Obsession

Chapter 17

"Good morning," Kai says, opening the passenger side door of his car for me to get in.

There, lying in the seat, is a single red rose and an envelope with my name written on it in Kai's bold, neat handwriting.

I look up at him and he's grinning ear to ear, satisfied with my reaction. "Happy Valentine's Day."

I pick up the rose and spin it around from side to side. It's so perfect.

"Roses remind me of you," he says, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Roses? Why?" I ask.

He turns me around so that I'm facing him. He pecks my lips and pulls away, still wearing that same goofy grin. "You'll see."

He walks away to the other side of the car and gets in. I sit down and open up the envelope with my name on it, expecting a card. What I pull out though makes me gasp.

It's a drawing of me, wearing my favorite kimono that has a red rose pattern on it. I'm sitting down, looking away like my mind is somewhere else.

It's so detailed. So perfect. It's almost like looking at a photo of myself, only far more personal.

"Kai...this is beautiful," I gush, looking over at him.

"I was hoping you'd like it," he says, backing out of my driveway.

"How long did it take you to draw it?"

"I don't know, maybe a couple of months?" he replies.

A couple of months?

Even though Kai's told me that he's had feelings for me for years, it never really sank in until right now. It was never that stupid rock that caused this to happen. This is real. He's been thinking about me, watching me, paying very close attention to me for all this time.

I never noticed it. Not even once. So how did he do it?

"What's wrong?" he asks, glancing over at me and taking my hand into his.

"I never noticed it," I say, thinking out loud.

"Noticed what?"

"That you were watching me," I whisper, staring at him in amazement.

"Maybe you just weren't paying attention."

I laugh to myself, looking down at his drawing again. "I was always paying attention. So, how is it that I was watching you and you were watching me, yet neither of us ever noticed?"

He looks at me, piercing me with those sharp, captivating eyes again.  My heart starts to beat wildly, the way I'd been wanting it to for him.

"Kai," I almost moan his name, "let's skip class today and go back to my house. My mom will be at work for hours."

He looks back at the road and licks his lips. "Don't temp me like that."

"I'm serious."

He cuts his eyes in my direction. I can tell by the rapid rising and falling of his chest that I must be getting under his skin.

I lean over and brush my lips against his neck, coming to a stop at his ear. "Take me home, Kai."

He lets go of my hand and grabs my thigh, digging his fingertips into my bare skin. "Dammit, Mara," he moans. "What happened to taking things slow?"

I know we should be, but I'm too anxious to prove to myself that I really want to be with him. Right now, I do, more than anything. And this time, I'm not afraid.