Free Let Me Love by Michelle Lynn Page B

embarrassed Kailey. “I guess, I should get going. Are you coming with me tonight?” Praying she says yes, I kiss her lips quickly to hopefully seal the deal.
    “Yes,” she mumbles against mine. I suppress the shout of joy that wants to bellow out of me. I think we just turned a corner.
    ––––––––
    T he van stops in front of Jessa’s sister, Sam’s house. She’s having a huge party tonight, and since we’re always up for a college kegger, we all graciously accepted the invitation. Grant and Jessa have their hot date tonight, so they’re coming later, which will be a good thing. It’ll allow Kailey to see how in love they are with each other once they arrive. After the plans I heard Grant had for them, there’s no doubt Jessa will be on cloud nine, bragging about it to all the girls.
    As I grasp Kailey’s hand, Dex tosses his overnight bag over his shoulder. He winks when he catches me smirking at him. He definitely picked up those self-esteem pieces pretty fast after I stole Kailey. The same night we got in from Western, he and Sam started eyeing each other. Not sure Jessa’s noticed, and I’m itching to be there when she finds out. No doubt Dex will get his ass handed to him by a spunky little blonde.
    Sam opens the door before we ring the doorbell, obviously just as excited about our arrival as Dex. Once she gives a brief hello and a quick tour, she and Dex disappear into the bedroom while the four of us grab a few beers and sit down.
    “Remember those days,” Sadie says, squeezing Brady’s thigh.
    “Those days?” he scrunches his eyebrows at her while taking a sip of his water.
    “You know? When we couldn’t keep our hands off one another?”
    “You have to be shittin’ me?” spills out of me in as much confusion as Brady appears to be in.
    “Babe, my hands never leave your body,” he remarks, pulling her into his lap. “I’m sure there’s a spare bedroom somewhere around here.” He over dramatizes his head turning left and right.
    “You don’t need a bedroom,” I begin to joke, but quickly stop myself, so Kailey doesn’t get the wrong idea.
    “Yeah, Trey’s never needed one,” Kailey adds, and I stare up at Brady not sure if it’s a slam or a joke on her part. Sadie bites the inside of her cheek, wondering the same.
    “Isn’t that the truth? All we need is a corner,” Brady laughs and, luckily, Kailey does to. Unfortunately, I’m not too much of a fan of being the butt of a joke, especially one that is a sore spot between Kailey and me.
    “Hey,” she squeezes my hand. I peer down at her next to me and out of the corner of my eye, I notice Brady and Sadie attempt to leave quietly. “I was joking. I’m sorry,” she continues, her green eyes reflecting remorse for her words.
    Bending down close to her, her body stiffens against mine. “Things change—people change,” I whisper before kissing her. Not sure why I’m suddenly ashamed of every careless fuck I’ve had. I guess, it’s my need for her to feel like I’m worth something. When in actuality, I’m not.
    “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry,” she apologizes again.
    “You can’t be sorry when you speak the truth.” I stand up, not able to handle these damn emotions any longer. I leave her on the couch without looking back her way. When I get into the kitchen, Sadie rolls her eyes at me and leaves the room to join Kailey, I assume.
    “You finally found your match,” Brady jokes, chomping on some Doritos he found on the table.
    Reaching in to grab one. “Yeah, I guess.” I shrug my shoulders, searching the room for something stronger. When I spot the bottle of Absolute, my hand reaches, but Brady grabs it away.
    “You don’t need it,” he tells me, keeping it hostage as though I’m some fucking alcoholic.
    “What the hell? Give me the damn bottle.” My voice rising in agitation.
    “Deal with what’s going on instead of numbing the shit,” Brady says, handing me the bottle.
    I