Page 49 of Sweet Girl
I don’t want to make a scene. All I want is to get her away from everyone so I can tell her how I feel about her.
“Ky,” I murmur. “Will you come outside me with? Can we go for a walk so we can talk?”
Her eyes dart over to her sister, presumably for direction. I see an imperceptible nod of approval, as Kady stands from the table and picks up her plate. Just before she heads to the kitchen sink, she leans into me and speaks directly into my ear.
“Don’t you dare fuck it up with her. I will hunt you down and have your balls for breakfast. And that’sbeforemy brother gets ahold of you.”
I swallow thickly, blinking once as I flash a quick glance to see if Cade is still there, before I turn back to Kylah. She’s nervously chewing on her lip, which is trembling softly. She gets up from the chair and we both head toward the door. I place my hand gently on her lower back to guide her out, just as Cade calls out to me. I stop in my tracks. Oh shit. Here we go.
“Hey Van! Glad you made it. Where are you two heading off to?” His smile is wide, but then he tilts his head when he sees Kylah’s expression.
Shit.
And then she does the most incredible thing.
“He has the new Twenty One Pilots song that he wants me to hear. It’s out in his car. We’ll be right back.”
They all just wave us off and we walk out the door, as I let out the longest breath. As soon as we’re out of sight and ear shot, she shoves my hand off her back and stalks toward my car.
“Kylah. Please...you have every right to be mad at me...”
“You’re goddamn right I do.” She turns and stomps back over to me so I’m looking straight down at her. Then she slaps me hard against the chest. It doesn’t hurt and I don’t budge, which makes her angrier.
“Argh! You big ol’ wall of stone!”
I can’t help myself, I have to touch her.
I pick her up, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist, and hold her flush against me. She squirms and kicks at me, getting a few good shots in at my kneecaps - thankfully nothing close to my groin - until she finally loses steam. I inhale her fragrance that seems to have enveloped me when she was flailing around in my arms. I bury my nose in the crook of her neck and just hold her tight, hugging her as if my life depended on it.
One moment I think her body’s gone lax, and then I feel her shaking – her sobs wracking her – wrenching a knife in my gut.
“Why?” she cries out, muffled by a sob. “Why did you do that to me?”
I go with complete honesty. I have nothing left to lose. “I panicked, Ky. I’m a total fucking coward. That’s why.”
Her body jerks with a cross between a sob and a laugh. She pulls away slightly, the lights from the street lamp shining on her, illuminating the tears that dazzle like crystals on her face.
“Why would you be scared? We were friends...I thought we were friends.” Her voice is so tiny. So sad.
A few people mill around us in the parking lot, invading our privacy. I walk toward my car, to the passenger side door, and set her down, opening the door so she can get in. Once we’re situated in the front seat, I resume our conversation.
“Ky, wearefriends. But then all of a sudden, we became more. I fought myself the entire way because I didn’t want to mess it up with you. I like you too much. My feelings for you were all over the board. One minute I want to kiss you...to sleep with you...and the next, I’m telling myself that I can’t do it. I can’t get into another relationship this fast.”
She stops me. “I don’t expect a relationship, Van. Honestly. I just...I want you however I can get you.”
I reach for her hand and bring it to my heart.
“You’re not a hook-up, Ky. And we’re not meant to be friends with benefits. We’d be fooling ourselves to think there’s not more here...because I feel it. I think about you every second of the day. I can’t get you out of my head. But I’m also still so messed up from what happened with Lyndsay. She texted me on Christmas Eve.”
I glance away, feeling guilty by just admitting it out loud.
“She did? What happened?”
“Nothing. I promise. It was late, just before bed when I read her text. She said she broke up with Cody. That she made a mistake. She wanted to see me to explain. To apologize.”
Kylah drops her head and sighs. “Oh. I see.”
My hands shake as I place them over her cheeks, drawing her face into mine so our foreheads touch.
