Kya & Xavier: It's Always Been You (Life As We Know It Book 1) (16 page)

Xavier Lee

“So do I get a kiss at midnight?” Chelle
asked as she moved close to me and looped her arm through mine. I looked around
as if expecting to see Kya watching me. I had my hands in my pocket and decided
it wasn’t a good idea for me to be standing there that close to Chelle so I
pulled my hand out my pocket and then looked down at my watch so that she was
no longer connected to me. It was 11:55, almost time for the countdown and I
needed to get away from Chelle because I knew where her mind was and wanted
nothing to do with whatever she had brewing in her head.

“Nah I’m just chilling.” I said attempting
to make it clear this time that I was not crossing that line with her.

“Looks like I’m going to have to take
things in my own hands then.” She said but before I could say anything someone
yelled, “excuse me,” grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I turned around and
looked dead at Toni and Kya. Toni had me by the arm and Kya by the hand. She
looked at me and then back and Kya and said, “you two need to talk, I’m over
this and so are you,” before she took off towards Ethan.

I looked at Kya but neither of us
said a word and a few seconds later everyone on the deck started yelling in
unison, “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5” I slide my hand into hers, interlocking our fingers
and joined in “4, 3, 2, 1.” I turned towards her and said, “Happy New Year,” as
everyone else around us yelled it so loud that I couldn’t hear the words as I
said them. My fingers found her belt loops, I pulled her towards me by the
waist. After I kissed her on the forehead and then the lips I half expected her
to push me away but surprisingly enough she kissed me back. She locked her arms
behind my back and placed her forehead on my chest briefly and then looked up
at me. I mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.” She replied, “Me too.”

The sky began to light up with
fireworks and everyone around us was yelling, pointing and hugging the people
near them. “I have to find Toni.” She said and then slide her hand into mine as
she searched the deck for Toni and Ethan. When she found them we took off in
their direction or rather she did dragging me behind her.

Toni and Kya ran to each other and
nearly knocked each other over when they hugged and yelled Happy New Year to
each other. I extended a fist toward Ethan which he met in the air with his
own. “You all good bruh?” He said and then pointed at Kya.

“For now I guess.” I said still not
sure why she all of a sudden had a change of heart.

“You know she found out the truth,
she didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what.” I asked.

“Tori lied. Old girl the chunky one
that use to rock with her all the time told Ky that Tori lied.”

“When?” I asked.

“Tonight. Toni told me a few minutes
ago.”

Toni stepped in between me and Ethan.
“So now that we are all back together and one big happy family again can we
turn up like we’re supposed to?” She asked grinning from ear to ear.

“I’ll leave that to you guys, the
only thing I’ve been approved to turn up is hot chocolate.” Kya said.

“I tried, it’s not my fault you can’t
hang with the big kids.” Ethan said.

“Wait, what did I miss?” I asked. Kya
had never been a drinker so I was confused about what they were talking about.

“Nothing, I just had a bad experience
with Tequila and Toni felt the need to tell Ethan about it so I’ve been banned
from all alcohol tonight.” Kya said and then cut her eyes at Toni who gave her
a sly smile and then shrugged.

“We’ll talk about that later.” I said.

“Or not.” Kya said and laughed.

The fireworks were over and someone
turned the music back up so the crowed began dancing again causing the deck to
vibrate. Toni grabbed Kya’s hand and the two of them began moving to the rhythm
of the song that was playing totally ignoring me and Ethan as they danced
around each other playfully beginning with what I assumed was ballet and then going
through every dance that they had ever learned past and present. I guess they
figured it was pointless to even ask us to join since neither Ethan or I was
big on dancing so after they had finished their time line of moves they joined
us again.

“What’s this?” Toni asked and pulled
the cup from Ethan’s hand that he was holding and took a sip.

“Lemonade.”

She frowned and handed the cup back
to him. “That’s a little more than lemonade.”

“That’s what you get for taking a
grown man’s cup.” Ethan laughed.

Toni looked around and then said “Oh
wait I don’t see your dad out here anywhere. That’s the only grown man that I’ve
seen tonight.” She smiled at Ethan.

“Oh so you got jokes.” He said. “How
quickly we forget. I guess I’ll just have to refresh your memory later.”

“You’re so nasty.” Toni said and
punched him in the arm.

“Aye, I speak that truth.”

“Whatever man.” Toni said.

“Man. Exactly.” Ethan said and then
laughed.

I was sitting on the wooden bench
built into the railing that lined the deck so Kya sat across my lap sideways so
that her legs crossed my thighs and hung off one side. She leaned back onto my
chest and I secured my arm around her waist and tucked my hands under her coat
to try and keep them warm.

“It’s freezing out here.” She said
and folded her body into mine.

“Where are all these people
sleeping?” I asked Ethan who was standing next to me leaning against the rail
with Toni leaning against him. I looked around and half the crowd had left
either with friends who hadn’t been drinking or with the car service that
Ethan’s parents had provided but there were still a lot of people there half of
them being our basketball team and cheerleaders who were beyond drunk.

“Anywhere they can I guess. We have
six bedrooms and my mom set up the game room with air mattresses and futons.”

“You’re staying right?’ I asked Kya.

“Yes.” Toni said answering for her.

“The four of us have the two bedrooms
downstairs.” Ethan said.

“That’s not near your parents is it?”
Toni asked.

“Why, you have plans for me later.”
Ethan asked and then kissed Toni on her cheek.

“There you go again. Keep it up and
I’m sleeping with Ky tonight.”

“Or not.” I said “She’s with me
tonight.”

Kya sat up and looked at Toni and
then me “Do I get a vote?”

“Hell yeah as long as your ballot
only has my name on it. You can vote all day long.” I said and then pulled her
back towards me again.

“I guess you heard that.” Ethan said to
Toni “You’re stuck with me so you better play nice.”

“I guess I’ll survive.” Toni said
sarcastically.

A few minutes later Ethan’s dad
joined us on the deck. “Well the old folks are going to bed. Your mother said
for you to make sure everyone is settled in and the let them know she has
breakfast catered in the morning.”

“Alright old man.” Ethan said and
then slapped hands with his father. “Happy New Year and thank you for all of
this.”

“Did you guys have fun?” He asked.

“Yes sir. We appreciate you doing
this for us.” I said.

“It was worth it I’m just glad you
guys had fun and at least we know you are safe tonight. It gets crazy out
there. Nothing like is used to be.”

“True.”

“Well I’m heading to bed, make sure
you lock up and get everyone situated or you’ll never hear the end of it from
your mother. She made me promise to make sure everyone was comfortable.”

“Dad these are college kids. They
only thing they need to be comfortable is an empty space on the floor and it’s
all good.”

“I tried explaining that to your
mother but you know how she is so just do me a favor and do the best you can to
get everyone somewhere.”

“I’ll do what I can but no promises.”
Ethan said.

“Good night guys and Happy New Year.”
He said and then walked back inside.

“My bag’s still in my car.” Kya said.

“Mine is too. Give me your key and
I’ll get it.” I said.

“Ethan’s mom has it but it shouldn't
be locked.”

“Where did you park?”

“Across the street in that open
field.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.”

I returned a few minutes later with
both of our bags and of course Kya’s was way too heavy for a one night stay.
 
Ethan had disappeared and was directing
everyone towards their sleeping quarters while Ky and Toni were now where to be
found. Almost everyone had decided to chill in the game room because there were
two oversized flat screen TVs one for the game system and the other connected
to satellite TV which meant they would all be entertained for the rest of the
night. Most of them had calmed down a little and some had even fallen asleep
which I attributed to the endless supply of beer and alcohol that Ethan’s
parents had provided.

 
I searched the room but couldn’t find Kya so
when Ethan was finished with the
 
rundown
of the overnight rules I asked him where she was and he directed me to the
bedroom that he had assigned to us. When I pushed the door open she was
standing in front of the dresser doing something to her hair so I dropped both
of our bags on the floor next to the bed, pulled my phone out of my pocket and
then sat down. I had two messages from my sister so I sent her a text to tell
her Happy New Year and that I loved her. She immediately replied “I love you
too. Happy New Year.” I looked up at Kya who was still in the process of doing
something to her hair.

 
              
“So are we going to talk about
it?” I asked.

“Nope.” She said bluntly without even
looking back at me.

“You sure we’re okay?” I asked not
really wanting to have a discussion about it but I owed her at least that if it’s
what she needed.

“We’re perfect.” She said and smiled
in a way that let me know that we were good so I left it alone.

I unhooked my book bag, pulled my
charger out and then surveyed the room for somewhere to plug it in before I
found an empty outlet beside the night stand that was by the bed. I stood up
and plugged my charger in, connected my phone to the charger and then laid it
face down on the night stand. It was already on silent but I didn’t need any
random messages flashing across the screen. Kya and I had some making up to do
and I didn’t want anything to jeopardize that.

Chapter 11

Kya Renee

I woke up freezing and my arm was
numb from having it folded under my pillow all night. Xavier was laying close
behind me with his arm laying loosely across my waist but it felt heavy because
he was asleep.
 
When I lifted my body and
turned to face him he opened his eyes and then closed them again. I moved in
closer to him before I pulled the covers up over our shoulders. He lifted his
arm pressing it into my back to move me closer to him before he slide his hand
under my tank top and rested it on the small of my back.

“What time is it?” He mumbled.

“I don’t know, but it’s still dark
out.”

“It’s cold in here.” He said and then
tried to move me even closer but we were already nearly on top of each other so
I didn’t go far.

“It must be cold if you think so.” I
said thinking about all the nights that we had been together where I had been
freezing dressed in long sleeves and knitted socks while Xavier on the other
hand was shirtless in shorts acting like he was about to die from heat
exhaustion. I had spent too many nights in my dorm room suffering under the
breeze of my fan while he slept comfortable and happy. A few minutes later I
could tell from the slow steady pattern of his breathing that he had drifted back
to sleep so I closed my eyes to do the same and woke up what seemed like hours
later to Toni wrapping her arms around me while pressing the side of her face
to mine.

“Mmmmm, what time is it? I moaned”
Toni rolled over onto her back and then sat up on her knees.

“9:30, breakfast is ready.” And then
she picked up a throw pillow that was in the corner of the bed against the wall
and gently hit Xavier on the shoulder. “Get up ugly.”

He lifted his head, opened one eye
and peered at Toni. “You woke up looking like that and you’re calling me ugly?”
He said and then closed his eye again.

“This is pure perfection she said.
You on the other hand. Well let’s just say you can stand to improve a little.”

She crawled to the end of the bed and
then stood there for a minute so Xavier reached over me and grabbed the pillow
that Toni had hit him with and flung it at her but she caught it and threw it
back hitting in right in the head.

“Watch your back.” He mumbled voice
heavy from having just woke up.
 
You’ll
never see me coming.”

“Whatever man.” She said shot a bird
at Xavier and left the room, closing the door behind her.

He rolled over onto his back and
folded one of his arms above his head, dug his fingers in to his hair to
scratch his head. “I thought you locked the door last night.”

“Nope, I thought you did.”

I pulled the covers off of me and
then climbed over him to get off the bed but was regretting my decision because
it was freezing in our room especially since I was only wearing yoga shorts and
tank top. I picked up Xavier’s joggers off the chair sitting in the corner,
stepped into them and pulled the draw string as tight as I could but they still
fell lose around my hips because they were so big so I rolled the waist to stop
them from falling completely off. I walked over to the dresser and surveyed my
image turning my head from side to side before I picked up my oversized brush
and pulled the loosely fitting elastic band from the top of my head and then
began raking the brush through my half straightened, half curled hair. I had
spent an hour with my flatiron before the party only to be left with this half
curled mess. One of the things I hated most about being natural but luckily I
had a good curl pattern so my hair just usually curled up into large spirals
whenever it go wet or I sweated it out.

I could see Xavier in the mirror
scrolling through his phone and then sending what I assumed was a text before
he stood up and stretched. His oversized basketball shorts hanging low on his
waist like they always did showing off his well manicured abs. He definitely
had a body worth looking at over and over and over again.
And again.

“What are you smiling about?” He
asked when he caught me looking at him.

“Nothing.” I focused on my own image
again.

“You just can’t admit that you’re
checking me out can you?” He had a smirk on his face. “It’s okay I know all
this is a little much at times.” He said jokingly and then placed his hand over
his abs.

“Cocky much?” I said and then rolled
my eyes at him while watching him through the mirror.

He walked up behind me and placed his
hands on my hips and then slide them down the front of my thighs which I
couldn't stop because I was in the process of pulling my hair into a ponytail
so my arms were bent above my head with my hands half entangled in my hair tie
and my pony tail.

“I’m confident not cocky just the way
you like it.” He kissed me on the neck before he walked back to the bed and
started pulling clothes out of his bag.

“Did you ever open my Christmas present?”
He asked out of the blue.

Oh crap.
 
I never did but I had it with me because I
intended to give it back to him and would have if things hadn’t turned out the
way they did.

“No, but I have it with me.”

“So you were beyond pissed with me I
see.” He said and then laughed.

“Do you blame me?” I frowned.
I’m glad you can laugh about it!

“No I don’t but that just lets me
know how deep it really was.”

I walked over to my bag and unzipped
the front pocket and pulled out the tiny silver package. I sat on the bed
beside Xavier and pulled the ends of the bow to untie it and then carefully
began lifting the tapped areas.

“Ky really?” He said growing
impatient with my slow unwrapping process.

“Chill and let me do this.” I said
not moved by his impatience.

When I had finally removed the
wrapping paper I placed it on the bed next to me and lifted the lid of the pale
blue box and smiled so hard that I probably pulled a jaw muscle. Inside was a
sliver box chain holding a dime sized turtle charm with diamond chips for the
eyes. I leaned toward him and placed my head on his shoulder.

“I love it.” I said softly.

“You and your turtles.” He said and
then took the box out of my hands. He picked up the chain and unhooked it. I
turned my back slightly towards him and he lowered it over my head, hooked the
clasp and then kissed my shoulder. “I don’t know much about this kind of stuff
but the lady at the store tried to explain it to me. Pretty much after about
thirty minutes the only thing I remember is that turtles represent the ability
to be steady and consistent and that’s what you’ve been for me. I know you
don’t always know where my head is at but I hope that if nothing else you know
that I love you and that will never change. I do a lot of dumb stuff but I'm
here and I'm trying.”

I turned and threw my arms around
him. “I love you more.”

Xavier never really got emotional
about much of anything and in fact the only time I had ever really seen him
express anything other than anger was when his mother died and even then it was
like he was shut off from the rest of us so this gift meant more to me than
anyone could ever imagine. Something as simple as a turtle charm was more
priceless to me than all the money in the world.

“And for the record the lady at the
store was totally trying to kick it to me.” He said and laughed.

“Wow.”

“Just saying, so just in case you
don't wanna act right.”

“She can have you then.”

“You wouldn't know what to do without
me.” He said.

“I've got a few ideas and they don't
have any cougars after them sooooo….”

“Keep playing.”

A little while later we were both
dressed and had packed our bags before we joined the rest of the crew for
breakfast. Ethan’s mother was standing in the hallway talking to a tall thin
blond woman who was wearing an apron that had the words
Fine Dining on The Go
printed on it in yellow and green letters.
She paused and focused on Xavier and I when she saw us.

“Good morning you two. I hope you
slept well last night.” She said and smiled softly at us.

“Yes ma’am thanks again for
everything.” I said.

“We did, thanks.” Xavier added.

“It was my pleasure. I’m just glad
everyone had a good time. The buffet is set up in the dining room. Help
yourselves.”

“Thank you.“ Xavier and I said in
unison.

“I guess they have real relaxed rules
around here.” I whispered to Xavier. “There is no way my parents would have let
us stay together overnight.”

“That’s because your parents hate me.
My aunt let you stay with me overnight.” Xavier said.

“They don’t hate you, they’re just
old school but they definitely aren’t your biggest fans.” I said jokingly.

“Like I said they hate me.”

When we reached the dining room there
were only a few people left. Almost everyone else had gotten up early that
morning and made the drive home or back to campus. Toni and Ethan were sitting
at the table with Davis and his girlfriend Lindsey. Trey was next to them.

“What up Zay?” Trey said. “Ethan is
not going back until later today, can I catch a ride with you back to campus?”

Xavier looked at me, “You heading
home?”

“Yeah I’m not going back to school
until Tuesday.” I said.

“Yeah, you can ride with me.” Xavier
said.

“Preciate it. I’ve done enough damage
here. I need to go have a conversation with the porcelain god.”

“TMI Trey.” Toni said and then
frowned at him.

“Hey we’re all family here, right?
Sharing is caring.” He said and winked at Toni before he lifted his empty
plate, stood up and then dropped it in the trashcan that was sitting at the end
of the buffet table.

The rest of us ate and then thanked
Ethan’s parents again for having us before we said our goodbyes and went our
separate ways. New Year’s Eve had been a success and Xavier and I were right
back where we needed to be. I prayed that we could hold on to it.