by L A Cotton
“Yes.” I breathed out.
The surprise in Kyle’s eyes was nothing compared to what I felt. My body hummed with nervous energy and I felt a little nauseous, but then he was peppering my face with tiny kisses, whispering sweet nothings as if I’d just made all his dreams come true.
USC.
With Kyle.
Deep down, it’s what I wanted. But a year was a long time for everything to go wrong. For hearts to get broken and secrets to come out. For Mom and Dad to remind me what a dreadful mistake I was making. For Kyle to become an even bigger football star than he already was. So while I should have been relieved the choice was made, all I could think was: what had I done?
“LAURIE, WE’RE ALMOST ready to leave.” Mom’s voice filtered up to my room, and I clambered off the bed to go say bye.
“When do you get back?” I said as I entered the kitchen. Their matching luggage was stacked neatly by the door.
“We should get in on the twentieth.”
“Should?” My brow quirked up, but she was too busy checking her purse to notice.
“Your father has friends flying in, we’re hoping to see them before we leave.”
“But you’ll be home, right?”
“Of course, of course.” She waved me off as if I was making a fuss about nothing. As if them staying longer than the two weeks they already had planned was no big deal.
“We’ve left money in the safe and your father has transferred next month’s allowance into your account, just in case.”
Just in case you decide not to come home, I swallowed back the words. It wasn’t like I missed them. They were absent too much for that. And when they were around, Mom smothered me with shopping trips and spa days. But I still couldn’t get over the fact they treated me like an adult when really, I was still a child.
Most kids couldn’t wait to be granted their freedom. Getting their license. Being allowed to stay home while their parents went out of town. But when it became a regular thing, the novelty kind of wore off.
“Mrs. Grant’s number is on the refrigerator. Call her if there are any problems. She knows we’re out of town.”
“Sure, Mom.”
“And please refrain from using the house like a hotel. Lo can stay over. Autumn too, but no boys, darling.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“And no parties. Last time—”
“It was one time, Mom, and it was Lo’s birthday. I wanted to do something nice for her. We cleaned up. Nothing got broken. And we didn’t even stay up late.”
She paused, her wrinkle-free eyes settling on my face and for a second, I thought she might have something nice to say but instead, “No boys,” came out again. My shoulders sagged. How foolish of me to think she might actually tell me she was going to miss me.
“Fine.”
“All set, Gabi?” My father entered the kitchen, dressed for a business dinner, not two weeks in Cabo.
“I think so, the driver should be here any second.”
“Your mother explained we might be home a little lat—”
“I explained, Mike.” Mom levelled him with a look that told me they weren’t playing it safe by preparing me for them to be home late—it was already decided. They just didn’t want to deal with my reaction.
“Have a great trip. I’ll see you whenever you decide to come home.” I stormed out of there, not stopping when Dad’s stern voice followed me. Or when Mom’s softer voice begged me to return. I didn’t even stop when I heard the doorbell ring. They were leaving... and they had no plans to be home when they said they would.
My door slammed behind me and I flopped down on my bed. Part of me—the hopeful, foolish part—wanted Mom to follow me up here and make amends. But no footsteps came and then I heard the faint sound of the trolley wheels against the floor. The front door clicked shut and silence echoed throughout the house. I almost went to the window to watch them drive away but that would have meant I cared.
And I didn’t.
Not much, anyway.
Was I so insignificant that I didn’t deserve the truth? Or their time? They hadn’t even given me the choice to go with them. It was just a given that I’d stay behind, at home, like I had ever since I turned fifteen. Until then, I’d been dragged from vacation to vacation, business meeting to business meeting. When I was younger, I thought it was great. Seeing all these new places, meeting new people. But as I grew up, I realized I spent most of my time alone, exploring or making friends with other kids in our resort. And when I did get invited to dinner with Mom and Dad, I was expected to sit quietly and look pretty.
I wasn’t a lucky child, I was a burden.
The first time they said I could stay home alone, I was relieved. But what I didn’t realize was, my parents would gradually spend less and less time at the house.
Rolling onto my stomach, I leaned over and grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Kyle answered on the first ring.
“What are you up to?” I asked.
“Watching Macey and Maverick go at it.”
“Sounds... interesting. Want to come over? My parents just left.”
“Didn’t they give you shit last time? I don’t want to—”
“Thirty minutes, be here. I’ll leave the back door unlocked. Don’t make me wait.” I hit end call and smiled to myself. My parents were gone. They didn’t give a shit about me. So maybe it was time I didn’t give a shit about their rules.
Chapter 7
KYLE
“Laurie, babe?” I poked my head into the Davison’s kitchen and waited for her to appear. When she didn’t, I slipped inside, closing the door shut behind me. “Laurie?”
Nothing.
She’d sounded weird on the phone and I hoped I wasn’t about to walk in on the aftermath of her getting into it with her parents. Laurie tried to hide how much it hurt her that they were gone so often, but I saw it. Each time they went away—on vacation or for business—the sparkle in her eyes died a little more.
And I couldn’t say I blamed her.
But parents were funny things, I knew that better than most.
“Babe? Where are you?” I moved through the house, but it was quiet. No television or music coming from downstairs. Something on the stairs caught my eye and as I drew nearer, my brows pinched with confusion. Reaching down, I balled up the t-shirt. It was Laurie’s, the one she liked with the unicorns on the front. But that wasn’t all. A couple of steps up, there was a pair of denim shorts. Laurie’s shorts.
Weird. Maybe things between her and Mrs. Davison got physical. Chicks threw whatever was nearest in a fit of rage, didn’t they?
Then I saw it and my confusion melted away, giving way to something else entirely. Hooked over the top of the handrail was a black satin bra. The same bra I’d peeled off my girlfriend a hundred times before. I plucked it free and dangled it in front of my face, heat spreading through me like wildfire.
Laurie was shy. Not when it counted, but this was... well, if it was what I thought it was, then all my birthdays and Christmases were about to come at once. Pun very much intended.
I moved down the hallway to her door and poked my head inside.
“You’re late,” Laurie said but she could have been speaking Japanese for all I knew. My eyes drank in the sight of her laid out in the middle of her bed in just her black lacy panties, honey-blonde waves splayed out around her like a halo.
My very bad angel.
“I see you found your present.” She leaned up on her elbows, eyeing the bra in my hand
I stalked forward, dragging my thumb over my bottom lip as I traced the curves of her body with hooded eyes. “You can keep it.” The bra fluttered to the floor as I reached the edge of the bed. “I have all I need right here.”
“Kyle, I—” Her cheeks flushed, and she fisted the covers ready to cover herself, but I shook my head.
“Too late for second thoughts, babe. You look...” I gulped. “Fuck, I wo
uld’ve gotten here quicker if I’d have known.”
Laurie laughed, and the sound filled my chest with relief. We were okay. Everything was going to be okay. She’d agreed to apply to USC with me. She’d made me the happiest fucking guy on Earth.
I yanked my t-shirt over my head and kicked off my sneakers. She started to move, but I said, “You stay right there.”
“But, I—”
“Babe.” I silenced her with a look, hopefully one that said in about five-seconds flat she’d be so distracted she wouldn’t even remember her own name. Making quick work of shedding my jeans, I crawled over her, sliding one hand down her waist and under her ass, grinding my rock-hard dick into her warmth.
“Kyle, God,” she panted but my lips came down on hers. All tongues and teeth and need.
“You.” Kiss. “Are.” Kiss. “Amazing.” I nipped the corner of Laurie’s mouth, soothing the sting with my tongue. She clamped her thighs around my hips, pulling me tighter, closer. Rubbing herself on me in a way that made me feel like a motherfucking king.
“What do you want, Laurie?” I eased back, staring down at her: dark amber eyes dilated, lips parted. She looked perfect.
“I—” She bit down on her lip, swallowing her reply as my hand slipped between us and I found her center, dragging the heel of my palm over her most secret place.
“What was that, babe?” My mouth brushed her ear and her body shuddered beneath me.
“You, I want you.”
It was good enough for me. To know she loved me. Needed me. My fingers hooked into her panties and she gasped as I slid one deep inside her. I watched her. The girl I loved. The girl I wanted forever with. Pressing another digit into her, I rubbed her sensitive nub with my thumb in lazy circles. Exactly how I knew she liked it.
“Kyle, God, I’m...” her words became a jumble of incoherent sentences as I leaned down and traced the valley of her chest, paying extra attention to the rose-pink buds. My hand palmed her as I drew one of the peaks into my mouth, grazing it with my teeth, licking, sucking.
Laurie’s body went off like a rocket and she cried my name over and over. But I didn’t give her time to catch her breath. I needed in her now. Freeing my dick from my boxer briefs, I made quick work of ridding Laurie of her panties and then I was back where I belonged.
“I love you,” I whispered against Laurie’s soft lips as I pushed inside her; the feel of her wrapped around me like a glove almost too much to bear. Even though I’d never been with another girl before Laurie, she still insisted I got tested before she agreed to quit using condoms which was fine by me.
Because this, right here, was better than any other feeling.
When we were like this, all the bad shit—the lies, the secrets, and doubts—disappeared.
And there was nothing but us.
WE LAY THERE ALL MORNING, touching, kissing, neither of us in any rush to face the world. I was tracing the freckles on her skin like a join-the-dot puzzle when Laurie let out a dreamy sigh, ““That was...”
“Fucking awesome,” I said with a half-smile.
“Seriously, Kyle, do you have to be so...”
I lifted my head off her chest to look at her. “So... what? Adorable? Funny? Irresistible? Take your pick.”
“I was going to go with annoying.” She pinched my shoulder, and I yelped like a pussy.
“You love me.”
“Yeah.” She grinned. “I do.”
“Okay.” I shifted so that I was hovering above her. “So not that I’m complaining because honestly, anytime you want to surprise me like that, I’d be down... but what happened?” Running my nose along her shoulder, I pulled her body closer to mine, and Laurie let out a contented sigh. But I felt the tension radiating from her.
“They’re not coming back in two weeks.”
“What? I thought...” Shit.
“Mom slipped it out that they might hang around for a few more days to see their friends, but Dad made it sound like it was already planned, so...”
“That sucks, babe. Do you want me to ask Rebecca and Dad if you can stay—”
Her back went rigid. “No, I would never ask you to do that.”
And my parents had been pretty clear about sleepovers in the house. Although that rule didn’t seem to extend to Rick and Lo... but whatever, I wasn’t bitter, not even a little bit.
“I know, but I don’t like the idea of you here all alone for that long. A weekend or a few days, sure, but it’s not like we have school and you’re out all day.”
Laurie rolled in my arms to face me, peeking up at me, hurt glittering in her eyes. “They just left, Kyle. I stormed up to my room, and they didn’t even try to come fix it. What is wrong with me that they’d do that?”
“Hey,” I said feeling anger zip through me. “Nothing is wrong with you. Nothing. I know they’re your parents, but they have their priorities royally screwed up. You deserve more. And it kills me that they’ve upset you.” My arms went around her back, stroking her spine. “You could ask Lo to stay?”
Laurie shrugged. “Yeah, but she wants to be with Maverick, I get that.”
“I’ll stay.”
“My parents don’t want—”
“Is that what earlier was about? Getting back at them? Want me to take a photo and you can text it to them?” It wasn’t supposed to sound so accusatory and bitter, but it did. And maybe on some level, I did feel pissed that she had only invited me over as some giant 'fuck you' to her parents and their rules.
“Kyle, I didn’t—” The color drained from her face and I felt like a shit for even making this about me. Hell, she could use me any day of the week if it meant being here like this with her.
What was I thinking?
“I know.” I pressed a kiss to her nose. “Babe, I’m sorry, that was a dumb thing to say. I’m here, whatever you need.”
“Thanks, I’ll be okay. It’s not like I’m not used to it. And it means I can sneak you over here instead of sneaking into your room all the time.” Laurie smiled, but it was strained. I leaned in capturing her lips, sliding my hand over her thigh and dragging it over my hip.
“What am I going to do with you, Kyle Stone?” she whispered, smoothing her hand over my jaw, love and lust shining in her eyes. It was a joke. But her words sucker-punched the air from out my lungs.
Because here I was, making promises, showering her with affection and love and everything in between. But I was still keeping her in the dark.
And well, that made me almost as bad as her parents.
Didn’t it?
THE GUILT DIDN’T DISAPPEAR. Even after Laurie crawled on top of me and showed me exactly how much she loved me, it still lingered. Festering and burrowing deeper into my skin. So, what did I do? I told her to put on a pretty dress and took her out.
“Kyle, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Her laughter floated on the warm air as I guided her down to the lake. After the shit morning she’d had with her parents, I wanted to make it up to her. To make her forget them. To erase any doubts she still had about applying to USC.
Or me.
Or us.
“Patience, babe. It’ll be worth it.”
If the guys found out about this, they’d hand me my balls on a platter, but I didn’t give a flying fuck. When you loved someone, you put them first. You went the extra mile for them. You packed a picnic basket and a blanket and drove out to the lake for some alone time.
Positioning Laurie in front of the pier, I slipped my fingers through the blindfold and lifted it off her eyes.
“What...? Kyle, you did this?”
“I don’t see anyone else around to take the credit.” I smirked despite the frisson of nerves rattling my stomach.
“I can’t...” she swallowed, beaming at me. “This is... wow. You just earned yourself some serious brownie points. I love it.” Laurie threw her arms around me and hugged me. “Thank you,” her voice cracked with emotion, but I didn’t let her dwell, grabbing her hand and t
ugging her down the pier.
“We could have just gone to The Coastal or The Shack, I didn’t need all of this.”
“I know but I wanted to do something nice for you. Besides, it’s been almost four years to the day since I fell in love with you.”
“Shut up.” She squeezed my hand. “You have not loved me since you were thirteen.”
“It’s true. I remember the day I first laid eyes on you. Can you remember?” I helped her down onto the blanket and she nodded.
“You were with Matty and Trent, goofing around with a football at The Bay. I was with Autumn and her brother, I think. He was home for the summer and spent every second chaperoning us like we were just kids.”
“I almost tripped over my own feet when I saw you strip out of your dress.”
“Pervert.” Laurie leaned in and pinched me.
“Oh, I was definitely thinking perverted things. Totally dirty.”
“Kyle, we were just kids.”
I shrugged. “Still knew that one day, you were going to be mine. Even made a bet with Matty and Trent.”
“You did not,” she shrieked, and it was my turn to nod.
“It’s true. I can remember it as clear as day, I said to them ‘one day I’m going to marry that girl’. They both looked at me like I’d completely lost it.”
Something flashed in Laurie’s eyes as she stared at me. “You said that?”
“I did.”
“But we were so young, and you didn’t even know me.”
“I didn’t need to.” I brushed a stray wisp of hair from her face. “I just knew.”
“You’re crazy. Completely certifiable.”
“You mean you didn’t take one look at me and see your future flash before your eyes?” I said around a smile, remembering how hard I’d had to work to get her attention that summer.
“You won me over in the end.”
“Yeah I did.” I closed the distance, my mouth hovering right over hers. “And now you’re stuck with me.”
Laurie brushed her lips over mine and said, “It’s not such a bad place to be.”