Page 54 of From That Moment

“I’m not saying the right things, and I’m sorry. How could I tell you that I’ve been thinking about this a lot? We fucking work together. So as long as I’m there, I shouldn’t be doing this.”

“There’s nothing in our bylaws that says it’s against the rules.”

She said the words so low that I almost missed them.

“You looked that up?”

“Of course, I did,” she bit out and then turned away, beginning to pace before she spoke again.

“I’m an idiot. You’re right. This is a mistake.”

“It’s not against the rules?”

“No, it’s not. I already have to deal with Benji and his ilk. This isn’t smart.”

“I never said I was smart.”

“So you’re calling me stupid right along with you?” she asked.

“Paris.”

She rolled on me, her eyes dark as she narrowed her gaze at me. “You kissed me. You got it out of your system. We shouldn’t do it again.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t,” I said slowly.

“Wouldn’t, shouldn’t, couldn’t, can’t, all the words we can mix together. They’re still not going to make any sense.”

“Paris. The main reason for us not to is our friends.”

“I know that. It’s why you should leave. We should just forget that this ever happened.”

Dread filled my belly, but I nodded.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Why? Do you want to hurt them?”

“No, I don’t. But it’s so confusing.”

“You just got out of a relationship, too. A pretty serious one.”

“She was fucking her ex inmybed. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that serious.”

Her eyes widened, and she took a step forward.

“Prior.”

“No, I don’t need any sympathy. Only wanted to let you know exactly what happened. There’s no going back. And honestly, right now, she’s not a part of this.”

“Maybe she should be.”

“No, she shouldn’t. She can do whatever she wants, and so can we.”

“Prior,” she said again.

“We’re going to talk about this. We’re going to figure this out. Because that kiss? You know we can’t ignore it.”

“Maybe it’d be smarter if we did.”