She turned left, and I followed her inside a small outdoor café area, watching her plop her bag down on the ground next to a table full of women.
“Hey, Alex,” a redhead chirped, looking up as the other girls finished laughing about whatever it was they’d been talking about.
“Hey, everyone,” Alex greeted, pulling out a chair. “This is Rika.” And then she turned to me. “Rika, this is Angel, Becks, and Danielle. We lived in the dorms together last year.” She leaned in further, mumbling under her breath as we both sat down. “They think I have a rich, married lover who supports me, so hush and just feel special that I trust you with shit, okay?”
She shot me a warning glare, and I snorted, sitting down in the seat.
“Hey, everyone,” I said, looking around at them.
They smiled, and the conversation picked up again, moving from boyfriends to midterms and I sat quietly, trying to relax and take in the late afternoon energy around me.
The taxi whistles, the car horns, the conversation going on at the tables around me…
But slowly, all the noises began to fade. The girls’ conversation became a distant echo, and heat spread up my neck just like it did every time I sat still today, and I could feel them all over again.
Their bodies. The steam room. The sweat.
And I closed my eyes, feeling the little aches I had from what we’d done. My limbs were sore, and I could still taste them in my mouth.
I couldn’t believe that had happened.
Michael.
Last night I swallowed shame and pushed boundaries, and I didn’t know if it was to test the trust, his love, or just to see the emotions that the experience would unfold between us, but I came out of it knowing one thing: that nothing could stop us.
If he loved me, we would be invincible.
Nothing had happened between Kai and me, not really. It was between Michael and me, and Kai had helped.
He’d helped me see that Michael wasn’t ready. Not yet. He needed the back and forth—the games—too much to give into me.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I fished it out, seeing Michael’s name on the screen.
I ignored the call, sliding my phone into my bag. That was six times today already, as well as six voicemails and a few texts.
I knew what he wanted, but if he wasn’t giving me his heart then I wouldn’t listen to him give me orders.
“Is that Michael?” Alex piped up, sliding me one of the waters the server had set down.
I nodded slightly and leaned back, resting my forearms on the wrought iron chair.
“Is everything okay?”
I shook my head, hooding my eyes. I had no idea how to talk about him.
“No, everything’s not okay,” a deep male voice said behind me, and I stilled.
The other girls at the table stopped talking and looked up, and Alex twisted her head around to see who it was.
I closed my eyes in frustration and then looked over my shoulder, seeing Kai and Will standing behind me, a black Jag parked at the curb.
“Michael’s been trying to get a hold of you,” Kai informed me, coming to stand between my chair and Alex’s. “When he couldn’t reach you, he sent us to look for you.”
“And I would’ve answered the phone if I wanted to talk,” I retorted.
“He thinks it would be best if you went home to wait for him,” Kai suggested, but I knew it was an order. “He’s concerned it’s not safe.”
“Noted,” I replied. “Thank you.”
And I picked up my glass of water, dismissing him.
He grabbed it out of my hand, and I hissed as the icy cold liquid spilled on my fingers. He flung the contents on the little potted tree behind him and tossed the glass back onto the table with a clatter.
He leaned down, eyeing the girls at the table who watched wide-eyed and still.
“Excuse us, ladies,” he bit out and then growled in my ear, his scent bringing memories of last night flooding back. “He’s worried about you, Rika.”
“Then he needs to say that,” I snapped back. “Not send his dogs to fetch me.”
He shot up, and I yelped as he yanked my chair back and grabbed me by the upper arm, pulling me up. Pushing me toward Will, he picked up my bag and threw it at me.
I caught it, but I threw my hands out again, flinging it right back in his face.
“Get in the car,” he ordered, holding my bag in one hand, “or you’re going over my shoulder.”
“Rika, you okay?” Alex stood up.
But Kai turned around, his body towering over her. “Sit down, and don’t interfere.”
She dropped into her seat, and for the first time since I’d know her, she looked scared.
“Let’s go,” Will pulled my arm, but I yanked it away, storming for the car.
Kai followed, and we all got in, slamming doors as Will pulled away from the curb.
I ground my teeth together, Kai’s tall frame next to me in the back seat filling the small space and his glare scorching the left side of my face.
He reached over and grabbed me, and I pushed at his chest as he hauled me over onto his lap.
What the hell was he doing? Did he think last night meant he could handle me any time he wanted now?
“While you’re busy pouting,” he said, his breath falling across my face as he held the back of my head in one hand and squeezed my jaw in the other, “let me paint a picture in your head that apparently isn’t clear enough.”
I jerked, trying to hit him and twist my head out of his hold, but his grip was too tight.