“She hasn’t come home,” Derek muttered. “I’m worried.”
We walked into the kitchen.
“Has she called, or text?” I asked, as I plopped two slices of bread into the toaster.
Derek leaned against the refrigerator and sighed. “One text, saying that she’s sorry, and that she needs space.”
The concern in Derek’s voice was heartbreaking.
“It will be okay, Der,” I said moving towards him.
I wrapped my arms around his waist. He returned my hug and chuckled.
“Hey, look how far you’ve come,” he teased gently. “This time, nine months ago, you were afraid to breathe too close to me.”
Stepping back, I looked up at his face and grinned. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I had a lot going on back then.”
I’d been dealing with a very real fear of men, when I first moved to the hill.
My father’s alcohol induced abuse and beatings, had given me more than enough to fear, but it was Perry Franklin’s attempt at raping me that had terrified me to my core. All of that seemed so long ago now....
Derek ruffled my curls with his hand. “You got there once.” He grabbed his keys off the table. “And you’ll get there again. You’re a tough little ball of curls. This stuff you’re going through, isn’t even tipping the scales on what you are capable of handling.”
I stood there in shock, as Derek waved and headed out. That boy could say the nicest things, when he wasn’t being a douchebag.
*****
Lee
I paced outside Kyle’s bedroom door.
I’d been doing this with the past five minutes. I didn’t know why I was so freaking nervous. Kyle had asked to be involved.
It wasn’t a big deal.
I should just knock the door and say what I had to say.
Moving forward, I raised my hand to the door, then quickly retreated. I was such a wimp.
Just do it, just knock on the damn door.
My thoughts were spared when the door opened out and Kyle stood in front of me, wearing nothing, but a pair of black boxer shorts.
My heart catapulted in my chest, as my eyes fed upon his carved stomach.
Everything on his body was just so pleasing to the eye. From his broad, defined, sun-kissed chest, to the rippling mass of muscles in his stomach, to those sexy indentations between his narrow hips, and that strip of dark hair trailing from his belly button, south….There wasn’t one unappealing slither of skin on the man’s body.
Oblivious to my ogling, Kyle stretched his arms over his head, his biceps bulged, as he yawned widely.
“Princess, what are you doing banging around out here?” His voice was thick from sleep as he scratched his bare chest, and looked around the hall. “All the footsteps…I thought someone had broken in. What time is it?”
“Uh…” I cringed.
It was five forty-five, way too early for the normal people of the world to be up-or at least creeping around outside bedroom doors.
His eyes rested on me, blinking twice, before a concerned look crossed his face.
“Are you okay? Is the baby all right? Are you in pain?”
He was throwing questions at me, quicker than I had time to answer them.
“I’m fine. We’re fine,” I said quickly. “I was just going to… I just wanted to let you know, to ask you really…” I was babbling.
Kyle smirked.
Reaching out, he briefly stroked my cheek with his fingers. “Say it, baby. Say what’s on your mind.”
I breathed deeply, steadying myself.
“I have an appointment at the hospital today, and I was going to get Mike to take me, but he has work and I don’t want to mess his day up. And you said you wanted to be involved. But if you’re busy, I totally understand. I mean, I know you have a busy schedule, and I just dropped this on you, I don’t expect you to drop everything. I just…”
Kyle put his finger over my mouth silencing me.
“Of course I want to go. I’m not busy. There is nowhere else I’d want to be.”
I exhaled a huge lungful of air and nodded.
“Great. Good, I mean that’s cool. We have a couple of hours before we have to go, so I’ll let you get dressed, or sleep, or shower.”
I blushed, then scurried away, mortified.
“Hey, princess?”
I was at the top of the stairs, and turned back.
Kyle was standing at his bedroom door, his head tilted to one side as he rubbed his hand over his chest.
“Yes?” I asked nervously.
He smiled. “Thank you.”
I nodded, blushing, before turning around and climbing down the stairs, shakily. I thought I heard Kyle chuckle from his doorway.
*****
Kyle
I couldn’t sit still.