by Allie Faye
Next thing I know, my alarm clock is blaring in my ear, and I can’t wait to see Kai again. I sing Wicked Game softly in the shower, remembering how it felt when he got off for me. The drops of water caress my body as they cascade down my form. I wish they were Kai’s fingers instead. I dress quickly and blow-dry my hair in record time.
I even smile and say a polite good morning to my mother and David in the kitchen. Then my mother has to ruin my mood. “Keep fooling yourself, Katie. You are smiling now, but I bet in a few more weeks you’ll be staying at the heartbreak hotel crying over that boy.”
“You know, that might be the case, but if so it is my choice. This is my life. I get to make mistakes, and I get to fall in love. I get to do it all but, on my terms, not yours or anyone else’s.” I start to say more but think better of it, remembering that I need her permission to go with the Cooper’s to the beach.
Kai knocks at the door. David looks at me as if he is thinking about getting up to answer it. “That’s for me, I’ll be home late. I babysit tonight.”
Picking up my bag, I open the door expecting to see Kai and his dimples, only to be met by Becks gawking at me with an awkward look on his face.
“What are you doing here, Beckett?” I close the door behind me and walk out to watch for Kai.
“I’m worried about you, Katie. I see you are slummin’ it with Kai and Raven.”
“You don’t know anything about them,” I snap at him.
“Apparently, neither do you,” he says, walking down the steps.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demand. What does he think he knows that I don’t?
“Just don’t come to me crying when the truth comes out. He is going to break your heart, Katie. I would have waited for you as long as it took, but after hearing about you and Aaron, man I was blind.” He shakes his head, shutting the gate behind him. Just as he rounds the corner, Kai pulls up.
Beck’s words rattle my bones, but I shake off his warning and get in the car.
“What’d he want?” Kai asks, sounding annoyed.
“Nothing important,” I tell him not wanting to argue.
He doesn’t say anything and pulls out quickly.
He’s quiet until we get to the school.
“I might not be able to drive you home tonight. I work until eleven. My mom or my dad will drive you though.”
“No problem, as long as I get home, right?”
“Yeah,” he answers coldly.
And here I thought today was going to be a good day. Kai is back to being weird, moody, and distant. He does hold my hand when we walk to his locker and he walks me to my first period, giving me a kiss on the forehead when the bell rings. That boy infuriates and confuses me.
When lunch rolls around, Kai seems to be in a better mood. He shows me those dimples I have been missing today. “What has you so happy?” I ask him, wondering what is responsible for his change in attitude. Was he upset this morning because of Becks, or was he mad because he can’t drive me home?
“Just in a good mood is all.” He shrugs, opening his water bottle.
I look over to Raven who is being oddly quiet, and then I see the huge hickey on her neck. “Someone had a good time,” I tease her.
She hurriedly covers the bruise with her hair. Kai smirks and he says, “Raven, we both know that you have a hickey on your neck from Jake. He told me two weeks ago about you guys. It has been fun though…watching you squirm, trying to hide it from me.”
“Jake said we should wait to tell you.” Her arms are crossed, and she pouts.
“Yeah, I told him to tell you that,” he says cockily.
“Why would you do that, you big jerk,” she screeches.
“Because I can.” He smirks, and my stomach turns.
There is clearly some animosity between Kai and Raven. I’m not sure I want to be caught in the middle of this game they are playing. Is this what Beckett meant? I don’t feel so hot. The two of them continue to bicker. I’m not sure they would even notice if I got up and left right now.
Having enough, I grab my tray, dump it, and tear out of the cafeteria. Tears sting at the corners of my eyes. Not even a week and the boy is already making me cry. Was my mom right too? I make it to Kai’s locker only to be turned around forcefully by a hand on my shoulder. Kai presses my back against the cool red metal. “What are you doing, Kat? Are you jealous?”
“I’m getting my books, I miss my locker. And no, I have nothing to be jealous of. We are what we are, right?” I arch my brow challenging him to tell me any different.
“Kat, I told you, you have the ability to break my heart. You aren’t getting your books and you are jealous.” His palms are flat against the lockers on either side of my face, caging me in. He bends his head down, resting his forehead on mine before kissing me roughly. “Want me to shout over the loud speaker that you are my girl? Would that make you stop this silly behavior?”
“I don’t know, Kai. I know there are things about you and Raven that you’re not telling me. I don’t know where things with us will go, if they go anywhere at all. I like you a lot, but I won’t be made a fool of either. If you want to play games with Raven, then by all means go play, but don’t expect me to watch.” I crouch and slip from under his arms.
Right now, I don’t care if he follows me or not. I take off down the hall, not sure where I am going. Instantly, Kai is grabbing my hand and pulling me into an empty classroom. He locks the door behind him. “I only want to play with you.” His mood has changed, and I can feel his desire piercing through my skin from that fire burning in his eyes.
He takes a step toward me, and I take a step back. “Do you still love Raven?” I ask him, unsure if I want to hear his truth.
“I told you Raven is complicated but no, I am not in love with her. I care about her, but not the way you think, and definitely not the way I care for you.” He steps closer, and I stumble backwards into the teacher’s chair.
Kai pushes down on my shoulder, making me take a seat. He goes down on his knees in front of me, resting his head in my lap, hugging me with his strong arms. “Katie, do you want me to leave you alone?” He sounds sad and vulnerable.
I rub my fingers on his heated skin, massaging his shoulders under his shirt. Dipping my head down, I press my mouth to his ear and whisper, “No.”
He lets out the breath he was holding. The bell rings but we don’t move, instead we stay in the empty classroom for a few minutes more. I glance at the whiteboard behind me, seeing we are in the Driver’s Education room. No one has that course this period. We have the room to ourselves.
Kai raises his head from my lap and pulls me down into the chair more by the backs of my knees. Raising my shirt, he places a soft kiss on my navel, his tongue sweeps across my belly ring.
“Didn’t know you had one of those,” he says with a raised brow, his dimples smiling at me wickedly.
I smile at him and laugh softly. His fingers trail upward, reaching the cups of my bra, and I don’t stop him when he pushes my bra up, exposing my breasts. I don’t care that we are at school and can be caught. Kai makes me not want to care. He makes me want things I probably shouldn’t.
“You are so beautiful, Kat,” he murmurs through kisses as his lips travel across my chest. He works his way to my mouth. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I guess I wanted to make you jealous. I was jealous that I saw Beckett leaving your house this morning.”
“You have nothing to be jealous of when it comes to Becks. He was only ever a friend.”
“That guy is in love with you, Kat.”
“But I’m in love with you, Kai,” the words fall from my tongue before I even think about what I am saying.
“Don’t say that, Katie. You have no idea what hearing that does to me.” He takes my hand and places it over his crotch.
“I do now,” I tease him, feeling relieved that he didn’t bail because of what I just said.
“Seriously, Kat, I have loved you since sixth gr
ade. I thought if I told you, that you would freak out and never talk to me again. I didn’t think you would understand how strong my feelings are for you. Raven has always known that I wanted you. I hope to tell you everything soon, but for now you have to trust me when I say I can’t tell you just yet.”
“I will try to understand if you promise to be honest with me. Don’t play games with me, Kai.”
“I promise, now kiss me because we have about five more minutes before we have to get out of here. Mr. Pike will be coming to get ready for his next class soon.”
~**~
We make it through the rest of the day without fighting anymore. After school, we pick Khloe-bug up from daycare and take her to the Dairy Bar for a junior cone. She begs Kai to take her to the park to play. It is warm enough for her to be out as long as she wears her jacket.
Her jacket is adorable. There is a picture of a raccoon’s tail on the back with the words here comes trouble and the hood has raccoon ears.
I unbuckle her from her seat and she wraps her arms around my neck, wanting me to carry her so I do. “Khloe loves Katie,” she squeals in my ear, getting her cone in my hair.
Kai takes her to swing while I go across the street to the Dairy Bar to use the bathroom to get the ice cream out of my hair.
When I come out of the bathroom, Penny and Aaron are waiting in line to order. I try to ignore them, but Penny has to open her mouth and call me a whore. I march straight over to the two of them and Penny looks scared of me. Good. She should be, because I am sick of her crap.
“You can say that all you want but that doesn’t make it true, Penny. Yes, I had sex with Aaron before he was ever your boyfriend. But that doesn’t give you the right to harass me for it. He was there too. He chose to have sex with me. Do you call him a whore too?” I tap my foot waiting for her to say something.
Tears well up in her eyes. She looks at Aaron as my words sink in that he is just as guilty as I am, even though it was before they were ever a couple. I should have told her a long time ago, but I can’t change the fact that I didn’t.
“Come on, Aaron, I’ve lost my appetite.” She grabs him by the collar of his shirt and storms off.
By the time I get back to Kai and Khloe, he has to rush to get us home, so he can get to work on time.
I walk Kai to the door while Khloe watches cartoons in the family room. “If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll call you tomorrow,” he says giving, me a quick kiss.
I still have questions and doubts where Raven is concerned, but I am trying not to let it get in the way of our being happy for now.
Khloe and I do girly stuff, painting each other’s nails and making bracelets. The bracelet she made for me says best on it, so I made her one that says friend. We sing and dance, acting goofy until dinnertime. I miss Kai, so I call in a pizza for Khloe and me and request that he delivers it.
Since Khloe loves to play kitchen so much, I rummage through the pantry and find what we will need to make homemade sugar cookies. Mrs. Jennings taught me how, and now I can teach Khloe.
Watching her try to crack an egg is so stinking cute. She says, “Like dis?” She is smiling, so proud of the job she is doing.
“Yeah, like that,” I tell her. We end up making a huge mess with the flour. We both have it in our hair.
Khloe is sitting at the counter, eagerly waiting for her baked goods. She is so excited for everyone to try one of her cookies. She did most of the work. I handled the cleanup and the oven. As I am getting the cookies from the oven, Kai comes in with our pizza.
“Kai, Khloe made cookies. All by myself!” She is shouting at him.
He sits the pizza box on the counter. “Wow, Khloe-bug, that is awesome. They smell so good. I can’t wait to eat them all.”
“No, Kai, you share cookies.” She gives him this big speech about sharing. So cute. He comes over and gives me a quick peck on the lips. Khloe screams, “No kiss Katie, Kai, you not frog today.”
He just laughs and takes a cookie on his way out.
Khloe and I stuff ourselves with pizza and cookies while we watch The Little Mermaid until her stomach settles so I can get her in the tub and ready for bed. By the end of the movie, she is asleep beside me on the couch.
Kirk comes in and offers to carry her upstairs for me. He returns shortly after finding me in the kitchen. I offer him the rest of the pizza from earlier and he gladly takes it with him to his room I assume. I remember what Kai said about staying in his room if Kirk was home, so I go up to his room to wait for his mom to come home.
I send Kai a text to tell him I am following his rules.
Me: your brother came home. I am in your room just so you know.
Kai: Are you on my bed?
Me: I am.
Kai: I wish I were there with you.
Me: I do too <3
Kai: <3
Chapter 15
Mrs. Cooper—Kelli—arrives home and offers to drive me home. She calls upstairs to Kirk and lets him know to listen for Khloe. I follow her to the garage and get in the passenger seat of her Escalade.
Before we leave, she tells me that she needs to talk to me. I thought she wanted to ask about the beach, but she wants to talk about Kai.
“Katie, I know that you and Kai are spending a lot of time together, and that your feelings for each other are growing. I don’t mind the two of you dating but please be careful with my son.”
“I am on birth control,” I inform her like an idiot. My cheeks turn crimson, and I want to run away and hide.
“Well, I am glad to hear that. But I meant to be careful with his heart. Kai has been through a lot for a young man his age, and I won’t see him hurt again is all. I am sure you know there is a history with him and Raven.”
“I know they dated but not much else.”
“Well, Kai can inform you when the time is right.” I nod, although on the inside I am becoming more frustrated by the second. What in the hell happened between Kai and Raven that no one will talk about?
We pull in at my house and she stops me before I get out. “I wanted to talk to you about coming to the beach with us for spring break. I am sure Kai has already told you about it. If you want to go, I’d like to come in and talk to your mom about it.”
Oh God. I want to go but I figured she would just call my mom, not want a face-to-face. “Sure,” I answer timidly and pray that my mom and David are decent.
I unlock the door with my key and it is even worse than I could have imagined. David is sitting on the couch in his underwear, drinking beer and smoking a joint. My mom comes from the kitchen and I can tell she is drunk. This is not going to end well. She is wearing one of her short wigs and her real hair is peeking out from under it. Her makeup is smeared, and she is wearing a thin white robe that I can see her dark nipples through plain as day.
“You need to put that out,” I shriek at David and my mother smacks me hard, stinging my cheek.
Can I just die now? I want to turn around and tell Kelli to forget it, but she has already come in behind me.
She erases the distasteful look from her face and smiles mildly. “Hello, I’m Kelli Cooper. Your daughter has been babysitting my youngest child and, well, I have a conference coming up the week of spring break, and I will be travelling out of town. I would prefer to bring Katie with me. All inclusive of course, and I will pay her for her time.” She holds her hand out to my mother trying to be polite.
“I know who you are,” my mother says rudely, ignoring her hand, picking her cigarettes up from the table and lighting one. She takes a few puffs and says, “Katie isn’t your charity case. She has obligations here she needs to tend to.” She looks to David and he grins.
“I tried doing this the civil way, but it seems that tact doesn’t suit you. I know who you are, Nancy, and I know what you do. Your activities don’t go unnoticed. I have looked into you and into Katie. Your daughter is smart. She deserves a chance at a bright future, and she isn’t going to get it in this environment. Y
our lifestyle isn’t suitable for a child.”
“Who do you think you are, coming in here and trying to dictate how I raise my daughter? Katie isn’t going anywhere. She survived this long under my care.” My mother tries to take a step forward and trips over the arm of the recliner.
“The only reason I have survived is because I have always taken care of myself,” I remind her.
“My husband used to be a judge in this town and he owns Cooper Energy, I always get my way. Katie will be going on this trip with me, and she will finish out her school year living in my home. I will not leave her here to be subjected to abuse. Katie, go get your things. You are going back home with me,” Kelli says tight lipped.
This might be my only chance to get out of here. I dash to my room to grab my clothes, my makeup, and my phone charger. I can hear Kelli telling my mother she wants my social security card and my birth certificate. Kai’s mom doesn’t play around.
I hear David say, “Just do what she says, Nancy, it isn’t like you care about the kid anyway.” I know my mother isn’t the greatest but there has to be a part of her that cares about me and wants me to be happy, doesn’t there?
“Whatever, when you rich people get tired of her, don’t expect to send her back here to me,” I hear my mom scoff as she stomps to her bedroom.
Looking over my room, there isn’t much here that I can’t live without.
Kelli comes to my door. “Katie, if you can’t get everything now I can send Kirk and Kent back for it tomorrow.”
I nod and grab what I have packed and leave the life I have always known behind me. When we get back in her vehicle, Kelli starts it up without a word. Her hands are trembling. I can tell she is upset. How will Kai feel about my coming to live with them? Or their dad or hell, even his brother?
“Katie, you have had a rough night. I am going to get you settled in the guest room for tonight. Tomorrow, we can figure out a plan and go over some rules. I know you and Kai are dating but that doesn’t mean the two of you won’t respect my rules. Okay?”
