Her eyes grew watery, and my heart squeezed. I understood pain when it involved someone so close yet so far out of reach. “You don’t have to tell me, Nina. When you alluded to being threatened, too, I just…wanted to know, I guess. But I shouldn’t have pushed.”
“Oh, I thought you meant what happened between Edge and me. Sorry.” Something about the way she fidgeted with her sweater told me Nina wanted to talk about this.
I grabbed the folded afghan from the end of the couch and pulled it up over my lap. “Nina, it’s none of my business. If you ever want to talk, I’m here.”
The doors opened and Kurt came up the steps, concern on his face. His shoulders were stiff. It warmed me how his eyes shot to mine and then to my stomach. I had to keep myself from touching the baby with Nina there, but it was hard. “How are you doing?”
I had to remain strong. Kurt would keep us safe. “I’m better. Thank you for the cupcakes.”
“Anything for you, baby. It may be a bit longer. We’re updating some protocols. It may take some time, and I need to be there. But I don’t want to leave you if you need me.”
If I had my choice, I preferred Kurt to stay with me. But this was important and needed to be done. And going with Kurt would only freak me out more.
Nina chimed in, “I’ll stay and keep Sawyer company if she wants.”
“Oh, that would be awesome. Thank you. See, we’ll have some girl time and some sugar. You can go take care of the psychopath.”
Kurt gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I’ll be fine. Promise.”
Kurt glanced back as he stepped off the bus. Hopefully things wrapped up soon.
“It’s sweet how Kurt is with you. He’s so different.”
To me, Kurt had always been this way. “How so?”
Shrugging, she picked up her cupcake. At least the tension from earlier seemed to be gone. “He’s always been kind, funny, and easygoing, but for the first time, I feel like I’m seeing the real Kurt. It’s like he’s relaxed and allowing himself to be happy.”
“I’m glad. I know he makes me incredibly happy.” Again, the urge to cover the baby came over me, but I remembered myself.
Nina grew silent and played with a piece of her short red hair. After a few minutes, she said, “Maybe it would help. I haven’t told anyone.”
“What would help?”
“Edge and I had been getting wilder in the bedroom, trying more things. He’s addictive like that. Before I met him, I’d never slept with anyone. Classic story of virgin meets bad boy and falls in love.”
Oh my gosh. It took me a second to catch up to the sudden switch in gears. “What happened?”
“We…umm…we thought we should try a threesome.”
I waited with bated breath as Nina got her thoughts together. Maybe once I heard the story, I’d be able to help. It was obvious there was still something between them.
Nina massaged her temples. “We were drunk at a party—like, really drunk. Another couple propositioned us for a foursome. I thought Edge wanted to experiment with it, so I agreed. I never really wanted it. Things got out of control. Our one rule was no penetration. But it was dark, and like I said, we were drunk. We got separated and switched couples. The man was all over me, but I just couldn’t do it. I pushed him off and found Edge. The girl had her legs wrapped around him, and he thrust into her. It was over.”
It broke my heart as Nina fell to pieces. I scooted over and held her while she cried. “Tonight is definitely going to call for ice cream.”
She gave a sad laugh. “Yeah, it will.” After her tears subsided, she continued, “Edge swears he thought it was me. I heard him say my name. For months, he tried to get me back, but I couldn’t wipe the image from my mind. I got scared and just pushed him away.”
“Do you believe him?”
“At the time, I felt betrayed and scared. But, yes, I believe him. I don’t think he’d lie to me. Edge never lied. He’s not that way.”
The raw pain in her voice spurred something within me. I wanted to help right this terrible wrong.
But I had to make sure this was something she wanted. “Do you want him back?”
“Too much time has passed. Edge fucks his way through every city. It’s been over for a while.”