“Now, that had to be a sight. My brother is going to rip you a new one. He has no tolerance for drinking until you puke. I’ve found that out the hard way in my day,” Coley revealed with a chuckle.
“I’m really surprised Rebecca drank so much. Kendall, I expected. But Rebecca is always so straight and narrow,” I said.
“Yeah, well she’s on the verge of divorce. She and Andrew have been separated for a couple of months now. So she isn’t in a very good place right now,” Coley explained.
I was shocked. “Oh, I had no idea. She mentioned something about trouble last night but I didn’t think it was so close to divorce.”
“Yeah, well she isn’t exactly proud of it. You know Rebecca. She doesn’t like to fail at anything. Anyway, don’t mention it to her. She really doesn’t want anyone knowing right now,” Coley stated.
“Well if she wants any advice on the divorce process, I’m the one to go to. But if she wants to save her marriage, don’t have her come to me,” I said a bit sourly.
I reached for a large shirt and started to get dressed. The only thing I wanted right now was a cup of coffee and a glass of water. I started to leave the room when Coley stopped me.
“Wait! My brother is going to be pissed! Do you really want to go out there?”
I shrugged. “Are we supposed to hide in my room all day?”
Coley started to put her clothes back on. “Suit yourself. I, my dear friend, am leaving. You haven’t seen Caine when he’s angry. I have. All that spanking stuff was fun to talk about last night, but it isn’t fun when it really happens.”
I looked at Coley in amazement. “Are you saying that Caine is going to spank us?”
Coley shook her head. “Nope, not me, I’m making a run for it.” She put on her last shoe, stood up and smiled. “Don’t look so worried. I know for a fact he would try to spank me, but you may be off the hook. I’ll talk to you later.”
I walked into the kitchen as the front door slammed closed. Caine looked up from his laptop with a look of irritation on his face.
“Was that Coley who just left?”
I nodded. “She was afraid you would try to spank her for last night.”
Caine grunted. “She’s lucky she left. Her ass deserves to be paddled.” He glared at me. “You too should have had your butt spanked. You’re just lucky you aren’t mine or that’s just what I’d do.”
I felt my face get hot and my heartbeat speed up. I walked over to the coffee and poured a cup.
“I’m sorry, Caine. Thank you for taking care of me last night.” I walked over and sat across from him at the kitchen table. “I drank entirely too much, and I can assure you that it won’t happen again.”
Caine closed his computer. “How do you feel now?” he asked, concerned.
I took a large gulp of coffee. “Better, thanks to you.”
He sized me up as I sat across from him. “Who was that guy who had his hands all over you last night?” Caine asked.
I scowled. “Ugh, he was no one. He was some leech who somehow got the impression we were closer than we were,” I explained.
“Did he do anything to you?” Caine asked. I sensed some jealousy, or maybe it was just anger.
“Only having his arms wrapped around me. It was disgusting,” I answered.
Caine grunted and sat back in his chair with his arms crossed across his chest. His glare made me want to squirm in my chair. I couldn’t read Caine, and I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He seemed to be waiting for me to speak next.
I didn’t know how to bring up what happened the night before. I was embarrassed by how sick I got, but I was even more embarrassed I threw myself at Caine.
“Um, Caine, I really am embarrassed by my behavior last night. I’m sorry I kissed you, and I’m sorry I tried to…”
Caine reached across the table to grab my hand. “I’m not. And if I remember correctly, I kissed you back.” He looked deep into my eyes. “If you weren’t drunk last night, the evening would have led to a lot more than just a kiss.”
I looked down at my coffee cup to avoid his piercing gaze. “I just hope I didn’t mess things up between us. Our friendship means the world to me, and I don’t want it to be awkward—”
“I don’t think anything is messed up between us. I value our friendship, too,” Caine interrupted.
I sighed with relief. “Good.”
Caine smiled while he rubbed his calloused finger along my hand. “But I think there is more to you and me, Neely. I think our feelings run much deeper than just friendship. When we kissed last night, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to hold you in my arms all night. I wanted to explore the passion I was feeling for you.”