Page 82 of Unhinged Kallie

“Well, for the rest of the week, we’re going to pretend things are how they used to be. No holding hands, no kissing, no going out on dates, and definitely no sneaking into one another’s room.”

“Okay, if that’s how you want it, then that’s how we’ll play it,” she said and smiled.

Why was I suddenly more worried than before I said anything?

I sighed in relief when I saw the table set for eight. Everyone would be here, and it would keep the awkward tension to a minimum.

I sat in my old spot, and Kallie sat across from me just as the door opened. She was typing on her phone, and I expected mine to ding, but it didn’t. The longer we sat there while she smiled at her phone, the more agitated I became.

“Hey man, how you been,” Troy asked as he sat beside me.

Troy helped take my mind off what Kallie was up to as we ate and talked about school and the drafting process. Schools were already scouting him for football, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on an NFL team one day. I also wouldn’t put it past him to kill whoever stood in his way.

“Dad, after dinner, I’m going to the movies,” Kallie said, and the fork with the freshly piled piece of blueberry pie froze on its way to my mouth.

“Oh, who are you going with,” Talon asked.

“Hicks. He’s nice, I’ve been tutoring him, and we’ve gotten quite close,” she said, smiling.

Talon clapped her hands together and pulled Kallie into a hug. “Oh my god, he is so hot. He’s definitely getting drafted. Have you noticed we have a really talented school? It makes you wonder who we’ll see on TV one day.”

“Huh, I would’ve sworn the two of you would be bumpin’ uglies by now. I guess better luck next time,” Bo whispered in my ear and smacked me on the shoulder.

I barely contained the rage burning in my stomach. My hand on the fork was so tight it was shaking. If some other guy touched one fucking hair on her head, it wouldn’t be her killing someone. She was doing this to get under my skin after I mentioned acting like old times, and it was fucking working.

“What movie are you going to see,” I asked, sitting the fork down before I stabbed the table with it.

“It’s that new street racing movie, you know the one. We watched all the others.”

Those are our movies. I planned on taking her while I was home for the break.

“That sounds fun. You don’t mind if Troy, Bo, and I come along, do you?”

“Oh…um…it’s kind of a date. Hicks is going to pick me up.”

It felt like everyone was watching a game of ping pong, the way their eyes moved back and forth between us.

I stood from the table and started gathering the dishes. Kallie followed suit until we were in a race to see who could collect the most, the plates clattering together as we went.

“No need for him to drive out here when we’ll all be going,” I said. Bo put his hand up, and I glared at him. “No, you have to go. It’ll be fun.” He slowly lowered his hand.

I’d never loaded a dishwasher so fast or noisily in my life, and no one said a word the entire time. I was losing my mind, and the anger wouldn’t let me think straight.

“I’ll go get changed,” I said.

“You really don’t need to go,” Kallie called after me as I stomped out of the kitchen.

“I really do. Troy, Bo, go get changed,” I yelled as I reached the top of the stairs. I slammed my door and took a couple of deep breaths to keep myself from tearing the room apart. I was the calm one. I shouldn’t be acting like a crazy jealous lover, yet the thought of this guy sharing a popcorn and their fingers brushing as the reached for some at the same time…I cracked my neck and my knuckles. Nope, it wasn’t fucking happening.

I tossed on a nicer hoodie, my good black jeans, and sneakers and purposely put on the cologne I knew Kallie liked. I rubbed at the spot over my heart where I had a permanent tattoo of her name.

The guys, Kallie and Talon, were waiting when I jogged down the stairs. Kallie had her arms crossed and was glaring at me. She could be mad all she wanted. There was no chance in hell I was letting her go on a date alone with some guy, even if it was to piss me off. Who knew what he would try? Then again, she’d probably cut off his fingers, but that was beside the fucking point.

“Well, isn’t this fun,” Talon said as we loaded into the vehicle. Both Kallie and I turned to look at her in the middle of the back seat. She was smiling away, oblivious to the tension that followed us.

I pulled out of the driveway and forced myself not to look over at her or say anything. Even when she put on music she knew I hated. I didn’t say a word.

“He’s over there,” Kallie said, a little too cheerily for my liking, pointing at a big red truck. I purposely parked as far away as possible, mostly so I didn’t accidentally run him over.