Chapter 27
Kira
Being surrounded by so many beautiful plants and given the opportunity to live in my element for a few hours a day always made every weekday so much better.
The plants had provided a distraction during the confusing and brief time Seb stopped talking with me. Now that I knew the reason for that, working with the plants was less of a distraction and more of a pleasant few hours a day again.
Pulling several dried leaves from my ponytail — I had spent the last thirty minutes of my shift removing the dead leaves on several large house plants — I neared the apartment door. Once inside, with my hessian bag slung over my shoulder, I yawned, but then stifled it when I heard heavy breathing.
And then a humming and a thud.
“Lily? Are you home?” She started work at 8 AM and finished at 4 PM, like me, but there was no way she could’ve gotten home earlier than me. The garden center was closer to our apartment than the Whitmore real estate agency by a few blocks. I had also seen her leave for work this morning.
“Y-Yeah. I’m home,” she responded, breathlessly.
I blinked, pausing in the hallway. I couldn’t help the smile on my face. “Why do you sound puffed? Are you decent? Should I leave?”
She huffed a laugh. “I’m decent, but struggling.”
I continued into the living room and discovered why she was breathless.
She was shuffling a brand-new, four-tiered shelf up against the living room window.
The frame was an off-white, matching the apartment walls, and the shelves were light brown timber.
There was no backing board on it, so once it was up against the window, the sunlight filtered through it and into the living room.
“I thought the plants could use some new shelf space.” She dusted off her hands. Her hair was in a bun that was close to falling out, and she wore a baggy T-shirt and a pair of old jeans. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled at me.
I happily walked over to examine the shelf. “It’s perfect. But how did you get it up here?”
“It was a self-assemble.” She gestured to the mess of spare screws, wooden dowel pieces, and Allen keys on the floor beside a crumpled instruction sheet. “I had it delivered… I’ll leave it to you to arrange the plants on it because I’m not sure which ones like more light than the others.”
I admired the shelf for a moment before I turned to Lily as she headed into the kitchen. “How was your appointment?”
She was filling up a glass at the sink. “Hm?”
“With the psychologist? You said it was Monday, right?”
“Oh. No, I meant next Monday.” She took a few sips of water and then smiled at me. “Don’t worry, I haven't forgotten our pact about healing together.”
“Right.” I shook my head in confusion and went back to looking at the shelf. “Did you go to work today?”
There was a pause before she ran the water again to rinse her glass. “I planned to, but then I didn’t get off the bus when it stopped. I wasn’t feeling it today.”
I turned away from the shelf and approached the kitchen counter. “Is everything okay?”
Dean and Seb would be fighting again tonight. Maybe that’s why she seemed off. I was a little nervous about it too.
“Oh, yeah, of course,” she said with a nonchalant wave of the hand. “I think I needed a day for myself. Anyway, how was work?”
“It was good. Just the usual…” I knew she was trying to avoid the topic. It was true that she might’ve needed a day to herself, but I couldn’t help but think of what I had told Seb during our first date; Lily didn’t seem like herself.
She was shot. Of course, she isn’t going to be feeling great just yet…
“Are you excited about this evening?” Lily asked. A knowing smile was on her face as she braced her elbows on the countertop and rested her face in her hands. “With Seb.”
It shouldn’t have distracted me so easily, but the mere mention of him caused my stomach to flutter.
I received a text from Seb over the weekend.
It was an out-of-the-blue type of text. The out-of-the-blue aspect tied in well with most of my life events and his general personality anyway, so I wasn’t too shocked by it.
But the substance of the text introduced a new flutter of butterflies to my stomach.
Seb wanted to know if I would like to meet his family before he had to fight tonight — he figured it was only right for me to meet the people who had had his full attention recently.
Of course, my habit of jumping first and asking questions later had me texting a Yes! the second I finished reading the text.
I inhaled shakily, grinning. “I’m feeling all the feelings about it.”
Lily reached across and squeezed my shoulder. “They’re going to love you.”
No matter how hard I tried to make things feel normal again, there was some tension between Seb and me. The kind that was filled with awkward smiles as I walked to where he waited on his bike in the street.
He held out his spare helmet and pulled up his visor. “Hey.”
I took the helmet with a small smile. “Hi.”
“Things are weird, right?” He cringed slightly.
I was glad I wasn’t the only one thinking about it. “Yeah. Things are weird.”
He huffed. “Okay. How should we make things un-weird? I mean, the reason things are weird is because I monumentally fucked up. Like, we had sex—great sex by the way—and we never really got to talk about it. The other night didn’t really smooth things over.”
“No, but at least I know why you disappeared. It was a messy situation to begin with. I think we need to find our groove again.” I raised a shoulder. And then inhaled shakily as the evening dawned on me. “I’m about to meet your family.”
He pulled his helmet off as he looked ahead. A lopsided grin spread on his lips. “We really don’t do things slow, huh?”
“Nope.”
“You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to. We could go another time. Or never. I don’t mind—well, I’d probably mind a little bit if you never wanted to meet them, but right now there’s no rush…”
I smiled wider at his rambling and stepped forward, much closer to him, as I leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. His eyes filled with pleasant surprise first, and then changed to adoration as he looked at me.
To witness that change in someone’s eyes was far better than the gaze Aiden ever cast in my direction — his gaze was always one looking to control me, or keep me in check.
“I want to meet your family, Seb.” I gently squeezed his forearm, staying close to him, before I grabbed his helmet and lifted it onto his head again. Smiling still, I slid my helmet on too and climbed onto the small seat behind him. “Let's go.”
“Say less, Smiles,” he chuckled, bringing the bike to life beneath us with a flick of his thumb.
I placed my hands on his sides and curled my fingers into his leather riding jacket for something to hold on to. Seb took my hands and pulled them around himself. In turn, pulling me flush against his back.
“Gotta hold on tighter than that.”
I laughed and scooted closer to him, finally feeling that familiar comfort from before any of this — the sex and the miscommunication — started. There was something more to the hug too.
Safety. Trust. The L word?
Don’t get ahead of yourself, Kira. Try to take some things slowly, at least. Allow your heart some grace before you fall head over heels for this man.
My heart skipped anyway.
Anita and Don’s home was a quaint, two-story, cream brick house with a cute little front garden that featured a tree swing and powder blue shutters on the windows.
Like all the other homes in the street, they were built close to their neighbors, but each home had its own personality.
This one reminded me of something from a storybook. It was cozy and inviting.
Seb and I made our way to the front porch.
The nerves about meeting his family began to sink in properly.
They weren’t enough to make me change my mind.
Instead, they only fed the happy anticipation growing in my chest. I couldn’t wait to meet the people he cared so much for.
The fact that he was more than happy to introduce me to them made my heart swell.
Before we reached the top of the stairs, the front door was opened by a gorgeous woman I could only assume was Seb’s younger sister, Anita.
She smiled radiantly and stepped out to greet us with her arms out wide. The gesture erased any nerves I had, and I hugged her in greeting. She smelled like all things summer and fresh.
“Hi, Kira.” She pulled back, holding me at arm’s length, and looked at Seb. Her smile fell, and she raised a brow. “You’re telling me, you had this fine woman waiting for you to reach out, and you didn’t think to go visit her?”
Straight to the point. I loved her already.
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling.
Seb stammered. “Okay, yes, I was a dumbass for that. But I didn’t hear you complaining about me being here to help out.”
“Seb, kids sleep. You had plenty of time to go see her. Or invite her here.” Anita narrowed her eyes on him. “Treat her that way again and I’ll ring your ears.”
Seb nodded once. “Noted.”
Anita looked at me and smiled sweetly. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“You too. It’s also nice to meet another hugger,” I said.
“Oh, we’re all about hugs in this house.” She kept an arm around my shoulder and led me inside.
“Nice to see you too, sis,” Seb said sarcastically as he followed us.
I looked back briefly, catching his smile as he watched the two of us proudly. I think any worries he had about this meeting also faded.
Anita brought us through to the first room on the left, opposite the stairs in the hallway, and I spotted her eldest daughter, Chloe, in a recliner wearing a full leg cast. She was playing a game on her Switch before she looked up.
Her face brightened with a smile, much like her mother’s, and she waved.
I gave her a small wave back.
Seb went straight to Mia, the chubby baby sitting on the floor playing with colorful blocks. He scooped her up, and she giggled when she realized who he was.
My heart backflipped at the sight of him casually holding a baby in one arm as he walked over to his other niece and kissed the top of her head.
“She looks like a fairy princess,” Chloe whispered to Seb after looking me over with eyes full of awe.
I think it was my hair. It was out, and despite wearing a helmet, it managed to look completely windswept. The curls were unruly at best, and today they wanted to be a little extra. I gave up trying to tame them at the apartment earlier, but I was happy someone appreciated them.
“Hi,” I smiled at the girl.
“I’m going to assume Seb told you what happened?” Anita asked me, referring to Chloe’s leg.
“Oh. Yeah.” I frowned. “I’m so sorry that happened to her. And you. I can’t begin to imagine how stressful it was—”
“Kira?” Chloe’s little voice pulled my attention back to her. She held a purple glitter gel pen in my direction and smiled shyly. “Will you sign my cast, please?”
My mouth fell open in awe, and I hurried over. “Oh my gosh, I thought you’d never ask! It’d be my honor.”
Chloe giggled, and I took the pen and signed my name across her shin. I added little flowers too.
Several minutes later, I was introduced to Anita’s husband, Don. He was a hulking type of guy who wore glasses and spoke softly, and sported an apron as he came to let us know dinner was ready.
We followed him into the kitchen to lend a hand with plating, while the girls waited in the front room.
There was a large homemade salad, seasoned roast chicken that smelled like paradise on a plate, and fresh bread rolls all laid out on the counter.
“Kira,” Anita said as she sliced up an apple and plopped the pieces into a baby bowl with cartoon dogs on the side. “Mind grabbing the ginger beer from the fridge?”
“On it.” As I went to collect the drinks, I noticed a large colorful poster on the wall beside the fridge. It was a Haitian language poster.
Seb was picking up the salad bowl, closest to where I was by the fridge, when I turned to join him in walking back to the front room.
“You’re Haitian?” It was a question from genuine curiosity.
“On our grandmother’s side. Anita wants the girls to learn and embrace their heritage. Their minds are like sponges.” We stopped in the doorway separating the kitchen from the living room as Seb chuckled. “My brain, though?” He swiped his hand over the top of his head.
Anita overheard the conversation as she gave little Mia her bowl of apple slices. “He’s lazy with his Duolingo lessons.”
I laughed and nudged Seb’s arm. “We could learn together. Maybe having someone to bounce conversations off could help.”
His brows raised, and he placed a hand on his chest. “You’d do that for me?”
I shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to learn another language. It’ll be fun doing it together.”
After dinner, Seb and I wandered outside into the lush but simplistic garden at the back of the house. We stopped on the patio as I admired some of the plants growing alongside it.
For a moment, we were in silence, comfortable and content, before it drew out longer than I expected. I even had to check that Seb was still outside with me. He had gone so quiet.
When he was caught watching me, he offered a small smile and looked down, rubbing the back of his head as he hummed. “So, I have a question.”
“Okay?” I drifted closer, watching him curiously.
“What do we do after this?”
“With us?”
He nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets as if to stop himself from touching anything.
“Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of you.
But I know we’re getting things back to normal…
I really like you, Kira. Like, a lot, a lot.
” His kind brown eyes settled on me. They had a sort of yearning in them that made my heart skip.
“I don’t think I can handle being just friends with you anymore. ”
A smile was quick to spread on my face as the butterflies in my stomach amped up tenfold.
He stammered and quickly backtracked. “That made it sound like I wouldn’t want to be your friend anymore if you did say no to anything more between us.
Because if you did want to be just friends, I’m down with it too.
It might take me a little while to get over how I feel, though—you have my heart in a chokehold.
” He laughed nervously as he continued the rambling.
“Or we could try friends with benefits? Honestly, I’m down for whatever you want.
You say jump, I’ll say how high, kinda thing—let me rephrase—”
I grabbed his face in both hands, and his eyebrows shot up.
“Shut up and kiss me, Seb.”