“Wait! She’s the new recruit you called me up here for?” Theo asks.
“Yes.”
“Was. I was the recruit.”
“So, you’re just going to give up because of a man?” Jade asks.
When I meet her eyes, I see challenge in them. She wants me to say no, to stay. I just don’t know how.
“Reina’s right, Kal. I won’t bother you. I’d like to talk to you, and damn if I don’t want to see you, but I won’t interfere with what you’ll be doing. I’m one of the heads of security, so you’ll see me, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
I want to be here, so I nod, even though I’m freaking out inside. “Okay. I’ll stay.”
Eighteen months ago
Kali
I’m back at C&C to face the music. Or, more accurately, my test scores. And maybe Theo, who I haven’t seen since Jade and Nate’s wedding reception. When we…yeah, this could be awkward.
“Hey Alex, are they ready for me?” I ask her, when I walk into the lobby.
I’ve become much more comfortable with everyone as I’ve seen them socially a few times now. Not only at Isa, and Jade’s weddings, but also when I got an award from the university, and at a charity concert where Stella’s husband’s band was performing.
“Yep. You can go on back.”
I walk down the hall, looking down at my clothes. I didn’t even try to dress up today, because I know it doesn’t matter. I have no doubt I failed the fashion part of the quizzes, so I wanted to be comfortable today. A Wonder Woman t-shirt, and jeans, it is. Along with my beloved Chucks.
“Hi everyone,” I say, when I enter the room, and see Stella there along with Reina and Jade.
“Hi Kali, please have a seat,” Reina tells me.
I sit down, and wait for the bad news. It doesn’t take long.
“You didn’t pass fashion, but you kicked ass at hand to hand combat,” Jade tells me, holding out her fist for a bump.
I bump it, and force a smile onto my face. “Not really a surprise.”
“No, but it’s also not the end of the world. You’ll just be doing extra work with Stella, while everyone else is in their Science lessons,” Reina says.
“That won’t single me out?”
I’m used to being different, but usually it’s for being smart, not for being bad at something.
“Everyone has something to work on, so you’ll all be in and out of lessons and getting extra help.”
“You look adorable today,” Stella says, looking me over. “Very nerdtastic.”
“Just being me,” I say sarcastically. I can’t help it, because I don’t want to completely change myself, even though I like these women.
“Which is exactly who we want you to be, Kali. We need you to learn all these things, but you should always be true to yourself. We picked you for who you are,” Reina reminds me.
“I needed to hear that.”
“I know.”
“Enough of the warm and the fuzzies. Let’s go get you your permanent clearances, and move you into our apartments,” Jade says, rubbing her hands together like an evil genius. I might be scared if she wasn’t on my side.
Stella and I make plans to meet later this week, and I thank Reina before heading back down the hall. Jade talks non-stop about badges, the cafeteria, injections, home décor, fighting, and more things even my above-average mind won’t remember.
“Slow down, Angel. Her head looks like it’s about to spin,” her husband, Nate, says walking up to us in the aforementioned cafeteria. Unfortunately for me, he’s not alone.
“Hi Kal,” Theo tells me.
“Hi.”
“If you’re getting the grand tour, you must be starting soon.”
“Um, yeah. I am.”
“You left before I could get your new number,” he says, being kind about how I ran out of his bedroom while he was sleeping.
“Oh. Well, you’ll have it on file now. So, if you need to reach me, you can.”
“I’d rather you give it to me.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I know Jade and Nate are watching us, even though she pulled him a few feet away, so we’d have some privacy. I still feel exposed, like everyone can see we’ve had sex, and I want it again. I don’t want to want it, but so help me God, I do. Just seeing him before me makes me want to tear off his clothes, and lick every inch of his sexy muscles.
He leans over to brush his lips over my ear, causing me to shiver. “You’re the best idea I could ever think of. Give me your number, Kal. Please.”
“You’re begging again,” I tell him, because he begged me years ago for the same thing.
“No shame in it.”
God, he’s adorable, too. He’s all he was back when he was mine, and more. It’s like I’m the bumbling girl who had a crush on him so long ago. Who am I kidding? I still have a crush on him, and probably always will. I can’t trust him, though. No matter how much I want to.
Prologue
Kalila
I don’t know why Reina and Jade are calling me to the conference room, because I know I’ve been doing okay with my lessons. Except for fashion, but that’s no surprise to anyone. I practically lived in the lab before I was recruited, and I’m more about function that fashion. Old habits die hard, but I’m trying. Trying hard, and wishing I was with my friends, celebrating Lennon’s team and their win.
When I walk in, I have to stop short, and catch my breath, as a blast from my past hits me. Not as hard as seeing Theo when I first came here did, but it’s almost as bad because he’s sitting with her. His arm is around her, and it’s just like I’m transported back to the day I saw them together. The day life as I knew it ended.
“What is that bitch doing here?” she shrieks, and I come hurtling back to the present.
“Hello, Meg.”
“Kali’s going to help,” Theo assures her.
“I don’t want her help! Get her out of here! I thought you were done with her cheating ass after you left her at the altar.”
“I do not know what’s going on here, but one more insult directed at Kalila comes out of your friend’s mouth, Theo, and you’ll be visiting her in the hospital,” Jade tells him.
“And I’ll sanction it,” Reina adds.
“Typical little whore, making everyone think you’re so sweet,” Meg says, not willing to back down.
“Stop, Meg. You need them to help you.”
“Typical is right,” I say, finally speaking up, and directing my anger at Theo. “You’re not telling her to stop because you’re defending me, but because you don’t want her to have to deal with the consequences from her actions.”
“She’s already in trouble, Kal. She needs help. Please tell them to help her.”
“Help her,” I tell them, and walk out of the room.
I hear the footsteps behind me in the hall, but I know they aren’t the ones I wish they were. “Kali, are you okay?” Jade asks, pulling me to a stop.
“No.”
“We’re on your side. You know that, right?”
“Yes, and I appreciate it.”
“He should be, too.”
“Yeah, but he never will be when it comes to her. She’s his best friend, and I’m just the girl he always pretends to love.”
Theo
This is a mess. I knew it would be, but I can’t let my best friend fend for herself when she’s in danger. I just wish they could get along. I love both women, and all I’ve wanted is for them to get along.
“Is Kali okay?” I ask, when Jade comes back in the room.
“If you wanted to know, you should’ve gone after her.”
“I need him more,” Meg says before I can answer.
“That remains to be seen.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“We have no evidence of any threats yet,” Reina tells her.
“This is because of her.”
“No, Meg, this is because we don’t
just blindly rush into anything without investigating first. Kali is my priority in this situation, but I will help you if we find a valid threat.”
“Thanks, Rei,” I tell her before Meg can say anything else.
She nods before turning back to my friend. “We’ll get you settled into one of the suites here, and go from there.”
“I want to go home with Theo.”
“I think it’s best if you stay here.”
“I agree,” I say, because now that I know she’s safe, I need to take care of Kali.
“What?”
“You’ll be safe and comfortable here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You’re not staying to help me settle in?”
“I need to go home.”
“To her.”
“Yes,” I say, kissing her on the head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kali
I know he’s going to come to me. I don’t know how long it will take, but he’s going to come here, and try to convince me he loves me. Or maybe he won’t. He left me all those years ago, without a second thought. Why do I believe he’ll change this time? Why do I believe anything anymore?
“Kal,” he says, rushing in my door.
“Theo,” I respond, fighting to keep my voice steady.
“She needs help.”
“Okay.”
“I know she’s difficult, but she’s just protecting me.”
“We’re not going to agree on this, and you’ve already made your choice.”
“Choice? I didn’t choose between the two of you.”
“Okay.”
“Kal, she asked me to choose back then, and I told her no. She was okay with it, so why can’t you be too?”
“She was okay with it, because it meant she won.”
“What?”
“If you can’t choose the woman you claim you love enough to marry over everyone else, it’s pretty telling.”
“I love you. You know I love you.”
“No. I want you to love me. I crave your love. I’ll even admit I need your love. But I don’t know it.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“Just promise me something.”
“I’ll try.”
And there we have it. He can’t even commit to a promise.
“Don’t bring her here.”
“Reina put her in a suite at C&C.”
“I know. But you want her here, and I’m asking you not to push the issue, or show up with her here.”
“She’s going to go crazy being cooped up there.”
“Get out, Theo.”
“Wait, what?”
“Get. Out.”
“You’re really kicking me out because I’m trying to reason with you.”
“I’m asking you to leave because you don’t understand how upset I am right now, and I don’t think you ever will. There is nothing else for us to discuss. Ever.”
His eyes go wide, but he doesn’t move. “Don’t say that.”
“I just did.”
“I won’t let you walk away from me again.”
“There was never a first time. Now, please just leave before I have to involve our friends.”
“This isn’t over.”
“It is.”
He looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. He turns, and leaves like I asked him to. I want to call him back, but I have enough respect for myself not to. I can’t keep going through this, and come out intact.
Chapter 1
Kali
It’s been a week since I told Theo to leave, and we’ve had almost no contact since then. We see each other in passing, or when everyone’s gathered together, but we don’t even greet each other anymore. It’s like we were never anything to each other, and I guess we really weren’t.
“This is an intervention,” Rose says when I walk into one of the lounges at our apartments, and find everyone waiting for me.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine isn’t good enough,” Jade tells me.
No, it’s not. “You all want the sad story of Kali and Theo? Fine, I’ll give it to you.”
“Finally,” Jenysis says, and I can’t help but smile.
“I guess I’ll start at the beginning. When I was in high school, I was in an abusive relationship. It began as only emotional abuse, and I put up with it because he was the star of the school soccer team, and I was the school nerd. It’s shallow, but I wanted to be liked. Until, he got physical. I left him right away, but it scared me that I couldn’t protect myself.
“I wanted to learn to fight, but I didn’t want anyone in my family’s ‘circle’ to know. Searching the city, I found lessons at a center in what would be considered a bad part of town. I’ll admit to being a little scared when I drove up, and I was glad our housekeeper let me borrow her car.”
“You met Theo at self-defense class?” Rhieve asks.
“Yes. He was the instructor. It was a favor to the woman who ran the center while he was on leave for a couple of weeks. Needless to say, the moment I saw him, I fell for him. It was the classic love at first sight. He was totally professional with me, not only because he was my teacher, but also because he was five years older than me.”
“But he liked you, right?” Matisse asks.
“He did. He told me he never planned to act on his feelings, but he happened to be at a restaurant one night where all the kids from school hung out. I’d only gone because it was a senior class night out, and my parents thought it would be good for me. It wasn’t.
“My ex was there, and he was saying things about me. Horrible, mean things were coming out of his mouth, and everyone was laughing at me. Theo heard it, walked over, pulled me into a kiss, and let it be known he’d kill anyone who messed with me again.”
“I’m swooning,” Stella tells me.
“I did, too. Literally. He held me up, and walked me over to where he’d been sitting. We had a great night of talking, laughing, holding hands, and kissing some more. For the rest of his two weeks home, we saw each other every day and night. When he went back, we wrote and Skyped. He ended up getting stationed close by, and we picked right back up where we’d left off. He was my first lover, and I loved him so much. He told me he loved me, too.”
“You mentioned a veil once,” Camari says.
“Yes. Four years after we started dating, he got into the SEALS and while we were all celebrating at a party my parents threw for him, he asked me to marry him. When I say all, I mean Meg and her brother were there, too. She wasn’t happy, and actually stormed out that night. I’m not going to tell you Theo’s background, because that’s his story to tell, but they were really close growing up. He didn’t go after her that night, and it gave me hope we’d get past her and her hate of me.
“I graduated college that year, and started planning our wedding. I put off graduate school, because I knew I could start once we were married. Things were almost perfect with us, because my parents loved him, and we loved each other. The only constant struggle was Meg. She was set to be his best man, and she got him a stripper for his party. He called me immediately, and left, but it was just one of many times she tried to break us up. It never worked, but she tried.
“Our wedding day came, and I was so happy. It was going to be a small church wedding with just my family, and his friends, but it was perfect for us. And then I got the call. I was dressed, and ready when Theo called to tell me they needed him on a mission, and he had to leave right then. He couldn’t tell me everything, but he told me someone’s life was in danger. He left the choice to me, and I told him to go. We could get married when he came back.”
“But you didn’t,” Darcy says.
“No. I waited, and planned to go to his homecoming. When I got to the base, I wasn’t on the list. I tried to call him, but he didn’t answer. I waited all day, but he never called or answered my calls. When I finally went looking for him, I found him at Meg’s house. I…I saw them through the window, having sex.”<
br />
“The fuck?” Tegan says, getting to her feet like she’s going to go and look for him.
“I didn’t see him again until Reina called me in to offer me the job.”
“I’m glad you didn’t let it stop you,” Reina says.
“You knew all of this?” Audrey asks her.
“Yes, and no. Theo has a different spin to things, so I’ve tried to keep an open mind.”
“What did he say?” Sierra asks.
“That’s his story to tell.”
“Really, Rei?” Isa asks.
“Yes, really.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. He’d barely seen Meg the last couple of years, even though they email and talk on the phone. Now that she’s back, I doubt she’s going to leave, and he says he can’t choose between us.”
“That’s so fucked up,” Harlow says.
“Welcome to my life.”
Theo
“Asshole,” Nate says, coming into my office with Matt, Aiden, and Jake. They’re all glaring, but I have no clue why.
“Good morning to you, too.”
“Kali told her side of the story to the women last night, and as a result, I slept in the guest room at our place.”
“We all slept in our guest rooms,” Aiden adds.
“What did she say?”
“They won’t tell us everything, but the gist of what I got is you’re an asshole, and my friendship with you means I’m an asshole, too,” Jake says.
“You know what happened.”
Matt shakes his head. “We know what you’ve told us, but frankly, I don’t see it. I’ve gotten to know Kali, and I think there has to be more to it.”
Honestly, so do I. I never wanted to believe it, but there were pictures, and it hurt so much. “I’m sorry they’re pissed at you, but there’s nothing I can do.”
“Send Meg back home,” Matt tells me.
“She’s in danger.”
“They’ve found no evidence of that.”
“Maybe they’re not looking hard enough.”
“Reina would never put anyone in jeopardy. You know that, and if you even suggest it again, I will lay you out.”
Society Girls: Kalila Page 2
