There I Go Again

Chapter 32

 "I don't want to hurt you...." he said taking her hand leading her to the couch.

"Then don't. Don't do it..." she told him.

"I'm going to try not to. But I just want you to know.."

"That you're gay?" she asked him.

"Oh my god! Kassandra! No! Shut up!" he pushed her momentarily forgetting about what he wanted to say. "Nick...he...called me a few days before you came down here. He told me you talked about me in your audition interview. You said you missed me..."

"Oh my god. Is he why you're here? Bruno! How much did they pay you? I hate you!" she yelled at him. She took a deep breath telling herself that she wasn't going to freak out about this. "Really, though..how much did he pay you?"

"It was 15 the first time...5 for the charity."

"I knew it was bullshit. Complete bullshit. " she said standing up starting to pace. He stood up walking toward her wrapping his arms around her. She looked up at him. "Why? Why didn't you just tell me that they had gotten in touch with you? I would have been okay with that. I would have been fine with it...I mean...it would have been a bit weird..but why? Bruno...why? Is this all...everything....every single thing you're saying...is it going through your earpiece?"

"No, Kassie. It's not." she pulled away from him starting to walk back to the couch. She buried her head in her hands starting to cry.

"Kassandra..." Bruno tried to figure out what he was going to say next to her. "If I could take it back I would. I would take it back a million times."

"Is that how you got your apartment?" she asked him. "What do you want? Do you just need money, fame....what do you want? Bruno...answer me..." she said lifting her head up.

"Kass...the only thing I want is you. It's always been you." he told her wiping a tear off her cheek.

"But why this way? Why?" she asked him.

"It was the only way I could get you to listen to me. When was the last time you returned one of my text messages? Or even talked to me? Kassandra...I know I fucked up last time. I know I did. "

"And the only way you could think of telling me was by working with my sleazy director to break up my relationship and then make me think that I need you more than I did the day we broke up? I'm not okay with that. I'm not." she told him.

"I never said it was right, Kass." he told her.

She rolled her eyes at his answer.

"I loved Andrew. We were going to get married. Sure, he had his flaws. We all have our flaws...but you tricked me into thinking those were fatal flaws and that I was better with you. You tricked me, Bruno."

"Did I say those things with a microphone on, Kassandra?" he asked her.

"No. But that doesn't mean he didn't tell you what to say to make it worse." she answered him.

"I told him I didn't want to do another episode. I told him I didn't want to make things worse, Kittie..."

"But you did make it worse. It's a horrible mess." she shook her head upset at him.

"He said I would be able to perform. And that they would try to get my music on the soundtrack. Kassie...I was thinking of my future."

"Oh, so now what we did is just part of your future? So when you look back on your life ten years from now you'll be able to say 'it all started the day I fucked Kassie.'...I hate you so much. So much. More than I hated you before." she responded.

"No...no...nooooo....Kassandra...I will look back on that night ten years from now and remember that it was the night that I watched you dance like crazy to Dirty Diana. Kassandra."

"You were watching me?" she asked him.

"I picked the most beautiful girl in the club to sing the song to. And it was you. That's all I will remember of that night. And that you wore a yellow dress. And you smelled like coconuts. I will not remember that you left at 4 o clock in the morning leaving a shoe behind."

"Oh..shit..I did leave it there..." she answered. "Do you still have it?" she asked him.

He laughed at her question. "Of course I do."

"Good, because those were my favorites." she told him starting to gather herself."Bruno..."

"Yeah, Kittie?" he asked her.

"Thank you for telling me. I'm not mad at you." she told him.

"You're not?" he asked her shocked.

"A little perplexed, but not mad. You made me realize that he was a jerk. And I deserve better than that...but I'm not ready for it to just be us. I need some time to just be me. To figure out who I am and what I'm doing. To find out if I like the snotty bitchy Kassie." she told him.

"I like her." Bruno told her.

"I know you do." she laughed touching his cheek.

"I'm sorry." he told her again.

"Let's finish the movie, Bruno." she said taking his junior mints from the couch popping a handful into her mouth.

"Hey..those were mine." he told her.

"Come and get 'em." she smiled at him standing up looking toward her bedroom.

He reached out his arm as she stood up pulling her on top of him laying her onto the couch kissing her.

"Mmmmm. Minty." he responded pulling away from her face.