Fumbling Perfect (Raymere Grove Series Book 1)

by Nikki Kwiatkowski

  Just as she got settled into bed, the smell of Kyler surrounding her, the ding from her phone caught her attention and she immediately reached for it. As soon as she grabbed it, she remembered that she hadn’t put her phone on the nightstand. The alert had started to fade, but the message was short enough that she saw all that she needed.

  Sarah: Missed you tonight! See you soon!

  Lilah slammed the phone back on the nightstand, perhaps a little more aggressively than she should have and buried her head in the pillow with an exasperated breath.

  Chapter 19

  Lilah generally woke more on the early side, but as she stumbled to her bag for her phone, she didn’t expect for it to read 7:08. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Her eyes popped open once she saw the black and white ball of fur roll into the middle of the bed and stretch out, taking up nearly the whole thing. He could have it. The noise outside wouldn’t allow her to fall back asleep.

  Excitement ran through her as she made her way to the windows, being sure to give Max a belly rub as she walked by the bed. Her eyes trailed back to the window, brushing over the nightstand, only to see an empty charger. An uncomfortable feeling scampered through her.

  Kyler’s phone was on the charger when she went to sleep. At some point he had to have come and gotten it while she was sleeping. She cringed at the idea that he saw her like that.

  She pulled the blinds up, allowing more light to shine through the room. At that point she heard a thud and turned to see Max leaving. Apparently, he wasn’t much for mornings.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” she sighed when she looked out.

  Kyler must have been awake before the sun, as half of the rather large backyard was already mowed. Lilah groaned and made her way to one of her bags that contained her smaller makeup bag. He had to have been doing that to show off. There was no way that he was so perfect.

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  From his peripheral vision, Kyler saw his mother on the deck just as he was getting the last few swatches of grass. He turned the mower off and began rolling it to the garage. He was about to call out, but decided against it as he got closer to his mother.

  She wasn’t happy, and that was putting it mildly. She stood in her pajamas and robe, as the autumn air was quickly growing cooler by the day. One arm was on her hip while the other held her cup of coffee that she viciously sipped.

  “Good morning,” Kyler cautiously greeted.

  “Good morning?! Kyler David West,” she screeched furiously.

  Kyler hated that she used his middle name, just as much as he hated the actual name itself. He feigned innocence, pretending he didn’t know what she was so upset about, although he was more than certain, and it wasn’t the slight dip in the banister.

  “Why is there a girl in your room?”

  He sighed. “Mom, I’m eighteen–”

  Coffee sloshed from her cup. “Oh, no you don’t,” she continued to scream. “This is my house…”

  Her words were lost on him. He had pretty much heard the same lecture from Krista the night before.

  “The only reason I didn’t wake the whole house up was because you were on the couch down in the living room and not in bed with her.”

  She finally stopped and Kyler took that as a sign that he needed to speak. His shirt, dripping in sweat, clung to him. He took it off and swatted at his jeans, attempting to get any damp grass off before he entered the house.

  “It’s a long story,” he sighed. His mother didn’t budge. He knew the exact words that she’d say if given the opportunity. I’ve got all the time in the world. Which they both knew wasn’t true. “To keep it simple. She had nowhere to stay last night.”

  His mother laughed a bitter laugh, showing that she didn’t believe a word he was saying. “Your sister said that her father is Steven McCallister. You’re going to have to do better than the whole taking in a homeless stray story.”

  He tried that story once and his mother would never let him live it down. Their neighbor in the city was horrible and often put his beautiful white cat out on the balcony. Kyler couldn’t stand how sad it always looked and one day managed to get it across to his side. He then covered it in mud in hopes that his parents would believe that it was a lost and abandoned cat; however, when the neighbor came by later that night, and the cat betrayed their secret, that was the last he ever saw of it.

  “No. I’m saying that I think she’s having some problems at home and she wasn’t exactly welcomed there last night.”

  Helen eyed her son suspiciously, but found that she believed him more than not. “Did she tell you that?”

  “She didn’t say too much. She cried a lot, even though she tried not to,” he told his mother, shifting uncomfortably as some of the memories of last night came back.

  “And though there’s nothing going on between the two of you, she slept over? She had no other–”

  Kyler interrupted her. “She’s popular and all, but for the most part she acts like she’s better than everyone else. Kids know her, but they really don’t want anything to do with her. She doesn’t have many friends.”

  Helen rolled her eyes. Sadly, she believed her son. “Get in and shower. You smell.” A small smile came to her face, flooding Kyler with relief. Just as he reached the sliding glass doors, “The deck looks amazing by the way.”

  When he turned back around, he saw a light in his mother’s eyes that wasn’t there too much anymore. It filled him with a great sense of pride and accomplishment.

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  Lilah stood in shock at the doorway from the bathroom to the hallway; the sweat from Kyler’s chest now stuck to her forehead. She hadn’t been expecting anyone to be in the hall, let alone to be entering the bathroom just as she was exiting. Above all, she most definitely wasn’t expecting Kyler barefoot and shirtless, in nothing but a pair of grass stained jeans.

  She didn’t know where to look, and as difficult as it was, settled on his eyes, noting the sense of humor behind them, which matched perfectly to the smirk on his face.

  His eyes shifted over her body, but did a deeper evaluation of her face. “Are you already wearing makeup?”

  For the most part, Lilah always wore makeup. If she wasn’t going anywhere on a Saturday, then maybe not. When she woke, she knew that she’d have to see Kyler at some point, and there was no way she wanted him seeing her so exposed.

  “For me,” he questioned her teasingly.

  “Get over yourself,” she huffed.

  Taking her free hand, she shoved him, as he was blocking her way into the hall. She froze once her hand connected with his chest. It lingered there for just a second past awkward before she yanked it away, her eyes falling to the floor.

  He watched her face redden, and was frustrated at how cute he found her to be. All he could think about was kissing her, but now wasn’t the time, and over the past few weeks, he was coming to the conclusion that there might never be a right time.

  He leaned in and sniffed. “What are you wearing?”

  He was used to her light and flowery scent, but something was different now. She smelled…almost masculine

  She huffed. “I assumed I was staying at Alice’s and I forgot to pack my body wash.”

  Kyler’s heart began to race at the thought. “So, you used mine?”

  Lilah’s face scrunched up. It did that so often and Kyler had to hold back his laughter.

  “My sister actually has some underneath the sink. She put it in a safer place after I spilled it,” he admitted, realizing that the more he spoke to her, the closer their bodies became.

  Lilah tried to keep her composure with Kyler’s debilitating effect on her. “Well, now I know.” It was a stupid thing to say. She’d never again need that information. “Had I known earlier–”

  Kyler interrupted her. “Would it have made a difference?”

  Their eyes locked and something passed between them. It was both good and bad, both pleasure and torture. Kyler hated how cold
and closed off she still seemed, and Lilah hated that he was such a flirt, just teasing her.

  “I have to get dressed. If you could please move,” Lilah softly insisted after attempting to move from left to right but realizing she’d bump into Kyler no matter what if he remained in his current place.

  He stepped aside just enough. Strangely, he enjoyed making her uncomfortable, knocking her down from her high horse for just a moment. “Sure.”

  His eyes drifted over her body as she hurriedly made her way past. He was used to her businesslike schoolgirl look that he so often saw her in, but he had an everlasting image of her in jeans and a Rolling Stones t-shirt that was a little too small embedded into his memory. This one right now would be another.

  He never thought he’d ever see Lilah McCallister in sweatpants and a simple t-shirt. Although he had to admit, the teal sweatpants hung lower on her hips than he could bear, and the shirt looked like something suited for a doll. Normally he wouldn’t complain, but having her like that, so close, took everything in his power not to touch her.

  When Lilah got across the hall to Kyler’s door, she made the mistake of glancing back. Kyler was standing in the mirror splashing his face. For some torturous reason he hadn’t shut the door yet. That’s when a marking took her by surprise, capturing her attention.

  Though it was far away, and she couldn’t make out all the intricate details, she could tell it was a bird of some sort on his right side.

  Kyler brought his face up, water dripping from it and saw Lilah’s reflection in the mirror, an inquisitive look on her face as she leaned into the doorway of his bedroom. He was conscious as to what had captured her attention.

  He turned, his face now stony and unreadable and closed the door to the bathroom. Lilah waited for a moment. The water to the shower soon came on and she felt as though she was finally able to breathe. Recently, being around Kyler made that very difficult. She then rushed into the bedroom and locked the door, her primary goal: changing as quickly as possible and getting away from Kyler.

  Chapter 20

  Lilah wasn’t sure there would have been a right decision to make when she went downstairs, and Krista insisted that she sit and stay for breakfast. It smelled heavenly, and Lilah knew it would be rude to refuse, but being alone with Kyler’s mother and sister was a little terrifying; however, she had nowhere else to be.

  Krista continued banging around in the kitchen while Kyler’s mother read over the newspaper and sipped on her coffee. Lilah sat uncomfortably, unsure how to proceed.

  Helen folded up the paper and placed it to the side. Her eyes narrowed playfully as she took in a long sip of coffee, quietly evaluating Lilah from behind the mug.

  “So, Lilah,” Helen began, slowly drawing out her words. “How’s school this year?”

  Lilah tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. “I guess pretty good.”

  “Not if she’s stuck tutoring Kyler,” Krista yelled from the kitchen.

  Lilah bit her lip, concealing a small smile.

  That gave Helen a way in. “How exactly is it going with tutoring my son?”

  Lilah felt so uncomfortable. She could tell that Kyler’s mother was inspecting her. Waking up to some random girl in her house couldn’t have been too pleasant.

  “At first it was a little difficult, but it seems that he’s genuinely trying now.” That was the best way she could put it.

  Krista and Helen gave each other looks that held some kind of message that Lilah wasn’t privy to.

  “Lilah, would you like coffee, tea, or orange juice,” Krista asked as she placed butter and syrups on the table.

  Lilah thought. That wasn’t a lot of information. Black tea? Green tea? Herbal tea? What kind of coffee? Origin? Did the orange juice have pulp or not?

  As if she could read Lilah’s thoughts, “It’s just plain Folgers, Earl Grey tea, or orange juice, no pulp per Kyler’s request.”

  “Just coffee is fine.”

  “You sure,” a deep voice came from behind her, sending chills along her neck. “It’s not Starbucks.”

  Lilah glared at Kyler as he took a seat, unfortunately right next to her, which did no favors to her insides.

  If she was being totally honest, she loved the smell of his body wash, both on her and on him. That was the grossest thing she could think of right before eating and she quickly took a sip of the coffee placed in front of her, hoping to get a good whiff of the bold and bitter scent to cover up any others that might be lingering around her.

  Krista hit Kyler over the head with a potholder as she placed it on the table. “Stop being rude.” She then went back to the kitchen and brought back a plate stacked with waffle after waffle, a bowl of scrambled eggs that looked to have more cheese than eggs, and another plate with enough bacon to give anyone a heart attack.

  It was a breakfast Lilah definitely wasn’t used to.

  Kyler threw a waffle on Lilah’s plate along with three on his, and before he could do the same with some bacon, “I can get it myself,” Lilah hissed.

  “Yeah, but you’re not.”

  “What do you normally have for breakfast,” Krista asked while refilling her coffee.

  “We don’t really eat breakfast like this, together. Generally, we just grab some fruit or a nutrition bar.” Strangely, Lilah felt bad admitting that. She felt even worse as she sat there with Kyler and his family. Although she thought he was hiding something, it only made her see just how perfect his life really was.

  It was in that moment that she realized something was missing. His father.

  “Here,” Kyler said, handing Lilah the butter and breaking up her thoughts.

  “What’s that for?”

  He looked at her like she had just sprouted a second head. “For your waffle.” When she didn’t respond immediately, he took the knife and smeared a huge glob of yellow fat all over her waffle.

  “Hey!”

  “Trust me, okay,” he insisted, now pouring a heaping amount of thick and sticky sugar on top of that.

  Lilah could feel his sister and mother curiously watching them, and was thankful once Kyler removed himself from her personal space and went back to shoveling food in his mouth.

  After she took her first bite, she knew she had been missing out over the years. Something as simple as waffles, bacon, and eggs, shouldn’t have made her feel that way, but it did.

  Kyler tried not to stare, but Lilah fascinated him. She seemed to have everything, yet she didn’t even know how to properly eat a waffle, with pockets of butter and drenched in syrup. He looked away to hide the smirk on his face when she went back for a second. Despite how freaking awkward it was having her at the breakfast table with his mom and sister, something about it caused a rush of excitement and burst of energy to run through him.

  Lilah sank back and finished her food while the rest of them had casual conversation. She already felt bad for imposing and she didn’t want to take away what was obviously family time. From what she gathered, Helen worked a lot at the hospital as a general surgeon. It had to be a nice job and paid well, but she was in high demand in Raymere Grove, not to mention, if the hospitals in the city were at capacity, Raymere General was the next closest.

  “That would be great,” Krista shouted, clapping her hands together. Lilah had missed whatever conversation they were on to. “I left a few things at work. I could drop you two off and meet back with you for lunch.”

  Lilah was more than confused.

  Kyler was hesitant in saying anything, and he felt like he might have overeaten for once, as his mother spoke now only to Lilah. He dreaded what was coming and decided he was right; he didn’t need that fifth waffle.

  “What are your plans for the day?”

  Lilah thought for a moment, but there wasn’t much to think about. Jolee was out of state and Alice had just driven the night before for her mother’s conference that was happening throughout the day now. “I’ll probably go to the library.” Thankfully she saw Krista now picking u
p dishes. In hopes that Kyler’s mom wouldn’t ask her another question, she quickly rose and grabbed her plate and cup and followed Krista’s lead.

  As soon as Kyler met his mother’s devilishly calculating eyes, he shook his head and grabbed his plate as well.

  “Lilah,” Helen cooed.

  Kyler couldn’t believe it. He just knew that his mother was not going to mess up their little bit of free time together as a family.

  “Why don’t you come with us to the zoo?”

  The plate slipped a bit from Lilah’s hand on its way into the sink and made a loud clatter. “The zoo? In the city?”

  Helen softly laughed. “Yes. I’m afraid I don’t get much time off, and Kyler just loves the little animals,” she added, ending her statement in a baby voice. This caused Kyler to turn bright red, and he sent her a look to let her know how inappropriate and embarrassing that was.

  Lilah was fine. Spending the day at the library would be lonely, but she was used to that by now. “Thank you, but I really don’t want to impose any further.”

  “Not at all! The more the merrier,” Helen insisted.

  Lilah hated that phrase. The more the merrier. That wasn’t true at all, at least not for her.

  She looked to Kyler to try to gauge his thoughts on the matter, but suddenly he appeared expressionless and wouldn’t even look at her.

  “I better not,” she sighed. If she were honest, she was slightly disappointed at having to turn Helen down. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been to the zoo. Anytime her mother took her to the city it was generally for shopping. “However, if I could get a ride to the library?”

  Kyler rolled his eyes and finally spoke up. “Just come with us.”

  Lilah’s eyes shot up to meet his from across the room. It felt like the air was being sucked out of her with the intense way that Kyler was looking at her. She could feel her face heating and more than anything she wanted to get away from the scrutiny of his mother and sister who appeared to be watching their every move.

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