Chapter Seven
KYRA
I shrug out of his jacket as I enter my room and drape it on the back of my chair to dry. Mortified. That’s the only thing I feel, surely he couldn’t see everything. Maybe he closed his eyes? I slip out of my heels and walk into the bathroom.
Nope. He definitely saw everything . What took him so long to say something? Jerk face! I groan as I move to put my heels in my closet then peel off the damp sundress. I grab a hanger and drape the dress across, then hang it on one of the extra towel hooks near my hamper. Looking down, I notice just how wet and transparent my pretty bra is too.
“Ugh.” I groan, remove it, and hang it up with my dress.
My phone buzzes in my bag, but I ignore it as I move to grab to grab a pair of bright pink leggings from the dresser and my oversized blue Wicklow University sweatshirt. I want warmth and comfort that hides everything right now.
After slipping on some long cozy socks, I grab my phone and open it up.
Ryan: Are you okay? The storm is getting worse.
Ryan: You should’ve just stayed here. They’ve got generators in case the power goes out, but they’re assuring everyone they don’t think it’ll actually get that bad.
Ryan: We barely got to spend any time together. Want to grab breakfast in the morning?
Ryan: Assuming everything is good.
Ryan: Kyra? Did you at least make it back okay?
Me: Hey, sorry it took longer to get through traffic. I’ve got a brunch date with Beth and a few others, but we were planning on hanging out at the club tomorrow, anyway. If the storm has calmed down, we can rent a boat for the afternoon.
Ryan: That sounds great.
Me: I’m going to go and help distract my nieces through this storm. I’ll chat later.
Ryan: Okay. Text me if you get bored. I guess now I don’t have an excuse to not work on my own work. This thesis isn’t going to write itself.
I leave my phone on the desk and grab my laptop to take downstairs with me. If I get inspired to write on my own paper, I will. It wasn’t a complete lie when I told him I was going to help distract my nieces. I think I need the distraction too.
The wind is howling outside, you can hear it more down stairs. I walk in the kitchen to find pop music playing as Daphne and Selene dance around the kitchen with Elena. Operation distraction has begun.
I belt out the next line of the song and join in, carefully placing my laptop on the counter near the wall as I dance my way over to them.
“Auntie Kyra!” Elena throws her arms up.
I lift her up, and we continue to dance. I can’t carry a tune, but that won’t stop me from helping keep a smile on her face. It’s even better when she busts out into giggles and tells me I shouldn’t sing.
“Can we make pink cupcakes?” She giggles.
“Pink cupcakes are always a good idea, but would you rather have purple?” It’s her favorite color and watching her eyes light up confirms it was just the right thing to ask.
“How are we going to make purple?” she questions as I set her down.
“Kitchen magic,” I tease as I move to gather the ingredients.
Thank you. Daphne mouths nearby. I smile in response.
In a matter of minutes, we’ve got the perfect shade of purple mixed. Elena helps line the cupcake tin with liners and then I add two scoops in to each liner.
“I think we’re missing something,” I tease.
“Oh, no!” Elena gasps.
I hold out a bag of white chocolate chips. “I think these cupcakes need some chocolate chips.”
“Yes! Yes! Chocolate!” she screams.
“What is all the commotion?” Apollo enters the kitchen. My dad and Ares are right behind him.
“We’re making purple cupcakes!” Elena yells as she shakes her head.
“Elena, will you carefully put seven in each one?” I open the bag and pour some chips into a bowl, then slide it closer to her.
“Yes, I can count higher than that.” She nods.
“That’s great, sweetie. I think seven will be the perfect amount in each one, then we’ll decorate the tops after they cool. Okay?”
“Okay, Auntie Kyra.” Elena sticks out her tongue and starts counting out loud as she drops the chips in each cupcake.
I move to the pantry to grab the purple sprinkles I hid from my niece when I arrived. My plan was to make purple cupcakes tomorrow, but anything to help distract her with the storm brewing outside.
“Excuse me.” Ares’s voice is right behind me, and I freeze. I feel him brush up against me and reach for the popcorn on the top shelf. “We’re going to do a family movie night and need popcorn.” His voice is right at my ear, and it sends goosebumps down my arms and up my neck.
I swallow and stay still as he presses against me. It’s like I can feel every inch of his hard body pressed into my back. The heat radiating off of him has my stomach in knots.
“Auntie Kyra, I’m done!” I hear Elena call out from the kitchen.
“Okay. I’ll be right there.” I steady my breathing as I turn.
Ares is looking down at me with dark eyes. His gaze flutters down, then back up to my eyes. He steps back slowly, a half-smile on his face as he holds up the popcorn.
What was that? I shake it off and take the sprinkles into the kitchen.
“Look what I found.” I hold them out to my niece.
She squeals. “This is the best day ever!”
I smile as she dances around with the container of sprinkles. Selene moves the cupcakes into the oven and sets the timer.
“It looks like it’s going to be a long night. The boys and I got the generator ready, just in case. We’re still supplied from the last one, just in case,” my dad assures everyone.
* * *
It’s better to be prepared, and that’s how my dad is. After a double feature in the home theater, everyone called it a night. The worst has passed over us and we still have power. Dad said there wasn’t much damage around us either from what he heard from the neighbors.
I’m sure the birds will chirp with the sun tomorrow as we look things over. I fold up the throw blankets and place them back in the baskets along the wall before walking across the hall to my room. Then I remember my laptop is still downstairs and decide I could go for a hot beverage. I could honestly go for a cup of coffee, but I don’t necessarily want the caffeine right now.
I turn on the kettle and grab the tea basket to see what they’ve stocked it with. There’s a honey matcha one that looks promising. I grab it and prepare my cup. Once the tea is steeping, I take it over to the island with my laptop and open it up.
I open up one of my online textbooks and scan through for Ancient Greece and start re-reading. Most of it barely brushes the surface on the democracy, philosophy, and arts during that time. I open up a new tab to pull up the school’s library and start searching for books I can check out next week when I return.
The library at Wicklow University is massive and beautiful. It has multiple levels and more books than I could read in ten lifetimes. I’ve spent countless evenings studying there, especially when I can’t focus at the sorority house. There’s something tranquil and soothing about being inside.
The university was founded in the early eighteen hundreds after a man named Marvin Wicklow. Rumor has it that he helped start the school so his daughter could get a secret education. The university is spread out over 3,000 acres. It was originally built as the Wicklow estate. The Wicklow’s original house sits near Greek Row as a historic site.
I move my finger across the touchpad as I type in various words and terms, and start to favorite the books so I can pull them up when I’m at the library to see what is worth checking out. I’ll probably make more than one evening of it. It’s going to be more work than I’d originally thought, but some of it will be beneficial for the Greek Games coming up. All the houses agreed to participate. They just need a little guidance.
“What are you doing still up?” Ares slides in next to me at the counter, his eyes moving to my computer screen. “Is this the subject you picked for the essay?”
I nod. “Yes.” I swallow, unsure if I want to tell him more. Since he’s still staring at the screen, I decide to open up the document that only has the title and my name on it.
Ares chuckles next to me. “I’d like to read this too.” He leans in closer. “May I?”
I lift my hands from the keyboard and he angles the laptop a little more towards him. I watch his finger move across the pad and open the library website back up. His fingers type quickly and he favorites a few more books. “Trust me.”
I turn to face him. “I always did.”
His head turns my way, his eyes narrow on mine. “Anything else you need help with?”
This is it! This is the moment. We’re actually talking and now is the time I can open up to him about that invitation. “There’s an event I need to bring a plus one to, and I know my boyfriend is not someone I should bring.”
His brows push down, and his eyes brighten with humor. “I’m listening.”
“You may know nothing about it, but if there was anyone in my life that could help me with this.” I take in a deep breath. “It’s you.” I left my phone upstairs, but I know I can access the message from my laptop when I put in my password. So, I open it up and scroll down to the blocked number and open up the message. “Is this something you can help me with?”
“Kyra, is this a joke?” He pushes back and crosses his arms.
“No.” I turn to face him. “If it irritates you that much, forget I said anything.” I slam the laptop close and slide off the stool. “Just forget everything.”
He sighs behind me, but I don’t care to turn back. I move my way across the house and up the stairs to my room. The whole time I’m wondering why I got that sort of reaction from him. He got angry, almost as if he was upset I got it.
My door opens just as I’m sitting my laptop down on the desk.
“You forgot your tea.” He closes the door behind me and walks up with my mug. Ares waits until I take it from him before he continues. “I’ll be there.” He nods to himself and then leaves my room.
That’s it?