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“Before Kendra left me, I was kind of nice,” he said with a smirk.

“She meant a lot to you?” I asked and ignored the dull throb in my chest.

Kaden frowned. “I was sixteen when we met so I wouldn’t call it a great love. But she was my first girlfriend. When we split up it felt like I was going to fall into a deep abyss. Especially because it didn’t end well… It got pretty ugly.”

I took my hand from his leg and traced the tattoo rings on his upper arm with my fingers, one after the other.

“The first ones are wider because the pain was worst. Eventually the pain let up and the rings got narrower,” I murmured, thinking back to the night he’d told me about the meaning of his tattoos.

Kaden placed his hand over mine. I wanted to look up at him, but couldn’t. There was so much to take in. This opening up to each other and sharing things from our past kind of scared me. I pulled my hand away and leaned back. “Thanks for telling me about this.” I looked out at the sky, which was now a mix of purple and dark blue.

“You’re the first person I ever told.”

“But Spencer’s dropped comments about it,” I said, confused.

“Because he knew me back when Kendra and I were together,” Kaden whispered. “But I never told anyone else.”

Now I did have to look at him. “Thanks.”

“Stop thanking me, Bubbles.”

“Okay. But still, thanks.”

“We’re both messed up, aren’t we?”

“I can only agree, Mr. White.”

A pleasant stillness enveloped us. We were both lost in thought.

“I think you should go to this gala tomorrow,” Kaden said after a while, and pulled the blanket up around our shoulders.

I thought I hadn’t heard right. “What? You’ve got to be kidding. No way.”

“I’m sure your mom isn’t expecting to see you. And definitely not with me.”

“I have no… Oh.” The penny had dropped, and I stared at Kaden. Panic welled up in me. “But you have to go back home! We both have to go back; what about Rachel, and Chad’s kids? And anyway—I have nothing to wear. Mom would go nuts if I showed up in everyday clothes.”

Kaden leaned forward and stopped my words with his dark gaze. He looked into my eyes and sought permission, which I gave. Then he bridged the last inches between us and planted his lips firmly on mine. The kiss was slow and intimate, and I felt it to the tips of my toes. Kaden groaned and the sound vibrated through my whole body.

He pulled back a bit and kissed my mouth and cheeks, before returning to my lips, sucking them gently between his teeth and nibbling on them.

When Kaden pressed his lips one last time against my forehead and leaned back, my panic was gone.

“I think you should go to the gala with me, to show your mom that she can’t beat us down. You won’t let her push you around, Bubbles. You are your own person and make your own decisions—that’s what we’d show her.”

When Kaden said “we,” my heart skipped a beat. I looked at him, dazed.

“You’re right,” I murmured.

“I’m always right,” he answered.

“You’re pretty full of yourself, Kaden.”

“Why should I be modest when we both know how great I am?” he asked, rising to his feet. He stretched his arms up over his head.

I followed him inside. We’d been on the balcony for quite a while. The sky was now shrouded in total darkness, and the air was damp and cold. It was time for sleep. That is, if sleep were even possible for me in Kaden’s presence.