Inheritance

Chapter 53

By the final morning of the trip, I was quite pleased with the way the tension between Kendall and I had completely resolved. After our tempting encounter at the club, he'd eagerly resumed sleeping in our shared villa suite. To which, I couldn't say I'd been entirely against in the first place. 

Even now, it was still crazy to think of the rocky way we'd begun the vacation.

Having now had necessary time apart, I could wholly appreciate the stationary warmth his doting presence added to the cool mattress each night. The occasional cuddles he'd made a habit of drowning me in were subtleties I hadn't known I'd needed, but I now simply refused to go without. And, admittedly, I couldn't see myself falling asleep without having him spooned at my side for the foreseeable future.

Once we returned to New York, I would surely be clinging on to every opportunity to sleep in the same bed as him. Without question, he'd be very satisfied with this sentiment since I wasn't typically an affectionate person. I smiled at the mushy afterthought, realizing how uncharacteristic of me it was to be this sappy. But, I was happy. Or, maybe I was in lov—

I immediately stopped my flux of impulsive rambling before that particular four letter word could pensively escape my lips. I found myself hesitant to acknowledge that I was truly in love. Not that Kendall wasn't lovable but, to be honest, he hadn't earned the right to that just yet.

Besides, it was one thing to wholeheartedly cherish the fulfilling memories of the adorably handsome and kind boy I'd grown up with. Even so, I recognized the weight of those emotions was simply a product of our intertwined childhoods. But, to openly be in love with the man he was today was a completely different story. It was genuinely petrifying and exhilarating all in one, when I considered how drastically my life had changed since meeting him.

Yet, maybe that wasn't a bad thing per se.

While words couldn't even begin to explain the depth of gratitude I held for meeting Kendall, I also recognized that it would be a huge disservice to myself to fall in love with him so quickly. If I was being completely honest, Kendall still hadn't given me much of anything over the last few months. I still knew relatively nothing about him, and he seemed to be a walking enigma that I was constantly trying to solve.

Though the benevolent attraction between the two of us was downright unparalleled on any remote level, Kendall was like a box of chocolates. Each day was always a surprise and I didn't quite know which side of him I was bound to get. While acceptable for now, my patience was bound to wear thin if his secrecy continued to persist after months of exclusively dating.

As I began to pack up my sprawled out belongings, I could hear the soft sounds of the water facet running in the bathroom. Kendall had surprisingly woken up a little later than usual today and was currently making up for the lost time by taking his morning shower. Though I could have easily woken him up earlier, I figured I'd give him some time to rest. Which was something I didn't think I'd ever seen him do.

Our flight back to New York  was scheduled to depart within the next three hours, so we had a fairly short amount of time to spare while we attempted to recover from the previous night's festivities. Since we planned to leave the villa within the next hour, most of our larger items had already been carefully stored in the van taking us to the airport. 

While Kendall quickly changed, I'd volunteered to gather the remainder of our belongings in an attempt to ensure we'd arrive at the airport on time. Given that I was currently having city withdrawals, I didn't think I'd last a second longer trapped in the tropical heat storm that circumvented the Bahamas. 

Don't get me wrong.

I absolutely loved everything that encompassed traveling to the islands, but nothing would ever come close to encapsulating the beauty that was the elusive city of New York.