☕︎☕︎☕︎
"Morning," Grayson says as I lazily walk down the stairs.
It's Saturday morning and I got up at nine to make sure I had enough time to shower and get ready before King arrives at eleven.
I'm not happy about the fact that I had to wake up early. Everyone knows I love my sleep. The weekend is the only time I get to sleep in so King has already lost a few brownie points.
I don't know what I was thinking agreeing to go out this early. The man better be taking me to Narnia or something otherwise I swear to God I'm gonna lose my shit.
"There's coffee made in the kitchen," Grayson says. I walk past the table into the kitchen. I pour myself a cup of warm coffee and add some cream and sugar before I head out to the table to sit down on the seat across from Gray.
"Did Aaron not come home last night?" I question then take a sip of my coffee. The hot warm liquid travels down my throat, sweat at first but left a slightly bitter aftertaste.
"He's at some girl's house," Grayson shares as he eats his omelette.
"Well that was kind of expected, I guess," I say and sip my coffee.
"He just wanted to see the party scene for a night and he's still young; he should be able to have fun once in a while."
"True, true. Hopefully, he doesn't slip back into his old habits though."
"He won't, Re. Don't worry," Grayson assures. "You tell me though, has King told you what he has planned yet?"
"Nope, he messaged me good morning and said he'll be here on time," I answer.
"Did you reply?"
"I asked what's so good about the morning? Is there ever anything good in the morning? He said, yeah it's a good morning because once it passes, we get to see each other. I replied with you are really putting my expectations up there for today so if you don't deliver, I'll be madder than I am about the fact that I had to wake up so early to get ready."
"And what did he say to that?"
"He said I can judge for myself at the end of the day and let him know if he delivered on his word or not."
"Mm. He seems like a decent guy from the way he talks to you," Grayson points out.
"Yeah, I mean he's never really been rude or mean to me. Even at the diner, he was being really nice, I guess I just reacted wrongfully because of Ev and his past."
"Ev has dated quite a few guys, hasn't she?" He grins.
"Yeah, I guess so," I let out a small awkward laugh. "What are your plans for today?"
"I just need to answer a few emails then I'm going to clean my room and try to get the boys to help me clean around the house as well. Maybe watch a movie or something at night and family game night. Not much. You know how my weekend's usually go."
"True, I'll try to be home before the movie or games," I claim.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to King about what time you need to be home by," Grayson says.
And on cue, the doorbell rings.
I look at my apple watch and realize that it's only ten fifty-six.
He's punctual too, huh.
I quickly finish my coffee and head towards the door.
Since King said I should dress casual and comfy, I decided to wear black leggings, white Nike air forces and a white crop top with a grey Nike hoodie layered over top which I left unzipped. I tied my hair up in a high ponytail and let some loose ends out to frame my face and make it look a little more effortless. For makeup, I'm only wearing a little bit of concealer, mascara, blush and lip gloss.
I open the door to a very nervous, yet handsome King who's wearing dark grey dress pants with a black t-shirt tucked in. To accessorize, he's wearing a cross necklace, a black watch and a few rings on multiple fingers. He's also wearing his signature leather jacket over top paired with white shoes.
His hair is dishevelled with a few pieces draping over his eyes and I watch the deep grey orbs shrink to the edges as his pupils dilate.
"Hi," I smile.
"Hi," he breathes out. "Y-you look great."
"Me? Look at you, damn. You clean up well. I mean not that you needed to or anything. You look good all the time. Okay, that does not sound appropriate. Let me just rephrase that. I have never seen you in this style and it suits you and I'm proud that you can experiment around. Okay, yeah. That sounds better," I finally stop talking.
King looks at me with a huge smile probably entertained by my dumbness. I then notice the bouquet of white roses in his hands.
"I got you these," he says extending them to me. I take them with a huge smile on my face.
"They're so beautiful, thank you. Roses are my favourite," I tell him and he smiles.
"Okay, good. I know you're not the girliest girl out there so I was either expecting you to just accept these or throw them back in my face. I was prepared for both reactions to be honest," he nervously shares.
"Okay, you have such a bad impression of me," I laugh.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you're just bold and I didn't know what to expect."
"I'll believe you on that. I'm pretty unpredictable," I concede.
"Yeah and no one knows that better than us," I hear Grayson come from behind me. His hand lands on my shoulder and look back at him smiling.
Let the intimidating begin.
"King, this is my oldest brother and legal guardian, Grayson," I introduce.
Grayson's wearing sweats and a matching sweater, so he's not as intimidating as he usually is when he's wearing his business attire. That being said, Grayson's energy is still daunting. I see King broaden his shoulders a little more in response, probably to cover his fear.
Grayson extends his hand and King gives him a firm handshake with full eye contact.
Good job, King!
"Nice to meet you," King smiles in return. "I would have asked for your permission to take Reese out, but the plan was really last minute."
"No that's okay. I was in high school not that long ago, I understand plans are usually always made last minute," Grayson replies being quite sweet. "Don't mind me asking, but you seem older. You're not a junior, are you?"
"Uh..." King looks at me for an answer. He probably thought I had mentioned that, but even I had forgotten that we have an age difference. "-No sir. I am a senior at Weston Secondary."
"Well, I hope the age comes with maturity too then. You seem like a well mannered young man and I hope you treat my sister even better. I trust you, don't make me regret that."
"Yes, sir. I won't."
"Make sure she's home by nine, latest," Grayson instructs.
"Of course," King confirms. "Nine it is."
"One more thing. Do you plan on bussing around all day? If that is the case, I can get a company driver to take you guys wherever you need to go," Gray offers.
"Uh, thank you for the offer, but I actually have a motorcycle."
"What kind?"
"It's an old Harley Davidson. My step dad's a mechanic and he was able to get a good deal on it. He fixed it up and got it for me for my birthday earlier this year," King shares.
"That's really nice. I would love to see it one day, but for now, I will let you guys go and have fun," Grayson says.
"Finally!" I joke. "Thank you."
"Thank you," King says. "It was nice meeting you."
"Pleasure was all mine. You have your phone and cash or card?" Grayson questions me as I turn to face him.
"Yes my phone is in my pocket and I have apple pay and a few bills as well," I make known.
"Okay good," Grayson replies. He gives me a hug and whispers into my ear. "Mace?"
"Other pocket," I whisper back.
"Perfect," he kisses my forehead. "Have fun, both of you."
"We will and put these in a vase for me please?" I ask and Grayson nods taking the bouquet from me.
I turn around and face King.
"Shall we go?"
"We shall," he says. "After you, my lady."
"Wow, so courteous," I smile and take the lead after closing the door behind me.
"Your brother is pretty scary, not gonna lie," King admits as we walk down the driveway towards his motorcycle.
"Yeah, he is the scariest one so don't worry. The rest will be a piece of cake," I try to ease his stress.
"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but okay."
"No point in worrying about that to be honest, so let's not even talk about it. B-but, I was not expecting to be riding on a motorcycle today."
"No? Have you ever been on one before?"
"Nope," I reply with all honesty.
"Well, this is gonna be fun then," he smirks. There are two helmets on the seat. He hands me one and takes one for himself.
"At least you're safe," I praise. "This is not going to go with my hairstyle today."
"Yeah, I noticed."
"It's fine," I say. I put the helmet down on the motorcycle and undo the elastic band in my hair. Quickly, I brush my fingers through my hair and adjust my hair into a low ponytail.
"There," I smile. I take the helmet and put it over my head. I open the shield, "Damn this shit is heavy."
"Yeah, it is," King laughs. I fidget with the straps and King watches me struggle for a bit before he brushes my hands away and takes over.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," he replies. I watch as he puts on his own helmet and doesn't take nearly as long as me. Once he's done, he gets onto the bike and puts in the key. The engine roars loudly.
I look at the dangerous piece of equipment hesitating.
"Are you okay?" King questions lifting up his shield. His eyes full of concern, he waits for my response.
"Um-," I gulp. "My parents-"
"I know. You don't have to tell me, but I promise you, Reese, I am a really safe driver. I've been driving the motorcycle for months now and if my parents didn't think I would be responsible enough to drive it, they would've never gotten it for me. Just trust me with this. I would never put you in a dangerous situation willingly. My parents have raised me better than that despite anything you might have heard about me."
"I haven't heard anything about you, but I trust you," I reply. I take a deep breath and close the shield on the helmet. I put my foot on the metal piece and lift my other leg over to the other side straddling it. On instinct, I press my front to King's back and my hands wrap around to his front. He stiffens at first but quickly loosens up.
He can probably feel my heart beating against my chest.
"It's a forty-minute drive to the diner," King yells.
"Okay."
With that, we start moving. At first, he drives slowly but increases the speed gradually as I become more comfortable. As the fear washes away and the wind becomes my friend instead of my enemy, I start to focus on my surroundings.
As we enter his part of town, the change is almost immediate and drastic.
There are a lot more people of colour on this side of town and more minorities compared to where I live. The stores aren't luxurious and the people aren't wearing fancy clothes. People are at their most basic and honest forms, not a single person here is trying to be someone they are not.
"And we're here," King announces as he rolls into a slow stop on a parking spot. In front of us is a diner called In Her Heart.
He turns the bike off and I'm the first one to get off. I take off my helmet and put it on the seat. I brush my hair making sure it's not messy from wearing the helmet.
I watch King starting to make his way towards the entrance.
"Are we just gonna leave the helmets there like that? What if someone steals them?" I ask.
"No one's gonna steal from me here," King says.
"How are you so sure?" I question.
"People know me and respect me. We're a community here, we don't rob from our own people," he explains.
"If you say so," I shrug. King opens the door for me and I walk in first.
The cafe is small with only a few tables. It's a painted light green with black and white accents. The employees are wearing green and black also.
"Hey, Jasmine, King's here!" one of the workers yells.
I look at King and he just smiles back at me.
"King!" A black lady, probably in her late forties, comes out from the back. The lady walks out towards us and engulfs King in a hug. "God, boy I haven't seen you in so long!"
"Aunty, you just saw me like two weeks ago," King laughs.
"Two weeks is a long time. I tell you to visit me more often. How's your mom and my brother? Is he keeping himself busy at the shop?"
"Mom's good and you know it. He's a workaholic," he replies. His aunt eyes him down taking in his entire appearance before her attention falls onto me.
"Who's this young lady?"
"My name's Reese," I smile. I extend my hand out for a handshake, but she ignores it and engulfs me in a hug instead. I'm a little surprised, but I smile as she breaks the hug.
"You're so pretty," she breathes out as she eyes me up and down, and up and down, and up and down multiple times. It's a good thing I'm not that insecure or I swear, I'd be digging myself a hole and hiding for the rest of my life after this interaction.
"Is this the girl you were talking about that you met at your rich daddy's party?"
King blushes.
"Aunty, it wasn't his party, but he invited me as a plus one and yes, I met Reese there."
"Well, Reese, King's real dad is a pretty ugly man, but he does have the looks and he luckily passed those down to King too. The one and only thing I'll proudly admit, but damn, King I didn't think you'd get such a pretty woman. Good for you, son."
"Aunty, we're just friends," King runs his hands through his hair. I swear my face is probably beet red. She looks so happy and excited, I didn't even have the heart to correct her myself.
"Yeah? Well, that's where it all starts from."
"Aunty!" King yells.
"Don't aunty me young man. I will show your white ass how we run things around here if you ever raise your voice at me again," she scolds.
"Sorry, aunty," King blushes in embarrassment.
"Yeah you better be," she retorts. "But you guys take a seat, I'll send you guys something to eat. Any preferences, sweetie?"
"Um, no. I'm good with anything, but if coffee is a part of the menu, I like mine with lots of cream and sugar," I share.
"Got it," she smiles. Once she leaves to the back again, King and I walk to an empty table and take a seat.
"So your stepdad is black?" I question.
"Yeah, he is," King says.
"How did he and your mom meet?"
"They were high school lovers actually, but my mom was from your side of town. Her family was rich and well, he wasn't. My mom's family didn't approve of him and they forced her to get married to my biological dad. She left him when I was like one or two because he constantly cheated on her and was never actually home. She didn't even want love from him. She was okay with just a friendship and mutual respect, but he never gave that to her so she left. Chaquille, my step-dad, I refer to him as my dad because he was the one who raised me, was still single and she turned to him and he took us both in. Once my mom got a divorce, she married my dad right after and we've been together since."
"Let me guess, your mom's side of the family never forgave her for divorcing your biological dad?"
"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" King jokes around. We laugh.
"I'm smart, what can I tell you?" I smile. Things settle down as we stare deeply into our eyes. His lashes are long with a natural curl to them.
He has such clear skin it makes me wonder what his skincare routine consists of. Does he even have a skincare routine or is he naturally blessed with clear skin?
"Here you are," one of the workers breaks us free from our thoughts.
"Thank you," I reply.
"Thanks, Don," King clears his throat.
"Anything for family," she smiles. "Let us know how you like it. Jaz made her special recipe just for you."
"Okay, I will. Tell her I said thank you as well," I reply.
"I will," she smiles before taking her leave.
"The food looks delicious," I speak as I gather what's on my plate. It's mash potatoes, with grilled chicken, peas and some sort of dressing over top with orange juice as the drink.
"Wait until you eat it," King says. He doesn't need to tell me twice because I grab the cutlery and start digging.
The first bite feels like heaven as the flavours melt in my mouth.
"Mm," I moan.
"It's good, right?" King questions.
"Yeah, so good."
"It's the sauce, it's a family recipe she only shares with the women in our family."
"Does your mom know how to make it too?"
"Yeah, but she won't tell me how," he frowns.
"Do you cook?" I ask surprised. King does not seem the type to cook.
"I do actually. Mom works at the hospital and works late sometimes so I have to make sure my little siblings don't go to sleep starving. If dad comes home early, then he will cook sometimes too," he explains.
"You have siblings?"
"Yeah, half-siblings. They're fraternal twins, Terrence and Talisha."
"How old are they?"
"They're seven."
"Awe, that's so cute. I'll be honest, I did not think you were such a responsible man."
"The leather jacket throws you off, right?" he jokes.
"Sure, it's the leather jacket and so not your dark and distant demeanour," I go along and he laughs in response.
"Don't get me wrong, there's a lot more to me," he says taking another bite of his food.
"You and me both," I smile taking another bite of my food.
"I had an idea if you're not opposed to it, that is," he speaks.
"I'm all ears," I reply.
"Clearly, we started off on the wrong foot and there's more to us than what we show or what people would normally know. Right?"
"Mm-hm."
"Well, I was thinking, I mean I know I said I read up about you in the news, but there's only stuff about you up until you started middle school. After that, it seems like you just kind of disappeared and only showed up again at your parent's funeral."
I stiffen. I finish the food in my mouth and swallow before I put my cutlery down and give King my full attention.
When I started using and shit started going downhill, my family had bought out all the media outlets and made sure no one was reporting anything about me negative or positive. They knew any attention for me at the time would be dangerous for me, my health and even our family at that point.
But where is King going with this?
"Sorry, I'm not trying to offend you I just want you to know what I know already, so you don't think I'm some sort of creep. I just think that we should click control-alt-delete on any assumptions that we have of one another and give each other a proper chance as friends. I don't want to treat you differently and make you feel some type of way and I would appreciate the same courtesy in return," he states.
I let out a sigh of relief. I drink my orange juice as he waits for my response.
"I agree. Sorry, I just thought you were about to go in a whole different direction with that, but I'm so happy you didn't," I say wiping off the fake sweat from my forehead.
"You are so fucking dramatic," King laughs. "Fuck I thought you were mad for a second."
"Nah, I don't get mad that fast," I tell him. "But I agree. I would like to get to know you for you and not from other people's opinions. I'm not saying that those people are wrong or liars, but everyone gets a different part of someone so maybe I'll get the good part of you and I wouldn't wanna miss out on that."
"I'll make sure you don't," he smiles.
We sit, talk and eat for about an hour before we're done and head out. King's aunt refused to let us pay, so I made sure she knows how much I enjoyed the food and how I'd be back and even bring my brothers next time.
"Where to next?" I question as he takes my helmet and puts it over my head. I lift the shield and watch as he straps it up for me. His forehead wrinkles as he focuses on the task.
"There. Um, are you a fan of paintings?"
"Yeah, I like art."
"Good, because we're gonna take a walk through downtown and look at some of the murals people have painted," he shares.
"Okay, that's exciting," I smile.
"Mm-hm," he replies. He gets on first and I climb on right after. He doesn't waste any time before we start driving again.
It's a ten-minute drive before he parks somewhere on the side of the road. He pays for the parking meter and we start walking. There are a lot of homeless people on the streets and a lot more cops than I've ever seen.
"Is this normal?" I ask curiously.
"What?"
"The cops? I've never seen so many at one place before. Aren't there other places with crime?"
He laughs.
"Yeah, it's normal."
"Mm-hm," I reply. He doesn't say much more about that and I let the subject go too.
"Do you feel safe?" King questions.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
"I can tell you haven't been around places like this before."
"I guess you can say I was a little sheltered," I admit.
"Makes sense. You're the only girl in the house with so many older brothers. They're probably really protective."
"Yeah, they are actually. It's because of that and other reasons. I mean, I'm not perfect. I made a few mistakes and now they're extra protective because they don't want me making those same mistakes again."
"Shows that they love you despite the flaws."
"Yeah and I appreciate it even though it annoys the fuck out of me sometimes."
"Yeah guys are stupid," he laughs.
"Oh, wow," I gasp as I spot a mural across the street. I stand at the edge of the sidewalk and stare at it in awe. It's a mural of heaven, earth and hell. A blend of the three with details differentiating the three realms.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Do you know who does these?"
"No, but the pigs consider it a form of vandalism."
"Please, that is talent do not depict it as a crime. Something that beautiful is not a crime."
"If only others could see it like that," he sighs. There's a moment of silence as we both just stare at the masterpiece. "But there's more, let's keep walking."
"Yeah I want to see more," I say and we start walking again.
"So tell me about yourself, Miss. Price. Besides being the only daughter of one of the most successful families in the world, what else is there to know about you?"
"There's a lot, to be honest."
"Yeah? Well go off, I'm all ears," he smiles.
"B-besides m-my- fuck one sec," I breathe out. I take a couple of deep breaths as we walk to clear my mind. When there's a lot going on in my mind, my words tend to get more jumbled and my speech dyslexia gets worse. "I have dyslexia."
"Oh, actually?"
"Yeah," I look down at the cement as we walk now wondering how he's going to take that news.
"I didn't even notice. I don't know if it was bad before or not, but if it was, I think you've made amazing progress."
"Thank you," I smile. "I went to therapy for a long time and that's how I've dealt with it."
"Proud of you," he says. I look up at him and he's staring forward as he walks. A smile stretches out on my face.
"Well besides that, I like acting. I auditioned for the school play and got Juliet's understudy."
"That's sad, they lost out on a great lead."
"How do you know the person who got the lead isn't better than me?"
"I know you and I can tell that you're talented and dedicated. I don't need to know the other person to know you're better," he shrugs.
"Confident much?"
"Believe me or not, but I know you, Reese. Not trying to sound weird or anything, but the second I saw you at the diner and we locked eyes, it felt like I've known you from before. I can tell you that I have ignored Ev's existence ever since we broke up, but that day, I had to take my chance with you."
"Yeah, I mean, I still remember that feeling of locking eyes with you. I had goosebumps all over my body, but I have to also respect that Ev and I are friends. You know the girl code and everything," I say. I know it sounds hypocritical of me considering I am with Sebastian who also happens to be Ev's ex, but I believe that's an exception because I didn't know he was her ex before I started catching feelings for him.
Even then, if Ev had any objections I would have understood and stepped back, but she didn't seem to mind. With King, I know they have history and purposely going for him despite knowing that, wouldn't feel, look or even be right.
"Yeah, makes sense, that's why we're just friends."
"Exactly, we're just friends," I smile. We quiet down for the rest of the time and walk around looking at multiple murals. Every mural seems better than the last and it leaves me more shocked every time. King seems to be enjoying that because he laughs every time.
As we walk back towards his bike, we run into Cindy with her kid.
"Hey," Cindy smiles at us.
"Hi," King and I both reply.
"This is Dion," she introduces. I look at the baby sleeping quietly in his car seat and I crouch down rubbing his soft cheeks.
"Do you know where Maverick is?" Cindy starts talking to King trying to whisper. She's still loud enough for me to hear. Even though it feels wrong, I listen in while pretending to still be playing with the baby.
"Probably at the gym," King says.
"Well he's supposed to have Dion for the weekend and he told me he can't because he's competing."
"He said that?" King seems confused.
"Yeah," Cindy curtly replies.
"I don't know then. I haven't talked to him since school yesterday."
"Oh, come on King. You know you're a bad liar."
"Cindy," King groans. "You know I told you and Maverick both to keep me out of your guys' business, so why do you make me lie?"
"Because I thought that maybe you'd be nice enough to be honest to me for once."
"I want to help you Cindy don't get it twisted, but you know why Maverick does it, you need money to raise Dion and the diner isn't cutting it."
"He also needs a father. He can find other ways to make money."
"That's a conversation you need to have with him."
"Fine," she groans. I finally get up and smile at Cindy.
"He's beautiful."
"Thank you. He takes after his father," Cindy smiles. "See you around."
"See you."
"Bye," King says.
"Bye," Cindy replies before she gets into her car. We start walking towards King's motorcycle again.
"What was that about?"
"You know family things," he brushes off.
"Mm," I reply not pushing the topic further.
"Do you like puppies?"
"Do I like puppies? I love puppies!" I yell in excitement. "Are you getting me a puppy?"
"Uh, no, not exactly," he phrases. Once we reach his bike he puts on my helmet for me again.
"Wow, I love how you just know I'm incompetent and do it for me without me even having to ask."
"Shit was I supposed to ask, I'm sorry," he apologizes.
"No, I don't mind. I was just saying it's a nice gesture and thank you."
"Oh, you're welcome," he smiles. He puts on his own helmet and we get on again.
He drives for about another fifteen minutes closer to the rich part of town again, but obviously not there, to a small shop.
As we climb off, King tells me what this place is.
"You can pay to sit and play with a bunch of puppies for as long as you want. I think they charge per hour."
"You're kidding? No way! Whoever came up with this concept, I'm gonna marry them," I claim.
King laughs at my excitement.
"Okay you do that, but no I'm not kidding. They have a bunch of rooms with different types of dogs. Some people are allergic to certain ones I think, so yeah, it's a pretty cool place," he shares. "I thought you'd like it."
"I've always wanted a dog, but my parents were always like learn to take care of yourself first," I pout.
"They're not wrong."
"Hey, I'm doing quite well on my own now. I think they'd be very proud."
"Yeah, I think they would be too."
King opens the door for me and we sign in. I try to pay for us, but King refuses to let me pay. After we sign a few papers, which takes about ten-fifteen minutes, we finally get to play with the puppies.
We sit and play with the toys and get to know the puppies.
"Lola is in love with you," I say to King. Lola has been calmly sitting in King's lap for twenty minutes now and sometimes when she gets off, she lays on her back so that King can rub her belly.
"Are you jealous? Lola, look at that, Reese here is jealous of you," he leans closer into the puppy's ear.
"Yes, I'm definitely jealous of you giving a puppy a belly rub," I laugh.
"You think it's funny, but I'm telling you, you're missing out. These fingers are magical," he says staring at his hand and wiggling his fingers dramatically. I laugh at his childish behaviour.
"Are you offering to give me a belly rub?" I joke.
"Depends on your answer," he says in a low voice. He starts leaning in closer. It's like the puppies sense what's going on and decide to go play somewhere else in the room. "Do you wanna find out what magic I have in these fingers?"
Staring deeply into each other's eyes, his hot breath fans my face. My heart starts racing as I stare at his plump lips only a few inches away.
I feel his hand on my leg as I sit crisscrossed and I jump slightly. Slowly, his hand makes its way to the side of my stomach and before I can fight back, he starts tickling me.
I immediately start laughing and screaming bloody murder.
"No! N-no! K-King!" I yell as I fall back and he climbs on top of me tickling me. "King stop! P-please!"
"Aren't these fingers magical? Admit it and I'll stop."
"Oh... my... God!" I yell. He's supporting most of his weight with his knees as he straddles me but keeps enough pressure on me to keep me in my place. This isn't fair this should be illegal. "Oh-okay! Y-your fing-ers are magical!"
Finally, the torture stops and I breathe.
"That's not the magic I was expecting," I blurt and instantaneously slap my hands over my mouth and eyes, embarrassed.
King's still straddling me, I can feel his weight so I'm too scared to remove my hands and see his face. Instead, I split my fingers trying to get a peek.
"Look at me, Reese," he commands. I remove my hand from my mouth but keep my eyes covered with my other hand.
"No, I'm scared," I admit as I feel my heart racing again. A girl just can't get a break I swear. I should really get that checked out though like I'm hardly even fifteen and I think I'll be getting a heart attack soon at the rate I'm going.
"Reese," he prompts and I gulp. I move my hand away from my eyes but keep them closed.
Since when did you become such a pussy, Reese? Get it together!
I open one eye first and the second follows.
King lets out a small smirk at that and he slowly starts to lean over me. As he gets closer, my breathing deepens.
Don't kiss me.
Don't kiss me.
Don't kiss me.
Fuck.
He doesn't kiss me.
Instead, he leans his head to the side and his breath fans my ear. His hand wraps around my neck ever so softly. The rings on his finger are cold causing goosebumps to rise all over my body.
My core starts to throb at this point.
What.
The.
Actual.
Fuck.
His necklace dangles to the side, next to me.
"Miss Reese Price get your head out of the gutter. That magic is reserved for only a very few and special women. Don't assume that I don't have it though, because I can assure you that I most definitely do," he breathes. He gently squeezes my neck and I bite down on my bottom lip to keep myself from moaning. He then completely let's go and gets off of me leaving the cold air to take over my body.
I get up and clear my throat as I fix myself. King goes ahead and starts playing with the puppies again like THAT didn't just happen.
My phone dings and I dig it out of my pocket. The notification is from Instagram saying Sebastian Diaz has tagged me in a photo.
Confused, I go on the app and check the photo. It's a picture of the polaroid Grayson took of us a while ago. Sebastian captioned it, 'Mine❤️. #official. '
I hear King's phone ding too and watch him take out his phone. His back is towards me, so I can't see his face.
He's quiet and it feels like forever, but King doesn't say anything, he just puts his phone back in his pocket and I hear a deep sigh. He starts talking to Lola and I'm left a little sad.
I look down at the picture again and refresh it to see who has liked it already and at the top, it says King Baxston.
"I should've told you earlier," I start. I close my phone and put it in my pocket as I stand up.
"Huh?" King turns around with Lola in his arms.
"I should've told you earlier that Sebastian and I are seeing each other," I speak as I lower my head. I can't compel myself to look at King.
I know I didn't do anything wrong, but it feels like that I have.
"You mean that you and Sebastian are dating? I'm a big boy, Reese I can take the full truth."
"No, it's not like that. Sebastian hasn't officially asked me to be his girlfriend yet we just-"
"Do things that couples do?" he cuts me off. I stare at him in disbelief.
"I guess," I shrug.
"Does he know you're here?"
"Yeah, he does," I answer truthfully.
"Mm, okay."
"What?"
"That's strange."
"I told him we're just friends and he trusts me. He also wanted me to tell you that whatever you think happened that night, it's not the truth. Seb and Ev both said they didn't sleep together that night," I explain. I don't know if it was the right moment to bring that up, but oh well. It's done now.
He chuckles in a condescending way.
"You're unbelievable."
"Are you upset?" I ask.
"I'm not upset, I just thought you were actually giving me a chance. Did you even see me today or did you just see me as the guy Sebastian hates and Everleigh's ex?"
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"What do I mean?" he raises his voice slightly. He lets Lola down and walks closer to me. This time he lowers his voice.
"What I mean is I planned this whole day for you and me, Reese so that we could get to know each other. So that you could see me for me and not as some delinquent that your friends had painted me as. I wanted to give you a chance and believe that maybe, just maybe you aren't the rich snobby girl everyone paints you to be and I know you're not. I know you're not that girl, but you are blinded by everything and nothing I say will make you believe otherwise. I'm not mad or upset, I am just disappointed because if the only reason you're here is to prove something to someone or it's because Sebastian gave you permission to be here, I don't want to be apart of that. I don't like being used, Reese."
I tear up at the wrongful accusations.
"I-I'm n-not u-use- fuck man! Ugh!" I yell frustrated and turn around. I start pacing trying to clear my head so that I can string a few words together. A couple of minutes pass before I'm calm again.
"I'm not using you, King. Sebastian does not control who I hang out with and who I don't. Yes, he told me he would like me to get this message across, but there was nothing else to it. I did it for both Seb's and Ev's sake nothing else."
I take a deep breath collecting my thoughts again.
"I saw you today, I really did. I found out things about you and- and how you are that I wouldn't have believed if someone had just told me. I learned today that you-you ha-have bad in you, but you have bits of good too and you constantly fight to be good. You choose to be good and that is harder than just naturally being good, King. P-please don't say I didn't see you. I see you. I-I'm just bad with my emotions and I knew I was hiding my relationship with Sebastian from you, but I just wanted to bring it up at a good time. You said we were just friends so I didn't think it'd matter when I told you as long as I got to it by the end of our day."
"Fuck, Reese you should have told me. I don't overstep boundaries like that ever. Regardless of who is at question, I don't wanna be known as a homewrecker."
"You're not. I promise you, you are not a homewrecker. Everyone knows I'm here today and everyone knows we're friends. There's nothing else to us."
"Good."
"Yeah," I breathe out.
There's a knock at the door and we turn our heads.
"Just wanted to let you know that your guys' time is almost up," the girl explains.
"Okay, thank you," I force a smile. She nods back and looks at us both before heading out.
"I'm sorry, King I didn't mean to hurt you and if bringing up Sebastian and Everleigh hurt you, I am truly sorry. That wasn't my intention."
"I just want you to know that I am not trying to know you or to be friends with you because of my past with Sebastian or Everleigh. I have better things to focus on and I have let them go. I have left them in the past. My only intentions here, between the two of us, is to get to know you for who you are," he clarifies looking right into my eyes if not my soul. I have never met a man so confident and honest with his words before.
"I know. I believe you, King."
"Then I'm gonna ask you for one thing."
"What is it?"
"The second you think you and I will ever cross any boundaries, we can no longer be friends. If our friendship starts causing shit in your relationship, we can no longer be friends. And lastly, I don't want people affecting our friendship either. If you hear something about me, ask me. I have nothing to hide. I am an open book."
"Okay, but I can assure you our friendship will not cause shit in any of my relationships. No one and I mean no one can control what I do or say, who I'm friends with and who I'm not. It's my life not theirs for a reason. I'll be honest, if I felt that you had bad intentions with me today, I would have called you out and I would have made it very clear that I never wanna see you again. But I didn't. I can spot a manipulator from a mile away, trust me. I want to be friends, King. I'm having a lot of fun with you and I think having a genuine friend like you would be amazing."
"You're just a stubborn one, aren't you?" he says cracking a smile. His hand brushes through his hair and he looks up at the lights drying the water in his eyes. "I know you're taken, but can I get a hug?"
"Yeah, I needed one too," I reply. He opens his arms and I crash right into him. My ear rests on his heart and he tightens his arms around me. The warmth calms me down immediately. "Sorry, I got tears on your shirt."
"It's okay," he breathes and I hear his lungs vibrate. "How does ice cream sound?"
I look up at him. His arms still around me, I ask, "I love ice cream."
He smiles.
"Correction, you love food."
I smile sheepishly.
"True."
For a few minutes, we just stand there in that position with our eyes glued to one another. I want to say something, but I don't even know what. Something inside of me feels empty now and it didn't before.
I don't know what changed, but something did and I don't like it.
"We should go before they kick us out," I suggest.
"True," he says as he lets go.
I drop my head and hide my sadness.
"Gonna miss you babies," I wave at the puppies and pout as we walk out. I wipe fake tears causing King to laugh even more.
What can I say?
I'm dramatic as fuck.
☕︎☕︎☕︎
We got ice cream and talked a bit more before it was time for King to drop me back home. I told King it wouldn't matter if we got a little late, but he was adamant about not being late and that he needed to make a good impression on my brothers if he wanted to stick around for a while.
I'll give props to him for being that aware because even Sebastian didn't care that much. I guess it just shows how different the two are in some aspects.
King walks me to my door and we stop right in front of it.
"I had a lot of fun today," I start.
"So does that mean I delivered?" he asks curiously.
I let out a small laugh.
"Yes, yes that does."
"Told you I would," he smirks.
"Okay, I get it I'm sorry. How dare I underestimate King Baxston?"
We both laugh.
"Finally, you're home," the door opens and Roman groans.
"I really can't tell if you're happy to see me or not," I admit.
"Let's just say it's a mixture of both," Ro gives me a half-ass smile.
"King," King says introducing himself.
"Roman, her twin," Ro clarifies.
"Yes, I heard about you," King shares.
"I'd hope so. We were in the same womb at the same time, it'd be weird if she didn't mention me," that causes us all to laugh.
"That's fair," King smiles. "But I should get going now. I had fun today and I'm glad you gave me a chance."
"Glad you gave me a chance too, thank you," I smile.
"Anything for you, Miss Price," King says and we hug each other.
"Message me when you're home," I instruct.
"Will do," he replies before leaving. I go inside and Roman locks the door behind me.
"How was it?" he questions.
"It was good. I had a lot of fun and he was really sweet actually."
"Mm, that's good then."
"Yeah."
I look around for anyone else, but can't spot a single soul.
"Aaron's hungover so he's been in bed ever since he got home, something came up at the office so Gray is still there, Landon is playing video games and Jaxson is at Raven's," Roman shares.
"Oh."
"Yeah. Did you see Sebastian posted a picture of you two and made it official publicly?"
"Yeah, I saw."
"Oh, but you didn't like it," he says finding it a little odd.
"I probably just forgot to like it, but he never asked me before he posted the picture. You know he hasn't officially asked me to be his girlfriend?"
"He was probably just trying to be sweet I guess and do people even do that anymore? Reese, maybe you just have too many expectations. You already call him your boyfriend so just let it slide," he suggests.
"Whatever. I'm just gonna shower and go to bed then."
"Okay, good night."
"Good night," I reply before heading up. I quickly grab a change of clothes and climb into the shower where I also brush my teeth.
Once I'm done, I wear an extra-large shirt and underwear only. I blow dry my hair and put on some moisturizer before I get into bed.
When I open my phone, I see a message from King saying he made it home safe and thanking me again for today.
I reply saying good and that it was all my pleasure.
Then I quickly reply to Sebastian who I hadn't replied to all day. I liked the picture on Instagram first and commented a red heart and then I privately message Sebastian to tell him how much I appreciated his gesture. We continue to talk about our day until I finally pass out.
A/N:
Hehe. I wrote all day today, I'm so happy!
Hopefully, you guys liked the chapter and it was pretty long and one too!!
Also, Happy Diwali to those of you who celebrate it!