Page 6 of Knox (Graeme #3)

Confessions

M ade it home by one in the morning, and went through the motions of going to bed. Sleep still didn't come, and I stared at Jasper's side of the bed.

The night had been a strange trip into uncharted territory. Was it too soon to be kissing someone else? Shouldn't I have told Knox no? Then again, Jasper was probably cozied up to Lana right now, so why was I even thinking about it?

@Jo.GraemePlace: She is scary, but it's not the first time a girl made fun of me. I can see why she isn't married, though. Did you go to the barn party?

@KnightTimeDanc3r: No, I didn't. Spent my night with another friend who didn't go. We are both sort of in the same place right now.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Did the rest of the night go well?

@Jo.GraemePlace: Confusing, really. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Wanna talk about it? I won't tell anyone.

I took a deep breath and stared at the screen. If I told him, Knox might be angry. Didn't know if he wanted anyone to know he'd kissed me. It was probably just a dig at his dad, anyway. Though his father was a Mac, and I was Ian's heir, so the kiss was a big deal. Oh God! What did that mean?

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Are you okay? You're quiet.

@Jo.GraemePlace: I'm not okay, no. So after rehearsal, I took someone home.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Knox. I saw that. He was really cool defending you like that.

@Jo.GraemePlace: He was, yeah. So, I gave him a ride. Sylvie rode with me, too, because she lives in my house. We aren't together. She's older than Ian, and she's gonna be in the new movie.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Makes sense that she would stay with y'all. Why buy a house in Swanton for five minutes when you could stay with a friend?

@Jo.GraemePlace: Exactly.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: So what did you do?

@Jo.GraemePlace: Well, Sylvie wanted food. Uncle Ian cooks, but they weren't here tonight, so I offered to buy supper.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: You gonna tell me you slept with Sylvie?

I laughed then. Hadn't expected him to ask that.

@Jo.GraemePlace: No. I bought Knox food and invited him to eat with me. Sylvie left us alone.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: So, you pay for Knox's food, too?

@Jo.GraemePlace: Well, yeah.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: You had a date with Knox Daniels, the brother of the girl Jasper is marrying.

@Jo.GraemePlace: Yeah. And he kissed me when I dropped him off. His dad came out to the porch, and Knox kissed me in front of him. Now, I have questions. I mean, Jasper used me. I'm Ian's heir, and it's a big thing. Like Knox made a declaration in front of his dad.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: So, you feel like Knox might be using you? Do you like him?

Not the question I expected. Did I like Knox? Jasper just dumped me with no warning, and I was still scrambling from that.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Josh?

@Jo.GraemePlace: I don't know.

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Okay, maybe the better question is, could you? He's cute and funny. Smart, too.

@Jo.GraemePlace: You trying to sell him to me?

I know he's cute. He is funny, too. He reads.

I like that. Didn't call me weird because I get quiet to think about what's going on before I respond.

Okay. So, I could like him. Just not sure I'm there yet.

And what if he is using me like Jasper? What if he's just waiting for someone better to come along, like Jasper did?

@KnightTimeDanc3r: Knox isn't using you, Josh. Give him a chance.

@Jo.GraemePlace: Isn't it too soon?

@KnightTimeDanc3r: We don't get time, Josh. We are traded to the highest bidder to keep the world going. We can break down in private, but we can't change our fate. I gotta go. Get some sleep and give Knox a chance. He's a really great guy.

@Jo.GraemePlace: Goodnight.

I set the phone back on the charger and thought about that. He was right. We couldn't change our fate, and in public, at least, we had to pretend everything was good. For all the wrong things Uncle Ian righted for me, making me his heir came with conditions I didn't have before.

I looked around the bedroom. Without Ian, I would be in the army like Ethan wanted, wouldn't have known Jasper, nor starred in a play.

Wouldn't have known the definition of family, either.

Maybe I was being stupid and should just go with the flow.

Unless MacDaniels found a reason to take Knox away from me, too.