Kyler walks out into the hallway after his press conference, his face lighting up immediately once he spots me. Pushing myself off of the wall that I had found a great discomfort in leaning on, I felt my face brightening as well at the sight of his smile. " Great game, big boy!" I congratulate him, opening my arms and preparing for the impact of his body against mine
" There was a beautiful girl in the crowd to impress. I had to play my best."
Kyler aims for my face, his hands palming my cheeks gently as I looped my arms around his lean waist. His chocolate brown eyes bored deep into mine, his dimples popping out as a slow grin spread across his freckled cheeks.
" Beautiful, huh?" I found my voice as I found myself getting lost in his gaze.
" The most beautiful and alluring in the stadium." Kyler was always good with his words. He knew the right words to say to lure me back into his arms and even now, he had me melting in his arms like chocolate left in the sunlight on a scorching hot summer day.
Tilting my head to the side, a smile breaks out as I slither my arm around his neck and pull him forward to meet my lips. Kyler's palm travels from my cheek to the back of my neck, deepening the kiss, and it was magical. Like every one of our kisses, it touched something in my soul. Something inside of me knew that we were meant to be here, together.
I've always known that nothing in life was certain– except for this.
I was certain that every obstacle that we had jumped over, and every course we ran, was for this reason. For us to find each other again. For us to work on forgiving one another. As much as Kyler has done wrong, I had my faults in our relationship as well. And right now, in this moment, I knew that we were going to be alright.
As he kissed me so passionately and spoke how much he'd missed me through this kiss, I was certain that there was no one else who could make me feel this way. No one could rip my heart to shreds and put it together like Kyler. There was no one that could steal my breath yet be the reason why my heart beat so erratically in my chest like Kyler.
Pulling away, he pressed his forehead against mine, inhaling deeply. " I missed you." His hands drop from my face, grabbing my own and holding them against his chest. Kyler's heartbeat raps against my knuckles, mimicking the thudding that was happening inside of my own chest.
" I missed you too," I confess. " Alot."
Kyler smiles, his gorgeous dimples making my entire world stop spinning. " I missed you alot more."
Smiling, I pecked his lips three more times, I pulled away and grabbed his hands, leaving him stunned and frozen. " C'mon," I pulled him after me, letting our hands fall in between us. " The others are waiting for us."
" Respectfully." Oh boy. " Fuck the others. I just want to spend some alone time with my girl and talk about how she's been."
" I talk to you everyday. You know how I have been, Ky," I laughed.
" On the phone, not in person," he reminds me, attaching his hand to my waist as I push the glass double doors leading out towards the garage where the vehicles awaited us. Our friends stood huddled around waiting for us. " And you haven't talked to me today at all actually due to all of those meetings."
At his tone, I look up and find him side eyeing me. " Umm, watch the sass, sir," I looked him up and down, a brow quirked.
God damn he just looked so— ughhhhh. Why must a man so toxic be so fine?
" How is it that we did a joint press conference and yet you are the last one out of the building?" Carson asked, sitting in the suv with Ayanna standing between his legs. His arm was wrapped around her neck, allowing her body to lean against his for stability.
Kyler shrugged his shoulders, hiding a cheeky little grin. " I got a little occupied," he replies, fixing the hat on his head as we come to a stop in front of the cars.
" Yeah," Dominic pipes up, swiping his thumb over his bottom lip. " We can tell." My eyes dart towards Kyler, finding the evidence of my red lipstick all over his mouth from our shared kiss.
Kyler chuckles, swiping his thumb over his bottom lip as I smile, shoving my hands into my leather jacket. " Well I am starving," I announced. " What about you guys?"
" Reservations are already made," Rhegan informs us. " Now if we could all continue these conversations in the car so that we don't lose our table, that would be greatly appreciated." Not wanting Rhegan pop a blood vessel over losing a table at what was no doubt the hottest restaurant in town, I walked away from Kyler and joined the girls as they walked towards the first suv.
" Aht," Kyler grips my waist, swooping down to steal another kiss from me before we part ways."Let's not make that a habit," whispers into my ear, swiping his palm over my ass briefly before we part ways.
I was all giddy as I slid into the suv with the girls. In fact, I was so stupidly happy to see him again, that I had to turn and look out of the window just to avoid the girl's stares. Only there was no escaping the stares when I felt an unsettling amount of eyes on almost every angle of my body and the silence was so loud, that a pin dropping could be heard.
" I for one think that red is totally Kyler's color," Audrey cracks a joke, breaking the deafening silence.
" If you think that you are going a whole car ride without spilling the beans on what we all want to know, you are highly mistaken, girlfriend." It was wishful thinking of me to think that we could avoid this topic of conversation.
" It was just a little kiss." Turning my head, I was met with them all sharing the same facial expression, silently calling me out on my bullshit.
" Don't try to downplay it, Jora. His mouth was covered in shade Vendetta. Your favorite red from Pat McGrath," Skylar recalls, having stolen that very red on more than one occasion.
" Okay! Okay!" I gave in. " It was a fantastic kiss and I missed him so much that I couldn't help but kiss him. I just missed him alot— and his lips."
" It's okay to miss him," Skylar says. " My brother may be an idiot but we all know how much you guys love and care for one another. It's okay to miss him and show that you miss him. We aren't here to judge you."
My friends would never judge me. They supported me through so much without even batting an eye. They'd seen me at my worst and stuck by me, comforting me and never making me feel bad about any of my dumb decisions.
Not that this was a dumb decision.
Reaching out and grabbing Skylar's hand, I squeezed it, smiling at her softly. " I know that you guys would never. It's just that I've never experienced happiness like this, you know."
It may have been early, but I could tell that he was going to do everything in his power to make me feel like the happiest woman in the world. " I feel like so giddy and maybe it seems childish-"
" It's not childish," Audrey interrupts me. " You deserve to feel giddy and happy. You've been through so much in your relationships, and despite the rough patch with Kyler, he really is your person. There's no denying that."
" Especially when he makes your eyes grow googly eyes the size of the fucking moon," Sade adds. " Your happiness is more important to us, Jora. It's honestly refreshing to see you in a happy stage of a relationship."
The girls nodded in agreement. " And don't say that you guys aren't in a relationship because you are. Don't deny it," Ayanna says.
" But he hasn't even asked me to be his girlfriend yet," I confess. " We were just starting to finally be okay before that whole scandal that he never got around to it. Maybe he's waiting for us to be more stable, but he hasn't asked me yet."
I will admit, calling him my boyfriend was a bit delusional when we hadn't officially labeled us. But let's be honest, that is my man.
Label or not.
" Pssh," Rhegan waves me off. " I told Dominic that he was my boyfriend. He didn't get asked, he got told." I bet he loved every minute of that too.
" Plus you guys already told each other that you love one another," Audrey chimes in again. " You are practically married."
I studied Audrey, humming to myself. She and Haze were truly destined for one another— both were delusional as fuck. " You and Haze belong together," I said, nodding to myself in firm
belief.
Audrey's cheeks heated up— not bashfully like they usually do when we mention his name. Her cheeks were usually fiery hot red and now the pink coating her cheeks was so faint, like she knew something that we didn't.
" Stop trying to change the subject," Audrey brushes me
off.
Laughing to myself, I sighed and looked out of the window as the city whipped past us in a blur. The car came to a stop shortly after. Once the driver opened the door, we were sliding out of the car and subtly fixing our clothes as we waited for the guys to come out of their vehicle.
While I waited, I pulled out my lipstick and compact mirror, running the blood red over my lips once more. " I knew it," Skylar said proudly. " Pat McGrath, Vendetta."
I put the cap back in the lipstick and rolled my eyes, tossing the component and mirror in my bag. " You only know the shade and the name by heart because your little klepto ass keeps stealing it, and forgetting to return it," I narrowed my eyes at her.
" Sharing is caring," Skylar shrugs, unashamed.
Grabbing her face, I pressed my forehead against hers. " You are so lucky that I love you and your sticky fingers, you bitch."
Skylar smiles brightly. " I love you too, brother fucker."
" I take it back," I dropped my hands away from her face and pinched her tit, knowing that she was braless under that skin tight shirt. " I hate you."
" Must be a McKay sibling shared trait," Kyler came up behind Skylar, his palm grabbing her forehead and yanking it backwards. Skylar yelps, smacking at his hand as he kisses her forehead, smiling mischievously.
" Stop manhandling me you mongrel," she yelps, fighting to free herself but stopping in the struggle.
Kyler gets his fill of amusement before letting Skylar go, a cheeky smile on his face once Skylar turns around and threatens to bleach his Jordan collection before storming over to Marcus. " Stop playing with her before she actually does it," I tell him, leaning backwards as he scoops me into his arms.
" Pssh," he waved his sister off. " I'm not worried about Skylar and her empty threats. Plus, shows can be easily replaced. Tormenting my twin sister has been limited these days and I need to get in every moment while it counts."
I laughed, taking his hand as the group walked inside. " You say that now until you are spending thousands of dollars on shoes once you push her over the edge," I nudged him in the side of his rib playfully.
Kyler shrugs, watching his sister walk hand and hand with Marcus. Her face brightens up as she looks towards Marcus, a smile taking over her face. " It would be worth it," he says.
I think of my relationship with my brothers and how it isn't so different from Skylar and Kyler's relationship. Well— there's one of Kyler and two extra spawns of Javier in different fonts. But, my brothers were set on making sure to never miss an opportunity to torment me out of pure amusement.
When we finally entered the restaurant, Rhegan walked up to the hostess, giving her name and we were less to a private room in the back. Knowing Rhegan, she requested a private room simply so that other diners could enjoy their meal without having to hear our loud mouthed boyfriends acting like they have no home training.
The hostess introduced herself as she and another waiter placed menus in front of us, the two disappearing quickly after leaving us to look over our options. As I flickered through the menu, debating between the filet and the sea bass, Kyler dropped his hand to my thigh, squeezing it in comfort.
I was so touched deprived lately, that his palm resting on my thigh sent my vagina into a mini frenzy. It was a struggle not to shift or subtly adjust myself in my seat. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had me fifty-eight hot right now.
Reaching for my water, I took a sip and cleared my throat, ignoring the way his thumb began to rub circles on my inner thigh. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I settled for the filet and shifted my way to the drink menu, still not giving him any sort of satisfaction that I was getting embarrassingly turned on.
But that was okay, I had something in store for him later on.
When the drinks came out, Kyler took it upon himself to make a toast. " To Derrick," he winks as Derrick rolls his eyes. "For being a good sport."
" Keep making jokes Kyler but at least he'll be treated like a winner later on tonight," Sade jabbed.
I took a sip of my drink, watching Kyler's smile drop, and ultimately my mood as well. It sucked seeing how much they're jokes affected him. Reaching out, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly to take his attention off of the comment.
Kyler's smile returned as I tilted my head to the side, smiling softly at him. His foot nudged mine under the table as the subject quickly got changed. I nudged him back, wrapping my calf around his, hardly able to contain the giggle that was dying to come out.
As dinner went on, there was not a second where Kyler and I weren't sharing small touches. Most of the time, I found myself distracted from the conversation because of how close he was. Even when the news of Haze and Audrey going as each others dates to Ashanti and Alessandro's wedding broke, I could only focus on the grip and hand placement that he had on my thigh.
My brain was fuzzy and everything said at the table was muffled. But my senses were overwhelmed and heightened by his touch, his smell, and his voice. God, I had known that I was in it with Kyler, but I didn't realize just how deep until now.
I guess when you miss someone so much, finally seeing them in person puts so much into perspective.
" Club timeeeee!" Skylar sang once the bill was paid.
Kyler hooked his arm around my neck as we grabbed our belongings, the guys throwing cash on the table as a tip. "Club time... yay," he says dryly.
" Let's just go out and have fun. Then I'll spend all day with you tomorrow. Just the two of us," I tell him, gripping his chin as we walk out of the room.
" That sounds like a plan," he agrees. " Now let's get this over with. I want some cuddles tonight."
Oh, you'll be getting cuddles alright.
" Good. This will be fun," I say matter of factly.
—————————————-
I was two lemon drops in and a few tequila shots, I was feeling really good. When I was tipsy, it could either go two ways. I was either the happiest person in the room. Or I was the saddest bitch ever.
Tipsy Jora also tended to be really blunt and truthful.
As I waited for my drink, a hand wrapped around my waist and a familiar hard body pressed against my back. I allowed myself to melt into his comforting touch, my body trembling at the feeling of the tip of his nose brushing against the sensitive spot of my neck. His lips curled up into a grin— cocky no doubt.
I couldn't help my body's reaction towards him and he knew that.
" Are you having fun?" I asked, knowing the answer.
" Yes and No."
A bullshit response. He'd nearly burst my eardrum yelling Dreams and Nightmares at the top of his lungs. Kyler was having the time of his life. There were moments where I would catch him observing, reminiscing— he missed it.
His friends altogether, being kings of the world together. Deep down, he would've regretted not coming out tonight when their time was limited together now, only able to see each other through screens now that their careers took them to different locations on the map.
" Yessss." Turning around in his grasp, I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked into his eyes that bore so deeply into mine. Blinking because if he looked too long, he'd find himself sinking, unable to think of anything else but my eyes.
" You are having the best time." I pointed at his chest, my finger bending as it came in contact with the hard muscle underneath his shirt.
" I am," he confirmed.
" I know." I raise my hand to his chin, letting my fingers brush against his jaw bone softly as my gaze flickers all over his face, seeing happiness and... and love.
Kyler's lips quirk upwards into a soft smile. " You're drink is ready," he says, reaching behind me, his hard chest coming in contact with mine. His scent ravaging my senses as well as his touch.
Kyler pulls back and I am lost in his essence— transfixed as I watch him take a sip of my drink and hold the glass up to my lips. Somehow they part, allowing him to pour a sip into my mouth.
"Good?"
" Made just right." My voice carried on an almost breathless whisper.
Kyler's eyes twinkle as he leans back, nodding to himself. "Made just right," he mimics. He wasn't talking about the drink.
Staring deeply into his eyes, I felt them shift as well as the energy. "Indeed," I told him, feeling the tension grow thick and heavy between the two of us, it was almost claustrophobic.
Kyler swallows thickly, " l-let's go join the others." He cleared his throat and grabbed my hand, taking the lead as he pushed through the crowd and I followed closely behind, a proud smirk pulling on the corners of my lips.
" Thank you for returning her safely and now we will be stealing her," Elizabeth quickly came and snatched me up, sweeping me away to the dance floor. My drink nearly spilling as I bring it to my lips before leaving it on our table.
Kyler's eyes trail my figure as we find a less crowded spot on the dance floor, the music blasting loudly as I danced with the girls carelessly. Times like this, everything felt alright.
Everything felt as it should be.
My hands traveled up Elizabeth's waist as we danced to the music that the dj played, our bodies grinding and pressing against one another as we danced without a care in the world. Elizabeth's arms wrapped around my neck as we sang and danced to an old DJ Khalid song.
" Move those hips, mami." Foreign hands gripped my waist tightly and I felt an uncomfortable presence against my body.
I couldn't tell what was cringier, his game or the overwhelming stench of diluted Dolce and Gabbana cologne.
I quickly brought my hands towards my waist, ripping the hands off of my body before turning around and shoving the asshole off of me. " Don't touch me!" I yelled, pushing at his chest.
" C'mon. Don't be like that." He tried again and before I could lay hands on him, Kyler was standing in front of me, his chest puffing up and down angrily.
" She said don't touch her," he yelled, pushing the drunken guy away from me.
Oh no, this was not good.
Of course it was good that he was defending me, but with his career it wouldn't be good for him to be in the news for a physical altercation at the club. The stakes were too high for this.
Dominic was quick to intervene, pushing Kyler's chest back as he exchanged words with the guy. " Dude chill," he backed away, his grimy hands held up in the air. " I didn't know that she had a man."
" Well now you do," Kyler said, allowing me to take his hand.
" Next time don't touch a woman without their consent," he yells over my head, walking backwards as the group gathers our belongings.
We make a quick exit and once we're outside, Kyler turns to me, observing me. " Are you alright?" He asked.
" I'm okay," I answered truthfully. It wouldn't be the first time some drunk idiot thought that it was okay to grind on me and it probably wouldn't be the last. That was sadly how the world was. " Thank you for coming to my rescue though. It was very appreciated."
Kyler looked down at our joined hands, watching as his thumb rubbed over my knuckles. " You don't have to thank me for defending you. I will always defend and protect you, Catalina. No matter what."
" Why do you always say the right things?" I stepped closer to him, looping my thumbs into his belt buckle as he gazed down at me.
" What can I say? Must be that southern charm," he drawls. I rolled my eyes, laughing as I backed away from him. " Don't lie. That was a good one."
" It was cheesy!" I yelped as Kyler eloped his arms around my waist, pulling me back towards him as I tried to make my escape to our vehicle.
" It wasn't," he mumbled into my neck before kissing my cheek.
My body suddenly felt cold at the loss of his body heat as we'd gone our separate ways and got into different vehicles. Once inside the car, I turned and faced the girls. " I need you guys to do me a favor," I began, ready to speak what was on my mind since dinner.
" I love you guys and I love the boys too. I know that we all joke around and like to poke fun at each other, but can we please stop with the jokes about Kyler. He doesn't need to be reminded of all his screw ups anymore and even though he takes them with his head heel high, I see the effect that they have on him."
Kyler could act like the jokes didn't phase him, but I could see it. Tonight was the first time that he'd let that unphased mask
slip and show that they did affect him in some way. It hurt my heart to see him lose that bright happy look in his eyes, even if it was just for a split second.
" And I know that I am not a saint when it comes to reminding him of his mistakes and I acknowledge that. I'm working on that." I admit my part in it as well.
"I just want us to be able to move forward without having to be reminded of why our relationship is in the state that's in. Trust me, I know that you guys and the boys mean no harm, but it would really mean a lot to me if we could just stop. Just so he knows that we see he is doing his best to change."
" Of course we can," Sade grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. The girls nodded their heads in agreement and I felt a wash of relief overcome me as I relaxed in my seat.
" I mean I'll try but as his twin, I think it's my ri-"
" Skylar, don't even start!" Ayanna laughs.
"What? It's a twin privilege. You would know but you didn't share a womb with that knucklehead for eight months," Skylar says... jokingly I hoped.
" Whatever you say, Sky."
The way my phone just fell in the toliet...
Pray for it please!!!
LMAO!!! But I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapterrrr!!! I love you guysss!
Thoughts???