Page 21 of Text Me A Kiss

I guessed I was about to find out.

I set down my plate and leaned forward.I’m listening,my demeanor said.I’m ready to share with you. I want to know you better. I want you to know me better.“Who should go first?”

“It was my idea, so I’ll go first.” A tiny bit of shyness tinged Kitten’s fingers as the tips gently rubbed against each other and a hint of uncertainty put an unusual hopefulness in her voice and smile. “My name is Kady Nichols. Nice to meet you.” She gripped the bottom hem of her white shirt with her left hand and held out her right jokingly.

I think I took her hand and shook it. I think I met her eyes, and I think I smiled.

But I didn’t stand up, take her hand, and give a gallant bow as I might have normally in an overly gentlemanly way, and I didn’t say, “Nice to meet you, Kady Nichols. My name is Graham Emerson.”

Because I knew the name Kady Nichols. The name Kady Nichols had been mentioned to me once or twice before by a very proud, powerful father named Allen Nichols.

Allen Nichols just happened to be the President of the Board of Directors of Midwest. And I just happened to be the CEO of Midwest.

Last night, I had fucked the daughter of the one man who could fire me from the lofty position I had worked so hard to reach.

Kitten’s—Kady’s—her eyes were so soft, happy, and bright. Now, I should say something like “you have a beautiful name” or “my Kady Kitten”—anything to keep that smile there forever.

But I couldn’t, because she wasAllen Nichols’daughter. Kady was as out of my reach as the fluffy clouds that raced across the sky. I couldn’t have her any more than I could keep clouds in a bottle.

“Well?”

My smile frozen on my face, I managed to raise my eyebrows a little with a question.

“Aren’t you going to tell me your name?” Her smiled faded a bit. My world had dissolved into despair. Hers had just begun to dip down into confusion, hesitancy.

“Logan Ward.” My high school friend would laugh to know I used his name. He would laugh at this entire situation.

I wondered if he’d laugh if it was his heart tearing itself into a thousand pieces.

“You don’t really look like a Logan.” She was teasing me, I could tell. It didn’t matter. Her words took the shattered fragments of my heart and scattered them through time, across every message we’d ever sent and the few, tragically brief physical moments we had shared.

“Yeah, well, I guess I did when I was born.” We both laughed, and I hoped only I could hear the hollowness echoing in mine.

“Well, nice to meet you, Logan.” Kady giggled, grabbed both of our plates, and energetically carried them to the kitchen. She was content, happy, and pleased that we had made a jump in our relationship that she had clearly been thinking about for a while.

I couldn’t take that away from her. Not yet, not until I had some time to think about what to say.

I stirred my stricken limbs and headed into the kitchen, where Kady was humming and rinsing dishes. Wrapping my arms around her, I let little droplets of hot water from the faucet fleck my arms. Her body was so much warmer than the water, and she melted into my embrace, letting me hold her while she continued to work. “What’s up?”

She sensed something was wrong.Nothing,I wanted to say.Everything is so incredibly right.I couldn’t. So, just like with my name, I lied to Kitten. “I have to go. Work stuff.” I nearly choked over my own tongue.

Kady immediately looked crestfallen. It was a mark of what an incredible woman she was that she took my words at face value, realizing that as ballet was important to her, my business was important to me. Even if I had never told her exactly where or how I worked, she knew how much it meant to me. She wouldn’t try to keep me from that, even for herself.

I almost jumped when Kady’s lips crashed into mine, the passion in our kiss the only protest she gave my intention to leave.

For just a second, I forgot. I forgot her father was Allen Nichols. I forgot that I even knew her name. In my arms, she was just Kitten, the beautiful ballerina going to The Juilliard School whom I had been blessed with the fortune to meet online.

Then, the moment ended. Kitten pulled away as Kady Nichols and the fantasy collapsed. She helped me get together my belongings, and then we kissed once more. I closed my eyes, but Kitten didn’t return.

I finally found a woman who was everything I ever wanted, and I couldn’t be with her.