Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
The longest seven days of my life. That was how I would describe the week before summer vacation.
My tests came and went in a blur. The risks of me getting snatched by someone working for Silas Montgomery had grown slim, as most of my days were spent at home buried in my books, drilling biology and chemistry into my head, preparing for my finals.
I was mentally drained and by the time the first Saturday of summer was here, I’d felt like I’d gone through a five-year long prison sentence.
“What’cha doing tonight, loser? And don’t lie, I know Lux is out of the country.” Morgan poked her head into my room from our shared bathroom. “I need a designated driver tonight for a party.”
I looked up from my computer screen to give her a look. “Have you, like, never heard of Uber? Take one of those home!”
“Oh, come on!” Morgan complained. “Who knows what those creepy Uber drivers do to young drunk girls when they see an opportunity?”
“So don’t drink. I have a date tonight,” I argued. “No time for you and your drunk friends.”
Something about what I said prompted my sister to take a seat at the edge of my bed immediately and look at me with curious eyes.
“A date with Kain Montgomery,” she guessed.
I didn’t respond, continuing to look at my computer screen.
“You know… I know you’re gonna do whatever you want, but have you really thought about this all the way through?
I’m sure he’s a great guy. We all know you’re uptight as fuck and he still seems to be entertaining you.
But you know when Dad finds out he’s going to lose his shit, right?
He might even kill you.” She was only half kidding.
“You almost sound concerned, Momo,” I observed.
She shrugged. “Do you know how traumatizing it will be seeing my face on a dead body? Spare me the horror, Lori.”
“Our face. It’s my face, too.”
“Yeah, but I work it better,” she jabbed. Even though I was rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
Two weeks ago, Kain’s friend Amir asked me why I didn’t just change my look up a little bit so I’d stick out a little less to the people who were looking for me.
I was thinking about my sister.
Sure, I could’ve straightened my hair and changed around my wardrobe to throw them off. But eventually they would recognize that it’s just me with straight hair and a new style. After a while, they would start looking for a girl with my face and straightened hair.
Someone like Morgan.
No, the more I continued to look like myself, the safer Morgan would be.
As much as I didn’t like Morgan, I still loved her. I didn’t want to drag her into this at all. And so I changed nothing.
“What are you wearing on your date?” Morgan asked curiously, eyebrows raised at the fact that I was still in my bathrobe. “A dress? Jeans? Heels? Flats?”
“Um…” I hopped out of bed, walking over to my closet. “How about this?”
Morgan made a face at the floral flare dress I pulled out. “Mm, cute,” she tried to say something positive. “I know I never do this, but… do you want to borrow something of mine?”
I thought about the last time I’d worn something of Morgan’s on a date with Kain.
He hadn’t been impressed and he’d seen through it almost immediately.
For the past six weeks, I hadn’t really given much thought to what I was wearing when I’d see Kain.
Sometimes it was lazy casual, other times my clothes bordered on experimental.
He wasn’t the type to notice what I had on—at least, not since I started being more myself around him.
“I’m good,” I told my sister.
***
I had begun calling the house where Kain had given me the impromptu self-defense lesson The Safe House.
The Safe House, a two-story white home with gray brick accents, was set in an upper middle class neighborhood just outside the city of Miami in the town of Pembroke Pines.
No doubt Kain preferred coming to this city because I was less likely to be recognized here. It was safer here in all regards.
“Thank you,” I said to my Uber driver as I stepped out of the car, and onto the brick-paved driveway of the house ahead of me.
Kain’s car was parked out front, a recent model black Camaro. It was so him. I knew for a fact that Kain could afford a much fancier car, but that just wasn’t his style. Kain didn’t live ostentatiously. He seemed to prefer everything quieter, less in-your-face.
Research had told me Kain was quite possibly the richest person I’d ever known, which was saying something because I hadn’t exactly been brought up around struggling individuals.
My own parents were members of the most exclusive country club in the Southern United States—The Beauvais.
They rubbed shoulders with politicians, multimillionaires, the whole nine.
One thing I’d come to learn is that some rich people will try to show you that they’re rich as indirectly as they can.
The ones who don’t? Those are the people with real money.
Not that the fact that Kain was wealthy made him any more attractive to me.
I suppose it was his nonchalance about his wealth that intrigued me.
Like he was so above material idolatry. It was a sophisticated kind of sexy.
The door to The Safe House was unlocked so I didn’t bother knocking.
The once familiar interior was now unfamiliar, obscured by the appearance of new furniture that decorated the once empty space.
I tried to keep the clicking of my heels against the wood floors quiet, a little part of me wanting to sneak up on him.
Little by little, I quietly made my way toward the warm lighting of the kitchen, marveling along the way at how gorgeous the inside of this house looked furnished.
Once I’d made it into the kitchen, the only thing I’d found was a few pots simmering on the gas range.
Even though he was nowhere in sight, I smiled at the image of him in my mind making us dinner.
Just when I thought he couldn’t get any better, he made me dinner—and it actually smelled good.
I turned on my heel, curiosity already in hot pursuit of where he might be.
Before I could take one more step forward, I was met with a dark gray button up shirt.
My eyes trailed up the length of that chest, up the neck, along the angular jaw, and then finally to his familiar, beautiful eyes.
It was in that moment that I was truly met with the extent to which I missed him.
Automatically, I grabbed onto him, practically squeezing him with all my might.
“Hey, Beautiful,” he said quietly into my hair, voice low and rich like chocolate.
I leaned backward, raising my gaze to meet his, a fleeting moment of intimate eye contact just before his head lowered toward mine.
In my four-inch heels, I still leaned onto the tips of my toes just a bit, to close the shrinking gap between us a little faster.
The moment our lips touched, his arm encircled my waist, lifting me off the ground and seating me on the higher kitchen surface, leveling out our heights.
Kain drew me in closer, deepening the kiss as he entered through my parted lips, exploring me, tasting me, claiming me.
The warmth of his perfect lips warmed the blood in my cheeks.
My breathing was labored as his meticulous technique provoked a low moan out of me, a pure sound of complete pleasure no doubt echoing in both of our ears, encouraging us both.
I pressed my chest to his and pulled him in closer. Gosh, I had missed him.
It was as if everything he’d been feeling was communicated through that kiss. He’d been missing me. He’d missed me so much.
When we finally parted, his forehead pressed against mine as we tried to catch our breaths. Against his lips I said, “I missed you, too.”
***
It was almost midnight. Dinner had long been over, and Kain and I were cuddled up close on the living room sectional.
My father had already called twice, but I made no effort to leave, resting my head on Kain’s lap, listening to him speak as though I was under a spell.
He looked down at my face as he began to answer my latest question.
I wanted to know something about him that I wouldn't expect.
“Did I ever tell you I was a private school kid, too?” he asked. Wow, we had something in common.
I cracked a smile. “No, but now that you mention it… I see it.”
“Yeah, it was… uncomfortable. You had a mess of rich, bougie-ass people who thought they were better than everyone…” Ahh, my crowd. “…and then me, with my ill-gotten tuition money.”
“I’m sure you had a ton of classmates who paid their tuition with white collar crime, or something. The only difference is that…your dad’s kind of famous around here.”
“Don’t I know it,” he sighed. “Parents… The parents were the worst part. Although they never addressed me directly, I could tell that I was dinnertime conversation. Classmates were always… acting funny.”
“So were you a loner growing up?”
“Not exactly.” Kain shrugged, running a hand over his brush cut. “The best way I know how to describe it is sort of like those kids’ movies. There’s always some playground bully, isn’t there?”
“You were a playground bully?” That was just not believable.
“No,” Kain replied, chuckling, “but I was treated like one. I got this respect that I hadn't really earned, but… it wasn't the good kind. They were scared of me. It felt like people were constantly on the edge of their seats, waiting for me to do some goon shit. Even some of my teachers.”
“Aww.” My expression was sympathetic as I raised a hand to his cheek. “How long did that last?”
“Until I went to college,” he confessed. “You know shit’s tiresome when you wanna go to a school in North Miami just to be around some kids who don't give a damn.”
“What stopped you?” I asked.