Sweetest Pain || Hawk Moskowitz

123 Can't Wait to Be King

Becoming the team captain meant KT put a lot more time and energy into track. She spent more time with her teammates and got to oversee Saturday training, planning them out and making the most of their time before the season began. She got to work with her closest teammates and the freshmen on a deeper level, all of them looking up to her as the leader they wanted since the beginning. They worked together even better than before if she had anything to say about it.

She absolutely loved it.

The only downside to it was the time she got to spend with her friends and boyfriend. It made things just a little more difficult since she was still hiding her relationship from her friends; if her friends couldn't accept who she was in love with, what would that do to their friendship? She was starting to reconsider the entire thing but didn't know how to bring it up to anyone. Especially Yasmine.

The worst-case scenarios flooded her mind when thinking about what to do. So instead of fretting over the stupid details, she put on her headphones and ran the block. She let the music fuel her and wrap around her mind rather than find some kind of solution to the dilemma she'd found herself in.

None of it stopped her from sneaking away for private lessons with her boyfriend, they just had to switch the time around to make it work with her new schedule.

Eli was happy and proud of her. He didn't mind her earlier mornings or her late afternoon practices elongating. She knew that, for a time, it was all she talked about - track and becoming the captain. Now that she'd achieved that much of her dream, she was ecstatic. When they talked about their lost time, he told her, "This is everything you've wanted. How could I be upset about that even in the slightest?"

After another hour of karate, they lay on his bed with their lips pressed against each other. His hands were in her hair despite it being sweat-soaked and she complained about it, but he didn't care. He held her close as their legs sat entangled, smiling against her lips as they came down from their adrenaline rush.

She thought about him pushing her shirt up, but it made the worst kind of butterflies enter her belly. When that happened, she pulled away and let out a breath, a small "sorry" leaving her lips.

"It's okay," he whispered. He pushed a strand of her hair away from her face, looking into her green eyes; his own eyes were soft and full of love. "We can stop."

"I don't want to, though," she told him softly.

He was patient with her as she slowly made her way back to how things were. It was easier now that Colt was out of her life. He didn't cross her mind much anymore as life took her through the fast lane and she became high on excitement that came with it. Since his departure, things in KT's life have been going up. He was no longer a problem nor a fear.

Eli brought her lips to his and she smiled. The kiss was sweet and gentle, everything she needed in that moment. His hands were in her hair, but only to cradle her head so that they could be close. Her own hands were placed on his body, one on his neck and the other on his waist. She didn't pull him closer, she didn't need to, because the surface of his bed only allowed them so much space. It was the perfect meld of soft and intimate without needing to do more than simply kiss each other.

The beauty of it all came to a stop when the front door opened and shut loudly.

"Eli, I'm home!"

"Shit," he mumbled as he pulled away from her.

She giggled, only a little sad that the fun had come to an end. "It's okay."

He looked at her, a funny look in his eyes. It was mixed with love, a pitch of annoyance, and some other things she was unable to place. "I just hate getting interrupted... can't wait to have our own place."