One Mississippi

Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Seven: Speaking of families

AALIYAH sat up, yawning particularly loudly. The room around her was brightly lit as the curtains were opened, allowing the sun entrance. She rubbed her eyes furiously, her hands sliding down her face and stopping at her neck. A small smile stretched across her face as she thought about how Khaiyon's lips were all over it last night.

Turning, she finally came to the realization that he wasn't in the bed with her. Her eyes landed on a small note resting on his side of the bed.

"Get cleaned up and dressed. The day's ours, princess. I'll pick you up around 1:30. -Khai"

Aaliyah couldn't help but smile as she noted his messy handwriting scrawled across the paper as neatly as he could. She found it adorable.

Looking over at the clock, it read 12:45 on the screen. Her smile immediately faded as she panicked and jumped out of the bed, racing for the shower. "Crap!"

Hurriedly, Aaliyah turned on the water and stripped herself of what little clothing remained on her body: his shirt. She slipped into the shower and quickly washed herself.

Done in twenty minutes, she dressed quickly and raced downstairs, running into a burly chest. "Sorry!" she yelped, checking to see whom she knocked over.

"Everything okay?" Killian asked, fixing his shirt. She looked at him relieved.

"Everything's fine," she sighed, touching her chest. "I'm sorry about assaulting you, by the way."

He stood straight and looked down at the beautiful girl before him. She cleaned nicely and smelled of strawberries as he breathed in her scent.

God, why can't I have this girl?

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged carelessly. "You've got a thing running into me," he stated, referring to the first time they had met. "I wish you'd tackle me like that more often," he chuckled playfully, causing her to crack a smile.

"I'll keep that in mind next time. I mean, the hallways is where it always happens."

He found himself relieved that she remembered. He didn't think she would quite catch on to it. "You look beautiful, by the way. Cleaned up well." Aaliyah looked down, blushing. If anything, Killian always knew just how to flatter the girl. He placed his fingers underneath her chin and pushed her head upwards. "No need to be shy," he whispered, staring into her big brown eyes.

She cleared her throat nervously, shuddering at the touch of his fingers. It was a soft and gentle touch. Much like Khaiyon's.

Man, these Chicago boys really know how to do us in, don't they?

"Don't you even start! Khaiyon will murder the both of us."

"Thank you," Aaliyah finally responded after a second, before grabbing his wrist and slowly pulling his hand away from her face. "Um, for future references, you might not want to do that again," she spoke up, avoiding eye contact. "Khaiyon won't like that very much."

"I wouldn't," someone spoke behind them. They both turned and came face to face with Khaiyon lethargically pacing up the staircase, his eyes heavy on the both of them. It wasn't hard to make out the chemistry between them, but he was very thankful that Aaliyah couldn't quite sense how she reacts to Killian. If she knew, she just might decide to follow her body's instinct and fall right into his arms.

Something Khaiyon would never allow.

"Khaiyon, hey," she smiled, stepping away from his friend. "I just finished getting ready. I saw your note," she explained, pointing back towards the room.