"Kaine, we can't do this. You're drunk."
"But I want you," she whispered.
God dammit.
He got up and crouched next to the bed, brushing her hair out of her face. "Tell you what. If you want me when you're sober, you can have me. But I can't take advantage of you when you're like this. Ok?"
Kaine sighed. "Fine. Goodnight, Shane."
"Night, Kainie," he said softly, quietly slipping out of her room. He wondered if she would remember any of this in the morning. He hoped she did. He flopped in bed, trying to sleep but unable to get Kaine out of his mind.
12
Kaine woke up early the next morning with a massive headache. "Fuck," she muttered. She reached for her water and was surprised to see two aspirin sitting on her night table. Thank god, she thought, taking the aspirin and choking down the entire bottle of water. She fell back asleep and woke up a few hours later, feeling a little better. She still had a small headache, but she felt pretty good, considering how much she had drank last night. "Shit," she mumbled, grabbing her phone and texting Kelsey.
Make it home ok last night?
Thankfully, Kelsey texted her back almost immediately.
Had Greg pick me up. Just picked my car up. Worst hangover ever.
Kaine chuckled and laid back in bed, reluctant to get up. She tried to remember what had happened last night. It came back to get in bits and pieces. Drinking with Kelsey, skinny dipping, Camden taking her home, Shane helping her to bed...
She gasped sitting up. Oh shit.
She was relieved to feel that nothing felt out of place or sore. She was definitely still a virgin. She vaguely remember kissing Shane, and him rejecting her. Her face burned with humiliation. What was she thinking? Hopefully he would just chalk it up to her being drunk and forget about it.
She threw on her bathrobe and took a shower, brushing her teeth. She felt a lot better once she didn't have makeup smeared all over her face anymore and went downstairs for something to eat. She glanced around the kitchen, happy to see that she was alone. She made a large pot of coffee and sat down, working on the crossword puzzle in the newspaper.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," Shane said, grinning at her. She glanced up sheepishly, looking in his eyes for a sign of anger or disgust. He looked sincere, so she smiled back. "Sorry for last night. I was pretty fucked up."
He laughed. "Yeah, you were. It's cool. Did you get sick?"
She shook her head. "No, thank god. But I'm done drinking for the next lifetime. Where is everyone?"
"Mom and Tom took Logan to get fitted for his tux. Jay's at work."
Kaine smiled at the thought of Logan in a tuxedo. "I can't wait to see him. I bet he looks adorable."
"Of course he'll be adorable. He's an Ellery. It's in our genes."
She smiled, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Want some?" She asked.
"No thanks. Can we talk about last night?"
Kaine was dreading this conversation. "Look Shane, I'm really sorry for losing control like that. I was just really drunk, and I didn't know what I was doing."
He watched her for a minute, silent. "Ok then. But just so you know, I meant what I said."
"What did you say?" She asked, confused.
He smiled and shook his head. "It's not important. Do you feel up to working in the yard?"
She nodded and finished her coffee, following him outside.
"Just so you know, if Camden shows up today, I'm kicking his ass out of here," Shane said.
Kaine giggled. "Yeah, I'm actually ok with that."
"Do you remember him driving you home last night?"
Kaine nodded. "That part I remember. I was walking home from Lucy's and he happened to see me walking."
Shane put down his hedge trimmers. "So you think that was a coincidence? That he just happened to pass you by?"
Kaine shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it. Why, do you think that he was following me?" The thought of Camden watching her swim naked with Kelsey made her feel sick to her stomach.
"I'm not saying that," Shane quickly said, seeing her reaction. "Just...let me know if he just so happens to know where you are all the time, ok?"
She nodded, still uneasy. They worked for another hour or so before Kaine stood up.
"The sun beating down on me is making me feel shitty. I'm sorry, Shane. I'm trying to fight this hangover."
"It's ok. Go take a nap. I could use a break anyway."
Kaine nodded and went inside, downing a huge glass of water and collapsing in bed.
She woke up a few hours later, feeling fine. She stretched and looked at the clock. 3:20. She felt guilty for wasting the day when there was so much to do, but she had needed the nap.
She went downstairs and laid on the couch, turning on the TV.
"Feel better?"
She looked up at Shane, smiling. "Much. Thanks."
He sat down next to her. "Mom called. She wants you to get fitted for your bridesmaid dress. She said it has to be today since she took the day off."
Kaine sighed. "Damn. I didn't really want to do anything. What did you tell her?"
"That you were tired from all the yard work and were taking a nap. She wants you to call her."
Kaine scrolled through her phone and called Nancy.
"Hi, sweetie," she answered, sounding frazzled. "Did Shane give you the message?"
"Yeah. Where's the bridal shop? Can I meet you there?"
"I'm there now with my sister. Can you get Shane to drive you?"
Kaine glanced up at Shane, who nodded his head, apparently able to hear his mom.
"Sure. I'll see you in a few." Kaine hung up and grinned at Shane. "Sorry to make you a chauffeur."
"It's cool," he said, getting up. "I need to do a few things anyway. Why don't you have your license, anyway?"
She shrugged. "I have my permit. I've just never gotten around to getting my license."
"Lazy," he joked. "Come on."
Shane dropped her off at the bridal shop. "Get a ride home with my mom, ok?" She nodded and headed inside.
She spotted Nancy right away, fussing over a woman that looked almost exactly like her, except a little bit heavier.
"Hi, Nancy," she said, walking over to her.
"Oh, hi, sweetie! This is my sister, Jane. Jane, this is Kaine."
Jane shook her hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kaine. My sister is driving me insane. I'm glad you're here."
Nancy ignored her. "Kaine, your dress is in the dressing room over there. Go ahead and try it on. And let me see it on you do we can figure out if we need any alterations. Luckily, they had a 6 and an 8 in stock, so one should fit."
Kaine chuckled nervously. Before she started losing weight, she was a size 12 or sometimes a 14. She would be embarrassed if the 8 didn't fit and she had to order one in a bigger size.
Kaine tried on the size 8 first, and miraculously, it was a little big. She tried on the 6 and it fit perfectly. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked in the mirror, examining herself. She had never felt so beautiful in her life. The dress was dark red and knee length, flowing out at the bottom. The top was a little lower cut than Kaine was used to, but she had to admit that she filled it out nicely. She couldn't wait for Shane to see her in this dress.
She froze, wondering where that thought had come from. Shaking herself off, she stepped out nervously, hoping Nancy didn't fuss over her like she was doing with her sister.
Nancy's eyes lit up when she saw her. "Oh sweetie, you look perfect! And it fits like a glove. Lift up your arms," she instructed. Kaine lifted her arms, thankful that she had shaved her underarms today.
"Perfect," Nancy confirmed. "I wish Janie's dress was that easy."
Jane rolled her eyes. "Not all of us can look like a Barbie doll," she muttered, and Kaine almost laughed out loud at the comparison. That was one thing she never thought she would hear in her lifetime.
Kaine changed back into her clothes and joined Nancy and Jane, who were
now with the seamstress. Nancy was pointing out minor imperfections in the dress, but the seamstress didn't seem to mind. She was probably used to stressed out brides.
Finally happy with the placement of the pins, Nancy announced they were done.
"Thank god," Jane muttered, hurrying to the dressing room. Kaine giggled. She liked Jane.
"Your father wants me to pick up dinner for us. Chinese sound ok?"
"Sure," Kaine said. "Should I see what Shane and Logan want?"
"Logan always wants the chicken nuggets. And Shane isn't home. He's on a date, I think."
Kaine felt her heart sink. Why did she care what Shane did? It's not like it was any of her business.
Nancy called in the food and they picked it up, though Kaine wasn't hungry anymore. The thought of Shane spending time with another girl, laughing with her, kissing her...she didn't know why it bothered her so much, but it did. At the thought of kissing Shane, she remembered what he had said to her last night.
"If you want me, you can have me."
She gasped, and Jane turned around and looked at her, concerned. "Are you ok?"
Kaine nodded. "I'm fine. Sorry. Just cramps."
"Ugh," Jane said, turning back around. "I don't miss those days."
Kaine sat back, thinking. Did she want Shane? He had been so nice to her lately. It was hard to believe that he was the same guy that was so mean to her before. Unless he was trying to get on her good side do he could hurt her again. The thought made her blood run cold. Could he really be that evil? She remembered him ripping her clothes off and her eyes filled with tears. Yes, he was capable of being that evil.
Kaine couldn't wait to get out of the car. She didn't want to be around anyone. "Nancy, I'm not feeling so good. My cramps are really bad. Is it ok if I skip dinner and lay down for a bit?"
Nancy frowned. "Of course. Are you coming down with something?" She asked, putting her wrist on Kaine's head.
"No. It's just cramps. It hurts really bad. Tell dad and Logan I said hi, ok?" She gave Jay a half hearted smile and hurried upstairs to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. She threw herself down on her bed and sobbed. How could she be so stupid to believe that Shane actually gave a shit about her? She decided to do her best to ignore Shane but be cordial to him when she was forced to interact with him. She stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out why she was so angry. Shane hadn't even really done anything. Not lately, anyway. She was mad at him that she couldn't trust him, and mad at herself for ever thinking that she could trust him. Kaine cried herself to sleep, wishing that she could go back to the way things were before Shane had moved in.
13
With two days to go until the wedding, the backyard was almost done. Kaine, Shane and Jay had worked their asses off trying to get it ready in time. Once the lawn was mowed, it would look almost perfect.
Kaine went inside to get a drink of water and bumped into Shane, who was on his way outside. She gave him a small smile and tried to get around him, but he blocked her path. "What's your problem, Kaine? Why have you been ignoring me for the past week?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Shane. I've just been really busy."
"Bullshit," he snapped. "You've been going out of your way to avoid talking to me. You were fine before you went dress shopping with my mom and aunt. Are you jealous that I went on a date or something?"
Kaine laughed. "No Shane, I'm not jealous. Get over yourself." She tried to push past him and he grabbed her arm. "No, Kaine. You're not walking away from me again. Not until you tell me what I did wrong."
"Let go of me or I'll scream," she threatened.
"So go ahead and scream. Nobody's home but us."
Kaine stared at him hatefully. "Fine. You want to know why I'm mad?"
Shane nodded, still holding her arm.
"I'm mad at you because of what you did to me. You violated me, Shane. You ripped my clothes off while you stared at my naked body. You TOUCHED me. How FUCKING DARE you touch me!" She screamed, tears running down her face.
"Kainie, I'm so sorry..."
"Shut up!" She screamed. "Shut the fuck up! You think that makes me feel any less humiliated?"
He shook his head, closing his eyes.
"How about when you made pig noises every time you passed me in the hallway and got everyone to call me piggy? Are you sorry for that too?"
He stared at her, not speaking.
"I don't care," she sobbed. "And you know what's even worse? I thought that maybe you actually liked me. That you gave a shit about me. Why were you so mean to me, Shane? What did I ever do to you?"
Shane pulled her closer, resting his forehead against hers as she cried. "Because I'm in love with you, Kaine."
She gasped and pulled back, wrenching her arms out of his grasp. "What?"
"I love you, Kaine," he said simply. "I’ve had a crush on you since 9th grade, but I was worried about getting made fun of if I asked you out back then. So I teased you like a third grader instead. And by the time I didn’t care what anyone else thought, it was too late. Do you remember when I was really nice to you last year?" Kaine nodded slowly. She had thought he was trying to get on her good side so he could pull a particularly devastating prank. She had ignored him and eventually he stopped being nice to her. “I tried, Kainie. But I realized it was too late. I could see in your eyes that you hated me, and that I could never have you. And I was going through a lot of shit and I was angry all the time and I took it out on you. I'm not trying to justify what I did. I feel awful about it. I tried to pretend that I didn't give a shit about you, until stalker Camden kept coming around. Then I realized that I couldn't pretend that I didn't care about you anymore. I can't lose you, Kaine," he said, cupping her face and wiping away a tear. "When my mom told me that she was marrying your dad, it was the happiest I've ever been, knowing that I get to be around you all day."
Kaine stared at him, shocked. "You love me?"
He nodded sheepishly. "I mean, I liked you a lot before, but being with you now, seeing how selfless and strong you are, how you offered to give up half of your summer just to make my mom happy, how you play games with Logan whenever he asks...how you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen...I love you, Kaine Spencer. And I know you hate me right now. And that's ok. I'd hate me too if I was you. But I'll wait, Kaine. I'll wait as long as it takes."
Kaine stared at him, feeling lightheaded. The room started to spin. She looked over at the chair and thought that she should probably sit down. That was the last thing she remembered before she hit the floor.
"Kainie? Can you hear me?"
Kaine opened her eyes and looked around, confused. Jay stared down at her, his brow furrowed. "Are you ok? What happened? Do you need water?"
She nodded and he jumped up to get her a glass of water. Kaine tried to sit up.
"Don't. Just stay there."
She looked to her left and saw Shane sitting in the recliner, watching her with worried eyes. At the sight of him, everything came rushing back to her and she gasped, sitting up. She immediately felt dizzy and put her head back down. Jay came back with the water, which she gulped gratefully. "What happened?" Jay asked.
"I, uh...fainted."
"Yeah, I see that. Why did you faint? Are you ok? You're not, like, pregnant or anything, are you?"
Kaine managed a laugh. "No. I think I was just dehydrated."
"Good," Jay said. "Saves me the trouble of going out and murdering someone."
Kaine rolled her eyes and slowly sat up. "I think I'm just stressed out. I didn't really eat or drink much today."
"Well make sure you eat then. The wedding's on Friday. Just two more days, then you can go back to being lazy."
Kaine nodded and turned on the tv. Jay sat next to her, which she was thankful for. She didn't know how to react to what Shane had told her. "What time is it?" She asked. Jay checked his phone. "4:15. Why?"
"I have the bachelorette dinner with Nancy at 7. I might lay down for a little
while first."
Jay stood up. "Take the couch. I'll wake you up in an hour."
She smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Jay."
Jay left and Kaine stretched out. Shane grabbed a blanket and laid it on top of her. "You ok?" He asked softly. She nodded. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind. "Ok. If you need anything, I'll be around."
Kaine laid watching TV for an hour, not falling asleep but grateful for something to take her mind off of everything. After an hour Jay came in to wake her up, throwing a sock at her face.
"That shit better not be dirty," she warned, flinging the sock off of her. Jay shrugged. "It's clean enough. You need to get up."
Kaine rolled off the couch and went upstairs to take a shower. Shane was in love with her? Did she believe that? She shook her head. She couldn't think about that right now. Tonight was about her and the girls. Kaine was grateful that Nancy had told her to bring a friend so that she wouldn't feel left out with the "old people."
She curled her hair and put it up in a high ponytail, leaving a couple of strands framing her face. She lined her eyes and brushed on some smoky grey eyeshadow, with a few coats of mascara. She put a little bit of pink gloss on her lips and sat back, inspecting her work. She looked hot.
She wore the same dress that she had worn on her first date with Camden, but with black flat sandals. She wanted to be able to dance.
Lucy came over to pick Kaine up at 5:45. "You look hot," Lucy said when Katie opened the door.
"Thanks. You look fantastic too."
Lucy had straightened her unruly brown hair and was wearing more makeup than usual. She had on a cute red and white mini dress with sparkly red heels.
"How can you dance in those?" Kaine asked. Lucy laughed. "I'm so short that I'm used to walking in heels. Be lucky that you don't need them."
Jay and Shane came in the kitchen. "Wow, you both look nice," Jay commented. Lucy blushed furiously. She, like most girls, had a huge crush on Jay. "Thanks," Kaine said. Shane was starting at Kaine longingly. She ignored him. "We have to go or we'll be late. Bye, guys." She grabbed Lucy's hand and hurried out the door.
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