I sighed, the shame seizing me threatened to crush me. “Never even finished any of those. I was funding my college stint with a government grant, but it ran out because I took too long to decide on my major. Stupid, I know.”
“You’re not stupid.” After a moment's silence, Kai said softly, “My mum always says everything happens for a reason, even if we may not see it immediately. You’ll end up exactly where you’re supposed to be and … I for one am glad you’re here.”
So was I, because despite everything — the bills, the sacrifices, the paths I’d had to abandon — this felt right. Standing on a field, yelling at him and watching him trust me with the parts of himself he didn’t show anyone else.
I leaned back on my hands and watched the sky darken rapidly as the sunset painted it in the most luminous shades of orange.
“Alright.” I brushed the turf off my hands. “One more rep.”
Kai groaned but stood anyway, his eyes ablaze. “Anything for you, Love.”
And damn it — I believed him.
Chapter 17
Kai
Tanewasalreadyrummagingthrough the fridge when I walked into the kitchen, dripping sweat from my morning lifting session. He glanced over his shoulder, then back at the empty spot where the leftover chicken should’ve been.
With his eyebrows raised, he turned slowly, the accusation radiating off him like heat from asphalt.
“Bro,” he growled. “Did you eat my meal prep?”
Absolutely.
I wiped my forehead with my shirt. “Defineyour.”
He slammed the fridge shut, glaring at me. “I swear to God, if I didn’t need you, you’d be homeless.”
“You sound hangry. Maybe you should eat something.”
He squinted like he could will guilt into me through the sheer power of his gaze, then seemed to remembersomething and his whole expression shifted into smug curiosity.
“So,” he said casually, leaning against the counter. “How’s the girl next door?”
I blinked. “What girl?”
Tane snorted. “Neighbor girl. The one you look at like you’d gnaw your own arm off if it meant touching her hair.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“No, no. Don’t bring Him into it. No reason to get shy on me now, neph. I’ve seen the way you sprint home after practice. Like a golden retriever hearing a cheese wrapper.”
“Tane—”
“And is that not her lip gloss and hair ties that keep turning up everywhere?”
“They’re not every—”
“And she’s got this ‘I pretend I don’t care but I absolutely care’ thing going on.” He folded his arms. “It’s adorable. Like watching two baby deer figure out romance while it’s coming at them like a road train.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, the tips of my ears heating up. “It’s not … I mean, we’re not—”
I cut myself off, dropped the fake denial and exhaled audibly.
“Already too late for that, I reckon,” I admitted quietly.
Why did she have to be so goddamn perfect in the first place? Wouldn’t be neck-deep in this mess if she was just a normal, boring girl.
