Does it ever.
“I blocked him last night, the moment I went into the kitchen to talk to you.” He sets the phone down. “Not because I planned on something happening between us, but because I knew I wanted to discuss things I didn’t want to stress him over. But then, when something did happen, I kept blocking him.”
I bite my lip. Nod.
“When we decided to try to be in each other’s lives again,” he says, his cuff twisting over and over again, “I made a conscious effort to never block my brother when it came to you. Because I wanted to show him I have nothing to hide.” He tugs at the bracelet so hard I worry it might snap. “I’m so fucking selfish, it’s disgusting.”
I’m no Emotional, but I can feel the guilt in him all the way across the room. He doesn’t deserve to carry that burden alone. The truth is, “I’m the selfish one, Kellan.”
I’m the cheater. I’ve never been more disgusted with myself.
He laughs, but there is no humor. “He wants me to take you somewhere.”
I don’t say anything.
“Is it wrong that I want to do it?”
I should tell him yes. Explain that what happened was a mistake, that it can’t happen again. Ask him to leave.
He stands up and slowly makes his way over to me, like he’s giving me every opportunity to bolt in the opposite direction. And yet, the pull between us is so overwhelming that both our bodies shift towards one another.
He doesn’t ask me if I want to go, too. He just looks at me, hands stuffed in his pockets, his eyes seeing all the way down into my soul. And so help me, I decide to go.
Kellan’s apartment is enormous, beautiful—like something straight out of a design magazine. Everything in it is tasteful and understated, from the furniture to the art hanging on the walls. You’d never guess that a nineteen-year-old male lives in here.
I’m afraid to set my bag on the highly polished hardwood floors in fear of scratching them. I must hesitate too long, because Kellan takes it from me and tosses it on a couch that looks like it costs more than a new car. “I feel like you’re a total stranger,” I accuse as I look around.
He flushes, tugs on his collar. “This is all Callie.”
I raise an eyebrow. “She did this?”
He rocks back on his heels and nods.
In a kitchen that would make a chef weep in envy, I ask incredulously, “Do you even use this?”
“Well,” he says, “I use the coffee pot. And the tea kettle. And sometimes the microwave.”
I’m bewildered. “Your place,”—I gesture around us—“is . . . I don’t even know how to put it. It’s like an adult’s home.”
His smile is crooked. “Funny that. I just so happen to be an adult.”
I roll my eyes. “This looks like it belongs to some swank stockbroker in Manhattan. Not some . . .”
“Slacker surfer dude?” he supplies slyly. “Since we’re doing alliterations and all.”
I plant my hands on my hips. “You know what I mean!”
My tour ends in his bedroom so he can pack a bag for our trip. I lounge in an oversized yet comfy chair near his bed, watching him go through his drawers, attempting to shove my guilt down deep because if I don’t, I just might not be able to breathe. “I can’t get over how nice your place is. You must feel like you’re slumming when you come to visit me.”
“It’s practically the ghetto,” he says, straight-faced. I crack a smile. “Remember, Cal did all the work. I merely approved color schemes and signed for the bills.”
“You mean—wait. Callie didn’t buy all the extra stuff here?”
He’s confused. “She and Astrid are loaded, but I’m not going to let them spend that kind of money on an apartment for me.”
“You’re renting, right?”
He doesn’t meet my eyes. “No, I bought it. It’s mine.”
“You . . . bought it?”
He sighs deeply and comes to sit on the ottoman in front of me. “Let me guess—this is another one of those things that Jonah hasn’t told you about, right?”
“Told me what? That you bought an apartment?”
He runs his hands through his hair. “Jonah and I are fairly well off.”
The data doesn’t compute. “Well off?”
He’s annoyed, but not at me. “Gods, Jonah,” he mutters under his breath. Louder, he says, “We’re wealthy. I thought maybe you’d guessed that, what with us owning a ton of property and all.”
To say I’m shell-shocked would be an understatement. “But you guys inherited those!”
“Well, yeah, that’s true. But we also inherited quite a bit of money from both our mother and Joey. And now that his wife Hannah’s gone, we got everything from her, too.” He scratches his neck. “Haven’t you noticed that Jonah pays for everything when you two go out?”
“I thought he was just being old-fashioned.” This is a joke, right?
“That too.”