Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 68

Josh just watched him light it, inhale deeply, and then purse his lips to blow smoke rings into the air, utterly dumbfounded. After that, three or four more people recognized Dane, flirted, and then left. Josh took his eyes off the man who had stroked Dane’s arm last and asked.

“Still doing one-night stands? Why don’t you try finding a partner?”

“Oh, thanks. After I’ve slept with everyone first.”

Dane said indifferently to Josh’s words. Josh laughed, dumbfounded.

“Are you going to sleep with all the women in California?”

“And men too. Oh, you’re not my type. Neither is your sibling.”

Josh frowned at Dane’s added remark.

“Me, fine, but why my sibling?”

Even ignoring Emma’s preferences, Josh had no intention of introducing his sister to a playboy like Dane in the first place. Still, curious about the reason, he asked, and Dane replied casually.

“Your sister’s ugly.”

“Who says? You bastard.”

Josh immediately cursed. Seeing him clench his fist on the table, ready to strike, Dane replied calmly.

“You did.”

“Even if I say she’s ugly, you shouldn’t say that!”

“Why?”

Dane frowned, inhaling cigarette smoke. His face showed he truly didn’t understand the reason. Josh ground his teeth and muttered.

“You’re an outsider and I’m her brother, you damn jerk. Whatever I say about my sister, don’t you dare utter a word. Just mention Emma one more time. I’ll kill you.”

“Oh, right, right.”

Dane waved a hand, readily backing down.

“If you show me, I can evaluate her, objectively.”

Dane’s intentions, as he smiled suggestively through the cigarette smoke, were all too obvious. Josh firmly blocked his curiosity.

“It’s no use, you’re not Emma’s type.”

At that, Dane uncharacteristically looked slightly surprised. Josh felt a brief moment of triumph, then he chuckled and exhaled smoke.

“Her eyes must be messed up.”

“……”

Though infuriated, Josh sadly couldn’t deny it. As Josh silently brought his soda to his lips, Dane spoke.

“So, how did you end up here? Work?”

Now that the conversation had returned to a normal topic, Josh briefly explained his current job. He was guarding a celebrity and had been injured in an accident, so he was receiving hospital treatment.

“The good thing is I noticed quickly; they used the same method as when they threw a grenade at us.”

“The time you saved my life?”

Josh chuckled at the casual remark. But Dane wasn’t smiling at all.

“I don’t like being indebted, so tell me quickly what you want.”

“Later. I can’t just use such a valuable card carelessly.”

Dane glanced at Josh’s injury, inhaled a puff of cigarette smoke, and then spoke.

“How much do you get for that? About 100,000?”

Josh thought for a moment and replied.

“All together, it would be about that much? Maybe more. Why, interested?”

They were short-staffed, so if Dane wanted to join, they would welcome him. The thought, ‘Can he do it alongside being a firefighter?’ occurred to him belatedly. Dane narrowed his eyes, briefly exhaled cigarette smoke, and said.

“Does that guy need a sugar baby?”

“……”

“Never mind if he doesn’t.”

Dane brought the cigarette to his mouth without any hint of regret. He had thought this before, and again, he couldn’t tell if it was a joke or serious. Josh just shook his head.

After that, the conversation flowed aimlessly. Talk about Dane’s cat, about Pete, stories from their military days, recent incidents from the newspaper, and so on.

Dane was consistently indifferent, so Josh thought he would react the same way even to the absurd dating incidents within their team.

“He likes you? An Alpha?”

At least his reaction showed a bit more interest than other topics, making Josh feel awkward as he vaguely mumbled.

“Well, he says so… I don’t know, I didn’t notice at all. Would you know right away if someone liked you?”

“I’d pretend not to know, it’d be annoying.”

“……”

“You really didn’t know? You must have had absolutely no interest in him.”

The indifferent remark was accurate, which made Josh even more speechless. He let out a reluctant sigh.

“I’m still going to ignore him, but it’s uncomfortable anyway. Why on earth does he like me, what did I even do? …Do you have any idea?”

Josh asked, half-believing, half-doubting. Dane was quicker to notice things than Josh, so he might have a clue. Of course, knowing the reason wouldn’t change anything, but he was curious about Dane’s thoughts. Dane inhaled smoke once, exhaled it slowly, and then gave his answer.

“It’s probably because of pheromones.”

Dane said as if he didn’t care. Josh silently looked at the man sitting across the table.

“…Very few people know I’m an Omega.”

“I know, and your scent is weak too. Now you’ll even take medicine to completely hide it.”

Dane meaningfully glanced towards Josh’s pants pocket where he had crumpled the note.

“But it’s because of pheromones?”

To Josh’s bewildered question, Dane still didn’t back down, saying, “Yes.”

“Anyway, whether they say they like you or whatever, it’s all just being swayed by pheromones.”

Chase’s words flashed through Josh’s mind. He asked suspiciously.

“Do you also think that only Beta love is true?”

“No.”

Dane blew smoke into Josh’s face with a “Hmph.”

“The emotion of love itself is a lie to begin with.”

“……”

“There’s no such thing in this world.”

Josh returned to the filming location earlier than expected. He parked the car in the designated spot and headed for his accommodation. There were hardly any people visible as he walked. The temporary accommodations and the area around the trailers were also quiet, and Josh checked his wrist watch.

Are they still filming?

He was walking without much thought when he noticed a group of people in the distance. The quiet atmosphere that reached Josh’s location seemed to indicate that filming was in full swing. He tried to pass by, muffling his footsteps so as not to disturb them, but something about the atmosphere felt strange. Josh tilted his head and then ran into Mark, who was walking towards him.

“Ah, you’re back? What did the doctor say?”

“Nothing special. Just that it’s healing well…”

Josh briefly answered Mark, who had asked about his condition with a welcoming tone, then turned his gaze towards where the people were gathered.

“Is the filming not over yet?”

“Yeah, it’s taking longer than usual today, isn’t it?”

Josh nodded, saying “Yes,” then asked, puzzled.

“What scene is it? The atmosphere is a bit…”

It felt somewhat excited, but it was hard to put into words exactly. As Josh pondered, “Hmm,” Mark gave him an uncharacteristically strange smile and said.

“You’ll see when you go. What C is filming today is… quite something. You’ll understand everything when you see it for yourself. Well, it might even bring back some old memories.”

His smiling face again seemed unusual. Josh paused for a moment. What kind of scene could it be? A kiss scene, or a bed scene perhaps?

If so, Chase’s reaction this morning made sense. He must have been embarrassed or didn’t want to be seen.

But Chase wouldn’t shoot such a scene…?