Chapter 9
Kai
My heart damn near punched its way out of my ribcage and suddenly, the nerves hit me.
I grabbed the trellis — praying it would support my weight — and hauled myself up to her window. She took a step back, folding her arms and watching me with her signature unimpressed stare, making me want to grin like a fool.
“If you fall, I’m not calling an ambulance.”
“Fair enough.”
I dropped into her room as quietly as a six-three, 240-pound man could.
She stared up at me for a moment, her bright eyes looking right into my fucking soul.
Fuck me, I did not think this through.
Tori was wearing nothing but a pair of tight, minuscule shorts and a tank top. No fucking bra.
I cast a furtive glance around her room to distract myself and was surprised by how plain it was. I’d moved in next door mere months ago, and my room looked more lived-in than this one.
“So,” she said, crossing her arms tighter, “you couldn’t sleep?”
I shook my head. “Not even a little.”
“Why?”
I hesitated, trying to prevent my attention from straying to the abundance of exposed skin right in front of me.
My throat started to close up as I swallowed, nervously licking my lips.
“Because,” I admitted, “the house felt too quiet. And when it’s quiet, I think too much. And when I think too much, I think about all the things I shouldn’t be thinking of.”
“Like what?”
I forced a small, shaky laugh and met her gaze head-on.
“ Like the fact that they’re about to decide on the final team roster and I’m not at all sure I made the cut.
Or what I’m even doing here, besides making a fool of myself.
Or the fact that everyone else gets shit faster than I do. Always have.”
“Here like the US, or here-here?”
“Both.” My voice sounded husky.
Her face shifted, something fierce and painful flickering across her delicate features. “And you came here,” she said slowly, “because…?”
“Because the quiet freaked me out. And I didn’t want to sit there alone, thinking about how useless I am when you’re right next door and not making me feel like an idiot.”
She stared at me for a long time, and I held my breath. My pulse pounded in my ears and an endless loop of Why would you tell her that?! played on a loop in my mind.
Then she just turned around, her features softening. “Get in before someone sees you.”
“I’m already in.”
“You know what I mean.”
She turned, walking deeper into her room, and I followed, feeling something warm and low-key terrifying settling in my chest.
Something feeling very much like trouble.
Curse you, Janet.
And something feeling a lot like wanting her more than was wise.
Tori switched on her bedside lamp and the warm, low light cast her skin in an unfairly stunning glow. She perched on the edge of her bed as though debating whether to kick me back out of the window.
I stayed by the sill for a second, hands in the pockets of my shorts, trying not to look as nervous as I actually was.
“Well? Are you gonna lurk there like a creeper, or are you planning to sit down?”
“It’s a nice window,” I offered dumbly.
She narrowed her eyes. “Sit.”
I obeyed like a trained fucking dog, and I couldn’t even hate myself for it. The bed rocked and creaked under my weight, and I shot her a quick glance, my ears feeling hot.
Christ, if this fucking bed gives out under me, I’m going to die of embarrassment.
She pulled one knee up to her chest, her chin resting on it. “So. You’re awake because your own thoughts are bullying you. Good to know.”
“It’s more of a friendly bullying,” I countered.
The corner of her mouth twitched. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it was close enough for me to count it as a personal victory.
“You are genuinely hopeless.”
“And yet.” I nodded at the window. “Here I am. Invited inside.”
“That was a lapse in judgment.”
“I’ll take it.”
She huffed, pretending like she wasn’t warming up to me. “So, what do you want? A gold star? A bedtime story?”
“Wouldn’t say no to either.”
Tori swatted my thigh and I bit back a whimper as my cock reacted with an interested little twitch in turn. The things I’d let this woman do to me.
I caught her wrist in my hand, grinning like I wasn’t already losing my mind from being this close to her. Blood was rushing south and there was no way I could hide my growing erection in these shorts.
“Unnecessary force.”
“You deserved it.”
I twitched my brows up once and smirked. “By all means, keep going, Love.”
The second the word ‘love’ slipped out, her eyes widened. It was just the merest fraction, but it was enough to give me a rush of something warm and reckless.
She pointed at me. “Don’t call me ‘Love’.”
I shrugged. “Hard habit to break.”
“Try harder.”
“No promises.”
Her glare sharpened, but there was a faint flush across her cheekbones, barely visible, like she hated herself for reacting at all.
I leaned back on my hands, relaxing my shoulders and softening my smile. “Can I ask you something?”
“Oh God, what now?”
“When you opened the window…” I scratched the back of my neck. “…you didn’t look surprised to see me.”
Her jaw worked for a second, like she wanted to deny it but couldn't quite bring herself to lie.
“Because … who else would be throwing rocks at my window?”
I blinked. “Uh, not sure what that means.”
She shrugged one shoulder, eyes flicking away. “I don’t exactly have people lining up to climb into my room at midnight.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Riiight … so I’m special?”
She scoffed. “Don’t get a big head. You’re just the only idiot persistent enough.”
The defensiveness lurking behind her words told me the truth. There was no one else, and I had to admit, I quite liked the idea of it. It wasn’t just stupid to get possessive; it was dangerous and unfair, but I couldn’t help it.
“I mean, you didn’t have to open it,” I probed.
“I also didn’t have to let you climb in.”
I swallowed. “Yeah. That too.”
A beat of silence stretched, thick and charged with some kind of energy making my abs clench.
She looked away first, picking at the seam of her comforter. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me.”
Dark eyes snapped back to mine, and for once, she didn’t hide how it affected her.
I dragged in a slow, measured breath. “I know you think I’m all … easygoing and clueless and whatever else. But I don’t bother people at midnight. Ever. I don’t…” My voice dipped, softer, “I don’t reach out when I feel messed up. I just push through.”
“And now?” She spoke equally as soft.
“Now I’m here.”
Tori’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. She looked at me like she was trying very, very hard not to move any closer — like she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop if she did.
And I felt it, too. There was a wet spot in my boxers, where my dick was leaking drop after drop of pre-cum.
Tori’s breathing changed, and so did mine, synchronizing without either of us trying. Her gaze flicked down to my mouth before snapping back up again, so quick I almost thought I’d imagined it.
Almost.
“You’re sitting too close,” she deadpanned.
I was a full three feet away.
Raising an eyebrow, I asked, “You want me to move?”
She paused, and I was surprised she couldn’t hear my heart pounding against my ribcage in the silence settling between us.
“… No.” Her tone was softer than before.
My heart leapt and I exhaled in a rush.
“Alright,” I murmured.
We sat there for a moment, the charged energy between us crackling and sizzling.
I’d never experienced anything like it.
Then she cleared her throat sharply, as if she needed to break the spell before it consumed her. “If you’re staying, at least make yourself useful.”
“At what? Midnight chores?”
“I can try to help you.”
I blinked, shaking my head in confusion. “Help me?”
“Agility work.” She poked my knee with her toe. “For football. Since you can’t sleep and apparently the quiet makes you stupid.”
I snorted. I was sure she hadn’t meant it the way it sounded, but the words still made something soft unfurl somewhere behind my sternum.
“Alright,” I conceded, leaning forward slightly. “Coach me.”
For a long moment, we just kept looking at each other, tension humming low and steady like a pulse.
Then, almost reluctantly, she whispered, “Kai?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t make a habit of climbing into my window.”
“Can’t promise that.”
The tiniest crack appeared in her armor in the form of just the slightest twitch of her lips, and the heat between us coiled tight again, warm, dangerous and absolutely addictive.
“I hate you.” She narrowed her eyes.
But there was no edge to her words, no sharpness, and I didn’t pretend it didn’t thrill me to the core.
Her words hung in the air, and neither of us moved for a second. Then she blinked hard, like she’d just realized how close we were sitting.
“Okay,” she responded briskly, standing up and breaking the spell so abruptly, it was as if the air had grown colder.
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Let’s get to work. Tell me — what’s giving you the most trouble right now?”
Frowning, I hesitated. “Uh … everything?”
“Be specific, genius,” she snapped, though her tone carried no actual bite.
“Pass protection,” I admitted reluctantly.
“I mean … I’m good at rugby, right? Tackling, holding my ground, moving sideways, juking.
But in football, I can’t just square up and hit someone.
I need to absorb and redirect contact, but I keep lunging with my weight too far forward.
I overcommit. My hips don’t rotate properly and my feet are all wrong.
I get beaten on angles I should dominate. ”
Her lips twitched, trying not to smile. “Sounds like your body is doing rugby instinctively, but your brain is saying, ‘Football now.’”
I huffed exasperatedly. “Exactly. And it’s so frustrating because I know I can do it, just … not this way.”
She crossed her arms, eyes scanning me like she was diagnosing a patient. “Alright. I can fix this. But first, you need to stop overthinking. Forget everything else and focus only on your body. Watch me.”