“I can’t let you go back out there, Kelsey. Not dressed the way you are.”

“Why not?” I cross my arms and look away from him. “I’m wearing the same outfit we used to always wear, Ethan. And no one had a problem with it before. Casual is friendly and approachable. You’re just going to have to let some things go.” I reach to move him out of my way, but instead he grabs my wrist and stops me. I freeze and take a deep breath.

I’m shoved against the wall and his lips are on mine before I can finish that breath. He quickly releases my wrist and his hands go to my waist, each hand digging into my sides and pulling me closer. His tongue slips past my lips, and I lock my arms around his neck. Hot damn, this man can kiss.

Ethan moves his knee between my legs and rubs against me. A moan comes from inside me, fueling his hunger even more. A hand slips under my shirt, snapping me back to attention. I break the kiss.

“Ethan.”

“I can’t let you go back out there dressed the way you are because I won’t be able to keep my eyes or hands off of you. And if I won’t be able to do it, no other man out there will either. I don’t feel like getting in a fight tonight, Kelsey. It wouldn’t be professional and it wouldn’t end well for the other guy. I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone and I can’t get enough of you.”

I push him away slightly and look into his eyes. If he really feels this way then where has he been? Why hasn’t he called me or come over for breakfast? If he really feels this way, he never would have stopped showing up. But I can’t let him know how this bothers me.

“I’m sorry, Ethan, I…I got carried away. I’m not attracted to you that way.” I take a step around him.

“That’s bullshit, Kelsey, and you know it,” he challenges once I reach the door.

“I don’t know it. I don’t know anything except that a relationship between the two of us would never work.”

“Why not? We’ve never had one. You can’t just pre-reject something because you think you know how it will turn out. It doesn’t work like that.”

I remain silent because everything I say is only making this situation worse. I don’t want him upset with me but I do want him to stop being such an uptight jerk.

“I’m sorry, Ethan. I should get back to work.”

“Wait. Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t having even a pinch of feelings for me. I know you do. I want to hear you say it.”

I don’t hesitate to look him in the eye. I even open my mouth to confess everything he wants to hear, but the words don’t come out. Instead, I open the door and walk out.

Ethan never comes out of his office during my shift. I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I do care about him. It’s just that after you add our past and his present behavior together, it all screams that I shouldn’t trust him. I’m not doing that again. I can’t let myself go through that more than once. I know I said I’d just go with it, but I can’t. Even if every part of my heart wants to be with Ethan.

Chapter Sixteen

Kelsey

All week I have failed miserably at hiding my emotions. Both Beth and Logan have threatened that if I don’t cheer up by Saturday night, they will call Sara. Calling the best friend can be just as bad as physical pain. Now it’s Friday, and Logan and I are once again the bartenders for the night. I’m determined to prove there is nothing wrong with me. Technically there isn’t if you take away my obsession with the fact that I think I made a mistake with Ethan. Maybe I should have given us a real chance. Maybe he acted that way because I wasn’t ever all that clear on how I felt. I should have gone all in. I was stupid, now I’m miserable.

“Hey, Pip,” Logan jokes as he flicks my side ponytail. I laugh, set a few beers on the counter, and start popping off the tops.

“Pip had two pigtails, Logan. I only have one,” I correct him, and the customer across from me nods in agreement.

“And Pippy braided her hair too,” the man says before taking his beer and walking back to his table.

Logan shakes his head before pulling apart a thirty-pack of beers and squatting to load them into the cooler under the bar top.

“My point is, you’re over here bouncing around all cheery and humming along to the music. Lately you’re in here all stressed and shit.” He stops to look up at me. “Is there something you want to tell me? Has someone finally turned that frown upside down?”

I playfully kick him and he wobbles a little before correcting himself and continues stocking the fridge.

“Nope,” I say, giving him a straight face and shrugging my shoulders. “Is there something you should be telling me?”

He stands up and puts his hand on his hips. “You girls are the weirdest creatures, you know that?” I only smile at him. “But you want to know something else?” he adds. “I’m a guy and that makes me smarter than any creature out there, so I know exactly what you’re hiding.” My smiles drops and he laughs as he walks to other end of the bar.

He’s just messing with me. He doesn’t know anything —does he? I bet he already talked to Ethan, even though there isn’t anything to talk about. Boys are so much worse than girls at gossiping because they don’t know when they are doing it. But if they are talking, that means Ethan’s been thinking about me. And if he has, maybe all I need to do is talk to him. Fix whatever mess this is. If he were someone I could just get over, I’d have done that by now.

I decide that it’s best I go about the rest of my shift throwing myself into work. If I’m busy, I won’t be able to hear Logan at the other end of the bar making stupid and funny comments about what he thinks he knows, and I sure won’t have time to think about Ethan. My plan goes perfectly, but of course, that ends real fast when Ethan walks through the bar door with a girl on his arm. Not just any girl either. He’s with Abby.

Ethan

I had a plan and I thought it was brilliant, but looking at Kelsey’s face right now, I know I screwed up. I screwed up bad. Abby probably isn’t the best person to subject to this, but she knows my intentions and says she has no problem helping me out. But with the way her hand keeps grabbing my ass, she’s creating a plan of her own.

“Abby, stop. You’re not helping,” I tell her as I remove her hand once again. No man in his right mind would say no to a girl when she grabs his ass, so I know I look like a total dumbass right now.

We take a seat at the bar. I watch as Kelsey walks away from us to the other end of the bar where Logan is. He looks over her shoulder at me then nods his head. He hands her the beer bottle in his hand and approaches us.

“Hey, guys,” he greets us, but he doesn’t sound pleased. We make brief eye contact and then he lets out a deep breath and shakes his head.

“I have to use the ladies’ room,” Abby says, leaving us.

We both watch as she disappears behind the door.

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing bringing her here? I thought you and Kelsey were…I don’t know, getting along now or—fuck, you were trying anyway.” He keeps shaking his head. “You just messed everything up. I don’t know how to help you and I definitely don’t want to. Not now. You’re on your own.”

Logan doesn’t have to tell me twice.

“I was desperate. Kelsey won’t openly admit she likes me so I thought—”

“That you should make her jealous,” he finishes for me. “You don’t know her at all, do you? Your remember Tyler, right?”

I nod.

“Did you know he cheated on her? With Abby?”

Fuck.

I’m an asshole.

What kind of a person would cheat on Kelsey? Kelsey deserves the best, and I’ll hurt anyone who doesn’t give that to her, including myself.

“Yeah, I didn’t think you knew. And if you did know, this was a complete jackass move.”