Page 32

Chapter thirty

Kai

I hate this.

It’s been four days since that damn dinner at Rhett and Evie’s place. That fucking dinner with that fucking conversation about warm-up songs.

That means it’s been four days since I saw her. All we’ve exchanged are a few innocuous text messages.

I miss her. I miss talking to her, seeing her, holding her, kissing her, all of it.

This sucks. And worst of all, it feels like history is repeating itself.

I don’t wanna eat, or sleep, and during our game tonight I pitched like a goddamn rookie.

When Coach pulled me off the field, I claimed my shoulder was sore.

That earned me a session with the trainers and instructions to take a week off the mound.

Except it’s not my shoulder that hurts. It’s something deeper in my chest that’s alternating between freaking out and trying to dig a deeper hole in the land of denial.

When I walk into my dark apartment after tonight’s game, I don’t even bother turning on a light. There’s enough coming in through the window for me to make my way over to the couch and sink down.

I stare down at my phone and contemplate continuing to just ignore it like I have all evening. But apparently, I’m a sucker for punishment. I pick it up and power it on, only for the first thing that pops up to be a text message from her.

IZ: I’m at your door. Please let me in?

“What the hell?” I mutter as I jump up and move quickly to unlock the door. Sure enough, there she is. Backlit by the lights of the hallway, her hair is shining like a halo. She’s fidgeting with her purse strap, her lower lip trapped between her teeth.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know if I should be here, but I had to come. I know we left things badly the other night. But I care about you. And tonight…I was worried about you.” She looks down at the floor, then back up at me. “You didn’t look like yourself out there tonight.”

I let out a harsh laugh. “You mean I played like shit.”

I force myself to meet her gaze head-on. And I don’t bother to hide any of my emotions. Every piece of frustration, of pain, of confusion, I let it all show.

Except the sorrow etched over her beautiful face makes the knot in my stomach grow even bigger. Is this when she pushes me away again? Leaving me to fight to get over her again and go back to being alone?

Fuck, maybe this time I’ll push her away. Save myself the inevitable heartache in the end. Except I can’t do that. No matter how torn up inside I am, I can’t bring myself to hurt the woman standing in front of me.

“Kai, please, I hate this. I hate things being so weird between us.” She takes a step toward me, then stops, bringing her hands up to cover her face. “I don’t even know how it went so wrong. One minute, we’re having fun with your sister and Rhett, and the next…” She trails off, dropping her hands.

“The next, my warm-up song throws a wall up between us.”

She nods. “Exactly. It sounds so stupid when you say it. How can a song make things so awkward and tense? I’m sorry for how I handled it that night. I don’t know why it hit me so hard. Of all things.” She lets out a pained laugh. “A song. A freaking song. That’s what sent me spiraling.”

“It’s a good song,” I remark, earning a small smile. But her eyes still shine with unshed tears.

“I don’t know how to move forward, knowing how badly I hurt you,” she whispers, staring down at the floor again. “Is this always going to be between us? Me leaving, breaking us apart. Will we ever be able to leave that in the past?”

“I want to,” I answer honestly. “You’re not the only one at fault, Iz.

Back then, I was so focused on baseball, on my dreams and goals, and I always just assumed you’d be by my side.

But that wasn’t fair of me. I knew you felt unsettled, but I guess I was a selfish fucker who figured you’d be fine as long as we were together.

You had to go to Italy. I get that now, and I got that then, too.

Yeah, your decision to stay there hurt like a bitch.

I was fucked-up for a bit. But you know, this crazy thing happens as we get older.

We mature.” I give her a wry grin, happy when she lifts her chin to look at me again.

“And I did, eventually, realize you had to do what you did. It all worked out in the end, anyway. You got your family and a career you love, and I made it here.” I spread my arms wide.

“Can we move past what happened? Yeah. We can. But it means both of us forgiving not only each other, but also ourselves.”

Her head is nodding, and those tears are starting to spill over. I can’t stand it any longer. I close the distance between us and pull her into my chest. “As for the other night, I’m sorry, too, Iz. I talk a big game about forgiveness and moving on, but I sure did dump on you that night.”

She laughs against my shirt, then sniffs before lifting her head. “Don’t apologize, I’m glad you told me. I think we need to get it all out in the open. Everything that we felt back then. If we’re going to be friends, we need to have a clean slate.”

“Friends.” Fuck, I hate that word. It doesn’t even begin to come close to describing how I feel. Not anymore. But I keep that shit to myself as I lean down and kiss her forehead softly. “We’re good, Iz. I promise.”

I feel her body sag into mine. “You’re one of my best friends, Kai Yamaki. And I just got you back. I don’t want to lose you again, and I don’t want to spend the time I have left in Vancouver fighting.”

I move my hands to lift her chin up so she’s looking at me, then I lean down and kiss her lips. Softly at first, then pressing deeper. I don’t want to fight with her, either. Not when there are much more enjoyable ways to spend time together.

Still kissing her, I crouch down just enough to wrap my arms under her ass and lift her into my arms. She immediately wraps her legs around my waist and I carry her through to my bedroom.

I set her down at the foot of my bed, and without letting my gaze leave hers, I start to undress her.

Slowly, methodically peeling every piece of clothing from her until she’s bare before me, her perfect tits rising and falling with each breath.

“My turn,” she whispers, and I let my arms fall to my sides as she does the same to me. But I only let her be in charge for so long.

I drop down to my knees and drag my hands up her legs, still staring into her eyes even though her pink pussy is calling to me. “Sit.”

She sucks in a breath at my one-word command but does as I ask, leaning back on her hands and spreading her legs.

“Good girl.” I smirk, moving in between them, kissing the inside of each knee before lifting them to drape over my shoulders. “I could spend every waking minute between your legs, eating your pussy, and consider my life fulfilled.”

“Then why haven’t you started yet?” she snarks back, and I lightly slap her clit, raising my eyebrow.

“Patience. I was complimenting you and savouring the experience.”

“Less complimenting, more licking, please.”

I let out a low chuckle. “Well. What the lady wants, the lady receives.” I move in and press my tongue flat against her slit, rumbling a groan at her taste.

“Fucking delicious.” I hear the soft thud of her body falling back against the mattress, and then fingers are tangling in my hair, holding me in place.

As if I’d move. Ha.

For I don’t even know how long, I lose myself in pushing her to the edge, then slowing down, backing off, and making her cry out in frustration.

Then I do it all over again. And again. Until her body is coated in a thin sheen of sweat and she’s panting, unable to formulate words beyond my name and a begging “please.”

I’ve lost count of how many times she’s cried out that she’s close. But I stand only when my dick hurts so badly from needing to get inside of her that I might pass out. Her eyes blink open just in time to see me swipe my thumb around my mouth before I suck off every last drop of her.

“You’re…what? I haven’t come yet,” she says in a petulant voice. I smirk as she pushes herself up on her elbows.

“I know.”

That’s all I say as I roll a condom down my dick and then grab her hips, lifting her lower body off the bed, and slam inside of her tight, wet heat.

Almost instantly, she screams through her first orgasm.

I grind my pelvis into her, trying to drag it out, but the way she’s clenching around me makes it almost impossible.

Somehow, I find the strength to pull out, but only for the barest of seconds before I’m plunging back in.

Pumping my hips, working her up, up, up, and she careens off the edge into a second climax.

“Oh my God,” she sobs. “Oh my God. Kai. Oh!” Her voice rises at the end when I maneuver my hand between us and rub circles on her sensitized clit. Her head thrashes side to side, and the only sound I can make is a grunting noise as my own release barrels through my body.

“Fuck, Isabelle.” I manage to gasp out as my hips stutter and stall, my orgasm shooting into her. I groan through the last of it before my arms give out and I collapse, just barely managing to shift to the side so I’m not pressing my entire weight onto her.

“I think I’m dead,” she eventually says in a dreamy voice. “You killed me and this is heaven, right?”

My words are muffled, given my face down position. “Nope. If it was heaven, I wouldn’t need a few minutes to recover before doing that again.”

Isabelle snorts, and her laughter dislodges me enough that I slip out and roll fully onto my side, gathering her into my arms.

“I’m gonna need more than a few minutes, hotshot.”

“Fine. Ten.”

“How about twenty, and if you’re good, I’ll blow you in the shower.”

I lift my head. “Fifteen and you’ve got a deal.”