Kitten (Brian&Leah,1)

32. Regrets

"Just not this weekend. Leah's barely seen anything out of this town. I might take her somewhere for the day."

"Good boy. Well, time to head back to work. Say hi to your girl."

I chuckle and kiss Mom's cheek. "Will do."

After she leaves, I fix another bike, and then three more. I stop to eat a sandwich and continue working until the sound of footsteps makes me halt.

"'Sup," Mac says, strolling in.

"Hey, dude. I thought you were busy at the gym," I say, and the ugly sensation from earlier is inexplicably back. It hits me full force when Mac sits on the bench and nods toward it for me to join him.

"What happened?" I ask.

Mac sighs. "I stopped by our place to get some papers I'd forgotten."

"And?"

"And Leah was there with Annie."

That gets my attention. "Didn't they go shopping?"

"They did, but they went home because of what Bella did."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Mac scrunches up his brows. "I eavesdropped because they were talking about you. Bella cornered Leah and informed her about your sexual preferences, said she was your first, and that you saw her after our meetup and begged her to let you fuck her. Is that true?"

My mouth goes dry. I try to swallow and say, "What? Of course not. I went to confront her about the bullshit with Ferdinand at the Temple. Dakota was with me cause I was too buzzed to drive my bike. Did that bitch tell Leah that?"

Mac nods. "That and more. That you like her rack and always go back to her. Leah was in tears, and Annie was comforting her."

My heart squeezes. I stare at Mac, and self-loathing breaks through my usual indifference. "I should've listened to Dakota, damn it. She warned me, and I was an idiot. Fuck. I shouldn't have gone to see Bella at all."

"I told you she caught feelings. Why else would she let you fuck her without asking where you'd been and who you'd been with? No chick does that unless she has no self-respect or is in love."

"I can't believe she stooped so low."

Mac rolls his eyes. "Yeah, cause we all grew up here and all that shit. Well, she did, and I wanted to give you a heads up in case your girl's pissed, and you have no clue why."

I jump to my feet and rush to the sink to wash my hands. "I need to talk to her."

Mac scratches his head. "Maybe you should let her cool off?"

"To make her hate me and doubt herself more while she does? No, thanks."

I don't tell him that Leah and I made out, and I stopped, afraid to push, but if Kitten believes Bella's words, she'll think I didn't want her.

Mac sends a text and then looks at me. "They're still at our place. Let's go."

***

Leah and Annie are in the kitchen when we enter Mac's house. Kitten's head snaps up at the sound of my footsteps, and her eyes widen. Wiping the moisture off her cheeks, she stares at the tea mug in her hands.

"Give us a minute, please," I say to Annie, who glances at Leah and exits the kitchen after Kitten tells her it's okay.

"We need to talk," I say.

Leah sniffles. "You know."

"Mac heard. Don't be mad at him for telling me. He's my best friend, and I'm glad he did. My house is empty. We can talk there."