Page 33 of Once Upon a Beast

“Because he didn’t want me to kiss him. He told me it was never going to happen again.”

“Ouch,” Ella said.

“What the hell is wrong with him? You know I was beginning to think he was a good guy but if he can’t see what an incredible woman, he has right in front of him then he’s an idiot and not worthy of your time,” Ara said, shaking her head.

“Did he say that exactly?” Ella asked.

“He apologized for kissing me, even though I was the one who had kissed him. He said it would never happen again. He then went on a tirade about how we still needed to keep up appearances but that he would do everything he could so that we wouldn’t have to be seen together much longer. He then apologized that he couldn’t make it be over sooner.

“Obviously, the man didn’t like kissing me. He could hardly stand to be in the same car with me. He wants this whole charade to be over so he never has to talk to me again. At least before I kissed him, I thought we could be friends, but now he doesn’t even want that.”

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Saying my feelings aloud and knowing how bad it had gone only made everything seem real. I wanted to fix things, I wanted to go back in time and not kiss Nic but I couldn’t. There was only going forward and trying to find a way to salvage the situation.

“Honey, I’m so sorry,” Ella said.

“Did you ask him what he meant when he practically admitted to being in love with you?” Ara asked over Ella.

“Wait? What? He said what?” Ella asked.

“I have no idea what he said but whatever it was, it wasn’t that he was in love with me,” I replied.

“Okay, what did he say? Something must have happened for you to go from being happy that you had your friend back to kissing him in front of everyone to thinking he hates your guts,” Ella said.

“When we were dancing, he said something about having a crush on me when we were younger and he still has one now. Or at least that was what I thought he said, obviously he didn’t.”

“It can be hard to hear in those ballrooms. Was it loud and crowded when he said it?” Ella asked.

“No, we were dancing, but he whispered it.”

“And you didn’t ask him to clarify?” Ella asked.

“She isn’t going to do that,” Ara interjected. “What woman would? I’m sorry Layla. From what you said and how he had been looking at you, I honestly thought he had feelings for you. What are you going to do?”

“What else can I do but continue with how things are. I have no idea when I’m going to hear from him or what he’ll want to do next. I hope we can lay low for a few days. Maybe see if we can get someone to photoshop some pictures of us together until this whole thing is over.”

“You can’t do that. You’re going to have to see him and you should talk to him. Clear the air. You can’t have this hanging over your head, it will only make things more awkward and harder,” Ella said.

“I know. I will. Just not today,” I said with a sigh.

There was a knock on the door. The breakroom was open to anyone but since it was a quiet day no one else was around. I had no idea who would feel the need to knock.

“Hold on, someone’s here,” I said.

“Are you supposed to be working?” Ara asked.

“Should we let you go?” Ella asked.

“No. Just give me a sec,” I stood up and opened the door. I was still holding my phone and my friends could see my shocked expression. “Nic? What are you doing here?”

“Nic is there?” Ella asked.

“Oh, look at the time. Got to go,” Ara said and ended the call. Ella did the same thing.

I sheepishly looked at Nic as I put my phone away. “Hi,” I said.

“Hi. Um, how are you?” Nic stammered.

He looked good, really good. He had looked spectacular in his tuxedo the night before but he was just as sexy in his tan pants and green polo shirt. The green of the shirt set off his brown hair and eyes. The shirt had a few buttons undone and I could see just a glimpse of his chest. It only made me want to see more.