Sorry for the long wait. I had a lot of thoughts for this chapter but none seemed right. So this is what all that thinking has brought. I hope you like it. :) This chapter is dedicated to one of my best friends Cluadia (pronounced Cloudy-a) for reading this when my other friend (*cough cough* yes you Izzi (love5boys) -_-) and telling me that she thought the chapter was great.
Read on....
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I stared nervously at the dangerous specimen before me then back up at Kaiden. He laughed at my fear-stricken expression before holding out a hand for me to take. Once he had it in his grasp he gave a gentle squeeze before kissing my cheek softly, sending a massive shiver up my spine and leaving goose bumps all over my body. I think he had the same reaction; either that or it was just the cold weather.
I glanced at the motorbike, wondering why anyone would want to ride such a thing that looked like it took you to the gateway of Hell. The gig had finished and hour and a half ago. I had successfully recorded the whole thing on my camera and would be uploading it to my computer as soon as possible. After the gig we all went to a café down the road to get something to eat. We’d spent the whole time talking about anything and everything. The ‘gang’ as they liked to call themselves, were pretty funny to watch. They constantly teased each other and I found myself liking spending time with them.
When we left the café Kaiden said that he wanted to take me somewhere. I said that it was already 11:09 and that I should be getting home because of school the next day, but he said that it was important. So I agreed.
I was regretting that decision already.
“I promise that I’ll go as slow as you want me to. Even if we go at a snail’s pace. I want you to feel safe with me. I need you to feel safe with me.” I don’t think he realised how much those words affected me. He sounded so lost, like the world could fall down around him at any second.
I turned and looked up at him through my eyelashes, placing a palm to his cheek. “Don’t worry. I know I’m safe with you.” His eyes brighten at my words and he pulls me close to him. He lets go after a few seconds and swings his leg over the bike—very swiftly might I add.
After he was seated he placed his helmet on over his head. He nodded his head at the other one on the back of his bike and I stared at it like it was a new species, like I had no idea what to do with it; which I didn’t. He chuckled once again and told me to come closer to him so he could help me. I wouldn’t admit it, to him at least, but I really liked the tingles that came with his touch.
Lifting my chin up he strapped my helmet for me. Once he was done we just stared at each other, him still holding my chin, and me still feeling the tingles from it.
I was the first to look away, a flush filling my cheeks. When I tried to get on the devils object several seconds later, let’s just say it wasn’t as graceful, especially since I nearly fell off out the other side.
Kaiden only looked back at me with concern instead of laughing. My hands gripped the hem of his shirt at his hips and he moved them with his own hands so they were wrapped around his waist, causing me to move closer to him. So close, that with the slightest movement I would be rubbing up against him. Oh God, help me.
“Hold on tight.” Kaiden told me before revving the engine and pulling slowly out of the alley. True to his word, he rode slow, really slow. A few minutes into the ride and I was actually enjoying it. I popped my visor up to tell him that he could go faster, when he looked back at me and nodded with a silent understanding. I smiled as he began to get faster and popped my visor back down so the wind wasn’t hurting my eyes.
“I’m going to take you for a quick ride around the outskirts of town before we head to my place, okay?” He says, speaking over the wind without looking back at me.
I nodded my head, then realised he couldn’t see me and shouted a ‘yes’ and ‘as long as you don’t leave me there to follow a trail of roses that lead back home’, recalling the lyrics of one of his bands song. As soft as the sound was, and as hard as it was to hear with the wind rushing around us, I could still hear him laughing. Or maybe that was just me imagining his laugh as I felt his chest rumble beneath my hands.
I watched the waves rolling into the shore as we drove around the outskirts, the sun-setting behind us. It seemed so romantic and, for a second, I thought about having a relationship with Kaiden. Wait—what the heck? Kaiden is a friend. I tell myself. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a friend. My head and heart seemed to be having a hard time coming to terms with this, but I ignored it.
“Hey! Can you see the dolphins?” Kaiden suddenly said, bringing me out of my thoughts. I stared in awe at the dolphins jumping out, and then diving back into the water. They looked so graceful and at peace. I wondered what it would be like to be able to stay underwater for long periods of time. It seemed like something that would be pretty cool; watching the sea life. I didn’t let my thoughts become known, though. I didn’t want to come across as weird. Kaiden obviously didn’t mind.
“How cool would it be to live underwater?” He said as he came to a stop near a bench.
“Pretty awesome.” I nodded to him, wondering why we had stopped.
He hopped off the bike and then proceeded to lift me off and I didn’t miss the tingles that I felt as his hands made contact with my hips.
Kaiden must have seen me shiver as well as he began to take his black leather jacket off.
“Hey, no. I’m fine.” I told him, shaking my head while he pushed his jacket towards me. “Seriously.”
“Meghan.” He said sternly. “Please, just take it. I would rather have you wear this and know you don’t have a chance of dying of hypothermia, then have you not wear it and pass out on me from the cold.”
“But what about you?” I ask, with a slightly pouted lip. Oh, God. Now I was pouting? Could I get anymore stupid?
Kaiden made an ‘Aha!’ sound as he strode over to a big tree that was close to us and pulled another leather jacket out from a large hole that was in it.
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Seriously? What if a squirrel or chipmunk or something peed on it or something?”
He laughed. “First of all, this isn’t the right tree for them so it wouldn’t be possible. Second of all, what kind of person pees on their house?”
“Yeah, but we aren’t talking about people are we? Who knows what squirrels and chipmunks pee on for a living...”
Kaiden just rolled his eyes and replied with a mumbled, “You’re weird.”
“I know,” I sang. “But you like me anyway.” Laughing I turned away.
“Yeah, I do.” He replied coming up behind me and taking my hand.
“Where are we going?” I asked as he lead me down a sand dune and down along the beach. The dolphins were still there, though farther away now. Kaiden just chuckled in acknowledgement to my question, but didn’t answer. Fine, be a party pooper. I thought to myself scowling at Kaiden’s back. A very muscled back, might I add. I sighed and pouted. Tease.
A few minutes later Kaiden suddenly stopped, causing me to bump into his back. I would’ve fallen, but with the awesome reflexes he inherited in that moment, he caught me.
“Nice one, Grace.” He shook his head smiling and I hit his chest.
“Whatever,” I said looking down at my sandy shoes.
“Come on, I want to show you something.” He said pulling me along. It was then that I saw the cave.
“Nuh uh, I am not going in there, mate.” I told him wrenching my hand free of his hold and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Please. I promise you will like it.” His eyes silently plead with mine and I finally, after a few seconds, nodded my head and walked into the cave. I took out my video camera, though, and began recording so that if I was suddenly murdered people could catch the person who killed me. At the moment, though, I would focus the camera on Kaiden. I was kind of surprised when he started talking, although he didn’t know I was recording him.
“When I was younger, before my dad left my mum and me, he used to always bring me here. Dad and mum would always get into fights and he would leave. Most of the time, he took me with him. He brought me here every time this it happened. We’d just watch the waves crash against the shore and it all seemed so peaceful. Back before my dad left this used to be my favourite place in the world. Now it just brings back thoughts of him, and I don’t like that.” He shook his head to himself.
“But that’s a good thing.” I said pulling his arm so he would stop and look at me, the camera still recording. “You need to remember those good memories. If you only focus on the bad how are you supposed to move on?” I sighed. “When my parents died...God, I can’t even begin to describe how I felt. It was terrible. I felt, for so long, so empty inside. You know what makes it worse?” I asked, rhetorically. “The fact that my last words to them were that I hated them. That I didn’t love them.” I could feel tears brimming in my eyes with the memory. “They died thinking that I hated them.” My voice cracked at the end.
With a ragged sigh, Kaiden pulled me to him, the camera squashed between our chests. “I’m sure that they knew you didn’t mean it. They were your parents after all. They know you more than anyone else in your life. They would have known that, even with all the bad moments you’ve had with them, you still cherish them and every single good moment you have of them.” He cupped my face in his hands. “They know you love them and I’m glad you told me. Because now what I’m about to show you is going to have a bigger meaning.” He placed a soft kiss on my head that caught me off guard for a second. But I could help but think that it felt… nice… and natural. Like home.
“Come on.” He said, pulling me back along. He stopped in front of a big boulder. “Help me push it aside, not that you’d be much of a help.” He said cockily.
I rolled my eyes and muttered the word ‘men’ under my breath, but helped him none the less after putting my camera down. With what felt like hours later—although it was probably only a few minutes—we (meaning Kaiden) moved the boulder aside revealing a passageway.
“What is this—Hogwarts?” I joked, mostly to myself.
“In your dreams.” Kaiden scoffed.
Jerk, I thought to myself.
“I’m not a jerk. I’m just saying the truth.”
Oh, so you’re psychic now. Hip, hip, hooray!
“And yes, I am psychic. I took a course last summer.”
“Asshole.” I muttered.
Kaiden lead me through the passageway, which seemed to be going upwards and spiralling. I felt like I was climbing an endless spiral staircase. After a while the passage way opened up into what was like a massive room. I followed Kaiden into the middle where he stopped.
“Okay, look up.” He told me. I did as I was told—reluctantly—and looked up.
My mouth opened in awe at the sight before me, no words coming out of my mouth, but jumbled up letters. “Iwahnooooowoahhow…?”
Kaiden chuckled. “It’s pretty amazing isn’t it?” He told me as he lay down on the ground so as not to hurt his neck having to look up.
There was a large hula-hoop sized hole in the roof of the cave which gave us a beautiful view of the stars. ‘Pretty amazing’ didn’t even cover how beautiful and incredible this was.
I took a seat next to Kaiden before lying down and taking his hand in my own and squeezing it as thanks. I couldn’t begin to describe how much it meant to me for him to bring me here. But I could try.
“Kaiden, thank you so much. This means so much to me. The fact that you brought me here when this was your place… I just—thank you.” I turned to look at him to find him smiling at me. It was nice, but kind of creepy at the same time.
“What?” I asked, confused as to why he was looking at me the way he was.
“Nothing.” His smile widened as he shook his head.
“Are you stoned?!” I exclaimed, bolting up. “Kaiden! How dare you get stoned while bringing me here!” I went to walk off, but Kaiden grabbed my ankle.
“I’m not stoned.” He laughed, sitting up.
“Then why are you being all… weird. And creepy.”
As soon as I said that he stopped laughing. “Am I being creepy?” He asked quickly.
“Well you’re not being creepy, your just not acting like your… usual self.” I told him, actually liking the way he was being now, instead of his usual player, cocky self.
“Is that bad?” He asked me, his face serious.
“No.” I whispered. “You’re actually fun to be around when you’re like this.” I smiled.
He smiled as well, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with that smile. He really was pretty cute. In a movement that seemed so slow, yet so fast, Kaiden cupped my jaw in his hands and titled it upward.
I watched his eyes as he moved my face closer to his; they seemed so open, as if taking in every single thing in this moment. As I watched him, watching me, I knew I wanted this, wanted him to kiss me. But just before his lips met mine I spoke.
“What are you doing?” I asked, even though—really—I knew the answer to that question. I just wanted to know what he thought we were doing. If he thought I was going to be one of his many girls, he was wrong. I wasn’t going to be played like that.
“What I’ve wanted to do for a long time, if you’ll let me.” He whispered, looking into my eyes.
He was giving me a choice. And I knew—just knew—that this was what made me different from the other girls he was with. He was giving me a choice. I doubted Annabelle had a choice. I doubted that this had happened to all those other girls. But this led me to another question.
“What makes me different to all those other girls? Why are you giving me a choice?” I asked. His next words shocked me to my core.
“Because unlike all those other girls, you don’t care about who I am, what I’ve done. You took your time to actually become friends with not only me, but my friends as well. No one’s ever done that. I want to kiss you because unlike all those other girls, I actually... care about you, to some degree."
With that being said, Kaiden started to bring his face back towards mine.
~~~
Okay, so that's it. What did you guys think?
Should Kaiden and Meghan kiss?
Should she kick him in the family jewels for even trying?
Let me know what you think by either PMing me commenting below.
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Peace my babes, Em. XOXO.