Obsession

Chapter 9

I wake up expecting the night before to be a dream, but when I roll over and grab my phone off my nightstand, I'm elated to see a text from Kai.

Good morning, beautiful. See you soon.

My heart leaps with excitement. It's real. It was all real. Finally.

"Mara?" My mom calls out, knocking on my bedroom door.  "Are you up yet?"

I hurry to the door and open it wearing a huge smile on my face. My perceptive mother immediately finds it odd.

She raises a brow.

"Yes, beautiful mother?" I ask in a sing-song voice.

"What happened?" she asks, still wearing the same look of confusion on her face.

I sigh dreamily. "Kai Sweeney happened."

Her face hardens at the mention of his name, but before she has a chance to speak, I beat her to it.  "We're finally a thing."

"A thing?" she asks, eyeing me suspiciously. "What do you mean, a thing?"

"I mean, he finally made a move last night. We spent hours together, just talking."

"So that's why you skipped out on our dinner plans?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

I gasp and cover my gaping mouth with my hands. "Mom. Oh my God, I am so sorry! I totally forgot!"

She finally relaxes and a small smile spreads across her face. "So...how did it happen?" she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

I smile as I replay last night out all over again for the thousandth time in my head. It was truly a night I never expected, but will never forget. "He just...showed up out of the blue and confessed his feelings for me."

Her eyes widen in surprise. "Really? What took him so long?"

"He didn't know I felt the same," I shrug. I'm not going to dare tell her the story about the stone. She'd never believe it anyway and besides, I want to think that Kai's timing is simply a coincidence. Even though something in the back of my mind keeps telling me that it's not and our relationship is nothing more than emotional manipulation. "He also mentioned his cultural barriers. I guess being from another country and having to adjust to a new culture made him weary of life here."

She seems impressed by my answer. "And what about Leo?"

My breath catches in my throat and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. I had forgotten all about Leo. I promised him a date, just last night. I obviously can't go through with it now, but I hope it doesn't affect our friendship or our duet. He's a really amazing guy with a lot to offer. If I had never met Kai, Leo would definitely be the type of guy I could see myself falling for. Unfortunately for him though, he could never mean more to me than Kai does. No one could.

"Leo is just a friend, mom."

"Does he know he's just a friend?"

It's amazing how she can see through me like I'm made of glass. I look down to hide my guilty eyes. "Probably not. But like I said, Kai came out of the blue. I...I never expected it." I look up at her and sigh. "You know I couldn't give Leo a fair chance anyway."

"I guess not. Listen, I know you've been obsessed with Kai for years, but don't let him change you or take advantage of you. Despite how long you've known him, you can't say much for how well you know him. Take things slow. Don't let this relationship take over your life. Keep a healthy balance between Kai and your friends. Stay true to yourself and your dreams."

"Ah, spoken like a true dance teacher," I smirk.

She points her finger in my face. "Hey, I'm being serious."

"Okay, mom. I heard you. I promise, we'll take things slow."

After I finish getting dressed, I head out to my car to see Kai leaned up against it, just like last night. A goofy grin spreads across my face as I approach him.

He smiles when he sees me coming and holds his arms out. I gladly fall into them. "Good morning," he whispers.

"Good morning," I mumble into his chest. I pull away and look up at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Well," he starts, looking over his shoulder. "I figured since we live next to each other and we're going to the same place, we may as well ride together. If that's okay with you."

"Of course," I giggle.

Campus is only a few minutes from my house, but I take the drive more slowly today, relishing every second I get to spend alone with Kai. I'm still convincing myself that this is real. Part if me is expecting to wake up from another lucid dream.

I jump when Kai's hand touches my thigh. He draws his hand back and his eyes widen in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's okay. I'm just..." I trail off when he places his hand back on my thigh, the warmth of his hand sending a wave of electricity all the way down to my toes. We look at each other and smile.

"This is all new to me. I've never..." The thought of telling Kai I've never had a boyfriend makes me want to puke. I'm as inexperienced as they come. Of course, I've never seen him with a girl either. Maybe he's in the same boat as me.

"It's okay, Mara. I want to be your first," he whispers, piercing my heart with his sultry brown eyes.

I have to look away from him and not only to watch where I'm going. I remind myself of what my mom told me this morning. I have to take things slow with Kai. I've wanted him so bad for so long that I feel he could talk me into doing anything. That's not how I want our relationship to be. I have to stay grounded.

When I arrive at my usual parking spot on campus, Anna and Rue are already waiting for me. I gather my things together and step out of the car wearing a huge smile on my face.

"We were so worried about you!" Anna shrieks.

"Why?" I ask.

"Why?!" Rue snaps. "How about because you're ten minutes late-" she suddenly stops talking when Kai steps out of my car.

Both Anna and Rue watch him intently as he makes his way around the car to stand next to me. He slings an arm over my shoulder and smirks at them. "Good morning, ladies."

Their utter shock keeps them speechless.

"Are you okay?" I ask them, holding back the laughter bubbling up in my throat.

Anna is the first to finally pull it together. She lets out a breathy laugh. "Wow. Kai Sweeney."

He looks at me and raises a brow. I can only shrug.

"What happened here?" Rue finally asks, motioning between Kai and me.

"I finally told her how I feel about her," Kai says looking from Rue to me. He smiles sweetly. "If only I'd done it sooner."

My heart nearly leaps out of my chest. I only smile in response since I can't speak an intelligible word right now.

He presses his lips to mine for a quick, but sweet kiss. "See you at lunch."

The three of us stand in the same spot watching him walk away. I smile to myself, anticipating the questions and demand for answers that I know are coming.

And sure enough, Rue turns around and takes her glasses off. "I don't even need these anymore because after today, I have officially seen it all."