Chapter 14
Kai
The silence greeting me as I stepped out onto the almost empty car park was thick and heavy. Every time I closed my eyes, I relived the plays I'd missed and the laughing faces. This fucking lag I couldn’t shake kept playing on repeat in my head.
Motionless as a statue, I sat in the car, staring at my hands clutching the steering wheel. My heart was still pounding, even though practice had technically ended hours ago.
Everyone had gone home but my head still wouldn’t shut the fuck up; it only seemed to get louder in the surrounding silence.
Almost mechanically, I stabbed the key into the ignition, started the engine and drove off.
I drove around town aimlessly, the windows rolled down, making the mild night air carry in the scents of the pine woods surrounding the Blue Ridge Mountains. Running my hands through my shaggy hair, I slowed to a stop at a traffic light.
I didn’t want to go home yet. Didn’t want to face Tāne after this disastrous training session … but I didn’t want to be alone either.
A tentative smile played around my lips as my fingers drummed a fast rhythm on the steering wheel. The light turned green and, suddenly, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.
After giving myself a ten-minute pep talk in the gym car park, I finally mustered the nerve to step through the nondescript door.
I wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing me there. Shit, I wasn’t even sure if she’d want me here, but the reality was, I needed to be here. I needed her.
Frustration was still gnawing at me, tearing at my insides. I was restless, like my brain was about to combust from overthinking. As pathetic as it was, Tori was my person here. She had somehow turned into my safe space here in Tennessee.
My gaze immediately locked on her like a heat-seeking missile, but she didn’t even look up when I walked in.
Bent over the reception desk, basically screaming an invitation my way, scribbling something on a piece of paper, she called out, “We’re closing in five minutes.”
“I know.” My voice sounded unsure and husky, even to my own ears.
Tori’s head snapped up, her pretty eyes piercing me with the now familiar intensity. Her hair was braided in two sections, the bright, vivid red and dark brown contrasting beautifully. She studied me for a moment, her brows drawn and her lips pursed.
“What are you doing here?”
Not the welcome I’d hoped for, but the one I’d expected.
I bit the inside of my cheek, mulling over my words, before deciding to go with the truth.
“Wanted to see you.”
One brow arched imperiously. “And that couldn’t have waited until I got home?”
My lips twitched. “Yeah nah. It was more of a ‘right now’ situation.”
“I’m working.” Tori crossed her arms in front of her chest, unintentionally pushing her perky tits up. Fuck, it was hard to not let my eyes wander.
I raked a hand through my hair, heat rising to my ears. “I’ll wait. I can give you a ride home when you’re done?”
Her tongue ran over her teeth. “Fine. I have to close up, so you gotta keep yourself entertained for a bit.”
“No problem.”
As soon as she diverted her attention elsewhere, the restlessness returned. I hadn’t even noticed the way my frustration had dimmed while those green eyes had anchored me in place.
My insides were twisting and turning as I walked further into the gym with slow, measured steps, taking in everything I’d missed amid the chaos of my last visit with the team.
Rolling my shoulders, I tried to ease some of the tension in my muscles while she checked for stragglers and eventually locked up the gym.
“Why are you so quiet?”
I whirled around. “What?”
“You’re too quiet. It’s weird. Not like you to be all brooding and not smiling stupidly. So, what gives?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I grunted.
How did she read me so easily? Was it that obvious?
Tori scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Sure, Grumpy Pants. ”
I snorted, biting the inside of my cheek again. I hadn't planned to tell her — truly, I hadn't — but before I knew it, the words were tumbling out of my mouth.
“I just … I don’t know.” I brushed the hair out of my face and huffed. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”
“Why’d you come here then?” she asked coldly.
My eyes went wide. “No! I didn’t mean here. I don’t know what I was thinking even leaving home. The frustrating part is, I know I can do this but nothing is working and I’m kind of getting fed up with it.”
Tori cocked her head to the side, her expression softening.
“I’m not dumb,” I added quickly, before she could open her mouth. “I know I’m not. Just … slower to grasp certain things. Been like this forever but it’s never been as glaringly, embarrassingly obvious before. Feels like I’m a fish out of the fucking water.”
Tori blinked, and I huffed out a breath, raking my hand through my hair once more. “And I don’t want you to think that about me, so I don’t even know what I’m doing here, telling you all this.”
For the first time, I admitted out loud to caring about what she thought of me.
“You’re not slow. You’re a visual learner, that’s all.” Her words were blunt, but they grounded me. She didn’t sugarcoat anything, and I found I appreciated this trait of hers more than ever before.
“You’re not stupid, Kai. Trust me. I’ve met stupid, and you … you’re not it.”
Although there was a certain sharpness in her voice, I could also make out a hint of affection beneath the surface.
Stunned, I watched her step closer, her focus never wavering.
“You watch people first. It’s not slow. It’s cautious. And smart.”
The tight knot lodged deep inside of me seemed to unravel ever so slowly.
“You think too much about what people expect from you. That’s the only thing slowing you down.”
There she went, calling out my real insecurity.
My breathing picked up as I stared at her, taking in her pretty face with those big, intense eyes. Once again, I wondered whether I was an open book or if it was simply the invisible connection I felt between us.
Did she feel it too, or was it just me? Whenever I got close to her, there was a sizzling, crackling energy drawing me to her like a moth to a flame.
Tori scoffed, but the corner of her mouth curled up in a faint smile. “What? Don’t look at me like I’m performing a miracle. It’s basic observation.”
I cleared my throat. “Right.”
She stepped closer again, and my breath caught in my throat.
“There’s nothing wrong with thinking differently.”
Her eyes tracked the movement of my throat as I swallowed hard.
There it was again. The realization that, even though she was trying so hard to keep me at arm's length, she saw me. My heart felt like someone had clenched a fist around it.
Most people usually said I’m slow, sometimes even called me dumb. But to her, I was just different and it made something heady shoot through my veins, warming my insides.
Leave it to Tori to say the one thing I’d wanted to hear my whole fucking life. She believed I could do it, and so I would. Simple as.
No one had ever made me want to be the best I could be like she did.
“Don’t get soft on me,” she added, walking away.
Too late, I thought. Way too bloody late.
“Nothing soft when I’m looking at you, Love.”
Tori scoffed. “Good God, that was bad.”
She was still turned away from me as something inside me snapped, propelling me forward without a second thought.
I grabbed her, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind, lifting her off the ground before she ever had the chance to react.
Tori let out a sharp yelp. “Kai! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Her elbows shot backward on instinct, catching my ribs, but I was already tightening my grip just enough to keep her squirming without hurting either of us.
“Showing you just how bad I can be.” I chuckled into her shoulder, enjoying the way her tight little body felt in my arms.
“Right. You’re about as threatening as a little puppy. Now be a good boy and put me down!”
I loved it when she called me a good boy — my quickly hardening cock was testament to that — but right now, I wanted to make good on my promise. Tonight, it was her turn to beg.
Tori twisted — she was ridiculously good at this — slipping halfway out of my grip before planting a foot against my shin and pushing off. The move surprised me enough to rock my balance.
And she was gone.
She bolted across the mat, breathless and furious, her hair coming loose as she spun to face me.
“Oh, you wanna play?” She stared at me in challenge.
A bolt of desire shot straight through me, making my pulse thrum and my dick twitch with interest in my shorts.
I grinned. “With you? Always.”
Tori darted to the right and I lunged after her.
With the kind of speed you could only achieve through years of training, she dipped under my arm, flicking a hand across the back of my neck. “Too slow, Pretty Boy.”
I turned on her instantly, my arms reaching out but catching nothing but air.
The little minx backpedaled, laughing breathlessly, and now I felt overheated for a wholly different reason.
This was good. This was easy, right even.
She sidestepped to the left on light feet, her tits bouncing in her tight sports bra, and this time I allowed myself a glance. I chased her down the length of the mat, cutting angles, trying to corner her. She kept slipping away by centimeters — maddening, addictive centimeters.
“Thought you said I’m the slow one,” I teased, stalking closer as I slowly cornered my prey. My blood was pounding in my ears and my cock was straining in my shorts.
“You are.” Tori feinted right but I didn’t fall for it.
I caught her wrist mid-step, and she sucked in a breath — more startled than scared. Using her momentum, I spun her, trying for a clean takedown.
She blocked it. Of course she blocked it. Hooking her leg around my calf, she shoved off my chest and managed to separate us again.
We circled each other now, both panting and flushed, but the excitement thrumming through my veins was mirrored in her eyes.