Right in Front of You

23. Afterglow

Kay stretched her legs then let them dangle above the lake. She'd set her towel at the edge of the pier so she could get a good look at Joey and Kelly. They were once again floating on tractor tires, their cheeks pressed together, blissful smiles lightening their features.

Their afterglow was infectious. It was so obvious that they'd had the time of their lives that Kay felt embarrassed even looking at them. She had no idea how long the whole thing lasted. After Kyle left, with nothing else to do but obsess over his departure, she'd fallen asleep on the patio.

She'd woken up in her bed that morning. She didn't know who had carried her to her room, but she hoped it had been Kyle rather than a sexed up Joey.

Though the mere thought of Kyle had her squirming. She'd been so close to doing something incredibly stupid last night. After she'd started crying like an idiot again, when he'd held her, it felt different. Less like comfort and more like something that ran so much deeper. In the heat of the moment, she'd parted her lips like a floozy and waited, hoping he'd take the hint and kiss her. And for one wild moment, she actually thought she saw desire in his eyes.

Even if she was sure it was just a desperate hallucination, Kay held on to it, because if she were to fall in love again, it would only be with someone who could look at her like that. Who could make her go down in flames, make her feel like a strong, confident person. Damn it, if he hadn't let her go, she would've flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. Thank God he'd walked away or she'd be digging a hole for herself right now.

But instead, she was huffy because if he'd really carried her inside, she'd slept through it.

Stupid, confused, downright idiot, desperate... She could go on for days. Fortunately, tragedy averted. Unfortunately, seeing Joey and Kelly like this made her feel like there might be something to this sex thing.

It made her want to try it more than all of Donnie's pleading ever had. Which was so damn weird. Maybe Kyle was right and she really wasn't that into Donnie in the first place.

She couldn't remember ever wanting Donnie to kiss her as much as she'd wanted Kyle to kiss her last night. Maybe because Donnie had always been the one to push her rather than the forbidden fruit. Which was definitely a very inappropriate thought.

All this thinking gave her a headache. She should be figuring out how to face school and get back to studying, not directing a cheap porno starring her and Kyle inside her head. She wasn't even attracted to him. When she was sane. Though he was attractive, she'd give him that. Objectively speaking.

Argh! Kay sunk her head in her hands. Objectively speaking, she was a horny idiot and it was all Kelly's fault. Though she'd rather set her underwear on fire than miss out on helping Kelly be this happy.

The sound of footsteps blissfully snapped her out of her thoughts. Kyle headed towards her, not in swimming trunks, but wearing black ripped jeans, trainers and a black Uncaged t-shirt with the picture of a battered, open cage on it. They had band t-shirts? She wanted one, too.

"Hey," he said, stopping next to her, but not sitting. "I have bad news."

"What?" Damn, it hurt craning her neck to look at him, so she stood too, trying to ignore the fact that she wore bikini bottoms, a too small bra and a see through tank top.

To his credit, Kyle's eyes didn't stray from her face. Which was a little disappointing. "My grandma flew in from France for a few days and I have to get home."

She stared at him for a moment as her brain did the math. "No! You can't leave me here with Romeo and Juliet!"

Kyle groaned. "I know. But we either all leave, or I take you home and leave the two of them here."