18. KOA
18
KOA
Sydney nibbles on her bottom lip as she highlights sections of her text book. I’ve forgotten how cute she is when she studies. It’s been awhile since I’ve sat across the table from her with books spread out in front of us.
Somehow she convinced me to study and work on my assignments at the library instead of alone with her at my house like I wanted to. I will have to think of another way to get her over there.
Maybe after she’s caught up on her work she’ll be willing to do something else for the rest of the day. After the last chat we had in the forum, I know I need to tell her it's me she’s been talking to. I just need to do it the right way so she’ll understand why and not hate me.
I read over the paper I’ve been editing for the last half hour. It’s basically finished. I only have a few points I want to tighten up before I turn it in to my professor.
Sydney’s foot bumps against my calf under the table. My eyes pop up to meet hers. A light blush covers her cheeks and I want to see how many other ways I can make her blush.
“I need to get another book.” She stands and pushes in her chair. She weaves through the tables on the second floor of the library until she reaches the tall bookshelves in the very back of the room. She glances over her shoulder in my direction before disappearing between two bookshelves.
I lock both of our laptops and shut them down before finding Sydney. She is up to something. If she wants to play, I’m taking her home. This might be my chance to get her alone and confess everything.
“What are you doing back here, trouble?” I pull her towards me from behind with my hand on her throat and kiss her. She tilts her head and gives me access.
“I told you I needed a book.” Her hand clutches the spine of the book she’s holding while my hands roam over her hips and thighs.
I glance at the book in her hand and grin when I read the title. “When did you start studying law?”
She spins around and looks up at me through hooded eyes. “You never know when I might find myself in trouble and need a little legal help.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find it,” I tease her. “Let’s get out of here.” I take her hands in mine. She runs her thumb over the beads on the friendship bracelet I’m wearing on my wrist. I made a few during our craft session but the one that spells out ‘ trouble ’ is my favorite.
“And do what?”
“I don’t know. What would be your perfect day?” I ask. She drops her arms around my neck .
“Hmm…I have an idea but I’m not sure if you'll like it.”
“Baby, I told you, I don’t care what we do as long as we’re spending time together.” I pop a kiss on her lips.
“Alright. Give me thirty minutes and I’ll meet you back at your place. I need to pick up some essentials.”
“Can I get something?”
“How about some snacks?”
“I think I can handle that.”
“Are you going to let go of me?”
“I don’t think I will,” I say, before leaning down and kissing her slowly so I can savor the taste of her. “Any chance more of that is on your list somewhere?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.” She bites down on her bottom lip and I groan quietly as I follow her back to the table to get our stuff.
As soon as I get back from the store with chips, chocolate, and the caramel popcorn she loves, I rush upstairs to straighten my room. She’s been in here a few times recently but not like this.
It also isn’t lost on me that she is the only girl to ever step foot in my room. I straighten a stack of books and ultimately decide to push them under the bed. I can’t hide every trace of my obsession but those are books we talked about in our chats. I will bring them out later when I tell her about who I am online. Because I am telling her today.
“You’re sorry? How could you? You had no right to interfere in my life like that!” Sydney’s voice carries up the stairs. Damnit. I knew this fight was coming. I’m not prepared for it today.
I bolt down the hallway and take the stairs two at a time to play referee. Sydney has dropped her bags on the couch and is standing in front of Nash. He’s holding his hands up pleading for her to hear him out.
“I was looking out for your best interest. I was protecting you.”
“Protecting me?” She steps into his personal space. “You were looking out for yourself. You were being selfish. You didn’t care about me.”
“That’s not true and you know it.” His eyes soften as he attempts to reach out for her hand but she steps away.
“No. Don’t touch me right now. You kept him away from me,” she shouts and punches him in the chest. Pretty sure she hurt herself more than she did him.
“Syd.” I hook an arm around her waist before she tries punching him again. Her body melts into mine. The water collecting in her eyes is enough to take me out. I glare back at Nash. He has the decency to bow his head.
“He kept us apart on purpose. We could have been together this whole time,” she says, with a tremble to her lip.
“It wasn’t just Nash. It was me too. ”
“You wouldn’t have stayed away if it wasn’t for him.” She glares back at her brother.
“Oh, you think so?” I raise an eyebrow and smirk at her. “You think I was so hung up on you I would have come running the moment he took me out of my chains?” I brush her hair off her shoulders.
She moves closer, pressing her breasts against my torso. “Yes.” Her voice is sweet, yet seductive, and has my body on high alert.
“You’re not wrong. Let’s go upstairs. I promised you a perfect day.”
“Yeah, y’all can take that somewhere else.” Nash waves us off, encouraging us to go to my room. Sydney growls and lunges at her brother. I grab her by the waist and her legs kick up in the air. I miss seeing this feisty side of her.
“Put me down.” She pushes and pulls at my forearms.
“Are you going to behave?” I ask.
“Probably not,” she says, making me chuckle.
“Try for me, trouble.” I loosen my grip on her, letting her stand on her own two feet.
“I really am sorry, Syd. You know I love you and would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I needed to know Koa was serious about you. That he deserved you.”
“What about what I deserved? All I’ve ever heard about for years was what you and Koa wanted. What about me?” She slaps a hand against her chest. “I deserved a chance to make my own choices. You stole that from me. ”
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” he says, placing his hands in his pockets.
My head swivels between my best friend and the woman I love. They’re both hurting. This isn’t going to be resolved today and I would rather her be in a better mood when I finally tell her what I need to.
“Why don’t you go upstairs? I’ll grab your stuff.” I give her a quick kiss before she nods leaving us alone. Once she’s out of view, I face Nash.
“You just kissed my sister in front of me,” he comments dryly.
“Get used to it.”
“Are you together now?”
“Yes,” I say as confidently as I can, knowing full well she may never speak to me again once she finds out I’m the guy she’s been talking to online.
“It’s kind of bullshit that she’s forgiven you so easily and won’t even accept my apology.”
“You think she’s forgiven me? Not even close, man. Getting to where I am with Sydney was far from easy. It’s work and I will gladly put in that work every day if that’s what it takes to keep her.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Just make sure I don’t hear anything else.” He shudders.
I grab her bags off the couch. “I suggest you invest in ear plugs,” I say, as I make my way up the stairs. I’ve been waiting too long to be with Sydney. The last thing I’m going to do is ask her to be quiet .
“I’ll have to go back down and get the snacks,” I say, as I enter the room. “Are you okay?” I shut the door and place her things on my desk. “Baby?” I ask again since she’s ignoring me.
She’s sitting on the side of my bed with an open book in her lap. One of my books. It’s one we read together a few years ago. Well, she doesn’t know that we read it together but we did.
“Say something please,” I plead, as I sit down beside her.
“Are they all like this?” she asks, flipping another page. Her finger traces over the highlighted passages and my notes in the margins.
“Almost all the books on that shelf.” I nod toward the bookshelf over my bed. I keep all my favorites there. I like seeing them first thing when I walk into my room. “The stack on the other shelf are books I still need to read. I’ve gotten behind since the season started.”
“How long have you been doing this?” She closes the book. Then stands on the bed to exchange it for another one. Her fingers slide over the titles until she finds the one she wants.
Sitting crossed-legged in the middle of my bed, she looks like every dream I’ve ever had come true. I have to blink my eyes a few times to make sure this is really happening.
I flip over on my stomach and lay down in front of her. Grazing my hands over her thighs, I expel a slow breath as her vanilla—and cinnamon maybe—scent envelops me.
“Since the first day,” I confess.
“The first day?” she questions, her eyes meeting mine .
“The first day you came over and read to me while I practiced. You had all your smelly pens in different colors and highlighters.”
“I forgot about those,” she says with a quiet laugh.
“I didn’t.”
“I read this one in high school.” She taps her finger in the center of the page.
“I know.”
“You know?”
“You’ve read every book on that shelf,” I tell her.
“That’s not a coincidence, is it?”
I grin. “No it’s not. Every time I’d see you with a book in your hand I made a point to buy it as soon as I had enough money.”
“I didn’t even know you liked reading this much.” She flips another page, squinting to read my notes.
“I didn’t, at least not at first. But you’ve made me enjoy reading over the years. I did, however, like you a lot. Still do if you haven’t noticed.” I give her thigh a gentle squeeze.
“I’m noticing.” She closes the book and places it beside her on the bed. Her fingers glide over my face and into my hair. I lean into her touch and close my eyes. “I thought I was going to torture you with my perfect day, but I think you might actually enjoy it.”
“I know I will because you’re here.” I grab her underneath her thighs and pull her until she is laying flat on her back. Her yelp quickly turns into giggles. I stretch my body over her and position myself between her legs. “Do you know how long I wanted to have you here with me in my room like this?”
“Going by our conversation the other day I’m going to guess ever since you were fifteen years old.” She smirks.
“You’re going to be teasing me about that forever, aren’t you?”
“Probably. It’s nice to know everything wasn’t one sided,” she confesses. It’s hard to hold her gaze when there is pain etched in her eyes. Hurt and heartbreak that was caused by me.
“I’m so sorry. I'll never stop trying to make it up to you.”
“I know. I don’t want you to think I’m holding the past over your head. I could have said something too. I thought I was the only one suppressing their feelings. Even now it’s hard for me to take the leap when no one caught me the last time I made the jump. I’m afraid I’ll just keep falling.”
I climb even further on top of her until our bodies are flush. I allow myself to sink into her. I want her to feel me. I need her to know that I’m here.
“There’s nothing wrong with falling. I keep doing it over and over every day.” Leaning forward I press my lips against hers.
Kissing her with our bodies pressed together like this is a memory I want to get tattooed on my body so I never forget the way she feels under me. One of her arms wraps around my back while the other hand pulls at the hair at the base of my neck .
Sliding my hand behind her, I turn her head to deepen the kiss. My erection presses against the seam of her jeans, making her moan against my lips.
She raises her hips, rolling her body against mine. “What are you doing to me?” I ask, laying kisses against her jawline until my nose hits the soft fabric that hangs off the hoop of her earrings.
I inhale her sweet vanilla scent and lick at her neck. She slips her hands under my shirt. Her warm palms against my skin is almost enough to make me lose it. I don’t think she understands the power she has over me. I push off the bed enough to slip my shirt over my head to give her more access to my body.
Her laughter cuts through the silence in the room. I close my eyes and let it seep into my soul. It’s been too long since I’ve heard that sweet sound come out of her.
“What do you want, Sydney?” I play with the hair that frames her face. Her fingers graze against my bare skin, tracing over the tattoo that covers my shoulder and back, making me squirm.
She lifts her head to kiss me again. “I like this,” she says, cradling my head in her arms. “But it wasn’t on my perfect day list.”
“That’s unfortunate.” I grind against her. My dick will be more disappointed than I am. Do I want her naked? Absolutely. The feel of her bare skin against mine is a sensation I won’t ever forget. I wouldn’t complain if she refreshed my memory on a daily basis. “You’re always on my perfect day list.”
“Have you always been so romantic and smooth?”
“I’m not really.”
“Actually, you are. You say the sweetest things and you read my favorite books. I don’t think it gets more romantic than that.”
“That’s me telling you the truth.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “You also have good taste in books. I enjoy reading them. I liked knowing we were doing something together even if it was my secret.”
“Closet romantic,” she declares, kissing me. When she pulls away her mouth curves in a flirty smile. “I’m glad you enjoy reading because that’s what we’re going to do. But first…” She cups my cheeks in her hands. “Face masks,” she says, gently tapping the side of my face.
“Face masks?”