Coming Home (Only Time Will Tell #1) (21 page)

As the music starts, I watch in amazement as they start slow dancing, love oozing off of them, something you rarely see. Two people actually in love, so in love the whole world can see it.

The five of us start swaying to the music, enjoying the moment before us. These four have every reason to be extra gooey over this. Aaron is the middle child, cocooned either side by two female siblings.

Soon enough the parents join in, coupling up and dancing along with their children, their babies.

As we watch on, I hear Kaidence mutter, “Wow. If he’s one of the guys who bought us a bottle, I think I’ll be taking Kacey’s side.” I slowly turn to glare at her. “You think you can focus on these two for a few more minutes before you start drooling over people?”

Looking back Aaron and Alice I hear her muttering at me to “shut up.”

As more couples start dancing along with them, I get pushed from behind onto the dance floor. I turn to walk back off but I get a chest in my face and hands pushing my hips further onto the dance floor. His aftershave doesn’t go unnoticed. Just in case the tingle up my spine didn’t tell me who it was, the smell of him, the smell of home, hits me like a ton of bricks. I struggle against him, not really caring how stupid I look but he positions me around him and starts dancing anyway.

He’s gripping one of my hands in his, his other tightly on my back. I’m unable to move and have no wriggle space. Clutching the top of his shirt in my fist, screwing it tightly at his bicep I look up and scowl—one of his mother’s death glares. “Kyle. What the fuck are you doing here?”

Looking down at me he cockily replies. “Dancing. You?”

“Wanting to know what the hell you’re doing here. How did you find me?”

“You know you can’t keep things from me. I always find out.”

I don’t understand him. When he left me last weekend he said he was done. How is stalking me around the world equal being done? If anything, it’s the exact opposite. “Care to explain?”

“Nope. How about you just dance and stop making a scene for now, I’ll explain everything later.”

I head butt his chest, which is a mistake because I realize how much I’ve missed him. He’s bringing out all the warmth in me that I thought I’d lost. I know I don’t agree with how he’s lived his life these last few years but I still can’t let him go. My heart won’t let me and I don’t think I want him too, provided he doesn’t hurt me. “You’re a complete ass you know that? Surely, you could have waited till I got back.”

“That was part of my problem,” he sighs leaning away enough so that I’d lift my head. “But, for now, can we just dance?”

I look up in to his eyes and melt. “Sure.” I sigh.

When the song ends it feels like it ended all too soon. I try to wriggle free but he just clutches on to me even tighter. “Please, I need to use the bathroom, and I don’t want you popping up in there either. I can manage a few things on my own.”

His finger finds my chin and he starts to lift my head to look at him. Although I’m facing him, my eyes take a little while longer to look up. He lowers his head slightly. “You promise not to go on the run?”

“I promise. And, don’t even think about bringing your lips any closer. I don’t want gossip to start flying around the family.” I say, trying to smile but in truth I don’t want them to start asking who he is. I think they know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t kiss some random stranger. Come to think of it, in all the time I lived over here I was never linked to any guys. They tried to make me go out and on dates but I wasn’t ready. My heart had been smashed to pieces twice in less than a year and I couldn’t face dating again. I just finished school and then made a future for myself. Something to keep me occupied and to try and stop my mind from wandering into the darkest corners of my life.

“Got it,” he says, releasing me, but there is something in them that I can only read as hurt or caution.

The moment I’m free I scuttle back to my table, grab my purse and head outside, which is where I’m assuming they’ve all gone, seeing as the table is deserted.

I march over to where they’re all gathered. Chucking my purse on to the table I grab the packet of cigarettes in the middle, quickly lighting one.

They all look up at me with a raised brow. “What?”

Kaidence gets her oar in first. “How come you get the good looking one?”

“Don’t start with me.” I reply, getting shaky that questions are already flying.

She shakes her head and dramatically wafts the smoke away from her face. “Why? You’ve never been interested in guys while you lived here and then suddenly you are?”

“One, I’m not talking about this and two, can you please stop going on about it. It’s not important it was just a dance with a nobody.”

I watch as their eyes gaze up someone behind me.
Motherfucker.
 

Cautiously, I turn to look at him and feel like I wrenched his heart out. He had to catch the last part didn’t he. The one bit I used to deter their questions. “Hi. I got side tracked.”

“I can see. I just came out for some air,” he explains and I want to cuddle him so tightly to apologize for what I said. “Are you smoking?”

“I…erm…no?” I stutter trying to get someone to grab it, but they don’t.

He takes hold of my arm and lifts it, grabbing the cigarette and stubbing it out in the ashtray. When he looks at me again, his eyes are filled with so much anger, I want to cower away, under a rock, like a troll.

“Do I even know you? What the hell happened to you? You know what, don’t answer that. I’m just going to say the feeling is mutual.”

He shoots me a look that makes me feel centimeters tall. I want to pretend that he feels the same love for me as I do for him. But, considering the context, he doesn’t like the new me. He just has to remember that his thoughts about me are wrong. The “other guy” in my life, according to him, is his Son and as for smoking, that’s a one off just to cease the nerves. He’s got me all wrong.

He says no more, just storms away, leaving.

Watching him walk out of my life again, I feel our connection losing power. “Shit!” It hits me. He’s hating me because of seeing things and assuming…just like I have. I’ve been doing the same thing and now the shoe is on the other foot. It hurts to feel like your words mean nothing and your actions mean everything.

“Great. Thanks to you scaring him away, I don’t get my chance.”

“Kaidence. I love you to the edge of the earth but there was never going to be a chance. So please, keep your mouth shut and your eyes to yourself.” I snap. Because obviously, this is what I need to hear.

Kacey, Kaidence and Abbey get up from the table and walk back inside without saying a word. “Even better.” I say plonking my arse on the bench. Sabina’s still there, obviously not fazed by my mood.

“Trouble in paradise?”

I snort a laugh. “It’d be fantastic if we got to paradise. I’ve just realized what it’s felt like for him these last few weeks.”

Sabina blows smoke in my face getting my attention. “Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it?” she laughs. “I thought I’d hang back just in case you wanted to talk about anything. You look little bit stressed. I’m guessing he’s the cause.”

“Thanks, I want to, I just don’t know where to start,” I reply, wriggling and bringing my dress underneath me so my bare ass isn’t getting splintered on the rickety bench.

She looks thoughtful, tapping away on the table with her acrylic nails. “The start? How did you two meet?”

“Shit! Sabina, if I tell you, you have to promise to keep your mouth zipped. I don’t want people on my case, that’s why I said he was a nobody. I don’t want people on at him.”

Her eyes brows screw up as she flicks ash into the tray. “I’m intrigued.”

I take a deep breath and look at her. Stare at her hard. “That’s Kyle.” The words leave my mouth and it sounds foreign to be saying his name to them. “Kody’s dad.”

Her jaw hits the table and color drains from her face. “You’re shitting me. Him? Why the hell are you even talking to him?” she starts to screech.

“Keep your voice down! He doesn’t know. He’s oblivious. His Mom made sure he didn’t find out and now he hates me because he thinks Kody is another guy. He thinks I’ve made out our relationship to mean everything to me when it wasn’t. I haven’t seen him in a week. He left and said he was done and now he’s here and thinks he means nothing to me.”

She puffs out a pent up breath. “Are you going to tell him? Because I think it’s important he finds out and from you.”

“Oh, you think?” I reply sarcastically. “I do want to tell him but whenever we’re together it’s like there is something that stops me. Mainly an argument. I just can’t say the words. What if he hates me?”

“What if you don’t and he finds out, what will he think then?”

Damn her for being right. “I know.”

As darkness sets in, Sabina decided she’s going to head back in but I can’t hack it. I just want to go to sleep and hide away from my problems. I was feeling better before tonight, knowing that I’d “seen” Kody but now I was back at square one.

Alice comes out at that point and we say our teary goodbyes and make promises that the next time it wouldn’t be a flying visit.

After the obvious goodbyes to everyone else, I drag my butt around to the hotel, dreading what was going to come of life if he hated me.

Outside the hotel entrance I spot a lone figure sitting at a table all on his own and my heart falls to my feet. I don’t know if he even wants to talk to me but sometimes you’ve just got to pick up the courage and find out, even if there is a good chance that he’ll reject anything I’ll say.

I don’t point out that I’m there, just take a seat on the opposite side of the table and face him. He briefly looks at me over his hands that are clasped infront of his mouth as his elbows rest on the table before looking away into the night sky.

“I’m sorry about what I said, I didn’t mean it,” I say, hoping that he’ll bite and talk. For a few, very long moments, he doesn’t. He doesn’t even look at me, like I don’t exist.

“I’m slowly grasping that. You say a lot you don’t mean.”

“That’s not true. I mean everything I’ve said. I love you, always have and always will. You just got the wrong picture the other night.”

He laughs at me in disbelief, “That makes two of us recently then, doesn’t it?”

Not quite, but I get his point. “That’s not fair. You haven’t seen me locking lips with anyone. You just saw me dance with a guy and got all pissed off.”

He rolls his eyes and goes to get up but I place a firm hand on his arm to stop him. Bad move when you’re trying to talk and your body suddenly wants to do anything but talk. “Don’t walk away. I’m trying to apologize to you. I get that my words hurt you and you think you don’t know me, but you have no idea how hard it is having you here. This is my family and you have to understand that they’ll be asking questions about you. It’s not something I want them to worry about. They saw me the first time I was destroyed by you, and although I know now that me being a mess wasn’t your fault, they’re still going to be cautious.”

“Whatever. I’m going to bed. It looks like I’ve made a completely wasted trip and I’d rather not be dead on my feet when I get home.”

This time I let him get up but I insist on following him. I still have questions myself. He can huff and sigh all he wants in the elevator. I’m going to barge into his life like he has mine.

“What the hell are you doing, Cat?” He shouts, which makes me recoil as I barge into his room the moment he opens the door. He can think that just because I’ve not been invited in I won’t come in all he wants. We are talking!

Throwing my purse on the side I turn on my heels and stare at him in the doorway, looking extremely pissed off, the light from the hallway almost making him look like a silhouette in the dim lighting of the room. “Talking. You can’t just show up here and not explain that to me. You said you would and so you are. We always argue and let everything eat each other up so, for once, we are talking.”

“I don’t want to. You’ve said enough, don’t you think?”

“Why? Because I called you a nobody? I explained that and one day you’ll understand that, so you might as well get over it. I didn’t mean it,” I grit out, frustrated at his lack of communication skills.