The Kiss (Addison #1) by Erica M. Christensen Page A

shout. Carlos tries to comfort me by reaching his hand out to grab my shoulder, but I push him away.
    “We’re not done, Addison. No one will know about this. You have a life anyone would die for. I don’t give a fuck what you do, sleep with other men. I won’t care, I promise. Do what you want, Addison, but we can’t call off the wedding. No one can know about this. We have to get married! Please, Addison! Whatever you want, you can have it. Do you want those new Jimmy Choo pumps you were telling me about? Please, Addison! ANYTHING AND IT’S YOURS!” he pleads.
    I wipe the tears from my eyes. “Why, Carlos? Why can’t anyone know about this? Being gay is far more accepted now. So why the fuck can’t anyone know? Why would we still get married?” I start to bawl uncontrollably again.
    “My dad can’t find out. If he finds out I’m gay I will have nothing. He’ll disown me, then fire me, and then I’ll never inherit the real estate agency when he dies. That company is my life, Addison!” He starts to cry.
    This was the first time I’ve ever seen him cry and it makes my blood heat to a rolling boil. We never fight, ever. So I guess that’s why he’s never cried in front of me. His cry face is repulsive, I want to vomit. The sound of his crying and pleading makes me want to spartan kick his ass straight out of the window. I feel more hatred toward him than I do toward my sad excuse of a father who up and left me and my mom when I was seven.
    “No, Carlos! The wedding is off! This is the lowest thing you could have ever done to me. I trusted you. I loved you, I was head over fucking heels in love with you! Or maybe it was just the materialistic shit that I loved because I was completely drowned in it. I moved here to start over and I ended up right back where I was before. I’m not pretending anymore. I’m not pretending for you. I can’t. It’s over.” I glance at the pool boy just sitting in the corner of the room with his head between his legs as if he’s embarrassed. I turn to walk out the door.
    “If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have anything! You’d still be sleeping on couches at your random friends’ houses. You wouldn’t have all of your Gucci or Versace. You wouldn’t have shit, Addison! YOU NEED ME AND I NEED YOU!” Carlos shouts.
    I turn back to look him in the eyes. “I’m done. We’re done.”
    “Please, Addison! Whatever you want, you can have it! You name it and I will buy it! No one has to know. We’ll keep living how we’ve been living and everything will be okay. Right? We can do this, baby. You’re my best friend, I still love you. Please, Addison, please!”
    “You have destroyed me, Carlos. You have no idea what you’ve done, and you will regret fucking me over.” I take my phone out and snap a picture of Carlos, naked in the sheet, and the pool boy, naked in the corner, and send it to his dad.
    “Oh no! Oh hell no, Addison! Give me that phone. Don’t you dare send that to my father! I swear to God, I will throw you right back in the gutter I picked you up out of!” His voice shakes and he clenches his fist.
    “I’d rather look like I have nothing and be loved and happy than look like I have everything and be lonely and miserable. So screw you and your million dollar house. Keep my Gucci and Versace and everything else. I don’t need it and I sure as hell don’t need you! All I need are my jeans and cowgirl boots.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
    Winters in southern Florida are beautiful, I only needed jeans and a light jacket at the very most. Back home in Iowa, that’s autumn attire. I had to stop at the mall before my flight this morning to buy a heavy coat, gloves, and a scarf to prepare for back home. My mom said lately the highest it’s been outside is ten degrees. I’m obviously extremely excited to leave the beautiful sunny land of Florida to go back to the freezing land of snow-covered cow shit.
    “Welcome on board