He shakes his head. I glance at my jeans on the floor, bending down to grab them. I manage to pull them on without compromising Kallie’s nakedness. My nakedness he can just deal with.
‘What the fuck, man!’ he says, turning his head.
‘You want to be a creeper, but you can’t deal with a little dick?’
‘What are you doing here, anyway?’ Kallie demands, though I don’t get involved. I learned a long time ago not to get between these two when they fight. To get involved just seems to increase their ire.
‘I came to check if you were okay. I even phoned a couple of times when the lighting hit the power station to find out if you were all right. When you didn’t answer, of course I came to check. Imagine how grand it was to know that you’re doingfucking fine.’
I almost snigger because the fucking was fine, but as Kallie glares at him, I tamp the reaction back.
‘Well, thank you for checking on me, brother mine.’ She sounds anything but thankful, trying hard to retain her cool. ‘But as you can see, we’re good.’Hell yes!‘So you can leave now.’
‘What, so you can just do it again? Fat chance.’
Kallie looks like she’s going to explode, visibly shaking with anger.
‘It? Do it? Are we in high school? Think about it; I’m a grown woman. I can do what I want—dowhoI want. And I deserve a chance at happiness. Maybe I’ll get hurt, maybe I won’t, but I’d rather risk it than end up being alone.’
Addy opens his mouth to say something, but at this point, there’s nothing he can say to cool her temper.
‘Look,” I interject. It’s not one of my best ideas, getting between the pair, but I want to help. You need to be okay with this, because it isn’t a one-time deal. I love her.’
Kallie’s attention snaps to me as he frowns.
‘A bit soon for that,’ he grumbles mulishly.
‘Maybe if we just met. But I’ve known her a long time. And I know what I feel.’ They both blink at me, so I might as well keep going now that I’ve shut them both up. ‘I want to do this thing properly; move back here,’ I say to Kallie, hoping for the right reaction. ‘I mean, I can move to Cali, if that’s waht you want. But I’d like to move back here at some point. I want us to be around family. Let’s not waste any more time.’
‘Really?’ Her voice is soft, her gaze solemn.
‘Really,’ I answer sincerely, before glancing Addy’s way. ‘I don’t want to step on your toes. I want to be with her and I’m going to do it anyway, but if we had your blessing it would be really great. For all of us.’
Addy looks unsure, his gaze sliding to Kallie.
‘Not a onetime deal?’ Or in brother speak, he’s not taking advantage of you?
‘No, I think I’ve always loved him.’
‘All I care about is making sure you’re not hurt.’ His demeanour eases, the stiffness in his posture settling, but as his eyes move to me, I see fire there. ‘If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. I won’t just to fuck you up. Do you get what I’m saying?”
I nod, and I know exactly what he means, because in his position, I’d do the same. But he doesn’t have to worry. I know everything about Kallie—her bad moods, her smarts, her sass, her, wit, and her beauty. From here on in, I’ll get to know of her hopes and her dreams.
I’ve been around the world, known plenty of women, and I know for a fact there isn’t a woman out there to compare. Kallie is the one I want. I’m not going to let her go this time.
Addy sighs as he pushes to stand. ‘Fine.’ The one word is stiff, but I can see he’s hiding a grin.
‘So you’ll get out of the room now. You know, so I can get dressed.’
‘Yeah,’ he replies, scratching the back of his head. He looks a little embarrassed now, but as he gets to the door, he turns. ‘For what it’s worth, this thing between you? It means I get to have my sister and my best friend home. But it also means I’ll be watching you.’ He points a finger in my direction, sort of like a gun.
‘You were being serious?’ she asks softly.
I take her face in my hands and kiss her cute button nose.
‘I’m seriously in love with you.”
Playing His Games
