We Never Kissed

Chapter 12

Ava

Gunnar reached across the table and pulled a massive pile of poker chips toward him with a satisfied grin splayed on his face. As he re-stacked his chips, he said, “Have y’all had enough, or do you want to rebuy?”

“Wow, make yourself right at home, Gunnar,” I said with a giggle.

My mom pushed her chair back and stood. “If I had known you were bringing a card shark into this house, I would’ve said no.” But then she ran a hand over the top of Gunnar’s short brown hair like he was one of her own children and smiled at him.

It was strange how Gunnar fit right into our family, doing things with us we’d done all my life. But instead of my brother at the table, it was Gunnar. He was just a naturally lovable person, and though he was unique in his own right, he was also a chameleon who could thrive in any situation. I was grateful he made this life change with me. It felt good to be home and made it less depressing that I’d ended a long-term relationship with a man who’d only treated me with kindness.

“Yeah, I think I’ve taken enough of a beating,” Dad said, getting up from the table. “Anyone else want ice cream? I was going to watch some TV before I go to bed.”

Gunnar and I exchanged silly grins. He and Dad had actually spent some time together in front of the TV, and though Gunnar wasn’t a fan of football, the two found common ground in golf.

“I think I’m going to take the money and run,” Gunnar said with not an ounce of guilt for taking my parents’ money. I could only guess he loved the competition and the feeling that he’d actually earned that money.

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna do a little work and then go to bed,” I said, then flitted my eyes to Gunnar, who shot me a look like he didn’t believe me. I really was going to do work, but I also planned to check in with Alex and maybe pick up where we left off two nights ago. Not that I planned to get naked or anything, but I would like to try to figure this thing out with us. Alex’s hesitation worried me, even if I understood.

We all went our separate ways, and I closed myself behind my bedroom door. I spent about an hour going through emails and reading some abstracts I needed to get to before I quit for the night. When I was done, I sat at my desk, contemplating going over to my bed before seeing if Alex was online. That might be too tempting . For me or Alex, I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling it would be both. My heart raced at the prospect.

I decided to try Alex, and if things naturally went in a certain direction, I’d make up my mind in the moment if I should take it over to the bed.

I considered texting first, but I was too excited to see his face, so I clicked over to our last video call and tapped it to redial. At three rings, disappointment settled in. I doubted he was asleep, but it was possible he was still working at the office, something he often did. Alex’s schedule was nothing like a nine to five, and that was something else I had to consider. I wasn’t sure how I felt about late nights at the office, taking clients out at night, flying out for business trips. Because all that equaled one question: would he even have time for a relationship? Assuming a relationship was what he wanted.

After a few more rings, the call seemed to connect, and as often happened, I heard the audio before the video kicked in. Only it wasn’t Alex’s voice; it was a woman speaking. Then I realized the video had turned on, but the screen was blocked. Or, rather, something was blocking it. Is that … I was staring at the back of someone’s black dress, with the hint of black hair coming into the screen just past her shoulders.

My heart jumped at the thought of a woman being with Alex a moment before I reminded myself that there were plenty of women in Alex’s office. He was probably working late. I also remembered he’d said something about having work when I asked if he wanted to get together on this night.

“Oh, hell, Alex! There’s a damn gnat in my wine,” the woman said.

Strangely, Alex’s response sounded too far away for me to hear, which didn’t make sense. Then the woman spoke again. “It’s okay, I know where the glasses are.” She turned then, and her large breasts spilling out of her dress filled the screen.

What the— That was not Alex’s office. I could clearly see it was his apartment. Whether or not I had a right to be jealous didn’t matter to the knot in my stomach and the fire burning in my gut. I watched as the woman set her glass down, then reached above the computer to the cupboard to retrieve a new one.

Alex must have walked into the living room because this time I could hear him. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Probably flew in when we were on the balcony.”

What the hell were they doing sipping wine on the fucking balcony ! My chest tightened, and it was hard to breathe, like a baby elephant was sitting on it. When my eyes glazed over, I pushed all my hurt feelings aside and berated myself for being childish. Just because I’d had a secret crush on Alex basically my entire life didn’t mean he owed me anything. Still, the way he’d spoken to me lately… That kiss. I thought he wanted me. Only me.

And I was not about to watch Alex fuck some random woman on his kitchen counter. So, I closed the application and shut down my computer, convincing myself I hadn’t changed my whole entire life for the possibility of being with this man.

Just then a couple of knocks sounded on my door before Gunnar opened it.

I turned my face away, throwing on a quick smile. “Uh, I could have been naked.”

“And?” He came in and sat on the edge of the bed.

I joined him, switching gears to deal with this, something I knew could be an issue. I touched his hand as it rested on the bed. “We’re going to have to set some boundaries if we’re going to live together. You know that right? ”

His mouth quirked up on one side. “I know. I’m sorry. I swear I forgot.”

“You know what I’m going to say then.”

He nodded, then recited the words I’d said to him recently. “Just because I’m comfortable with something doesn’t mean others are.”

“Very good.” I gave him a smile.

And as the King of Switching Gears, Gunnar flopped back against my pillow. “But you’re my bestie, so I get more than everyone else, right?”

I couldn’t help but laugh, appreciating him taking my mind off what happened only a minute ago. “Absolutely… Just make sure you wait for me to say come in before you come in, ’K?”

“Got it.” He patted the spot next to him. “Now come and tell Uncle Gunnar what’s bothering you.”

I let out an exasperated breath. “Shit!” Shaking my head, I crawled up next to him. “I hate that about you.”

“No, you don’t. Now spill, baby girl.”

I gave him the blow-by-blow of my failed video call with Alex and waited.

Gunnar nodded for a few seconds before he responded. One thing he excelled at was breaking down a problem, unemotionally. “First…you don’t know that anything happened or will happen, right?”

I shrugged .

“Second, you guys aren’t even together yet.”

I cocked my head, my expression saying, Really ?

“Okay, you’re right. But point one trumps that. So, really all you’re dealing with here is that he lied.” I started to speak, my mouth hanging open, when he said, “Unless…it was work.”

“Sipping wine on his balcony, her in a damn cocktail dress?” I practically whined.

“Okay, that one the jury is still out. So, what are you going to do? Confront him? What if he doesn’t even realize you called?”

Just then my cell rang. Gunnar and I exchanged wide eyes.

“See who it is,” he said with urgency.

I swiped my phone up and looked at the screen. It was Alex.