The moment Kelly’s mother married again, her life changed in more ways she could ever imagine. First, she moved into a home the size of a castle and attended a rich prep elite school in Beverly Hills. Such new circumstances left her feeling alienated, except Kyle always made her feel welcome and like a best friend.
Kyle was the eye candy of every student. With movie star looks that would easily pave the way for his future stardom, he preferred to read and study film in hopes to become a one day renowned film Director.
He also preferred something else to study but the time was not right.
Over the years, their friendship grew and evolved to where they were the best of friends. Their favorite activity—watching hours of movies in their dark private theater room, just the two of them, side by side. Year after year, their favorite activity brought joy to their lives until one night on Kelly’s eighteenth birthday, Kyle presents a special birthday present for her and the two could no longer deny their taboo feelings any longer.
As Kelly went to sleep that night with a swelling heart so big, she prayed a special wish to God. Would He one day grant her earnest request? Find out inside...
Prelude
I leaned against the whicker chair outside the terrace in our private suite, inhaling the magical sea breeze of the Maui winds. This was truly paradise. It renewed every part of me. Not that there needed to be any senses renewed; he was always enough.
Who?
My husband. Mr. Grace.
Some say not everyone finds their soul mate in life because they didn’t wait long enough and gave up. The timing was off; each at different stages in life. Kyle always told me it would work out, that we would be together. Our meeting was unconventional, taboo even. Since the moment we met, hooks were cast into our hearts, attaching us to each other out in the ethers waiting for that sliver in time, the monumental moment for the stars to align, when all would be made right. There was no denying the chord of destiny.
“Mrs. Grace.” There he was, my sunshine. A special God-sent soul. And he was finally mine. He handed me my morning coffee as he kissed me.
“Thank you, Mr. Grace.” I was giddy; I would never get over saying that to him. I was so in love. In awe.
Still.
I still couldn’t believe it. I loved the way it sounded on my lips and in my heart. M.R.S.
“You and your coffee.” He smiled at me as he took a seat next to me. Cute. He thinks the giddy smile was all because of the roasted beans activated from the triple filtered boiling water. My happy juice.
Nah uh. It was all him. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Even after all of this time.
He leaned back into the chair raising his arms wide over his head before relaxing. I couldn’t take my eyes off of his washboard abs. I felt butterflies still and remembered the first time my hands felt his chest, sliding down his body discovering him for the first time. The side v’s that I loved so much, naturally etched into his surfer sea loving body. He hasn’t changed at all. The kindest man I’ve ever known.
I still blushed.
“What are you thinking about?” He asked me mischievously. I sipped the freshly brewed Italian roast, letting the warmth and flavor take me back to a memory of where the spark of love began, where it all started. How it all started years ago over the warmth of coffee on a cold morning of Christmas...
Chapter One
I was twelve. It was my first Christmas together as a blended family and I had to share it with my new bitchy step sister, Claire, brother, Kyle and step father, Rick.
Claire was my age, and Kyle was two years older.
Claire was a bit of a snob, either that or shy. It was hard to tell but I was beginning to quickly learn snob. That or possibly angry since her father had an affair with my mother—his, uh, cough—former legal secretary.
Mom has long tan legs that look killer in tight short, but proper work attire skirts, and her perfect breasts always have all the men staring at her. It doesn’t help that she has long blonde wavy hair like the former Victoria Secret model goddess, Marissa Miller. So naturally, it was a matter of weeks before she was in my new step father’s bed and the two made it official and were husband and wife soon after. He wanted to snag her before someone else would.
I recalled the moment when I first heard of the news. I had heard my mom on her cell phone confiding with her friend, “they were already over anyhow!”— the marriage of Rick and his ex wife. “I absolutely am not a home wrecker!” She had explained in articulated slur. She had had a few glasses of wine and thought she was alone during her drunken confessional in our cute little living room of an old 1940’s bungalow in Los Angeles. I always liked that room. I liked that home. I never ever thought I would be moving within months into an uber mansion in a super elite section of Beverly Hills.
Rick was one of the top litigators in LA. Which means not only was I suddenly caught up in some mega mansion of a top litigator’s home, but I had a new brother and sister—and a new preppy school filled with rich kids. Ah! But a school that had a killer literary department, which had me extremely excited since I wanted to be a famous writer one day.
But still, I had a hard time adjusting to all the changes. On our first Christmas together, only less than six months in my new home, new school, new family, Claire barely spoke a word to me. In fact she called my mom a gold digging cunt and stormed up to her room all the while we as a “new family” were opening up our presents. That was awkward. I remember the moment as I sort of sat there like a deflated balloon by this gorgeously decorated Christmas tree. My mom ran to the bathroom in tears and Rick went to console her. I could hear her crying and her confessions of, “That’s not true! That’s so hurtful!” echoing off the cold Italian marble in the abnormally freezing Californian Christmas morning.
It was just the two of us.
Kyle, me and our coffee.
I tried not to make contact with him but just looked down at my mug. But Kyle slid a box my way with a big smile on his face.
The wrapping paper was black. I glanced at him not knowing his motives. Was this a joke with the morbid style of Christmas wrapping? Or was this like LA chic? You know rich people.
His genuine smile assured me it was a nice gesture. His dark brown wavy hair danced across his sky blue eyes. He had a perfect nose and definitely was one of the most gorgeous boys I’ve ever seen. He was destined to be a famous actor or rock star or something. He hadn’t made up his mind what he wanted to do...as in...acting or music he had told me once. It was sort of strange all of the sudden having an incredibly good looking boy as your brother.
My new room was doors down from his.
I would catch his quiet stares in the morning as he would eat his cereal; stares I couldn’t decipher. So I tired not to decipher them.
But today I could decipher this look. It read, “I’m your friend.” I opened the box, moved past the tissue to see the coolest, bad ass Batman and Robin vintage t-shirt. It was black with the letters Batman and Robin written in white below the iconic old legendary TM and DC comic characters sketches with the word, “Hurry”, written under the characters.
“This is so bad ass! How did you know I’m like obsessed with—”
“It’s not that hard to realize. I’ve seen your comics.”
“This is so cool! Like this is for real vintage!”
“I knew you’d like it! I tracked it down off Sunset.”
“Oh my gosh!”
I practically bare hugged him and nearly knocked him down. I felt a bit self-conscious as my newly bloomed busty chest brushed up against his arm. I quickly pulled away and sipped my coffee, feeling nervous and shy about my new body. “This shirt’s really cool. Thank you. I feel bad. I didn’t get you something as cool as this. I barely know you guys. You know...”
“You don’t have to say anything. Come on. Let’s go watch some holiday movie that’s on. And if there isn’t one, I have a plethora of movies.”
It was true. They had an entire movie theater filled with thousands of DVDs since film was Kyle’s hobby. We spent all of Christmas day laughing and being cozy, watching tons of movies barely leaving the dark theater room. I finally felt the happiest I’d been in a long time on that day feeling just bliss and ease. Kyle felt like a friend, and for once, I was really glad to have a brother.