Because for the first time since he left me that day, Kai’s plea has merit.
I might be planted to my spot behind the steering wheel, but suddenly it feels as if I’ve moved into an entirely different space. A different point of view, I should say.
I blink, realizing that I’ve been staring at this from camera one all these years. And now, I just got my first glimpse from camera two—the angle Kai saw all along.
A chill rushes through me. Ihavebeen wrong. I really have.
Suddenly Kai reaches for the door, tugs the latch, and pushes it open. Before I can summon even one word, he’s climbing out of the car.
“Forget it,” I hear him say as the door slams shut. And suddenly, he takes off down the road.
I stare at him in horror as all sorts of chaos crash through me.
My moment has come. There’s no more escaping it. I can’t wimp out. It’s my turn to eat the humble pie I have coming to me, and I need to do it whether Kai wants me back or not. Whether he wants a second shot at love or to only be my friend.
I love Kai, and what he said is true. I should have wanted those things for him like I did for Nate. But I was too focused on myself.
At once, I’m pushing open my door and stepping into the night.
“Kai!” I run after him as he hurries toward his Jeep down the way. “Kai, wait!” I cry out again.
The noise from the stadium bounces off the nearby building and buries the sound of my voice. Unless he’s ignoring me altogether. Refusing to hear me out after I’ve been so stubborn and blind.
Kai’s close to his Jeep. What if he climbs in and drives away before I can catch him? Before I can tell him that he’s right.
But then I think of something. A sure way for him to hear me. A trick Kai taught me himself back in the house.
With movements fast and shaky, I make two closed peace signs with my hands, lift them to my mouth, and curl the tip of my tongue back, just as he showed me.
A shrieking whistle pipes out as I blow with all my might, echoing off the pavement, the building and ringing in the dumpster beside me too.Whoa.
Kai stops in his tracks, lifts his head, and spins to face me. His chest swells, collapses, and swells again.
I hurry in to close the distance. Kai starts toward me too, stopping once we’re face to face.
His brown eyes brim with emotion.
“You’re right,” I say, panting to catch my breath. “I think I’ve known you were right for so long that…that it made it even harder to accept. But I was wrong to give you that ultimatum, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for trying to force you to stay.”
I recall something Kai shared with me on day three. A struggle his parents went through. His mother quit her job so they could move for his father’s law school. It built such a resentment in her that it nearly destroyed their marriage.
“You would have resented me,” I realize.
A fresh fire sparks behind his teary eyes.
“Is that true?” I ask.
Kai nods, his shoulders dropping two full inches. “You know I would have done anything for you, Nikki. But I didn’t want to do something that would make me resent you later.”
A burst of confirmation pushes through me, solid and warm.
“I’m glad you went then,” I say, meaning it this time. “I couldn’t have you hating me.”
Kai gives me a sideways glance. “I don’t think that would be possible.” He steps closer, closing the gap between us. A smile pulls at his lips.
I inhale the heavenly scent of cologne as his hands move to my hips.
His eyes fix on mine. “I want to date you again. Maybe put a ring on your finger one day. Have babies that will get poop on my shirt and make me barf.”
