A Silent Hope

Chapter Twenty Three

"Gotta stop." She said, detaching our mouths.

"Why?" I whispered and licked across her lips.

"People." The taller woman moaned when I bit her swollen lip.

"There's no one here."

"Thalia,"

"Fine." I pecked her lips and leaned my head against the wall, allowing myself to see up at her.

Sparkling eyes were darker, but also held a look I couldn't place. Kenzie kept staring and I gave into the smile that crept on my mouth. My bit into my bottom lip, feeling the slightly swollen flesh. I watched her throat bobbed as she swallowed, her eyes on me.

"Something wrong?" I asked when neither of us moved after a couple of minutes went by.

"N-no. Nothing." She mumbled in a quiet voice.

My head slanted to the left in thought. "Should I have not asked?"

"You can ask whenever you want." The woman said and led me up to the apartment.

~●~

"Okay, now you're just showing off." I scoffed.

Kenzie remained in a plank position, hips and feet moving in a dance to the beat of the song she played. I woke up to her working out in the living room, which meant more dancing and goofing off than actual workouts. Not only was the exercising distracting, but so was the gym shorts and sports bra.

"You're just jealous you can't move like me." She grunted out between moves.

I covered my head with the blanket and groaned. "Stop waking me up. Shouldn't you be doing that at the gym?"

"Maybe."

I had a moment of silence before she started to sing.

I pulled down the blanket and saw her sitting on the floor with her arms around her knees. Kenzie's body was covered in sweat, biceps flexing and chest heaving. She was staring at me with her usual smile, it annoyed me.

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes and left for the bathroom.

"I'll make breakfast." She called and I lifted my hand with a quick wave.

When I came back, there were two plates containing breakfast on the small dinner table for two. The furniture she moved around for space had been put back rightfully and there was soft music playing now. Kenzie was standing at the window, her back to me while she talked on the phone. My eyes scanned down her muscled back, to her toned ass and long legs.

"Fucking sexy." I grumbled quietly.

"What?" The woman turned to see me, hand over her phone to block the noise. "What was that?"

I blinked. "Nothing."

"Nothing Ma, that's Thalia." She said into the phone. "No, my friend. Thalia. My new friend. I told you I made a friend. I can make friends, Ma. Yes, I can."

Not wanting to get roped into that, I went ahead and made myself a cup of tea. I was sitting at the table when she joined me, still not wearing much clothing.

"What?" I muttered when she just looked at me.

A shrug. "My Ma wants to meet you."

"Huh?" I dropped the fork I picked up.

"My Ma, she doesn't believe I made a new friend. So I'm gonna have to take you with me home to prove her wrong." Kenzie informed me like it was the most casual thing. "It's my parents' 18th wedding anniversary next week."

"You're twenty six." I pointed out.

The woman rubbed her forehead. "Uh, yeah. They got married when I was eight."

"What about Paul?"

"What about Paul?"

"He's your friend too. Doesn't she want to meet him?" I asked and watched as she looked away.

"He's busy." She blurted out.

"Is he?" My lips twitched as a smile almost showed.

"Uh huh. Busy bee that boy." Kenzie looked at me then. "So, you'll go?"

"We'll see."

"I, uh, also have another thing to discuss." She caught a piece of hair between her thumb and index finger.

My focus stayed on that for a second before I met nervous eyes. "What is it?"

"Kisses. If you can ask for them whenever you want, I should be able to as well." She hurried out. "Right? I think so. Don't you? Good. You should."

"You want to ask for kisses whenever you want?" I pressed my fist against my cheek as I crossed my legs.

"Yes." Caribbean blue eyes gazed down then up again.

"Okay." I replied easily, though my heart was pounding in my chest at an alarming pace.

"Okay?" She questioned suspiciously.

"Okay." I confirmed.

Kenzie cleared her throat and picked up her coffee cup. "Okay." She put the cup down and stared at me a little too hard. "Can I have one now?"

I bit my lip, flashes of last night running through my mind. "Sure."

"Do I just come get it...?"

"Well, it's not going to meet you all the way over there." I teased.

The woman stumbled up to her feet while I remained sitting. She squinted those bright eyes at me and gestured for me to stand. Stubbornly, I shook my head. She groaned and tugged me up by my hand, her lips coming down on mine seconds after.

I was getting more familiar with the way she moved her mouth against mine. Our arms around each other, Kenzie kissed me deeply. I did my best to not let my hands roam the flesh they touched, only enjoying the warmth. When that tongue of hers slipped through my lips, a moan escaped me. I didn't care enough to be embarrassed by it.

Panting, she pulled back and did an awkward hand gesture while clearing her throat. "Thanks. Yeah, thanks." She literally fell into her chair.

I suppressed a laugh and took my seat again. "Mhm."

-

Too much of a slow burn?👀

-E