LIVING FOR THE NEW COVER! Thank you so much dysanic for this work of art <3
Chapter Three
What Kyler referred to as 'the balcony' was for peasants like me the equivalent of a large studio apartment. It was opened up to by massive french doors and, complete with marble pillars that supported the arched roof, the space was decked out with more potted plants than a garden centre. The railing spanned the width of the house and gave a birds eye view of the pool downstairs. Matching earth toned furniture and one particular five seater semi circular couch in tones of deep red and brown showed that it was a place meant to entertain. I felt out of my depth but in a good way. It felt nice to be in unfamiliar circumstances, circumstances that come tomorrow when I'm cleaning up dirty tables at the diner would only just make me laugh. Here I was at some billionaire's mansion, watching a girl canon ball into the pool wearing something that looked suspiciously similar to a dress the youngest Kardashian was wearing the other day. This was how some people lived, how they spent their weekends and I found enjoyment in observing them, like a day at the zoo. Only in this case the exhibits were all ridiculously well dressed and good looking.
Kyler came back out, having gone back in to get us both some drinks. I took the moment to appreciate just how good looking he was and mentally compared him to the last guy I'd gone on a date with. His name was Ted Wallace and we'd been assigned to be lab partners for our Chemistry class. Suffice to say it was a bad idea because the date went south and Ted decided he didn't want to play nice for the rest of the semester. It wasn't my fault I hadn't called him back the next day because he spent the entire date talking about how his ten year old Rottweiler liked having its chicken cooked. I'm all for being an animal lover but I'd like to not hear about mushy chicken and crockpots while attempting to eat chicken myself. But Kyler wasn't like Ted or like any of the boys in my school. He stood taller, straighter and had a confidence about him that told me that girls rarely refused to go on a second date with him. He handed me my Diet Coke and opened up his own beer while coming to stand next to me, leaning his back against the railing while I stood facing forwards. Given all the space available to us, I didn't miss the fact that he chose to stand closer to me.
"So tell me your story Ella..."
"Nichols." I told him and tried not to stare at his throat muscles as he drank his beer.
"What, no middle name?"
"Grace, it's my grandma's name." I smiled to myself thinking about just how much Grandma liked telling people I was named after her. "I was actually called Ella Grace up until fourth grade after which I decided I wanted to shorten it. Grandma was devastated."
He smiled, "Ella Grace, I like it. Now both your grandma and I are disappointed you decided not to keep it. It suits you."
I ignored just how good it felt to hear him say my name, the way his lips formed the syllables was kind of magical. Instead I tilted my head, "It suits me? How?"
"You're a good girl, the kind of girl parents want their kids to date and the one who probably brought their teacher a present on the first day of school."
I did bring some of my teachers personalised stationary for a few years but he didn't need to know that. Instead I found myself scowling a little at the label I'd been assigned since birth. It was one thing for the people I'd known for my whole life to think of me as the resident good girl but a guy I just met? How lame was it that perhaps the hottest guy I'd encountered in real life had so quickly slotted me into a category that inevitably doomed me the undateable category. It was a tale as old as time that guys who looked like Kyler did, didn't date good girls.
"How would you assume that? We just met?"
"Okay let's see, you're clearly a good friend because you didn't leave Ree here alone even though this clearly isn't your scene." He looked down at two idiots trying to untie a girl's bikini and sighed. "And I can clearly see why."
"She's my best friend, any decent person would do that. That has nothing to do with me being a good girl."
"Did that piss you off?"
"I generally don't like people making assumptions about me." I sniffed and turned my head to watch the chaos taking place down below but I could feel his gaze burning a hole into my profile.
"Which is why I'll repeat myself, what's your story Ella Grace Nichols?"
I shivered but hopefully it was dark enough outside that he wouldn't be able to see my goosebumps. The noise from inside carried over to us, laughter, shouting and possibly something breaking but Kyler wasn't concerned. No, he'd focused all his attention on me and it felt weird, like standing in the middle of a room with a spotlight directly on you and being watched by several people. Perhaps it was even more unnerving because there was only one person out here and I couldn't escape.
"There's not much to tell really." That was a girl opening line, I bet he's never seen a girl who was better at flirting but I couldn't stop myself. "I grew up in this town and come September I'll be a senior at Bolton."
He waited as though thinking I'd say more but I really couldn't without letting everything come out and I didn't want to scare away the hot guy. The thing about keeping your feelings and emotions suppressed for so long is that one little trigger could make it all come out, like emotional word vomit and while a therapist's couch would be a great place for that to happen, a multi-million mansion was not.
"Surely there's more to you than that." Was it me or did he get closer?
"I'm seventeen, there's not much more to my life right now than school and work you know?"
"You work? Where." It was as though he was looking to find any morsel of information on me that he could probe. Maybe he really wanted to get to know me or maybe he was just bored. It did honestly look like he'd do anything to avoid the onslaught of girls his brother had unleashed upon their home and so if he needed me to be a distraction, who was I to refuse? It felt nice to have someone interested in wanting to know more about me. Between Ree's love life and Mom's never ending quest to write the perfect crime novel, most of my time was spent reassuring and reaffirming their faith in themselves. It felt nice then that I could talk about myself and not feel selfish.
I nodded, finding it strange to tell this obviously loaded guy about my waitressing gig. I wasn't embarrassed but how could he even relate? He'd probably never worked a day in his life.
"Uh huh, I work at DeeDee's Diner over on Cooper Street. I've been waitressing there since last year."
He concentrated on that piece of information for a while and I wondered what he was thinking. If there was even a hint of a chance that he would appear condescending towards me, I was out of there. Nothing was a bigger turn off for me than people who didn't respect their wait staff and as a waitress I'd seen plenty of douchebags who considered us their personal slaves.
"What? I bet you've never had a conversation with a waitress before?" It was meant to be a joke not an insult but that's how it sounded to my ears even as I said it. A flash of hurt passed Kyler's eyes and I immediately wanted to apologise. This conversation had started by me saying that he shouldn't assume things about me and here I was doing the same.
He let out a humourless laugh," Fair enough but you would be wrong." He leaned further back into the railing and stared at his shoes. "When I moved to LA last year, my parents insisted that I get a job, that my brother and sister do as well. So believe it or not, I actually worked as a bus boy in one of those trendy clean eating, organic food cafes. I'd be the last person to judge considering I got treated like dirt when I was there."
"You mean all that kale didn't fix the rotten souls of your customers."
He laughed, "I think it just made them more vapid, like they could justify abusing the waiters just because they'd just eaten a bowl of grass."
"You're full of surprises Kyler..." I left off, realising I didn't know his full name.
"Blackwell," he supplied, "like Carter's last name. And what can I say, I'm a man of many talents." He slid closer to me as he said this and plucked the now empty can of Diet Coke from my hands and placed it on the railing.
"There's got to be more to you, I can tell so why don't you be honest with me. They say there's nothing better than sharing your secrets with a stranger."
I was hypnotised by his mouth, those pouty lips looked incredibly soft and I wondered how they'd feel like when my own were pressed against them.
Back up Ella, back up.
"Are you sure I'll never see you again? If I'm going to tell you my deepest, darkest thoughts then I'll either have to kill you or move to another country."
"I'm leaving tomorrow and probably won't be back here for months. You're safe with me Ella Grace."
He was a wicked temptation all wrapped up in the body of an Adonis. How could I refuse?
***
Kyler went back in to get himself another drink while I cozied up in the middle of the crescent shaped couch surrounded by a sea of throw pillows. It was obvious that a woman had a huge hand in decorating the place given the aesthetic, maybe Kyler's mom? Or perhaps an interior designer because that's what people like him did. Still, I reprimanded myself for judging him again and absentmindedly scrolled through my phone as I was waiting for him. I'd thought to check up on Ree but she'd already texted me ten minutes ago.
Carter's so amazing! I could talk to him all night! I'll come get you when I'm ready to leave. Have fun with Kyler. Definitely do something that I would do ;)
Clearly she was enjoying herself.
"There you go." He handed me another drink and had even snagged us some snacks and won a little piece of my heart when I saw the gigantic bag of cool ranch Doritos. He placed it between the two of us and sat down next to me in what ended up being a very cozy seating arrangement.
"Do you ever think you'll leave Arlington?" This was the first question in what appeared to be a rather long list of deep, probing questions that would give him a deeper insight into me. I'd only agreed on the condition that I could ask invasive questions as well and he'd reluctantly agreed.
I let out a long breath, "Of course I do. I'm tired of knowing every single person I pass by on the street and I'm tired of everyone knowing my business. I want to move to a big city where I'm just another faceless person in the crowd."
"College?"
"That's my only way out right now. I...I want to go to school in Seattle but my mom would kill me if I moved that far away."
"That's pretty specific." He looked thoughtful. "Why Seattle?" I curled up on my side, knees up and maybe it was me but I felt them brush against his legs.
"I had a teacher in ninth grade, Ms. Williamson who taught English. She was great, actually cared about her students. We talked about college a lot and she told me where she went to school in Seattle and made it sound incredible. I've been obsessed since, plus I bet it's so different from anything in Tennessee."
"You can say that again. If it's change you're looking for then Washington's the place for you."
"Have you been?" I was immediately curious, as I always got when the topic came up. Apart from Ms. Williamson I didn't know a lot of people who'd lived in that part of the country and my teacher had left the previous year to continue her education. So the fact that Kyler looked like he could have some answers for me had my heart jump up in excitement.
He didn't make fun of my eagerness but gave me a small smile. "Yeah, I lived there for about three months when I was shoo..." he cleared his throat, "business trip. My dad had some work in the city which stretched over a couple of months so we moved there for a while. If you ever need to know more, I'm your guy."
"That sounds awesome."
He told me about his time in the city, how much he liked the chilled out vibe of it and how truly amazing the coffee was. If I wasn't sold on the idea already, he'd just convinced me.
"So what do you want to be when you grow up Ella Grace? What are you looking for in Seattle?"
The answer didn't take me long, "Finance." The way his face scrunched up in response was hilarious. "Why, what did you think I wanted to do?"
"I...I don't know. Anything but Finance, why? Do you want to be banker?"
I shrugged, "Investment banker to be precise." It was strange, to share my plans for the future with him without any inhibitions. I hadn't even mentioned it to my mom, or Ree. They thought I'd go somewhere close to home, major in education and become a teacher myself. That's the story I always told them but the past year especially my mind had decided to veer off in another direction and who better than a complete stranger to share the information with.
"You don't come across as the type. I figured you'd be into Art of History."
I scoffed, "That's a stereotype you know. Not every girl majors in the humanities. In fact statistics show that..."
"Okay, okay Ella Grace my bad again. I won't judge you but tell me, why banking?" He was either humouring me or was genuinely interested. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why he wanted to know all this but it felt therapeutic for me so I went on after taking a deep breath.
"My parents aren't the most financially responsible people. They're both really creative and have jobs that rely on that creativity. That usually means lots of all nighters and middle of the night brainstorming sessions. Growing up, I never really had a schedule until I started going to school. That's when they realised they couldn't keep me up till four in the morning while they worked. God, I remember having cereal at like 3AM, waking up in the afternoon the next day and just spending entire summers like that. I grew out of it but they never did." I twisted in my seat, feeling a little uncomfortable but Kyler's kind eyes suggested that I continue and that he wasn't judging.
"The risk with creative people is that they get lost in the art. That's great when you don't have bills to pay off and mortgage. By the time I was thirteen we nearly lost our house and were ready to declare bankruptcy." As I said this it felt like I was peeling off a layer of my own skin and letting him see into my insides. It felt strange, like realising you've got two different shoes on but oddly freeing.
His brows drew together, "What happened?"
"I have a great-aunt, my mom's aunt who helped us out and gave us a loan. I think it was roughly around the time I taught myself some basic accounting skills and tried to make sure things never got as bad as they did then. That's why the investment banking, because I never want to be in that place again."
"That explains why you look like you've got the weight of the world resting on your shoulders." He reached out and placed his hand on my arm, gently squeezing.
"You know the first thing that came to my mind when I saw you?"
My cheeks reddened, "What?"
"Well, the first thing was that you've got the warmest brown eyes, like one look at them would brighten up someone's day."
I cleared my throat, "What's the second thing?"
"That you needed someone to tell you that everything was going to be okay."
I couldn't help it then, to look over at him and I found his eyes on me like they had been all night. The attention was new, it made me feel things that realistically couldn't be felt for someone you'd just met. Maybe I was starved of open, honest communication and that attracted me to him so when Kyler leaned in, I didn't move away.
"Oh yeah, do you think you're that someone."
"I could be for tonight if you let me be."
"What's your middle name?"
"Huh?"
"Just go with it Blackwell, what's your middle name?"
"James."
"Okay, Kyler James Blackwell," he grinned but there was something in his gaze and just how much darker his eyes got that lit fire beneath my skin. "tell me how you know everything's going to be okay?"
"Because, there's no way a girl can be as gorgeous, kind and sweet as you are and not have things work out for her. I won't allow it."
My eyes widened and I was thankful for the dark because I knew my face would be flaming red. Not that I wasn't okay with compliments but when it came from this guy and in his voice, the effect it had on me was hard to deny. I knew that if I didn't move away I'd end up doing something ridiculously stupid and embarrassing myself. So swiftly, I slid my feet down and got up pretending to dust the Doritos crumbs off my shirt. Kyler watched me with curious eyes, it was perhaps the first time a girl wasn't flirting back with him and he appeared to be amused by it.
"I should go check on Ree. Her dad won't like it if she's out too late."
Lie, she was staying over at my house today but I needed to get out of there before I jumped into his lap and kissed the hell out of Kyler Blackwell.
Kyler got to his feet as well. "She's by the hot tub, come on I'll take you there or you'll get lost."
His face was polite, his posture indifferent and I wondered if I'd done something wrong by moving away. The man was leaving tomorrow, even if I did something stupid I wouldn't be seeing him for the foreseeable future.
What was there to lose?
"H-hot tub?" I cursed myself for stuttering.
"Yeah. It's downstairs by the backyard deck. We've kept the area locked down for anyone but immediate family. Carter's more than welcome to it." He headed out the doors and beckoned for me to follow.
Indeed as I walked down the stairs and past the guests into a part of the house that was empty save for the sounds coming from outside, I saw the huge landscaped backyard which housed the hot tub. The hot tub in which Ree was currently in, clad in just her bra and underwear she hadn't brought with her and had her lips firmly locked onto Carters. The way they were going at it forced me to look away and had me turning right into Kyler's smug and laughing face.
"Her dad might have to wait a little."
He knew I was full of shit. But I was tired of him one upping me so I walked closer to him until I saw his chest rising and falling a little slower, his eyes growing a little hazier.
"That looks really fun." I glanced back the tub and told him through heavy lidded eyes.
He swallowed, "It is."
"Would you want to perhaps..." I trailed off and watched his eyes fall down to my lips, I bit them and looked up at him fluttering my lashes, "join them?" Playfully, I tugged at the ties holding up my top and almost laughed at how hypnotised he seemed by the exposed skin. It was almost comical to watch his face fall when he realised I was joking. He'd have to scrounge up a bathing suit if I was getting in the water.
"Don't make promises you can't keep Nichols." His gravelly voice whispered hotly in my ear as he leaned down and I found the tables turned on me. "You want to do this?"
Just tonight, that was all and I'd never see him again.
So I threw my fears out the window and decided that I'd let the night take its own course.
"Sure."
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