It reminded him of the complete isolation he’d experienced after his cousin drowned. Never mind he’d been a child himself.
Kaia swallowed and shoved his fingers through his hair. He wasn’t going there. Nor was he thinking about how he’d just given up once he was injured. Coach Yancy and the athletic director rallied around him. They’d insisted he still had a future in football. He’d need extensive rehabilitation and a commitment to overcome.
Thatextensive rehabilitationcost money, and a lot of it.Even before he talked to Mom and Dad, he’d known they couldn’t afford it. It was just easier to give up. Now, he wished he had an out, a way to give Rebel what she wanted…who was he kidding? He’d never compare to Diesel, who Kaia accepted was his competition. Fucked up and gross, but facts.
At the knock on his bedroom door, he groaned. He wasn’t sure how long the get-togethers lasted, since he’d never been to one. Not that it mattered. Diesel would leave everyone for a chance to torment Kaia. “Are you in there, Kaia?” Rebel called, her voice jolting him.
Lifting his head, he jumped to his feet and almost ran to the door. He swung it open and froze at the sight of the most beautiful girl in the world smiling at him.
“Move.”
Mattie’s order brought him back to the present, allowing him to notice her and Kayce next to Rebel.
Shoving him out the way, Mattie stomped past him, carrying a basket of clattering contents.
Giggling, Rebel halted long enough to kiss his cheek and hop on by. Kayce’s amusement broke through Kaia’s shock. He stepped aside, so his brother could enter the bedroom for the first time since Kaia moved in.
Kayce whistled. “Damn, you’ve moved up in the world.”
Concerned that his brother might turn against him and unable to understand the meaning behind the words, Kaia closed the door, faced his guests, and shrugged.
Before Kayce answered, Rebel held a bottle of sparkling wine out to Kaia, taken from the basket Mattie set on his bed. “Can you open this?”
Since her return from LA, they talked about surface level shit, nothing too deep. Nothing about them. It didn’t matter that she’d called him her boyfriend at the club. Kaia felt the gapbetween them. He’d been wracking his brain for a poem to text to her and open communication again.
He took the bottle and read the label.Piper-Heidsieck. He stuck to beer, but his mom loved bubbly stuff. Her favorite wasKorbel.
“Uh—” He squinted at Rebel, pretending her smile didn’t leave him punch drunk. She was just fucking gorgeous. Clear blue eyes, golden hair, dark blonde brows, beautiful skin, and pink lips.
Mattie tried to take the bottle from him, but Kaia tightened his grip.
“How are you, Kaia?” Rebel’s sweet question didn’t hint at any of what she’d been through these past weeks. He loved her strength. “When Mattie told me that Kayce was coming to see you, I thought it would be fun if the four of us hung out. We had a lot of fun at the mall several weeks ago.”
They had. Kayce later told him he’d been worried the girls intended to shop. He wouldn’t have had the money to offer to pay for anything. What he could afford might insult them. Luckily, they’d mostly browsed and when they chose to purchase items, it was normal people stuff.
“Speaking of the mall, I want to show you some clothes, Kayce,” Kaia said, overcome by nerves.
Not only because he had Rebel’s full attention, but his family meant everything to him, especially Kayce. His little brother was very easy-going, especially if someone shared his love of football. Kaia’s fortunes had changed dramatically and he feared Kayce would see him differently. On the other hand, he wanted a chance with Rebel and he needed this come-up in life for a fair shot.
After the near disaster with Fia and everyone shunning him as a result, Kaia had a good talking to himself. He wouldn’t pressure Rebel, especially while she was so young. He’d be herfriend and, hopefully, one day be enough for her, when he’d rarely been enough for anyone. Chicks paid his way but also saw him as a joke. A pick me guy sold to the highest bidder.
Rebel, Mattie, and Kayce laughed, and Kaia wondered if he’d said something out loud and they were teasing him.
“Look, Kaia.” Rebel waved him over and showed him a funny meme on her phone.
Dutifully, Kaia laughed, too nervous to actually get the joke. “Your lips are like cherry pits,” he blurted. “Rigid and delicious.”
“No,” Kayce mouthed.
Rebel pursed her lips. “Cherry pits are bitter.”
“And can be poisonous if consumed in large quantities,” Mattie added with a glare.
“But he’s so creative, Matt.”
Rebel beamed at him and thumped to the loveseat, which still blew Kaia’s mind. He had an actualsofa, table, and chairin there as well as his own bathroom and closet. It wasn’t a studio apartment, either. It was his fuckingbedroom.
She rested her crutches against the arm. “You’re so creative, Kaia.” Her tone suggested she felt otherwise.
