“Because Owen needed someone to accompany him.”
“Whatever, dude,” Owen said. “You don't have to torture yourself for my benefit.”
“Next time you can go alone.”
Owen shifted in his seat. “Yeah, fine, whatever. You’re a drag anyway.” When Kellen didn’t respond to his insult, Owen said, “Gabe will go with me.”
“Gabe has a relationship thing he’s trying right now. He won't go with you.”
“Then Shade…” Owen scowled. “Why did he have to hook up with Amanda anyway?”
“You really wouldn't go by yourself?” Caitlyn asked.
“I could,” Owen said. “But then I wouldn't be able to prove that I scored the hottest woman in the place.”
She chuckled. “You have a competitive streak unlike any I've ever encountered. Why do you care who knows who hooks up with you?”
Owen's smile faded, and he stared at his knees. After a moment, he shrugged. “No reason.”
There had to be a reason. Maybe he didn't want Kellen to know. Or more likely, maybe he didn't want her to know.
“You might as well tell her,” Kellen said. “Why you are the way you are.”
“What way am I, Kelly? You're twice as f**ked up as I am.”
“I'm not going to argue that point.”
“You can tell me,” Caitlyn said. “If you want to.”
Owen glanced at her. “I had hoped that we could hook up again at the hotel.”
“Yeah, me too,” she said, still not accustomed to his bluntness.
“He's afraid you'll tell him to take a hike, because he still doesn't get that he's not the same man he used to be on the outside, though he's always been a bit strange on the inside.”
“Don’t tell her, Kelly.”
“You’re the one who brought her out of the club. That means you’re interested in her, right?”
“Maybe, but don’t tell her.”
“Why? Are you afraid she’s as shallow as you are?”
Owen shoved him. “I’m not shallow.”
“You sure pretend to be,” Kellen said. He caught Owen’s wrist just before it connected with his shoulder. “He used to be fat,” Kellen said to Caitlyn.
“I told you not to tell her.”
“In high school they called him Piggie.”
Owen flushed such a bright scarlet, the color was noticeable even in the dim interior of the limo. “You f**king ass**le, why’d you tell her?”
Kellen didn’t try to block Owen’s next blow. Maybe because he felt he deserved it.
“That’s cruel,” Caitlyn said. She grabbed Owen’s hand before he used it to punch Kellen again. Kellen pushed back against the seat, looking decidedly uncomfortable to be wedged between them. “Is that why you keep telling me I'm beautiful? Because no one ever made you feel that way?”
Owen scowled. “How the f**k should I know? I just like to make people happy.”
“What about making yourself happy, Owen?” Caitlyn asked. He’d had her fooled into thinking all was right in his world, but now she wasn’t so sure. “Are you happy?”
“Yeah, I have glitter shooting out of my ass, I'm so f**king happy,” he yelled.
“I'm sorry,” Kellen said, “You’re right. I shouldn't have told her.”
“Thank God you did so I can dump him before I start to like him too much,” Caitlyn said. “I would never be interested in a guy who was called Piggie in high school due to a weight problem.” She was joking, but Owen didn't laugh. He seemed to expect her rejection.
“Should we take you back to your friend’s house then?” Owen asked quietly.
Kellen huffed out a breath and shook his head. “Still clueless. She’s kidding, f**ktard.”
“Shut up,” Owen said, but some of the tension had eased from his body, and he glanced at her from under his lashes.
This really was his issue. Kellen understood his friend well. So why had he felt the need to share something so personal about Owen? She was missing something here. Something major. Either Kellen was trying to scare her away—which didn’t seem likely—or entice her into staying so he didn’t have to accompany Owen to sex clubs any more. Of course it was possible he had no motivation at all and was just striking up conversation, but she took Kellen for the kind of person who calculated his every move. Why had Kellen risked Owen’s obvious animosity by sharing something that personal about Owen’s past?
At least she understood why Owen was so adamant about making her feel beautiful and why he was so nice to everyone even though he was easily the best-looking man she'd met in person. Though he had to own a mirror, he didn't see himself as mind-bogglingly gorgeous. Did he go to sex clubs because he thought he required a sure bet? She was just speculating, of course, because she didn't live in his skin. She didn't know what the world looked like through his eyes. But she wanted to. She wanted him to feel as good about himself as he made her feel about herself. And lord she was thankful that he was as attractive on the inside as he was on the outside. His personality sparkled even more than the twinkle in his pretty blue eyes.
“I don't want to go back to Jenna's house,” Caitlyn said. “I do wish I'd met you somewhere other than a sex club. I guess I should be glad I met someone like you at all.”
“Someone like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Guys like you don't usually talk to girls like me. Girls like me don't get invited to prom. Guys don’t make fools of themselves for girls like me. Girls like me are ignored. Invisible. But I'm not a girl anymore. I'm a woman. Thanks for reminding me.”
“You are definitely a woman. I like women so much more than I like girls.”
“Uhhh…” Caitlyn wasn’t sure what he meant by that.
“He prefers older women,” Kellen said. “When he first saw you in the club, I thought he was going to eject himself out of his pants and directly onto your lap.”
Caitlyn laughed. “Well, that definitely would have gotten my attention, but I doubt my reaction would have been positive.” She wished Kellen wasn’t sitting between them, because she suddenly wanted to draw Owen into her arms. “So I take it you were hurt by a younger woman.”
“Young women, but they were the same age as I was.”
Kellen released a deep sigh. “Most of it happened in high school and the year following graduation. This really hot girl broke his heart. He asked her out and she agreed. When she stood him up, her excuse was that she liked him as a friend.”