Lairds of Dunkeld Series) (A Medieval Scottish Romance Story) by Emilia Ferguson

Chainbreaker (Timekeeper) by Tara Sim

Two Bad Brothers: An MFM Menage Romance by Sierra Sparks, Juliana Conners

Magic and Mayhem: If the Wand Fits (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Once Upon a Time in Assjacket Book 1) by Saranna DeWylde

The Pilot's Prince (The Royal Wedding Book 4) by Merry Farmer

Kings of Mystic by S.C. York

The Catch (The Player Duet Book 2) by K. Bromberg

All That I Am (Men of Monroe Book 1) by Rachel Brookes