Kya & Xavier: It's Always Been You (Life As We Know It Book 1) (6 page)

I laughed and Toni hit me in her arm.

“Ky help me out here?” She begged.

“Not in this.” I said.

“Well at least tell me if he has a girlfriend Zay, you can at
least do that!”

Toni wrapped her arms around Xavier. “Please, please,
pleeaassse. This is my future you're playing with.

Xavier managed to peel Toni away from his body. “The team is
having a mini dorm party tonight. You and Ky come and I'll see what I can do.

“Done! See I knew you loved me.” Toni squealed, “And now I'll
leave you two to work out the rest of the details. She pressed a button on her
remote to unlock the car doors and then sat down in the driver’s seat which
left me and Xavier standing alone behind her Honda Civic.

“Thank you for coming even though you left me hanging and
didn’t reply to my text.” He said, leaned back on the car and dropped his gym
bag onto the ground next to him.

“My bad, when I thought about it I knew that you were
probably already getting ready for the game so I just didn’t.”

“No love.” He said with a half-grin.

“Doesn't seem like it was a good idea for me to be here
anyway.”

“Don't worry about that.” He knew that I was referring to the
argument he had with who I assumed was Tori after the game.

“Not my business.”

“Everything about me is your business.” He grabbed me around
the waist and pulled me toward him so that I was positioned in between his legs
and leaning into his chest.

I held my head back so that I could look up at him. “I'm sure
she would disagree with that.”

“What did I tell you about stressing over unimportant things?
I'm talking about you and me right now.”

“You and me? We're friends right? Isn't that what we agreed?”
I pulled away and stepped back.

“You made that decision. Not me.” I could tell that he was
annoyed and he was right, I did make that decision but only because I was
expecting him to fight for me.
You didn’t
exactly disagree did you
?

“So it's all on me?” I asked irritated that he was trying to
make it all my fault.

“I'm not saying it's all on you but you gave and walked away,
not me.”

 
“I didn’t give up I
just got tired of competing. You couldn't make a choice so I made one for you.”

“What if I realized I was wrong and that I should have?”

“Should have what?”

“Made a choice.”

“You always knew that you were wrong Zay. That's not
something you had to figure out or learn.”

“Okay you can get that.” He said being a little to agreeable
for me which definitely wasn’t his style.

“I know I can. So that's on you. You were always enough for
me, I just wasn't enough for you.” I got pissed just thinking about it which
made the tears begin to form and I could feel my body tense so I took another
step back.

“Chill Ky, I don't wanna argue with you.” His voice was calm
and unmoved like always which pissed me off even more. “I just want it to be us
again. Just you and me.”

“We're better off like we are, I’m not doing that
again.”
 

“Why not?” He asked with the most serious look on his face.
Are you freaking kidding me, why? Because
you turn into a little man whore every time we try and I end up hating you.

“You know why, it never works. We start off good and then you
get stupid and I get hurt.”

“Just give me a chance Ky.” He said clearly ignoring my
explanation and I knew that he kept saying my name because he was trying to
break me down without physically touching me.

“I don't know if I can. We're good now and I don't wanna mess
that up because this time we might not be able to fix it when things go wrong.”

“Come on Ky, don't assume that things will go wrong, just let
me try.”
Stop saying my dang name like
that!
“That's all I ask. If it doesn't work that's on me but at least let
me try.” When I didn’t say anything he grabbed my hand and pulled me close
again. “Kya?” This time he kissed me and held me tight so I gave in and kissed
him back even though everything in me was screaming no.

“You’re not exactly single, so what about that?”

“Do you think I care what anybody else thinks?” He kissed me
on the neck and then my lips again. “You know me better than that.” And I did, I
wanted to believe him but we had been in this exact same place too many times
before and I was afraid that if it didn’t work this time that it would be the end
of us and for good. I didn’t know if I was prepared for that but it looks like
I didn’t have a choice.

Xavier Lee

I don’t know where that came from but I couldn’t help myself.
Maybe it was my way of having a legit reason to get rid of Tori since
I’m back with my girl
sounded a hell of
a lot better than
I’m done using you
for sex
or maybe I was finally ready to
admit that Kya was it for me but either way I was in it now and there was no
backing out. I couldn’t do that to her again or I knew for sure that she would
close the door for good. Whether I was ready to commit or not I had to figure
out how to be. Either get my shit together or I was going to lose her for real and
that was not an option.

 
I knew that I cared
about her but sometimes I wondered if I had it in me to be the kind of man she
needed me to be. Most of the time it was just easier to deal with her no
strings attached even though I owed her way more than that.

As I approached my jeep I could see that Ethan was standing
beside it talking to someone but it was dark and I was too far to tell who it
was. When I finally got close enough and realized it was Tori I felt a wave of
heat run through my body.
Damn will she
let it go?

“You ready bruh.” I said without even acknowledging her.

“Yeah let’s roll.” He said.” Tori just watched but she didn’t
say a word.

We got in and I pulled off not really caring about the way
that I had just dismissed her. I was irritated that she wouldn’t just fall off
for a minute and she definitely didn’t know me very well if she thought that
pressing the issue was going to work in her favor. All she was doing was making
it easier for me to walk away without giving it a second thought.

“Dude, what the hell is going on with you two?” Ethan asked
but he wasn’t looking at me. He was digging through his bag looking for
something.

“Man you know how that goes. She thinks it’s more than it
really is.” I said nonchalantly.

“Bruh, you need to handle that, she was talking all kinds of
crazy.”

“I ‘m not messing with her like that anymore.” I said. Now I
really pissed about it. Whatever feelings I had were officially gone. I hated
complications and I hated people that brought them into my life even more.

“I feel ya, just watch yourself man. She’s on one. I hope you
wrapped it up with that one.”

“No doubt, Always bruh.” That was one thing that I didn’t
play around with. My life was too important for that kind of slip up.

“So are they coming tonight?”

“Yeah, far as I know.”

“She’s cute, I can work with that.” Ethan said and then sent
a text to someone.

“What about Shaunie?” I thought about the conversation that
he had with her earlier in the café about the two of them hooking up at the
party. It would work out better for me if he ditched her because wherever
Shaunie was, Chelle was and I didn’t need anything screwing up my night. Ky was
already on the fence with me and getting caught up with someone as bold as
Michelle definitely wasn’t a good look.

“Damn, I forgot about that. I should be able to work around
it. I’ve just gotta stay low key.”

I laughed, “Good luck with that but whatever you do leave me
out of it.”

I knew I still had to deal with my own problems but for now I
was more focused on Kya so this Tori situation would have to wait.

Chapter 4

Kya Renee

“So that looked real intense.” Toni said as we pulled up into
the parking lot of Xavier's dorm. She found a spot near the front and turned
the car off.

“Yeah kinda.”

“Come on Ky, spill. You got in the car looking like the world
was about to end.”

“Same old thing. You already know.”

“So he's beefing with old girl and that means he's trying to
get at you again.”

“Something like that.”

“And?” Toni gave me a look that said spill or die.

“And what?” I fired back.

“Okay I'll leave it alone. Just be careful Ky. Zay is your
kryptonite.”

“It's not like that Tee, I just…” I couldn't find the words
to finish so Toni jumped in for me.

“I know girl, just be careful.”

“I will.” I leaned over and hugged her.

“Okay enough of this sad crap, let go get turnt!”

I laughed which made Toni laugh.

When we entered the dorm lobby I could tell right away that
the team was over the loss that they had just suffered through. The music was
so loud that I could hear it in the parking lot and the halls were flooded with
students including the basketball team. Girls were half dressed, smiling,
grinding, clinging to anything or anyone with muscles and a team logo printed
on them. I half expected to see Xavier right in the middle of it but he was
nowhere to be found.

Zay lived in what was considered the athletic dorms which
housed the football and basketball players. They were the money makers of the
school and it was clear from their set up and privilege. Basketball and
football ticket sales along with alumni contributions financed a big part of
the school so the male athletes pretty much did whatever they wanted, whenever
they wanted while living like kings. I tried to image a party like this
happening at our dorm and it made me laugh. The campus police, dean and city
cops would have been there before the first song finished playing to shut it
down.

Toni and I took the elevator to the third floor and walked
towards the end of the hall where Xavier's room was. Their dorms were much
nicer than the ones that we lived in and the crowd was definitely different.
The four bedroom clusters called quads that housed a living room, kitchen with
marble counters and hardwood floors were ten times nicer than our plain white
walls, maple furniture and carpeted floors. These were brand new and had the
appearance of metro downtown apartments rather than college dorms.

Almost every room we passed had the doors propped open and
you could see counters full of beer and alcohol. Couples stumbled in and out of
rooms along with groups of friends who were clearly too intoxicated to be
unsupervised. The smell of weed hung in the air and grew stronger the closer we
got to the end of the hall near Xavier’s dorm but I immediately knew which room
it was coming from when we passed by a the smoke filled room two doors away
from his.

“Sup Chaz, is Zay in there?” I asked when we stepped into
Xavier's dorm room. They had four bedrooms but Zay and Chaz had gotten lucky
when a set of twins decided to choose another school two weeks after the semester
began so it was just the two of them. They were pretty close and I liked the fact
that it was just Chaz hanging around when I was there.

“Sup Kya, yeah he's in there.” He looked at Toni, “Kya’s
friend.” Chaz was a 6ft 200 pound linebacker that had a major crush on Toni
even though she never gave him the time of day but that didn’t stop him from
trying.
 
Chaz was from Hawaii with deep
olive skin and shiny black shoulder length hair that was currently hanging
freely around his chubby face. I liked Chaz he was funny in a lame kind of way.

“Don't act like you don't know my name Chaz.” Toni said.

“Girl I'm playing I know your name.” Chaz walked over to Toni
and playfully tackled her causing both of them to fall back onto their brown
canvas sofa.

I left the two of them and walked into Xavier's room. He was
sitting on his bed in the dark talking to someone on the phone.

“Oh sorry.”
 
I
whispered and turned to leave but he grabbed my arm, pointed to his bed so I
sat down next to him and he lifted his leg and crossed it over mine.

“I'll be there don't worry.”

“I promise.”

 
“How's school, you keeping
your grades tight?”

I began listening trying to figure out who he was talking to
and quickly realized that it was his sister based on the end of the
conversation that I could hear.

“Aye that's what's up.”

“I'm proud of you.”

“I gotta go squirt but you'll see me tomorrow okay and I'm
bringing a surprise with me.”

“It's not a surprise if I tell you now, so be patient tomorrow
will be here before you know it.”

“Love you too. Alright I've gotta go.”

He ended the call and dropped the phone on his bed.

“Why are you sitting in the dark?” I asked.

“I just came in here to talk because it was so loud out
there.”
 

“What’s she been up too?” I asked referring to Leigh, his
little sister.

“Same as always balling and school.”

“Trying to be like you I see.”

“I guess so. You got plans tomorrow?”

“Not really why?”

“Go home with me, her travel team has a game and it's
probably the only one that I can catch.”

“What time?”

“2:30. I've got practice at eight and eleven so we can leave
about one.”

“So what's her surprise, hopefully not me?”

“You're part of it but I used my upgrade to get her a new
phone.”

“Good because she would have been extremely disappointed if
you showed with just me.”

“Doubt it, I think she'd rather see you instead of me.”

“Maybe but I don't think I'm surprise worthy.”

“So you down?”

“Yeah I guess so.”

“Good because I wasn't taking no for an answer.”

“Whatever.” I said playfully.

“You know what's up.” He looked at me like he was running
things.

“And so do you.”

“Now that's funny.” Xavier said as he laughed and I leaned
into him with my shoulder.

“So what's up with your boy Ethan? You know that's the only
reason why Toni agreed to come.”

“I told him what's up, he's around here somewhere.” Xavier
pick up his phone to make a call.

“Where you at bruh?”

“Alright bet. We'll be down there in a few.”

He ended the call and leaned back enough to slide his phone
into his front pocket. Someone pushed his door open so we both turned to see
who it was and met Toni’s eyes which were peering at us impatiently..

“All this is pending my love connection so let's press pause
on this until my situation is secure.” Toni said.

“Dang girl you starting to sound like those groupies out
there.” Xavier said.

“You got me bent boo. I'm a business woman and all this,” She
circled her finger in the air towards me and Xavier, “is blocking my business.”

“Let’s go before I have to hurt this girl.” Xavier lifted his
leg to free me and the three of us left his room and headed into the hallway.
There were several groups of students sitting on the floor and leaning against
the walls in various spots. Almost everyone had a solo cup or beer in their
hands.

Xavier spoke to several teammates and a few guys that I
didn't recognize who I assumed where football players based on their size and
build. As we made our way through the hall into the stair well which was
equally packed with students and solo cups I moved closer to him feeling
uncomfortable about the way that some of the guys were staring at me. He
grabbed my hand and made sure I was close to him as we made our way down the
stairs to the first floor. I knew that Xavier wouldn’t let anyone get near me
but alcohol had a way of bringing out the worst in people and I didn’t need him
fighting somebody because they stepped to me the wrong way.

When we reached the first floor Xavier pulled the door and
let me and Toni walk through just as two girls passed by us and one of them
slide her hand across Xavier’s waistline.
 
Did that trick really just touch
him?
He glanced at me to see if I noticed.
Yeah I noticed!

“What's up Zay, you look good out there tonight.” She was
short, slim and I thought I remembered her being one of the cheerleaders but I
wasn't sure.

“Preciate it K.” Was all he said and then put an arm around
my shoulder which I figured was his way of letting me know he was not
interested in whatever she was offering. But I knew if I hadn’t been there he
would have definitely entertained the attention she was clearly advertising.

The one that put her hands on Zay cut her eyes at me and then
turned to her friend, “Girl, just five minutes with him, that’s all I need. You
know those legs are bowed for a reason.” The little trick laughed and looked
back over her shoulder at Xavier as he let the door close.
These tricks are so disrespectful.
Toni looked at me and I could
tell from her expression that she was waiting for my okay to follow them up the
stairs. I shook my head and kept moving so she rolled her eyes and followed me.

“Have you seen E?” He asked a guy standing just outside the
stairwell as he gave him a pound.

“He's down there in 111 hemmed up with Shaunie and her crew.”
He pointed down the hallway. Room 111 was the party room which I knew about because
of stories that Xavier told about wild nights and too much alcohol. If there
was a party at their dorms you better believe it started and ended with room
111.

The three of us continued through the crowd of students that
were everywhere until we reached the end of the hall where there had to be
about three times the amount of people that were on his hall.

“Wait here. I'll be right back.”

“See, men just can't act right. He knew I was coming and he's
caught up with some trick named Shaunie. I don’t even know her but I already
don't like her.” Toni said as soon as the two of us were alone. She raked her
fingers through her hair pulling it to one side and the flipping it back across
her shoulder.

“Girl chill.” I said and laughed.

“You're a long way from home aren't you?” I didn't look up
when I heard the voice because it was unfamiliar and I assumed they were
talking to someone else.

“Ky.” Toni poked me in the arm to get my attention.

“What?”

Toni pointed to the guy standing in front of me. He was about
my height with a low clean haircut and dimples. He was wearing jeans and a UNCG
t-shirt.

He repeated himself this time pointing at my floral printed
wallet that held my A&T ID card. “You’re a long way from home aren't you?”

I smiled sheepishly. “Visiting someone.”

“Is that someone a guy?” He asked flashing the craters in his
cheek.

“Yeah, why?”

“A boyfriend guy or just a friend guy.”

I could feel Toni's stare burning a hole in the side of my
face.

“An it's complicated guy.”

“I figured. Pretty girls are always caught up in something
complicated. Can I see your phone?”

I didn't know what made me hand over my phone so freely but I
did. I unlocked the screen and handed it to him. He was cute but a little too
aggressive having just met me and all.

“Here, whenever you need something a little less complicated call
me.”

He put his number in, handed it back to me and then
disappeared into the crowd. He listed his contact name as “uncomplicated” it
was cute so it made me smile but I knew I would never call him. He had sort of
a creepy vibe going on.

“What the heck is up with that?” Toni was almost yelling.
“You actually got a number, what is the world coming to? Kya Renee Grant I'm
impressed and you better call him.”

“Call who?” Xavier asked. He was now standing in front Toni.
I frowned when I saw him because he was holding a bottle of beer and half of it
was already gone.

“You dummy, you were taking forever!” Toni winked at me.

“Whatever man. E, this is Toni.” Xavier looked and Ethan and
then back to Toni.

“So I hear you've been looking for me?” Ethan said.

“Something like that.” Toni said with a flirty grin.

“Oh really and what are you going to do with me now that you
found me?”

He placed his hand on the wall behind Toni so that they were
close but not touching.

“I guess you'll just have to spend some time with me to see.”
She said.

“Aye we can just chill upstairs. I'm not with a crowd
tonight.” Xavier said. I’m sure he was just afraid of running into to one of
his situations while I was around.