She nods. “Vaguely.”
"Well, you told me you sometimes miss sneaking out. Living a carefree life.”
Her mouth drops as she looks at me. It’s almost like she didn’t realize she came out and said how she felt.
“I was drunk, Kai.”
“Drunk people typically tell the truth.”
“So, what? You’re here for us to sneak out?” she asks, using air quotes.
I nod.
She chuckles. “Seriously, Kai?”
“What?”
“We snuck out because we liked each other and could hardly see each other.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Hey, you’re the one who said you missed it. I was just trying to be nice and give you what youmissed. And…” I stop myself. I need to tell her I want to talk to her and explain how I feel. How I’ve always felt. I shake my head. Why is it so hard for me to tell her my feelings?
“And what?”
I let out a breath. It’s now or never. “There is something I really want to talk to you about.”
“Why can’t we talk about it here?”
I clench my jaw, knowing this wouldn’t be easy. “Will you just let me take you somewhere?”
“Is everything okay?”
Of course she thinks something’s wrong. Well, thereissomething wrong, but I know it’s not what she’s thinking. She’s not used to me being like this—except for when I used to have too much to drink, and I haven’t been drunk in years.
“Yes.” I start the engine and wait to see if she jumps out or not. She grabs the seatbelt and pulls it around her. Once I hear the click, I drive off toour spot.
“Were you sleeping?” I ask, because she’s in her nightgown and an ivory robe. Good thing it’s the middle of the summer. She obviously doesn’t care how I see her, or I don’t think she would have come out like this. Her hair is in a frizzy messy bun, she has no makeup on, and she’s in slippers. No matter how she looks or what she wears, she’s always beautiful to me. The fact that she’s so comfortable around me, like we share something deeper than appearances, makes her even more beautiful.
“No. I was watching a movie.” She looks over at me. “How did you know I was alone?”
“Kevin.”
“Oh, right. And I’m assuming Kevin is with Amari?”
I nod.
There are two spots I want to take her, but the first spot is where we went the first time we snuck out. It’s a special spot that deepened our connection on an emotional level. The second spotwas more on a physical level. These spots became more than a place we'd hangout at. These places became part of our story. It’s what deepened our connection.
I turn down the street to the park, and B says, “Why are we going here?” I knew she would know right away where we were going from the street I turned down.
“This is where it all began.” This place holds something special more than she will let on. I remember finding her here when some douchebag broke her heart. I was dropping Amari off after spending the weekend with her. I still remember the look on Brooke’s face when she opened the door and realized Blakely wasn’t with us.
“Where’s Blakely?” Brooke asks, looking over my shoulder.
“I don’t know. She’s not home?”
“No. Something happened, and she stormed off. She left her phone here, so I can’t get ahold of her.”
"What happened?”
