I quickly grabbed my backpack, made sure I had my keys, and rushed out of the house after turning off my bedroom light.
This man was sitting back in his car like he had the right to be here. I walked over to his car, slid in, and quickly closed the door behind me before someone saw me.
“Are you crazy? Why would you come to my house like this, Makari?” I asked. He looked at me and sped away.
“Why are you hiding from me, Kairi, when I told you I don’t like that?” he switched his eyes my way before looking at the road again.
“So, that means to show up at my house? You acting like you don’t have a woman, Havoc!”
He shook his head at me.
“I don’t, and it’s not what you think.”
“I know you’re with Ocean, so you can’t deny that.”
“Like I said, it’s not what you think, Kairi, but why not just talk to me?”
“Because we shouldn’t be doing this, and you know it too!”
Makari’s face changed, and his brows knitted as he thought about what I’d said. We both knew this was wrong and what could happen if anyone ever found out. Did I want to leave him? No, obviously, but sometimes we didn’t always get what we wanted.
“If it wasn’t for The Society and who our parents were, I wouldn’t be saying this, Makari,” I let him know.
None of my other relationships had ever worked out because they never fit me the way Makari did. In an ideal world, he and I would be good together, but that wasn’t the world we lived in.
He continued to frown.
“Let me think of something,” he said. I paused, wondering what that meant and if there was actually something we could find that would make all this okay.
My mind told me to tell him to take me back home, but my heart, that yearned for even a sliver of hope, told me to stay put.
I looked over at him then sat back in my seat while he silently drove. Thoughts of not seeing him again scared me.
When we arrived at his condo, he helped me out of his car and held my hand, leading me.
After stepping onto the elevator, Makari stood there staring at me. His eyes were softening, but I could see the fear that he was trying to hide. I wasn’t sure if that was fear of losing me or what could happen if we were found out.
“Makari—”
“Just give me some time to think things through first, but don’t hide from me, Kairi. I can’t deal with that.”
I nodded, and he sighed in relief.
The elevator doors opened, and he allowed me to walk off first. As I headed toward his front door, I looked behind me at him. His eyes were on the floor, showing me the trance his mind had him locked into. I stopped walking.
“Makari, we both know what needs to be done,” I said. What was the point of all this stress when it would easily go away if we just stayed away from each other?
He suddenly pinned me up against his front door and gazed down into my face.
“I said give me some time,” he stated firmly and then kissed my lips.
Makari unlocked the door, and I stepped in before him.
He locked the door behind him and sighed heavily. Tears filled my eyes because this was too heavy to carry anymore.
“Come here,” Makari said, opening his arms for me. I hesitated for a second before I walked into his warm embrace. My eyes closed, and I rested my head on his chest as his arms encircled me, making me feel safe and protected. Why did things have to be this hard?
“Why did we have to be born into these families?” he asked. I giggled because I was practically thinking the same thing.
