Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(145)

Rubbing his thumb against mine, he stared at me for a long time.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, his accent thick. “I think I hated you after you cheated on me…for a long time actually.” My heart sunk and my eyes welled as he continued to stare me down. Shaking his head, he said, “But I think I should thank you now.” My jaw dropped as my eyes went wide. “Thank me? God, Denny…why? I was horrible to you.”

He smiled, looking at our hands. “Yes, yes you were.” Peeking up at me, he gave me a goofy grin. “But I’d have never gone back home if you hadn’t hurt me so much. And if I’d never gone back home, I’d never have met Abby.” Looking past me, his smile widened as he thought of his lover, wherever she was. “And she…is a miracle to me.” Oddly, that sentence didn’t hurt me as much as it would have a few months ago. Oddly, it made me smile and we were both grinning at each 408



other goofily. “I’m glad you’re happy Denny, that’s all I ever wanted for you.”

He nodded at me, then frowned. “Well, I’d be happy if I could get her here…”

Leaning in, I felt comfortable enough to give my friend a hug, knowing neither one of us would be hurt by it. He laughed a little and hugged me back. Letting go of my hand so he could get both arms around me, he squeezed me tight. I chuckled as I held him, comforted that I could still comfort him.

Pulling back, I tilted my head and told him, “If it makes you feel any better, I got kissed by a girl a couple of weeks ago.” Giving me a playfully devilish grin, he leaned his head against mine.

“You have my complete attention. Let’s talk about the kiss.” I was giggling when I heard the door open. Wondering why Anna had decided to come back, I loosened my arms and looked over at the door. I stopped giggling when I saw who was standing there. I think I stopped breathing. Denny immediately dropped his arms from around me as a cold voice filled the room.

“I felt bad for missing our anniversary. We had a short break in the schedule, and even though Matt’s irked at me that I took off, I just had to come out and see you.”

My jaw dropped as Kellan stood just inside my apartment door. Eyes narrowed, his midnight blue depths stared at Denny and I like he wanted to set us on fire. “I wanted to surprise you.” His jaw tight, he spat out, “Are you surprised…? Because I know I am.” I instantly scooted away from Denny and stood up. Knowing how bad that moment looked, I held my hands up to Kellan. “I can explain.” Walking into the room, Kellan slammed my door shut behind him. He pointed at us with a hand holding a bouquet of flowers; they vibrated as his hand shook. “You can explain?” he yelled. “Explain what exactly?

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The fact that he is sitting in your living room and not thousands of miles away, or the fact that you had your hands all over each other!” Tossing the flowers to the floor, he strode into the living room. I immediately put my hands on Kellan’s chest, afraid of him and Denny getting too close together. Glaring down at me, Kellan pushed his body against my hands and seethed, “I’m listening…start explaining!” My throat completely closed up on me as Denny slowly rose from the couch. “Kiera…I told you to tell him…” Denny murmured.

Kellan’s eyes snapped over to his. “Tell me what? Tell me about the kiss? Is that what I heard you say?” His eyes flashed back to mine, cold, enraged. “Is that what you need to tell me, Kiera…or is there more?” Shaking my head, tears blurred my vision. “No, Kellan, he didn’t kiss me.”

Kellan’s eyes narrowed and he pushed me off of him. “Then you kissed him?”

I swallowed, wishing this was just a horrid dream. I should have told him, I should have told him on that very first day I ran into Denny. “No, Kellan, I didn’t kiss anybody…”

Kellan walked up to me, pressing me back with his body until my legs pressed against the couch. Even knowing that he was extremely mad, even filled with guilt and fear for our relationship, his proximity excited me. My rough breath matching his, I resisted the urge to touch him as he leaned down and snapped, “But someone kissed you? Who?” Denny stepped up to Kellan, placing a hand on his arm.

“Kellan…relax, mate.”

Kellan snapped his head to Denny and shoved him back, hard. “Don’t f*cking call me, mate! Why the hell are you with my girl?” The possessive accent on the word was so clear, it seemed to ring in the air. I put a calming hand on Kellan’s chest but he ignored it, focused on Denny instead. Stumbling back a step, Denny managed to catch 410



himself before falling. Slowly straightening, he glared at Kellan.

“Right… your girl.”

Kellan sniffed, his jaw flexing hard, along with his fist. Knowing someone was going to start hitting someone else, I grabbed Kellan’s face and made him look at me. “A girl at school kissed me! Okay?” Kellan blinked, his expression relaxing. “A girl?” Twisting his brows, he searched my face. “Really?”

Sighing, I shrugged. “Yes, a girl. Denny and I haven’t done anything wrong. You stepped into a situation that was easy to take out of context.” Stroking his cheek as I watched his face relax, I murmured, “But I didn’t kiss her back. I haven’t kissed anyone…but you.” His dark blue eyes searched mine for what felt like an eternity, then he gave me a small, crooked smile. “You got kissed by a girl, and I missed it?”