“You can figure it out, yeah? Why a guy sends flowers to a girl.” His eyes are too close to mine, burning with emotion. His voice is soft and somehow cracked. “And he is scared shitless to admit it to anyone.Especiallyher.” I swallow hard but don’t look away. I won’t. Not when he is confessing. “And is aware of her every time she enters a room. And wants to punch his best friend who so carelessly wraps his arms around her waist. And when the best friend kisses her in front of everyone, and she laughs so happily, he contemplates the ways to kill him. Then the ways to kidnap her. And he wants to switch schools so that the sight of them together doesn’t rip his heart apart.”
Oh, God.
My chest shakes as I try to suppress a sob.
“Kai…” I whisper.
I didn’t know. How could I?
“This sounds so banal. Doesn’t it?” He smiles but still doesn’t call things what they are. I want him to. Because the only reason I was with Archer was to be closer to Kai. Because every time I looked around, I looked for him. Because I watched him with his girl and pretended it was me.
“Yo!”
The shout comes from the distance, and when we pull away from each other, it’s Ty waving his arms in the air.
“Love birds! Come!” he shouts.
The moment of truth is gone.
Kai looks at me with a soft smile. “Let’s talk properly later, yeah? We need to talk.” He leans over to place a soft kiss on my cheek and pulls me toward the village. “C’mon, petal.”
It’s petal again. That defense mechanism is up.
And I can’t wait for later.
Because I need this.
The words.
The closure.
The hope.
Him.
48
CALLIE
I can’t waittill night falls. When it does, when the chores are done and meals are finished, I will get another chance with Kai.
When I think my feelings can’t get any more overwhelming, Kai flickers here and there. His intense gaze on me makes me dreamy and useless as I fumble at every sight of him and smile like an idiot.
At dinner, we line up at the buffet, and when I sit down in my usual spot, a large form appears next to me and takes a seat.
It’s Kai.
He doesn’t say a word, but his inked elbow brushes against my arm, and I smile into my plate.
“Oh, the seat is taken?” Katura asks teasingly and sits on the other side of me. “Wanna take my bed, too?”
I blush. Thank God for the yellow solar lights that conceal it.
I eat without a word. The one time I raise my eyes at Ty across from me, he glances at Kai, then at me, and winks, smiling.
Everyone is quieter than usual. The incident a day ago was a warning. There is more to come, I’m sure. The dishes are cleaned. So is the dining room.
Katura walks out onto the beach and stands in the dark, facing the Southern part of the beach.