Cedric dropped on top of me, sweaty and breathing heavily. I lay beneath him in the same condition, completely spent. I gulped and stared up at the ceiling, blinking as I tried to get my eyes to focus. My hand brushed against something from beside me and I absently picked it up and stared at it.
It was Cedric's scarf.
I chuckled shakily and wrapped the scarf around his neck when he lifted his head up from my chest. "Here's your scarf," I told him.
Amusement filled his eyes as it met mine and we both smiled, hearts still pounding crazily against our chest. At the sight of his smile, I laughed and he laughed with me.
I'm pretty sure at this point we both knew he hadn't come back for the scarf.
Chapter Five
"It's been said and done, every beautiful thought's has been already sung and I guess right now here's another one so your melody will play on and on with the best of them-" Selena Gomez
+Kai+
I awakened to the sound of water running and realized that it was coming from the bathroom connected to my room.
Blinking, I yawn and stretched, feeling like a cat groggily awakened from its slumber. I stopped short in the middle of my stretching when my back began to ache. Groaning, I reached behind me and rubbed my sore back. And it's no wonder! Cedric hadn't let me rest till I had passed out from exhaustion.
The boy couldn't be sated!
"Morning."
I glanced up and found Cedric standing in front of me, naked except the white towel around his hips. He must have just stepped out the shower because he looked refreshed, dark hair still damp with beads of water still clinging to his skin. And I could smell the dove soap and feel the steam coming from the bathroom just a few feet away.
"Morning," I said and yawned again. "What time is it?"
" Twelve."
I frowned. "It's not morning anymore, it's the afternoon!"
Cedric shrugged. "I hope you don't mind, I used your shower."
My eyes narrowed at him. "And you spent the night."
"That too."
"Your parents..."
"I already called them and told them that I fell asleep at a friends house."
"Hmm." I tried to stretch again and winced when my back began to throb. "Ugh, I hurt all over."
"Sorry," Cedric apologized, but he didn't really sound sorry at all. In fact he had a little smile playing across his lips, looking real pleased with himself.
I rolled my eyes at his evident cockiness and sighed. "If we keep this up I'm going to fracture my hips. I'm not as young as I used to be, you know. I can't keep going on like that."
"You seemed to enjoy it enough at the time," he just had to point. "Besides, you're only twenty-four."
I waved a hand. "Bah! We still gotta tone it down a bit. My poor body can't take all your vigorous teenage sex-drive."
I rested my cheek against my pillow and admired the view. Ced really did have a nice body for his age. His physique was very young and athletic, muscles rippling in the right places. "Have you ever considered a modeling career?" I asked him.
Cedric lifted a brow. "Have you?"
I blinked. "What?"
"You're very beautiful."
I stared at his serious expression and found myself blushing. Me? Beautiful? How can he say something so embarrassing like that without batting a lash? I buried my face deeper into the pillow, peeking at him. "You think I'm...beautiful?"
Cedric nodded. He knelt down beside the bed in front of me and brushed my hair back away from my eyes. "Kai, I think you're lovely."
I could feel my blush deepening. "Ced! I'm not lovely."
"You are," he insisted. "You're like one of those geisha paintings I've seen-"
"I look like a female prostitute!?"
Ced chuckled. "That's not what I meant. You're...delicate but strong. I like the shape of your face, your lips, nose...eyes."
I rolled my eyes. "A lot of Japanese people have my eye shape."
"Yeah but you're unique." Cedric trailed two of his fingers down my back and stopped where the white sheet of my bed lie draped over the curves my butt. "I like you, Kai."
I like you, Kai. It was said with simplicity and childlike honesty. I like you, Kai.
I reached out and brushed a thumb against his cheek, wondering just how much longer this relationship between us-whatever it was-would last. If I was smart, I'd end it now before I get too attached to him. It would be so easy to fall for a boy like Cedric.
Sighing, I forced myself to sit up. "I think I'll go take a shower."
Cedric watched me carefully, as if trying to read my thoughts. "Want me to join you?"
"Nice try," I said with a chuckle. "I'll take it alone this time." Moaning from the backache, I wrapped the sheet around my waist and stood. "I'll make us something to eat after I get out, how's that?"
"Okay." Ced stared up at me, eyes still probing. "I have to leave for a while but I'll be back."
"Where?" I asked curiously.
"Friends."
Friends. Probably the girls from yesterday. I wanted to ask him who they were but resisted the urge. It would look bad if I acted too clingy. I'm the adult here after all and...and it wasn't as if Cedric was mine.
"Okay," I said, walking towards the bathroom. "I'll see you when you get back then." I paused by the door and shot him a stern look. "But make sure to go back to your parents house so they'll know you're all right."
Cedric stood and gave me a nod. Satisfied with that, I entered the bathroom and closed the door. During the shower, I forced myself to not think about what Cedric's eyes had been trying to tell me...
+Cedric+
"’Let me tell you how the sun rose...one ribbon at a time.’"
"Hey, Cedric! What are you mumbling about over there?" Kara planted herself in front of me, arms crossed, face set in an annoyed scowl. Ah, her battle stance.
"When are you going to tell us where you've been this past week?" She poked a black polished finger at my chest. Kara Anderson, always the aggressive punk rock chick with a no nonsense attitude. Today her attire spoke volumes of her teen angst.
Black leather combat boots with cherry red lacing, a black mini skirt straight out of Hot Topic paired off with a black corset like top with lacing that matched the ones on her boots. At times I would ponder how we ever became the term "friends."
"Hey," she snapped, "are you listening to me?"
"Yes," was my reply as I continued my walk down the street towards the mall parking lot. I was mindful of my steps seeing as the roads were covered with icy snow. At some point it stopped snowing during the day but the blanket of snow on the ground has yet to melt. It'll probably still be there until the new year.
"Ced-Pooh, where are you going?" Delicate arms encircled mine and clung on like a monkey. The bright green eyes staring up at me belonged to none other than Mimi. Miranda Johnson with the small, slender frame of 5'2 yet still cute enough to catch much attention from the opposite sex.
I glance slyly at Kara on my right. The opposite sex...and then some.
"What are you lookin' at?" She gave me that all too familiar glare, one I've been in the receiving end of for the past week. "Fess up, buster. Who is she?"
"Ced-Pooh is being taken away from me?" Mimi cried, clinging onto my left arm harder. "No! It can't be!" She then batted her golden lashes at me, looking angelic with golden mop of curls around her baby-doll face. "Tell me it's not true, Ced-Pooh."
Ced-Pooh. Why she insists in calling me that will forever make me wonder. Did I look like a bear? I looked up at the orange sky, a sign that the sun was already beginning to set and the day was at an end. I wondered what Kaito was doing. Was he waiting for me? I've been gone far longer than I intended to be.
"Helloooooooo," Kara's voice broke through my reverie. "Yo, Mr. Day Dreamer, will you snap out of it and tell us who she is already?"
"Who?"
"Yeah, the chick you've been ditching us for."
Chick? Ah, she means Kait
o. I lifted an amused brow at that. Kaito, a female? I wonder what he'd think about that. He probably wouldn't find it amusing, he hadn't even taken my compliment that he was beautiful well. Hmm...what should I get him for Christmas?
"Ced," Mimi tugged at my arm. "Will you introduce us to her?"
Introduce them to Kai? I wasn't opposed to the idea of introducing my friends to my special someone but I didn't think he'd have the same opinion. He probably doesn't want to let my brother know about us or anyone else for that matter.
"You know," I hear Kara grumble, "it's amazing that we can carry a proper conversation with you at all! You're always spaced-out."
Spaced out? I suppose I have the habit of thinking too much which made people assume that I'm a 'space' case. Funny, I had no problem talking normally with Kaito. If you call any of our conversations 'normal'.
Speaking of conversations...I took out my smart phone from my pants pocket and stared thoughtfully at it. Maybe I should call him and ask what he's doing.
"What are you doing?"
"Mm?" I shot Kara a brief glance. "Did you say something?"
"You're staring at your phone like you're having a battle of wits with it," Kara said with a scowl.
"I'm debating whether I should call my lover or not."
"So you really do have a lover?" Mimi's already wide eyes went wider. "Really?"
"Yes," I answered honestly. "Why do you sound unconvinced?"
"Cause," Kara began, fixing me with a dry look. "We both thought you were using an imaginary girlfriend to ditch us."
Mimi released her hold and stepped in front of me. "Ced-Pooh, let us meet her. I want to know the girl who's taking you from me."
I studied the girl before me, cute little Mimi in a pink skirt and top. How very opposite my two "friends" are. One cute and preppy and the other dark and edgy. I couldn't help wonder what Kai's opinion of them would be.
I glanced at my cell phone. Maybe I should call him now. I had left while he had been in the shower and at the time he seemed distracted. Was he tired of me yet? I admit that I've been insatiable in bed, always craving to be with him but I couldn't help that.
Like Eve with the fruit of Knowledge, one taste of Kai and I couldn't seem to get enough. The one person whom I had thought was out of my reach was finally within my grasp and I refuse to let him slip away, even to my own brother.
"That's it." Kara snatched my phone from my hand, taking her stance beside Mimi. Once again the difference between the two girls struck me. Kara is noticeably a few inches taller than Mimi, her red hair matching her fiery temper.
She shook my phone at me in exasperation. "You are going to introduce us to this girl. Today. Like NOW."
I stuffed my hands in my coat pocket. "It's a bit complicated."
"What? Is she married or something?"
"No."
"An older woman?" Mimi asked, eyes wide at the idea.
"Well...he is older."
"An older woman, huh?" Kara crossed her arms, oblivious to my reference to 'he' and not 'she.' "How much older?"
"About seven years."
Mimi gasped. "Middle aged!?"
"A total cougar," Kara added.
I believe the term for it would be Silver-Fox seeing as Kai is a man...but he wasn't really that much older than me though I knew that was one of the many things he worries about.
"Well?" Kara rapped her boot impatiently on the ground. "Are you going to take us to meet her? We're your best friends."
I looked up at the sky, contemplating the pros and cons of introducing them to Kai. Most likely he'd be upset. I felt a tug on my arm so I looked down and met Mimi's imploring eyes.
"Please?" She pleaded.
My brows furrowed as I stared down at her. "This person is my special person, Miranda."
I had to tell her this. I wasn't completely blind to her possessiveness of me. Mimi may seem sweet but she actually had a darker side that she never let others see. She prefers to be seen as sweet and innocent. Most likely she was begging to meet Kai to check out the 'competition'.
I cocked my head to the side and studied her. Maybe I should introduce her to Kai. It may put an end to her girlish crush on me.
"Fine," I found myself saying to them. "I'll introduce you two."
"Good." Kara handed my phone back to me. "Then let's go."
"I wonder what she's like," Mimi said, skipping next to Kara.
I followed silently behind them, knowing that Kai will most likely kill me for bringing these two back at his apartment. Still like always, I couldn't wait to see him.
Mimi was the first to reach my dark blue car, beating Kara once again to the front passenger seat. "Shot gun!"She cried excitedly to which Kara rolled her eyes to.
"I love you like a love song, baby," Mimi sang as soon as we got inside the car. "And I keep hitting re-pe-pe-pe-peat." And of course that's the exact song that blasted in my car once I started the engine. She had stuck her Selena Gomez CD in before we had gotten to the mall two hours before. Mimi was going through a "Selena Gomez" phase.
Kara and I exchanged amused glances through the rear-view mirror at Mimi's singing. We both knew she was singing the song to me. It was one of the many things that amused me about Mimi despite her clingy ways.
Yes, I thought as I drove out the parking lot. It's best that she meets Kai. There was nothing like letting a girl down gently then showing her that I preferred a man to her.
But I don't think she'd see it that way.
Chapter Six
"You say you dream of my face, but you don't like me, you just like the chase to be real it doesn't matter anyways. You know it's just too little too late "-JoJo
+Kai+
Cedric was late. Again.
I sat on the kitchen chair and stared at the food I prepared. It had grown cold from sitting out too long. I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. What could be keeping him? His friends again?
I crossed my arms with a sigh. Maybe I should just put this all away, or maybe I should just give in and call him to demand what's taking him so long. But that's it. It would be too childish to ask him if those girls were more important to him then I was.
I leaned against the chair with a frown at my thoughts. In all honesty I didn't even know where I stand with that boy. We're lovers, but is that all? Did he still think that he was a replacement for John? We've never actually talked about it since our affair began. What does Cedric really think of me? Of our relationship?
The doorbell rang, breaking me out of my thoughts...very dangerous thoughts. I was grateful for the interruption because when left alone my mind would go into dangerous territory. I shouldn't expect more from Cedric. He was just a child.
"And that's probably him now," I said aloud, making my way to the front door. "Ced," I opened the door with a small smile, excited to see him despite myself. "What took you so long-" I cut off, eyes going wide when I realized just who was standing in front of my door.
"Hi," John smiled at me. "Long time no see."
I stared at him, not quite knowing how to react to his presence. It actually surprised me to see him standing there, hands in his blue jean pockets, white polo shirt as white as his smile. He had that sheepish look on his face, one that told me that he knew that I was shocked to see him.
"I thought you were still on your Honeymoon," I said, not knowing what else to say at this point. My heart did a little flip flop at the sight of him like it always did. No matter how much of a bastard he's been, John would always hold a place in my heart.
"I was," he nodded, "but we decided to come back early."
"A week early?"
John's smile dimmed. "There were...complications."
Trouble in paradise already? I didn't voice that thought out. Instead I continued to stare at him, waiting for him to say something else. To make the next move. What was he doing here?
John cleared his throat, looking a little unnerved by my stare. "Uh, can I come in? Or am I not welcome anymo
re?"
I blinked at him. Let him in? But why? I thought he said he was never coming back to my apartment. When he had left me three months ago, he had taken everything with him. So why was he here now?
"Kai?" John tilted his head to the side, suddenly looking concerned. "You okay?"
"I..." I shook my head and stepped back. "Come in."
"Thanks." He brushed past me and took off his shoes. He knew my policy on shoes inside the house. "The place looks different," he commented, shoving his hands back in his pocket as he looked around my home.
"I re-decorated," I said, closing the door. "John, why are you here?"
John took his time before answering. He strolled the the Chinese painting of a waterfall against my wall and studied it. "This is new."
"Yeah." I stayed behind him, watching his back carefully. " I got it after you left."
John studied the painting a little longer before turning to face me. He paused at the sight of me and tilted his head to the side, looking thoughtful. "You've changed."
"Have I?"
"You look more...refreshed."
I crossed my arms. "I've made some changes in my life."
"Like?"
"I got a new lover." And he's your brother.
John lifted his brows up in surprise. "A new lover? I see." He ran hand through his dark hair, making my heart ache at the striking resemblance between him and Cedric. "Guess I'm too late, huh?"
That caught my attention.
"What?" I straightened in full attention and uncrossed my arms. "What did you say?"
"I missed you."
My mouth went dry at his words, heart picking up speed. How long have I waited to hear those words after he had left me? Hearing them now...I didn't know what to think.
"My life hasn't been the same without you," he admitted with a sigh. "It hasn't been right at all for months now."
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