Make Me (Bully Me #2)

by C. E. Starkweather

"You look gorgeous," Layla said, grinning at her.

  "Thanks," Kaine smiled as she got into Layla’s car. "I feel better today than I have in awhile. I’m glad we decided to go out."

  "I can’t believe I didn’t have to drag you kicking and screaming," Layla laughed. "I invited some people from school. I hope that’s ok."

  "Is Josh coming?" Kaine asked hopefully.

  "Yep," Layla said, grinning. "Josh, Camden, Mariana and possibly Aaron."

  Kaine wasn’t thrilled at the mention of Camden. She had actually managed to keep a decent, professional relationship while working next to him. He didn’t ask questions about her life and vice versa. She wasn’t sure how she would react to seeing him in a social setting.

  Layla pulled into the bar and Kaine felt relieved when she saw the half empty parking lot. The last thing she wanted to do tonight was deal with a big obnoxious crowd. She followed Layla into the bar and saw Josh and Camden sitting at a table in the corner. Her joy of seeing Josh overrode her apprehension of seeing Camden and she ran over as fast as her heels would let her. "Josh! Oh my god, I missed you so much. How are you feeling? Are you coming back soon?"

  "I’m good," he said, sliding out of the booth to hug her. "Probably just another week. Until I can get this stupid cast off. How is everything? I heard about you and Shane. I’m so sorry."

  Kaine’s smile faltered. "It’s fine. I don’t want to talk about that tonight. Hi, Cam."

  "Hi Kaine. You look really pretty."

  "Thanks," she said awkwardly, sitting down. "You look nice too."

  His hair was growing out and he had left it messy, the way he had in high school. He was wearing fitted jeans and a white button down dress shirt that was rolled at the sleeves, showing off his strong forearms. Kaine glanced at Layla, who was staring at Camden with her eyes glazed over. She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I’m gonna get us some drinks," she said. "You guys want anything?"

  "Red headed slut," Layla called.

  "I’ll go with you," Josh said. He followed her to the bar. "Are you ok?" He asked as they sat down.

  "I'm ok. I’m dealing with it."

  "I talked to Camden for a bit before you got here."

  Kaine raised her eyebrows. "About what?"

  "Nothing too deep. He told me about growing up here. He said he went to school with you and Shane. He didn’t say anything weird or creepy. I mean, not like I was expecting him to. But I couldn’t get a read on him."

  "It’s ok," she said. "I can’t either."

  She ordered a glass of chardonnay and a red headed slut for Layla and they made their way back to their table. She set the drinks down and sat next to Mariana, who grinned at her.

  "So Kaine, Camden was telling us that you guys went on a date in high school."

  "Oh yeah?" She asked, glancing at Camden. She wondered what else he had told them about her in high school. "What else did he say?"

  "That I took forever to work up the courage to ask you out," Camden said, staring at her intently. "And that you were the prettiest girl I had ever seen."

  Kaine almost choked on her wine.

  "Aww, Cam, that’s so sweet," Layla gushed, downing her drink in about two gulps. "So what happened? You just went on one date?"

  Kaine looked down. She didn’t want to talk about her past with Camden. "She started dating Shane," Camden said.

  "Yeah, and look how that turned out, Kaine. You should have just stayed with Camden!" Layla said, laughing. Kaine stood up. "I’ll be right back," she muttered, heading for the bathroom. This was a mistake. As much as she didn’t want her coworkers knowing what Camden had done to her, she couldn’t stand them thinking that he was this great guy and Shane wasn’t. She wiped her tears away and looked into the mirror, feeling completely out of her element. She wished she had taken Shane up on his offer to spend time with him and Adam tonight. She needed to come up with an excuse to leave. She decided to say that she wasn’t feeling well. Who could blame her? She pushed open the bathroom door and tripped into Camden.

  "You ok?" He asked, steadying her. She pulled away and nodded. "I’m fine. I’m just not feeling well."

  "I’m sorry for what Layla said. It wasn’t my intention to make Shane look like the bad guy."

  She shrugged. "It doesn’t matter. We both know what really happened."

  He winced. "Kaine, I know I can’t apologize enough for what I did to you…"

  "You’re right," she said quietly. "You can’t." She turned to walk away.

  "Kaine, wait."

  She turned around and crossed her arms.

  "What do I have to do for you to forgive me?"

  "Cam, it’s fine. It was a long time ago. Just forget about it, ok?"

  "No," he said, his eyes darkening. "I want you to tell me why you could forgive him and not me."

  She clenched her jaw. "Because your face is the one I see in my nightmares."

  He stepped closer to her. "What should I do then, huh? Do you want me to beg your forgiveness?" He got on his knees and grabbed her hand. "Kaine Spencer, I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for making you scared. I’m..."

  "That’s not my name," she interrupted.

  "It should be."

  "Get up," she snapped. "You’re embarrassing yourself."

  He stood up and placed his hands on the wall, blocking her in. "There’s no one here but us. I’m not leaving this spot until you say you forgive me."

  "Everything ok over here?"

  Camden’s head snapped to the side to see Josh watching them cautiously.

  "Fine," Kaine said, pushing Camden away. "I was just leaving."

  "Kaine, wait," Camden pleaded.

  She pushed past him and stormed back to her table. "Hey, I have to go. Layla, are you good to drive?"

  "Yeah. Listen, I’m sorry…"

  "It’s fine. Let’s just go. Guys, I’ll see you on Monday." She stormed out of the bar and Layla hurried after her. "I didn’t mean anything by that," Layla said. "I was just kidding."

  Kaine sat down and shrugged. "It doesn’t matter, Layla. But I will tell you this. Camden isn’t the good guy that he portrays himself to be. So don’t go thinking that he’s some hero and Shane is the asshole. Because really, it’s the opposite."

  Layla started the car and pulled away, and they drove home in silence. As soon as Kaine got out of the car, she texted Shane.

  Where are you???

  He answered almost immediately.

  At Bryce’s, why? Are you ok?

  I’m coming over.

  She jumped in her car and drove to Bryce’s, ignoring the small voice in her head that was calling her an idiot. Shane was waiting for her outside when she pulled into his driveway.

  "Babe, what happened? Are you ok?" He asked as she approached him. She grabbed his head and kissed him. The stress that she had been feeling immediately melted away, and she felt right. "I need you," she whispered. He took her hand and led her inside. "Adam’s sleeping in my bed," he whispered. "We can use the couch. But you have to be quiet."

  She let him pull her dress over her head and laid back on the couch. "Let me look at you," he whispered. She put her hands over her stomach, self conscious of the weight she had gained. He gently lifted her hands over her head. "Fucking gorgeous," he muttered, kissing her stomach. He lifted her legs and slid her panties down. "I love you," he whispered, sliding into her. She gasped as he made slow, passionate love to her. She grabbed his head as he pressed his forehead against hers. She felt the pressure build and he covered her mouth with his to quiet her loud moans. He squeezed her as he finished, relaxing and enjoying the feel of her. "I missed this," he said. "I love you, Kaine."

  "I love you too," she said quietly. "I should go."

  "Just let me hold you," he pleaded.

  She gently pushed him off of her. "I have to go."

  "Kainie, please don’t go. Just wait."

  She relaxed, letting him hold her. "This is so wrong," she whispered.

  "No it’s not,"
he argued. "It’s right. It’s so right. We belong together."

  She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, letting herself forget about everything except how safe and comfortable she felt in his arms. She laid in his embrace until the light flicked on. She gasped and grabbed her dress, covering herself as much as she could. "Don’t look!" She cried. Bryce put his hand over his eyes as she frantically pulled her dress over her head. "I’m gonna go," she said, quickly standing up. "I’m sorry Bryce."

  "Hey, don’t apologize. It’s fine. I’ll just get the couch dry cleaned."

  "Oh, God. I’m sorry," she stuttered. "I didn’t mean…"

  "Relax. I’m kidding. You guys can have sex on my couch whenever you want."

  Kaine felt her face turn red. "Sorry, Bryce. Shane, I’ll see you tomorrow." She grabbed her shoes and hurried out the door.

  After dropping Kaine off at home, Layla pulled back into the bar parking lot, glancing at her watch. It was barely after 10. There was no way she was going home this early. She swung the door open and couldn't help the smile that spread across her face when she saw Camden sitting alone at the bar. She couldn't for the life of her understand why Kaine was so repulsed by him. He was sexy as hell. She sauntered up to him and slid in the seat next to him. "Mind if I sit here?"

  He glanced at her and shrugged. She cleared her throat. "I brought Kaine home. She's fine."

  He smirked at her. "Want to get out of here?"

  Her eyes widened and she grinned at him. "Yep."

  He stood and walked quickly to the door, and Layla had to almost run to keep up with him. She almost bumped into him when he stopped short and spun around. He grabbed her face and crushed his mouth to hers. He kissed her hard and desperately. "My place or yours?" She gasped.

  "Yours," he muttered. "I'll follow you."

  She giggled and ran to her car, waiting until Camden pulled behind her. She couldn't wait to have him all to herself.

  12

  Kaine woke up on Sunday morning to the doorbell. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and stumbled downstairs. After a sleepless night thinking about Shane, she had finally gotten to sleep around 3am. She had been looking forward to sleeping in. She frowned when she saw Shane and Adam at the door. "Is everything ok?" She asked, swinging open the door.

  "Besides the fact that I have to ring the doorbell at my own house, yes, everything is fine."

  She ignored his sarcasm and stepped back, letting them inside. "What are you doing here? I thought I was picking him up later."

  "I wanted to talk to you."

  She kissed Adam and squeezed him. "Go watch TV, ok peanut? I’ll be there in a minute."

  Shane leaned back against the counter as Kaine made coffee. "Were you asleep? It’s almost ten."

  Kaine yawned, starting the coffee maker. "I couldn’t sleep last night."

  "Really?" He asked, grinning at her. "I slept like a baby."

  She rolled her eyes. He always fell asleep right after sex. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

  His grin faded. "I want to come home, baby. I’m not ok with having you just for sex. That’s not enough for me. I want to go to sleep with you and wake up with you. I want to come home from work to you and Adam. I want to cuddle and kiss you whenever I want."

  Kaine sighed. "Are you serious? Why would you even think that’s an option? We shouldn’t even have had sex. We’re divorced, Shane. You can’t just…"

  "You only divorced me because you think I cheated on you. If it weren’t for that, we’d still be together. Right?"

  "Well yeah, but…"

  "Just give me one week," he said, sitting at the table. "If you don’t want me back at the end of the week, I’ll move back out and stop bothering you about it."

  Kaine shook her head. "I can’t, Shane. It’s not fair to Adam for you to be here with us then leave again. It was hard enough the first time. He’s just starting to get used to the back and forth."

  Shane crossed his arms. "What do you want me to do, Kaine? Do you want me to take a lie detector test? Because I will. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back."

  Kaine glanced up. "Yes."

  "Huh?" He asked, confused.

  "Yes, I want you to take a lie detector test. If you pass, I’ll believe you. You can move back in. If you fail, you need to stop trying to get me back. Deal?"

  "Hell yeah. How soon can we do it? I’m getting sick of living with Bryce."

  "Let’s do it today," she said. "Do you know anyone?"

  "The only examiner I know is Steve Fillmore. You call him and set up the appointment. I don’t want you to think that I had anything to do with paying him off and altering the results or something." He pulled out his phone and handed it to her as she scrolled through and called.

  "Appointment at one," she said, handing him his phone back. "He said to come up with a list of questions we want him to ask."

  "What else do you want to know?"

  She shrugged, looking away. "Just if you cheated on me."

  He shook his head. "That’s not it. You’ve been pulling away from me long before that girl told you I slept with her."

  "I have not," she protested.

  "Yes you have. There’s something else, Kaine. This is it. Anything you’ve ever wanted to ask me, do it today. Don’t be afraid. I have nothing to hide from you."

  "I don’t know what you want from me. That’s all I want to know. Really."

  "At least think about it, ok? I don’t want there to ever be any questions in your mind about the way I feel about you or what I’ve done."

  "I will," she promised.

  He leaned closer and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. "When you find out that I didn’t cheat on you, you’re in for a long afternoon."

  She looked up at him, his intense blue eyes making her shiver. She wondered if she would ever get to a point in her life when she stopped wanting him. Even when she was mad at him, he looked at her like that and all she wanted to do was rip his clothes off. "I have to shower," she said quietly, looking away.

  He smirked at her and backed away. "Keep my phone with you. Just in case you think I’m going to call him and try to pull something."

  She grabbed his phone and started the shower, letting the hot water soothe her tired body. Shane was right. If there was ever a time to ask him questions, it was now. She was just afraid to know the answers.

  Kaine watched as Steve hooked Shane up to wires and clips all over his body. Shane stared at her the whole time. Something about seeing him hooked up to a machine made her uncomfortable. "You don’t have to do this," she said.

  "We’re doing this," Shane said firmly. "I need you to believe me."

  "I do believe you," she said quickly. "Just the fact that you’re willing to do this makes me believe you."

  "I’m doing this," he repeated. She sat back and watched as Steve finished hooking Shane up and adjusted the machine. "What are you going to ask him?" She asked nervously.

  Steve held up a piece of paper. "I have questions here from both of you. Don’t be nervous."

  She nodded and waited as Steve sat down. "Ready?" He asked.

  "Absolutely," Shane said.

  "What’s your name?" He asked.

  "Shane Ellery."

  "Where do you live?"

  "Oak Hills."

  "How old are you?"

  "Twenty eight."

  "Do you love Kaine?"

  "Yes."

  "Have you ever cheated on Kaine with a girl named Jessica?"

  "No."

  "Have you ever cheated on Kaine with anybody?"

  "No."

  Kaine was hoping that Steve would give her a thumbs up or a thumbs down like they did in reality shows, but he didn’t.

  "Since your mother married Kaine’s father, have you ever wanted to cheat on Kaine?"

  "No."

  "Do you think Kaine is the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?"

  "Yes."

  Kaine snorted. There were p
eople in the world far prettier than she was.

  "Would you love Kaine if she gained 50 pounds?"

  "Yes."

  "Would you still want to have sex with Kaine if she gained 50 pounds?"

  "Yes."

  Kaine’s face turned pink. She hoped there were no more questions about their sex life.

  "Do you enjoy sex with Kaine?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you love Kaine for other reasons besides sex?"

  "Yes."

  "If Kaine stopped having sex with you, would you cheat on her?"

  "No."

  "Do you regret treating Kaine badly in high school?"

  "Yes."

  "Is there any instance that you would consider leaving Kaine?"

  "No."

  "Have you used steroids after high school?"

  "No."

  "Did you love Kaine before she found out that your mother was marrying her father?"

  "Yes."

  Steve stood up. "We’re done. Good job."

  Kaine wiped the tears from her eyes and watched as Steve unhooked Shane. "When do we get the results?" He asked, standing up.

  "A few minutes. Hang out for a sec while I print them out for you."

  Shane walked to Kaine. "You wanted to know if I’d love you if you gained weight?"

  She shrugged.

  "Why are you crying, baby?"

  She sniffed. "I didn’t like seeing you hooked up to that machine. It looked like you were in a hospital dying or something."

  He laughed. "I’m fine, Kainie. I’m just doing this so you’ll believe me."

  She let out a shaky breath. "I don’t want to see the results."

  "What? Why not?"

  "Because seeing you like that...it made me realize that I can’t live without you. If you were gone, I don’t know what I’d do. I believe you, Shane. I don’t want our relationship to have to come to the point where I need a polygraph to believe you. I should have believed you in the first place."

  "You should have," he said quietly. "It hurt, Kaine. It hurt horribly for you to believe that I ever would have done that to you. Why couldn’t you believe me?"

  She took a deep breath and said the words that she had been afraid to say for so long.