The next morning, I stretched and yawned just before the alarm as always while slowly rolling over to my right side. The back of my hand smacked bare flesh causing my eyes to fly open. My mind whirled from coming face to face with Kyle who was lying on his left side, his bare chest exposed for all of God and country to see. Covering my suddenly opened mouth with my other hand, I tried desperately to stifle my sharp intake of oxygen.
He shifted slightly causing me to press my hand over my mouth even harder, bruising my lips as well as leaving fingertip marks on my cheek. My nostrils flared in overtime as my lungs labored for air. My chest rose and fell at least three times within a second.
Oh dear, God, I was hyperventilating!
Before I could get my senses together, Kyle's hand snaked up his side before hooking his thumb around mine causing our palms to be locked together. The back of my hand pressed against his bare pectoral muscles and I could have sworn my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head.
Shockwave after shockwave of adrenaline shot through my limbs causing me to shake. Slowly, I peeled my fingertips out of the flesh of my cheek and reached for his hand. With trembling fingers, I tried pulling his thumb back so I could hopefully release his grip and slide my hand free. That was the plan, at least.
However, that wasn't the case.
Although I was able to break free for a moment, he moved his hand to lie over my hip, his fingers now resting on my lower back. Clasping my hands fiercely together, I held them close against my chest trying like hell not to touch him while squeezing my eyes shut.
Slowly and painstakingly, I rotated my hips trying desperately to roll backward. The task was agonizing.
"Iiip," I squealed.
Just as I thought I would be able to break free, Kyle grabbed my hip and rolled me toward his chest, his forearm and hand now firmly planted against my spine and shoulder.
My praying hands were pressed solidly between his pectorals and the hollow of my throat while my forehead rested against his mouth and chin.
Paralyzed. Completely and utterly paralyzed.
Closing my eyes, I just waited. Unable to take deep breaths. Unable to shift. I just lay there hoping that somewhere in his subconscious, he would realize who he was holding and quickly let go.
Like a call from heaven, the alarm clock sounded.
Never had it sounded lovelier.
However, Kyle didn't budge.
Now this was the kind of alarm clock that got louder and louder as the time passed and by now, it was blaring to a deafening roar beating out Chloe's wails. I cringed with every beep but for some reason, it didn't seem to faze Kyle.
We couldn't stay like this all morning and my ears were starting to hurt. So, I shook him lightly with my clasped hands.
Nothing.
"Kyle," I said, my voice hardly above a whisper. I shook him a little harder. I could feel his lips move on my forehead.
What was he doing? Was... was he smiling?
I pulled my head back and looked up at him. His crystal eyes locked with mine and they twinkled with laughter.
My eyebrows pulled together as he grinned from ear to ear.
Dawning hit me like a bucket of ice water as I pushed his chest with all my might.
"Arrrrrrgh!" I screamed as I came to stand next to the bed. His deep laughter caught me off guard. Picking up the pillow, I threw it at his face but he caught it wrapping his muscle molded arms around it as he continued with muffled chuckles.
"You... ass!"
Stomping from the room, I quickly made my way to the bathroom slamming the door and throwing my back against it. Every nerve in my body still tingled and the smell of his skin lingered on my clothes. Hastily, I stripped from the offending garments and shoved them into the hamper.
With my hands still shaking, I stepped into the shower welcoming the numbing cold water that evaporated from my overly heated skin. It wasn't until my fingers and toes pruned that I finally turned off the flow to the showerhead.
Placing my forehead against the steam covered door, I tried frantically to get my racing heart and mind under control. However the flash of Kyle's lips touching mine last night kept slicing across my vision causing my top teeth to scrape hard against my bottom lip.
Did Kyle remember last night? Did he even notice that his lips had touched mine? Was he at all affected by it like me?
His laughter from this morning permeated my thoughts causing me to wince. Of course he didn't remember. He was half asleep and startled. He was just paying me back this morning for locking him out on Friday night.
Holy crap! Three more days of this monumental nightmare!
I just wanted to crawl into a hole and hibernate for the rest of the week and come out on the other side of the weekend with an A and back to a normal life.
Wrapping myself in a towel, I opened the door and came up short when I almost bumped into Kyle who had his knuckles up ready to knock. His eyes flickered with surprise as his body jerked back a little. Then, he froze. His eyes widened as his gaze traveled down my toweled form causing me to clutch on to the material a little tighter and heat to singe my cheeks.
This was a whole heck of a lot worse than exposing my Hello Kitty's!
"Uh...it's getting late," his voice pushed out from his throat in a raspy tone causing me to swallow hard.
I shook my head and took a step to the left just as he took one to the right blocking me.
"Sorry," his voice boomed in my ears.
I took a step to the right just as he took one to the left. We both looked at each other, our eyes locked. The crystal pools of his eyes swirled causing my eyes to tick tock between them not able to decide which one to get lost in first.
Kyle cleared his throat breaking me from the spell I was falling under. He moved away from the door altogether to give me a wide path into the hall. Lowering my eyes to my bare feet, I quickly passed by almost running to my bedroom.
"Wait for me," he called out behind me.
Quickly dressing for school, I didn't have time to do my hair so I opted to leave it down to air dry.
Feeling anxious, I pulled out my old gym duffle bag from the back of my closet. It reeked of last year's locker room odors. I meant to air it out last night, but everything kind of went nuts and now I was stuck with shoving pieces of my dysfunctional wardrobe into the black nylon contraption.
I'm sure Kyle's parents will love that!
Today was the day I had to move in with Kyle and his lovely family. For some reason, I pictured them being just as dysfunctional as my wardrobe. Cringing, I grabbed whatever I could from my vanity and shoved it in the side pockets not caring if I planned on using the stuff or not.
Packed, I now turned my attention to Chloe. Staying true to my word, I said I would take care of her today in school and I planned on it, even while Kyle was at football practice. Up to this point, he had pretty much done all the work.
For a very, very short moment, I felt like a slacker.
Easily pushing down what little guilt I felt, I grabbed my book bag, diaper bag, duffle bag and Chloe before waddling into the hall toward the kitchen.
The door to the bathroom opened causing my heart to nearly fly from my chest. My pace picked up until I was around the hall corner. Waiting a second or two, I peeked around the corner just in time to see Kyle's delicious towel wrapped waist segue into my room, the door closing.
Tiptoeing down the hall, I stepped into the steam filled bathroom that was buried in Kyle's fresh clean scent. My pulse began to race as I snatched for my toothbrush standing up in the cup on the side of the sink before turning to scurry back down the hall.
Reaching the kitchen, my mom was sitting at the table, her foot propped up as usual as she was enjoying a cup of coffee in one hand while her thumb from her other hand moved around the touchscreen on her phone.
Looking up, she smiled putting down her phone and pulled off her reading glasses, something I was sure to be looking forward to one day. She stood with her coffee still in her hand and kissed me on the cheek.
"You all packed?" she asked eyeing all the straps across my body while rubbing my arm reassuringly.
I nodded nervously.
"It's going to be fine. Kyle's a cool kid. His parents can't be all that bad if they raised a guy like him. Hmm?"
I shook my head vigorously in agreement.
Her eyebrows came together as I pushed to head toward the door.
"Honey?" she called out.
"I'm not hungry," I yelled as I shuffled around the coffee table.
"Aren't you going to wait for Kyle?"
"Nope," I called out over my shoulder while fumbling with the front door handle. Pulling, I turned to sidestep my way through the opening in hopes nothing would snag or slow me down from getting to the safety of my car.
Opening the passenger side door, I placed Chloe in the front seat before wedging everything else onto the floorboard piling them up to build a leaning tower of bags. Thank God we didn't have to do the whole car carrier thing or I would have been screwed. Sports cars were not designed to be baby taxies.
I slammed the passenger door and headed for the driver's side. The sound of running feet caught my attention causing me to perk my head up. Bolting toward me was Kyle, his duffle bag and book bag hoisted over one shoulder with his hair still wet.
Fumbling for the door handle, I pulled and shimmied into the seat as fast as I could. Reaching for the interior handle, I pulled to shut the door but Kyle was able to catch it before it latched.
Damn!
Letting out an annoyed breath, I looked up expecting to see gloating eyes but instead was met with daggers.
Now what?
"Get out!" he demanded.
"What?"
"I said get out. You're riding with me," his voice determined.
"Uh. No... I'm not."
I tried again to close the door but he just blocked it. He reached in and grabbed the key fob from my hand before shoving it into his front pocket.
I climbed out of the car. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
He dove back into the car and somehow pulled out the book bag, diaper bag, duffle bag and Chloe before slamming the driver door shut. Grabbing my wrist he pulled my protesting frame over to his car and opened the passenger door.
He pushed the top of my head downward like I was a criminal being placed in the backseat of a cruiser before slamming the door. I was too stunned to even blink let alone move.
I felt the car shake as the bags were obviously taking a ride in the trunk. Kyle slid into the driver's seat with more grace than a guy his size should possess before tossing Chloe over to me causing me to fumble my arms to catch her. Not wasting a second of time, the car roared to life and he placed the gear into reverse.
Stopping for a moment, he looked over at me, put the car back into park and reached across my body causing me to freeze once again. Grabbing the seatbelt over my shoulder, he securely locked the end into place before reaching for his own.
It was evident that I had lost all my senses because I couldn't think of one word to say nor was I able to comprehend what just happened. And better yet, why? I could only stare at him with my mouth wide open.
It wasn't until he pushed my chin upward that I was able to blink several times.
"What just happened?" I asked truly wanting to know the answer.
"Next time when your husband says 'wait for me,' you wait for him," he said simply.
My mouth dropped again.
He smiled at me while placing the transmission into reverse. Putting his hand behind my headrest, he leaned in close toward me before turning to look over his shoulder so he could back out of the drive.
About a little over half way to school, I finally built up the courage to look at him. Keeping his eyes on the road, it gave me the opportunity to study his features. In the sunlight peeking through the windshield, his jawline was very strong and his cheekbones were set high and narrow. The hollow of his cheek was deep giving him a very dangerous profile. I swallowed hard remembering the feel of his eyebrow which was perfectly shaped and set atop almond eyes that were naturally lined with full mocha colored eyelashes.
Kyle glanced over at me causing me to jerk my head to look at the road. I could feel his eyes on me studying my features as well.
Suddenly, the palms of my hands started itching.
Balling my hands into fists, I let my gaze move to his hands that were on the steering wheel. My heart palpitated unnaturally when the image of his hands griping my wrists last night flashed across my corneas.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled sharply.
The car pulled over to the side of the road and came to a stop.
Opening my eyes, I came face to face with Kyle staring down his nose at me. Blinking in surprise and alarm, I moved back to the little corner of the seat that was available.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice touched with concern.
I nodded my head vigorously up and down.
He just stared at me for a few seconds.
"You're not wearing a braid today," he stated the obvious.
I shook my head no.
He raised a hand toward me causing my eyes to widen. Reaching for my hair, he picked up a curl and twisted it around his finger lazily as his eyes took on a dreamy look while the corner of his lip notched upward. "I like it," he said barely a whisper as his eyes traveled slowly up to meet mine.
My head did tiny infinitesimal jerks that felt like repetitive whiplashes with every heartbeat that pounded against my chest and my lungs just stopped working altogether.
Blinking a few times, Kyle dropped the curl and cleared his throat before putting the car back into drive while looking just as dazed and confused as I was.
Pulling into the school parking lot, I felt myself shrinking deeper into my seat. It was crazy that I, the brainiest person of the whole school, was embarrassed to be seen with the jockiest guy in the whole school.
Irony could be a real kick in the pants sometimes.
The students passing in front of his car kept bending over, peeking in through the windshield to see who it was sitting in the front seat. Hesitantly, I dipped my chin downward so no one could see my face.
The car door opened causing me to nearly jump out of my seat. Before I could think, I grabbed the interior handle and slammed it shut again.
Knuckles rapped softly on the glass and I looked up at a grinning Kyle who was motioning for me to get out of the car. Firmly pressing my lips together, I shook my head back and forth no.
"Come on," I could hear his muffled voice. "You are going to be late for class and I know you don't want to mess up your perfect attendance."
Cocking my head to the side, my eyebrows crept upward as I thought it over. He was right. Perfect attendance was very important to me, but being seen getting out of his car was not something I was ready to put on my college application.
The handle was pulled again, but this time I let the door swing open. He reached for Chloe pulling her from my lap. Cupping my hand over my eyes, I looked up to watch him place her in the kangaroo pouch looking harness before stretching his arms out offering to help me put it on.
Reluctantly I poured myself from the car, but Kyle didn't step back or anything to give me room. Instead, he waited until I lifted my arms allowing him to slide the contraption over my shoulders to strap me in, adjusting it so that it fit perfectly.
Twice, he caught me studying his features as he busied himself with the straps causing my cheeks to burn as I looked away.
Reaching down, he picked up the diaper bag and hooked the strap over one of my shoulders. My body jerked a few times to the side as he rummaged through the bear decorated sack until he pulled out a blanket.
I could only stare with my mouth wide open in shock as he wrapped the blanket around Chloe's back and nonchalantly started tucking the corners under the straps, his knuckles brushing just under my rib cage. Letting out a giggle, I slapped at his hands in protest while looking up to glare at him. His eyes danced with merriment as I took over the task.
Okay. Who the heck was Dr. Jekyll trying to fool here?
Jamming my fingers against the billowy corners, I tucked them in securely.
Did he forget it was Melody Jenkins standing here? Don't think I don't know this was pay back!
Chancing another glance, I noticed he was grinning from ear to ear causing me to growl.
"What's so amusing?" I asked bitingly.
"You!" he said without even blinking an eye while reaching for the strap again.
"Stop touching me," I said slapping at his hand again.
I went to grab my book bag but Kyle pulled it from my grasp hoisting it over his shoulder before taking off for the school courtyard.
"Hey!" I scurried quickly after him. "I need that."
He readjusted its weight and kept walking.
I had to walk double time to keep up with his long strides. I tapped him on the shoulder causing him to look down his nose at me. "Yes?"
"Kyle, I can carry that." I scanned the courtyard to see if anyone was watching and of course, they were. I waved my hands toward me in a gesture to hand the book bag over. "Please, please, please, please... PRETTY please give me my book bag."
"With a cherry on top?" he asked.
"What!" My mouth dropped open at the implication that could mean causing my cheeks to sting. Surly he was just being childish, right?
"No," he stated still moving.
He readjusted the book bag again. "If I hadn't seen what you put in here, I would have thought you were carrying boulders. No wonder you're so strong."
Okay, that was just...?
"Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?" I asked dryly.
"Since you're so smart, you figure it out." He looked down at me again and this time I got to see the charming smile that seemed to melt every girl's heart in school.
Right now, it was doing a number on mine.
I stopped.
He took about ten more steps before he turned around and came back to me. He grabbed my wrist and tugged until I was numbly moving again. "C'mon."
Once we entered the school hallway, I immediately pulled my wrist out of his grasp and rubbed it nervously. How many people actually saw that?
Kyle must have realized I was uncomfortable because he gave me a small smile of encouragement as he waved me on. I followed him diligently through the hallway until we reached my locker. My hands were shaking as I tried to remember my combination. Finally, I got it open right when the warning bell rang.
"I'll see you in health?" he asked.
I just nodded while rushing to get my statistics book and notebooks out, slammed the locker door and started running through the halls.
Another first for me.