KAGE’S P.O.V
Would you just look at her? Seriously, just look at her. I was stupid to think I could ever stay away from her.
She’s just sitting up there in the window with her sister, talking and laughing, the sun surrounding her like a fucking angel, and all I want to do is drag her back into last night.
You’re killing me, Shorty.
We keep going through the same pattern; both trying to pull away, both trying to give each other space, both knowing we shouldn’t be here yet. But every time we’re alone, it goes out the fucking window.
It’s too much. Our chemistry, the way we react to each other, the way we forget any reason we have to be giving each other time the second we can have more. It's too fucking much.
“If you keep looking at my sister like that, you're going to have to move away from me.” Milo shoves my shoulder, I didn’t realise I’d be staring at her for so long.
“Sorry... she's just...” Hypnotising, awe-inspiring, my fantasy come to life. “Distracting.”
“I see...” He wiggles his eyebrows at me, it seems to be a trend with this family. “So, you two are...”
“No. Well, not no but not... I don’t know.” It’s so fucked in my head right now.
“But it’s more than it was, right? Don’t feel the need to go into detail, that’s still my little sister.” Funny.
“Can I really talk to you about this?” I don’t want to put him in a shit position, but I need to talk to someone.
“Yeah man, of course. You’re the father of my nephew, and the guy that's going to help me build my dream car from scratch, I claim you in the name of Thompson.” I like him, and I’m starting to get over that urge to just stroke his chiselled jaw and shout ‘I want to have your babies’ whenever we talk now, so that’s helping things.
I need to talk to someone who will actually give it to me straight. Most of my mates are single, one photo of May and the only advice I’d get would be on what position to put her in. That’s if they didn’t come here to try and take her for themselves.
I’d kill them. Every fucking one.
See! That’s not the reaction someone who doesn’t know what they want should have, is it?
“So come on, what’s going on?” Milo Thompson, you’re about to become my bromance guru.
“She fucks with my head is what’s going on.” Every time I think I’ve got this figured out, something changes the game again. “When I got here, when I found out about her and Teal, of course I couldn’t focus on anything else but him. It made sense, and we both agreed, because he's the most important thing.” And he always will be. “But I’m getting this dad thing down now, so all the other stuff can't stay in the back of my head anymore.”
“And you're worried she doesn't want it?” No, I know she wants it.
The way her body reacts to me, how she has to fight off shivers every time I touch her, the way she never wants me to stop; I know she wants this.
Or at least, I hope she does.
“It’s not that. I met a girl in Italy, one that became my best friend, until she kissed me and shattered any hope of us just being that. It was so instant, I’ve never felt anything like it before, I know I never will again. But then everything got fucked, and I spent two years looking for her, only to find someone completely different when I finally held her in my arms again.” It isn’t just her name, it’s her. Having Teal, going through what she went through after she lost me, it's changed her. How could it not? Now I don’t know what was Belle, what was May, and what’s just how much she’s grown. Where do I start with that?
“So, you just want the girl from Italy back?” That’s what I thought. When I saw her again, I thought I just wanted that girl back, but the more time we spend together, the more I realise that’s not true.
I’ve changed too. I had my whole world flipped upside down, spent two years having to build myself up from nothing, I’m not the same boy I was back then either. We’ve both grown, both changed, yet somehow at exactly the same fucking pace.
We still match.
Teal shuffles uncomfortably at my side, so I lift him into my lap. The evil beast hisses at me taking his human pillow, Teal just laughing and stroking it without any fear. Even that thing can’t resist his charms. He’s definitely his father’s son.
“I thought they were different people, but I’m not sure anymore. The way she carries herself, the way she squints her eyes when she's thinking, that sexy as fuck way-”
“Dude! Sister!” Teal giggles as Milo smacks the back of my head. “Look, I get it, coming here and finding out you're a dad, along with the fact that the girl you'd been searching for wasn’t exactly who you thought she was, that was going to take some time to get your head around. So take that time, but maybe stop thinking about it with your head so much, just listen to what's in here.” He taps on my chest, right over my heart, Teal looking confused before he presses his tiny hand over it too.
I love you. I love you so much it hurts. No matter what happens between me and your mum, that’s the one thing I know is never going to change.
My heart, listen to my heart, something that's a lot easier said than done. I’ve always been someone that wears my heart on my sleeve, it’s just who I am, but it also means it's easy to get hurt. I just don’t want to get hurt anymore.
“Did you go through this with Josh? Questioning everything you feel?”
“Nope.” He chuckles. “I’ve been in love with him for as long as I can remember, it was easy for me, but I know it was harder for him. He had to accept seeing someone completely differently as well, had to connect the boy he cared about with the man he couldn’t stop wanting.”
“He knew you were both.”
“But it took a minute, he fought it. That’s how I know exactly who she is, because I was both too. I was the kid with Lego that wanted to be his best friend, I was a teenager falling in love for the first time, and I was the man that wanted to give him everything.” He turns to look at me. “She’s the girl from Italy, she's the little kid that would run around this house drawing on the walls, she’s the girl that waited for a miracle, and she’s the best fucking mother I know. She’s all of them.”
Yeah, she is.
Fuck, she’s all of them.
“Did you just pull my hair?!”
“Oh fuck.” My heads shoot up to the hole in the ceiling, just in time to see the sisters starting to have their own no-holds-barred match upstairs.
“Should we do something?”
“I forgot you’re new here.” He laughs. “Here’s rule number one of living in Westbrooke; Never, and I mean never, get between the Parkers.”
Noted.
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“Are you sure you’re okay to find your way to the rainbow house? Milo wants me to help with the food so I was going to go down there early, but I can wait to go over with you if it’s easier?” Stop leaning into my car like this, Shorty, I can see straight down your fucking shirt.
“It’s fine, I’ll just meet you down there. Do you need me to bring anything?”
“Just make sure you’ve got your swimsuit. Never trust Charlie if he tells you it’s a nudist beach, he's just a perv.” She chuckles, her curves bouncing right in front of my eyes.
God, she's beautiful.
Teal waves from her arms as I drive away. They look like a dream together, he's the perfect mix of me and her.
He’s what happens when we’re together. Something that magical has to be important.
“Hello, handsome! You hungry? I was just going to grill some cauliflower for Phil, it's his favourite.” Uncle Phil’s eyes drop to my bag, we both know cauliflower is far from his favourite.
“Thanks, Liz, but I’m going down to Josh and Milo’s place for some food in a bit. Uncle Phil, want to throw the ball around before you eat?”
“God yes.” He’s really not good at this subtlety thing. He’s drooling.
“You boys go play, I’ll get to work here. Oh and Kage darling, our boy Luke is going to be home in a few days, he'll only be staying for a couple of weeks before he has to go back to the museum, would you mind if we moved you to one of the other guest rooms?”
“Yeah, sure. I might be gone by then anyway.”
“You’re leaving Westbrooke?” Uncle Phil questions.
“What? No, my kid is here, I’m never leaving.” They both smile at each other, I think they were just as happy as I was to find out I was Teal’s father. “May has put an offer in on a house, so I said I’d rent the apartment above the cafe from her. We’re just going to stay there together for a few weeks while the place gets sorted.”
“The both of you? Together? Well that’s... intimate.” Liz grins. I don’t remember meeting her when I was younger, my mom said I did once, but now I hope I never lose her. She’s special.
“Leave the boy alone, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.” Phil gestures for me to follow him outside, salivating the entire time, but the moment I walk past the kitchen, Liz’s head shoots up.
“I can smell salt. Can anyone else smell salt? And fat, artery filling fat.” Obviously, I’m carrying four Big Mac meals.
“I can’t smell anything. Nothing at all. You’re imagining things again, Liz!” Stop answering so quickly!
“Really? I could swear I smell McDon-”
“Maybe it’s me? It’s hot out there, and I’ve been doing work over at the house. I need to shower.” She looks unconvinced, but we make a run for it when she gets distracted by her cooking channel, bypassing the basketball court and going straight into the bar, the door not even shut yet before Uncle Phil snatches the backpack out of my hand and dives straight into his first burger.
“I’m fucking starving! She’s had me on salads all week since she saw that documentary on heart attacks in mammals, and they were talking about fucking dolphins!” He inhales the first one so fast, I don’t even get a bite out of mine before he’s onto the second. “Tara has Cole on that diet now, and I’m retired, so I can’t even have a quick fix on my lunch break. You can’t move out, you’re my only chance at survival.”
I burst out laughing. I’ve never seen a guy his age keep this kind of size, he’s far from fading away, he’s a monster. I hope I look like him one day.
“I got you extra fries.”
“Have I ever told you that you’re my favourite godson?” I’m his only godson, but I’ll take it. “How's May? Everything must be going well if you’re thinking about moving in together.”
“It’s not like that. We’re not moving in together, it just makes sense so we’re both close to Teal.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” He scoffs. What is it with everyone around here assuming that I’m actually completely in love with her?
I mean... I’m... Shut up you lot.
“How well do you know her?” I finally ask as he finishes off his last box of fries. “Did you spend a lot of time with her when she was growing up?”
“Yeah. She was the best player I ever had, just don't tell her brothers that.” I think that’s the highest compliment he could ever give someone. “Is there something in particular you want to know?”
I want to know everything about her.
“I guess I just want to know... more. More about who she is.” Phil walks behind the bar, pouring two shots of whiskey and putting one in front of me.
“If we’re going to talk about girls, then we’re going to do it like men.”