Chapter 13
KIARA IS CLOSER TO SATAN
ETHAN
I stared at the wavy strands of Kiara’s hair, twirling my finger around the soft brown hair. My head was on her lap and we were sitting on the couch alone while everyone watched the movie Warrior. It was basically a white wall with a projector and mattresses, blankets, and pillows on the floor.
“Man, I want to be like Tom Hardy,” Kiara whispered halfway through the movie. I nodded aimlessly. I was busy playing with the ends of her hair and her soft, nimble fingers.
I asked, “Why? Do you want to have muscles like him?”
I ran my hand on the golden ring she was wearing on her right ring finger. She adored that ring to death, and I knew she felt naked if she didn’t wear it. I wanted to kiss her finger, so I did.
She chuckled softly and looked down at me. “No, silly. I want to fight like him. Those punches and kicks. Bam, bam!” She pretended to punch the imaginary fighter across her, making me grin at how adorable she was.
She was wearing my T-shirt, which she had stolen from my closet, and baggy sweatpants. Her face was clear and glowing, her hair tumbling down in waves, and she looked so fucking gorgeous that I wanted to kiss her.
“Mhmm, that’s great,” I said, but it sounded muffled because I turned to snuggle with her stomach. It was so small. But there was a cute, little muffin top because of the pizzas we had for dinner.
I pecked it. Food baby.
I hummed in appreciation when her fingers ran through my hair, massaging my scalp in small circles. Her other hand rested on my cheek and neck, her thumb brushing on my skin making me smile.
The room was dark with the movie as the only source of light. I was exhausted from all the swimming and wanted to sleep on her lap with her hand in my hair.
Soon, I became more comfortable snuggling my face in her stomach with a stupid grin on my face. If we were alone, I would have lifted the hem of the T-shirt and slept cozily, pressing my face against her stomach. The heady scent of her coconut and black vanilla was affecting me.
“Hey, come on,” I heard her whisper gently, her fingers stroking my cheek. “Don’t sleep here. I’ll take you to bed.”
I peeked at her and kissed her hand. “Can you even lift me? I am double your size.”
Yes, I did get a little stupid when I was drunk or exhausted.
“I know that, sweet,” she said. “You know what I am thinking?”
“What?” I asked, entwining our hands and squeezing her hand. Kiara squeezed back.
Are we laying squeezy now? Then there were a couple of things I wanted to squeeze.
Bad Ethan. Hold your position, Eiffel. Don’t you dare move!
“I think you can see my nostrils from there,” she answered.
I slowly blinked and nodded. “Mhmm, I want to play squeezy too.”
Please, shut up, Ethan.
“What?” She chuckled. “You need sleep. Come on, upsy-daisy!”
Before I could lean up from her soft, warm thighs, we heard a bunch of shutters of camera.
I turned to see Katherine, Ryan, Volt, Rio, and Laura holding out their phones in the air toward us and capturing our pictures.
“What?” I asked sleepily. “What are you guys doing?” I leaned up on my elbows and sat on the couch, looking at my friends.
"Just posted on Instagram. #S'cute #BestFriendGoalsz #AdorablelikeKittenandPuppiesyaozie #SleepingGoals #TwoHormonalTeenagersFoundCuddlingInHeat #Goals2k20,” Rio muttered, typing furiously on his phone, and so did the others, speaking rubbish.
My mind woke up a little. "What? Bitch in the heat?” I snickered, hiding my grin in the fist of my hand. “That sounds like a bad porn title.”
Hehe.
Volt shot me a look. "You need to hibernate, Ethan. Don't speak."
"Noted," I muttered.
Everyone was either talking about us, pizza, or scolding Samuel for hoarding all the blankets under his butt. Surprisingly, Carter was the only one who was watching the film.
After a few moments, Kiara came up to me and held my hand, trying to make me stand, but the physics didn't add up. So, I stood up on my own, squeezing her hand.
She took me to the door saying, "Let's go to sleep."
Ryan asked Kiara, “If you want you can share a room with Katherine. I am sure Ethan won’t mind.”
Kiara wrapped her arms around my waist, her head coming up to my chest as she replied, “It’s all right, Ryan. Ethan’s my cuddle buddy.”
Aw, that's cute. I wanted a certificate from Kiara that said ‘Ethan Kane is the only Cuddle Buddy I have and he is the sweetest, cutest breast holder.’
Carter smirked, looking over his shoulder for the first time. “Well, I volunteer to be your cuddle buddy.”
I wrapped my arm around her waist and glared at him. “No volunteers allowed. Good night,” I said with pursed lips and took her away from the room filled with prying eyes. I could hear them snicker when we left.
* * *
"I hate math."
I nodded. "I know."
"No, you don't understand. If it was a man, I would've murdered him by now," Kiara snapped, slamming her notes shut.
It was Sunday afternoon and we were in her messy room, completing our homework and going through our notes. Her room was like a mirror to mine and the walls were painted in white and beige colors.
Behind the door, there was a stick guy and a girl, holding their hands colored in crayons. We drew it when we were young, but her hair was colored in red instead of brown because she thought that red would look cool at that time. I still think she would rock it.
Her desk was covered in a bunch of journals, diary, stacks of paper, and Post-its all over the wall.
Even her dresser and mirror were half-covered with Post-its.
There were fairy lights on the wall behind me while I solved the quadratic equations.
Then there was a big window with a window seat and curtains, which was always open.
Only her small black piano wasn’t covered in a mess of paper and Post-its.
“You aren't capable of killing—”
She didn't even let me finish. Because she was a nice person, she wouldn't go as far as murder. I think.
She gave me a pointed look, which meant are-you-challenging-me. "I would. If I have to."
I gulped, looking down at the scribbled numbers. Man, short girls are violent. "Don't you think you are a bit, you know, violent?" I tried testing the waters.
Kiara grinned, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I know, right! I think it's maybe because I am short and probably closer to Satan. Get it?"
I blinked and shook my head, hiding my amused smile. "Yes, I get it. Closer to Hell and Satan.”
She just chuckled at me, but her grin vanished when she looked down at the math notes and growled. No, she fucking growled.
I said, "You have to complete your homework."
"After lunch?"
"There's two hours for lunch, Kia. Homework. Now."
Kiara scowled. "I don't want to do math, Ethan. It'll make my inner serial killer lash out.”
Fuck it.
"If you complete your homework, I will make out with you. Shirtless.” I bargained with my best friend.
She looked me dead in the eyes. "Say no more." And opened her books.
I sat there surprised and proud of myself that I’d not only get us to complete our homework, I’d also get to kiss her. Two birds. One Stone. Fucking genius, Ethan.
"Wow, Kiara Sharma is doing math! The horror."
I looked up from my notes to see Karan enter his sister's room without knocking and throwing a paper ball at her.
We must have been engrossed in our work that we didn't notice the time. It showed half past noon in her digital alarm clock on her nightstand.
He nodded at me with a smile and I nodded back.
"Su kam che tane?" she asked in her native Gujarati language, throwing her pen at him, which he dodged so professionally that someone would think he was born to dodge that. But in reality, Sharma siblings loved to throw things at each other.
After staying at her home for half of my life, I knew bits of Gujarati and Hindi. Personally, I loved it when her voice turned a bit high-pitched and sounded very cute when she spoke in her native language.
"Ma said lunch will be ready in a few minutes. I am going out with Rachel, so it's just you two, Mom and Dad, kay? Bye, handsome!" he said, walking out of the room.
No, he wasn't calling me handsome, he was saying that to his sister.
"Bye, beautiful!" she called out and faced me. Her dark eyes fell on my lips and then back up to my face. She smiled. “Our kiss remains.”
I smiled. "Yes, ma'am."
It felt like I had gained five pounds as soon as I inhaled the delicious scent of Indian food, entering the kitchen. The lunch was heavenly but a bit spicy. I didn't know how they could eat such spicy food. It was Chola puri with some Punjabi Indian pickles and onions.
Her father, Mr. Vijay Sharma, asked us about our studies and made dad jokes.
His hair was brown peppered with gray and he had warm eyes like his wife and the dimpled smile like his daughter.
He didn’t have a beard, but he did keep a mustache.
Kiara once told me how she cried when her father got rid of it.
She was a baby back then and didn't even look at her father until the mustache grew back.
"No, I swear, I am full. I ate way too much, thank you. My stomach will explode if I eat another bite," I told Mrs. Damini when she insisted to serve more Chola and puri. They always made me eat more than my normal consumption of food.
Kiara snorted at me and shook her head, taking another bite. She was sitting across from me with her mother and she was still eating.
Where does all that food go? And she still has a perfect body. Damn.
"Daddy, can you pass me the salt?" Kiara asked.
Unconsciously, my hand lifted to the small salt shaker to give it to Kiara and so did her father's.
Fucking. Shit.
Her father and mother paused, looking at me with a poker face while Kiara's jaw dropped open. I breathed heavily because air became thick with tension. I could feel the blood pounding in my ears.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck.