Jayded (38 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Kyle

We
’
ve been on the road for about eight hours now. We have another hour or so to go. Each stop we
’
ve made, the weather gets warmer and warmer. I think it
’
s in the high seventies now. I
’
m totally loving it. The girls rode together in Max
’
s car, and I am following behind. It
’
s been nice to be able to listen to my music and clear my mind.

Shit hit the fan right before we left. But Beth
’
s actions reinforced something for me. I don
’
t care who knows about Max and me. I
’
m actually okay with the whole world knowing, and I wouldn
’
t mind screaming it from the rooftops for everyone to hear. That
’
s big for me. I haven
’
t been the commitment type, and here I am, three weeks later, ready to commit.

I
want
to be with her and only her. I can
’
t imagine my life without her. I don
’
t want a life without her. God, this sounds so crazy, but it
’
s so true. What my mother said the other night has stuck in my head. She saw all this before I did, and the fact that it doesn
’
t bother her one bit shows me I
’
ve made the right choice in going with my gut.

From the moment I laid eyes on Max, she invoked something deep within. I just hadn
’
t known it, but I do now. I
’
ve never felt this way about anyone, and this is the kind of thing I don
’
t expect to find or feel again with anyone else. I just know this deep in my bones. I know it by my intuition. Now if I could just know if she feels the same. That
’
s the scary part.

We finally reach our destination and pull up in front of a nice set of townhouses on a private beach. Who the hell would want to leave this place to come to Rochester? My father must have given her one hell of an offer to pick up from here and move. Of course, he
’
s well known for that exact thing.

I follow in behind her and park. I immediately jump out of the car to stretch. My ass is numb, and my legs are stiff. I watch the girls do the same. I pull my bag out of the trunk and head up to the door.

“
This place is nice! That beach is calling my name. Do you think the water is warm?
”
I ask.

They both give me a crazy face.
“
Uh, most definitely not. You
’
d have to give it another month or two,
”
Max answers.

Kinsey is next to me, doing a pee dance. I laugh. This girl is nuts.
“
What? I have to freaking pee!
”
she tells me.

I allow her to enter first, and I follow Max
’
s footsteps as she turns on all the lights. The inside of this place is amazing. I didn
’
t know townhouses could be so open and spacious. It sure doesn
’
t look this way from the outside.

I look around and begin to be reminded of our little trip to Pier One last week. Some things look familiar. The atmosphere has the same calming vibe as the store.

“
Okay you two, I will see you guys tomorrow, bright and early,
”
Kinsey announces after stepping out of the bathroom.

Max throws her the keys as she walks Kinsey out the door. I
’
m exhausted from the drive. We have a couple more hours of sleep to get in before the sun comes up, and I am all for it.

“
Do you want to go up and get some sleep?
”
Max asks as she throws me a bottled water from the fridge.

“
Yes, I
’
m so ready for a pillow under my head. You coming?
”

“
Yeah, I was going to get some packing done, but it won
’
t help any if I
’
m exhausted later.
”

I follow her up the stairs, grabbing her ass as we go. She giggles and smacks my hand away. It just sort of hits me that we are in a whole other state alone. There are no eyes or lurkers around us. We can just be.

We enter her room, and I
’
m sort of astonished. Her room is so tranquil. She has sheer curtains hanging from the canopy of her bed. The room is decorated with warm earth tones and screams sex. I look at the bedposts and think ties and handcuffs. I look over to her, and she is watching me inquisitively.

“
What are you thinking?
”
she asks.

“
I
’
m thinking I have to tie you up on those posts before we leave.
”

She laughs.
“
This bed is coming with me. We
’
ll have lots of time for that,
”
she says.

Damn, I can
’
t wait. She begins to change out of her clothes. I can
’
t help myself; I have to touch her. I stand behind her and wrap my arms around her naked belly. Her neck looks so inviting; I can
’
t help but kiss it. I watch her reaction from the mirror on her dresser. She closes her eyes and moans lightly. That
’
s all she needs to do to fully arouse me.

She sighs.
“
We have to get some sleep, baby. We have a long day ahead of us,
”
she tells me. She
’
s right.

“
I know.
”

She walks to the bed and removes all the decorative pillows and pulls the blankets down. I slide in next to her and move her butt right to my hips, tangling my legs with hers. We take one long, deep, satisfying breath, and we fall asleep. 

T
he sun comes quick. Her place doesn
’
t have heavy curtains to keep the light out like mine does. Her shades are white and shear. The sun doesn
’
t filter in
—
it bursts in. I
’
m almost blinded by the brightness. I look over at Max who is sleeping right through this. It feels like I
’
m lying on the sand at noon on the brightest day of the year with no umbrella. This is crazy.

I get out of bed and head to the bathroom to wash my face. I look for the toothpaste and finally find it in the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. Lying next to the tube of Crest are two toothbrushes, a men
’
s Degree deodorant stick, and a Gillette razor. I would say the razor could pass as hers but the deodorant and extra toothbrush? I
’
m not so sure.

After freshening up, I head back to the bed. She
’
s now awake.

I crawl back into bed next to her.
“
Hey beautiful.
”

“
Hey.
”
She stretches.

“
What
’
s with all the men
’
s things in your bathroom?
”
I ask. I
’
m not letting this go. I need an answer.

She thinks for a moment.
“
Oh, those are my brother
’
s things. He stays here sometimes when his girlfriend kicks him out,
”
she replies.

I nod. That
’
s definitely a doable thing. I let it go. There
’
s no other reason to question it.

“
I
’
m gonna go attempt to make breakfast. You want to meet me down there?
”
I ask.

She yawns.
“
Okay, let me just freshen up first.
”

I give her a lingering kiss, then head off downstairs.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Max

I watch him leave the room. I exhale the breath I
’
ve been holding in. Fuck! I thought I got rid of everything. Cody just has to sneak back into my life in one way or another. I
’
m just glad I recovered from Kyle
’
s question so fast.

I really don
’
t see the issue of not telling Kyle about Cody
—
at least not yet. We
’
re not together, and Cody and I aren
’
t together any longer, so why dredge up the past? We
’
re just having fun.

I stretch one last time and then force myself out of my bed. That couple hours of sleep was like heaven. I
’
ve missed my bed. I
’
m so ecstatic that I get to bring it with me this time. Of course, the thought of Kyle tying me up on it sends tingles to naughty places. I can never get my mind out of the gutter.

When I stand up, I get a little light-headed and have to sit back down. I shake it off and stand back up again. I must be overly drained. Once I get some food in my system, I
’
ll feel much better.

I head downstairs and the whiff of bacon and eggs makes my feet move faster. My stomach growls.
“
Mmm, that smells magnificent!
”

He
’
s just finishing up and placing the food on both of our plates. Kinsey comes strolling in just in time.

“
Oh my God, that looks amazing! Where
’
s my plate?
”
she asks.

I can
’
t help but chuckle. God, I
’
m so glad she
’
s back in my life.

“
You okay, Max? You look pretty flush,
”
Kinsey advises.

I look up at Kyle.
“
Do I?
”
I feel my face to see if it
’
s hot.

“
Yeah, you kind of do. Are you feeling okay?
”
Kyle asks, seeming a little concerned.

“
I think the drive took a lot of energy out of me. The food will help though,
”
I tell them honestly. I scarf the whole plate up in a matter of five minutes.

Kyle looks at my plate and then looks at his.
“
Wow, I guess you brought your appetite down with you,
”
he jokes while sliding more food onto my plate.
“
So what
’
s the plan for today?
”

“
I figured we
’
ll pack up my house today, and then tomorrow we can pack up yours,
”
I say, looking to Kinsey.

Kinsey scarfs down the food.
“
I honestly don
’
t have that much to pack. I did most of it before I left. I can finish mine tonight. I have the movers coming Sunday. When do you think we
’
ll be heading back?
”
she asks.

“
I was definitely hoping to leave no later than Monday. It
’
s going to take most of the day to pack my stuff up, but tonight Luke wants us to have dinner with him at the little place off of East
—
Tuscans,
”
I notify them.

I finish the last couple of bites on my plate. Kyle pours Kinsey and me some more coffee.
“
Mmm, I absolutely love that place!
”
Kinsey says, licking her lips.
“
You and Cody met th
—”
she stops mid-sentence. I close my eyes and shake my head. I can
’
t believe she just said that.

“
Who
’
s Cody?
”
Kyle asks, looking between the two of us.

I sigh deeply.
“
We dated awhile back. Nothing special,
”
I answer.

Kyle looks a little taken back, like he doesn
’
t know how to respond to what I
’
ve just told him. There
’
s nothing for him to be upset about. He has a past as well as I do. I
’
ve personally been stalked by his past.