“I kissed him, Kass! He kissed me, I mean. And, and I… I liked it. Oh, God. I mean… Kass, I cheated on him!” It all came out in a hurried mess of words. They all fumbled around as I tried to rush them out. I heard a scrambling of sheets from the other end of the call. Kass whispered something and a grunt came from someone else, followed by a curse before Kass’s voice registered again.
“What? Jordan, you're not making sense.” She got quiet for a moment and before I could answer her, she continued, “Girl, have you been drinkin’? I thought you didn't do that, you being miss goody two shoes and all. What in the hell are you talkin’ about?” she asked, laughing slightly. I heard a door shut behind her and then silence.
“I.. um, he kissed me. It felt nice. Oh God, I’m a harlot!” I said falling over to press my forehead to my knees. Again, Kass’s laughter rang through the phone. That deep, uncontrollable belly laugh had her cackling in my ear for a solid two minutes.
“Oh, this is priceless, babe!”
“Kassidy, this is not frigging funny!” I snapped. I was irritated with us both right now.
“Babe, you’re totally cracked. You know that, right? Completely cracked.” Her reply made me sit up, my brow raised as I got defensive.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, gruffly.
“Just what I said. You. Are. Cracked. I love ya, I do, but sometimes you're a good example of a typical blonde.” I grunted at that. She ignored it and carried on with what she was saying, “If your mystery kisser is who I think it is, then girl, go get him. That’s six foot four inches of prime man meat. Chiseled abs and all. Wait, better yet, you just go to him, fall at that sexy-as-sin man’s feet and worship him from the ground up. Go. Get. Laid. You’ll feel better once the cobwebs are gone. And trust me, he will appreciate the pipes being cleaned as well.”
Ugh. No she didn’t. “Jesus, Kass.”
“He’d like you calling out his name, not calling on Jesus, that might be a buzzkill. Think of it like this, it’s like sucking on a popsicle, minus the ice headache.”
“Kassidy, be seri-”
“Don’t, Jordy. I am being as serious as one can be, just shut up and listen for a minute. As your best friend, it’s my duty to tell you that you can remove the chastity belt you put on yourself the moment you lost Jared. I know you still love him, and I know you miss him. I do too. Everyone does. We always will, but he’s gone. His time here was spent making you laugh and embrace life. His mission was complete. It’s well past time for you to try and move on. You still have a purpose and a destiny to fulfill. He was the only man you’ve ever been with. You have to play the field to see what is out there.”
“You sound like your daddy,” I said, sniffling again.
“Growing up in the church taught me a few things. Who knew? But seriously, it's okay to move on, babe. It's time.”
“I’m scared, Kass. I can’t let my heart go through that again. I wouldn’t survive it if I had to fall in love and lose someone again.”
“Babe, I can’t tell you that there won’t be more loss in your life. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow. Shit happens. Life happens. You are responsible for your own happiness, Jordy. Live in the moment.”
“I shouldn’t be. I didn’t do so well the first time.”
“You remember what Uncle Buddy always says at funerals, as a way to comfort the family? Remember what he told you?”
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. That’s from the book of Psalms. It’s thirty-four eighteen, I believe.”
“Yes. It means he is there to heal you, if you let him. I know this is hard. I can’t imagine the amount of pain, and heartache you have been crushed by, babe, but you have two perfect babies that need you to put them and yourself before anything else. You deserve to find someone else. Someone that can be there to hold you up on your bad days, and someone to screw your brains out on the good ones.”
“Jesus, Kass. You know, for a preacher’s kid, you’re kind of a sex addict.” I laughed as she snorted.
“We all sin, sweetheart. I just chose to have some hellacious fun while I do it.”
“Yeah, I guess.” I paused and took in a deep breath. The last four months in this house had shown me a different kind of love. A devotion unlike anything I’d ever seen. I smiled as my fingers ghosted to my lips. I could still feel his lips on mine. I shivered. “Kass?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Thank you for always being there for me.”
“I love you, you crazy girl. You should know that after twenty-five years and the chaos life has hit us both with. I am always here for you. I love you, girly. More than sex.”
I burst into a fit of laughter at that. I knew her, she was dead frigging serious. My laughter drew the dogs over and I was pounced on from both sides. That sent me into a bigger fit of laughter. I could hear Kass laughing as I struggled to stand up. “Duke, Daisy, down.”
“They’re happy you’re happy, crazy girl.” Kass’s voice was full of laughter.
I wobbled on my feet as the dogs darted down the stairs and back into the yard. A strong hand gripped my arm to steady me. I looked up to meet Rhett’s gaze. I gave him a small smile and brought my attention back to my phone call with Kass.
“Love you, Kass, gotta go,” I said, my eyes never leaving his.
“Alright, babe, love you too. Don't do anything I wouldn't do,” Kass teased.
“There's nothing you won't do, Kass.”
“Exactly.” I heard her laughter ring out as I clicked off my phone and chuckled to myself. God, I loved that crazy girl.
