The Worst Love Story Ever (18+)

35. Train Of Consequences

I was sat by myself during lunch break, trying to balance a chicken salad container on my lap, when Kiara approached me.

"Care to join me?" I offered.

"I figured you could use the company." She sat by my side.

"Thanks."

We glanced at where our friends were sitting. They had clearly picked a side when I broke up with Ash. I couldn't blame them though. I was the one who had broken his heart. I had been warned time after time and still let it happen.

"I'm sorry they're giving you the cold shoulder," Kiara said.

"It's okay." I turned to her. "Ash needs them more than--"

Kiara leaned in and pressed her lips against mine. I froze with surprise, eyes going wide.

"Kiara!" My eyes drifted back to our friends. Ash had left.

"I had wanted to do this for so long." She smiled, eyes hooded with something I was very aware of what it was. "God, that night at Ash's flat, when we shared the bed, I thought I was gonna lose it."

I could not believe this. "Really? You never said anything."

"I was sure you and Ash had something. Then I heard you two were dating."

"Yeah but that's pretty recent. I've been single this whole time."

"Well, would you have said yes if I'd asked you before?"

I frowned for a moment, thinking about it. No, I was not going to say yes before. In fact, I had said a lot of no's I didn't have to even before dating Ash. "I guess you have a point."

"But now you're single again, so I took my chance." She ran a hand from my jaw to my neck.

I kissed her again without thinking. If I wanted to move on, I had to at least try and shake the dirt. Besides, I needed something to forget the pain.

"Wait." I pulled away. "If we're gonna do this, there are things you have to know beforehand."

"Go ahead."

"Well, first: this..." I pointed back and forth at us. "Won't last. I'm not looking for a relationship. It's a miracle I've been with Ash for so long, and it won't happen again. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure. What else?"

I seized the opportunity to add a few ground rules I had picked up on my time with Ash. Things like never spending the night, never traveling together... Or never getting to know each other's families. Things that might seem harmless between friends, but I had learned the hard way that when you hook up with the said friend, feelings emerge and everything goes to shit.

Kiara agreed with everything. I was afraid she might have feelings for me at first, given that she had a crush on me for that long. But she assured me that she was perfectly okay with everything.

I also asked her to be discreet -- something mandatory for anyone who ever wanted to be with me, and that Ash was incapable of doing. But, of course, with my luck, soon everyone at the studio knew about us, including the last person I would ever want to. After that, my friends ostracized me even more.

***

"Oh, my God! I missed you so much!" Carla threw her arms around me.

"I've missed you too." I embraced her, finally realizing just how lonely I had been feeling.

I had told her about the aftermath of my break-up, so she came to visit me in Dublin for the weekend. We would catch up on the news from home, go out so I could show her the city, and even introduce her to some of my friends.