Revealing Kia (9 page)

Okay so she got a lot of detention and skipped school and did nothing she was told … but it didn’t mean she…

“She’s been like this her entire life,” Adam said when I could think of nothing to say. “She intentionally antagonizes them in some desperate act for attention. She doesn’t get that she’s doing it the wrong way.”

“
Well, one thing is for sure.” Kenny started walking in the direction of the stores. “As fun as it is to standing around here trying to get into Vanessa’ head, I can’t feel my toes. I’m hunting down some coffee.”

I started after him. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to be there with Adam. I was angry with him and I really had no reason to be. He hadn’t said anything I hadn’t already guessed. Yet, it pissed me off.

“Kia.” His hand closed around my wrist, stopping me from leaving.

I shook him off. “You had no right to say those things about her,” I blurted, turning on him.

“They were true and you know it.”

I averted my gaze. “It’s not her fault. She’s trying.”

“Yeah, trying to get herself shipped off to some boot camp in the Swiss Alps,” he muttered. “Look, I’m sorry!” he said when I bared my teeth. “But you know I’m right. I love Vanessa. I have no choice, she’s my sister. It’s kind of mandatory. But she doesn’t make it easy, so I know where my parents are coming from.”

“They are her parents!” I snapped. “It’s not supposed to be easy, but they’re supposed to take care of her.”

“Don’t you think they’re trying?” His voice rose around us. “You have no idea the things she’s done, the things she’s put them through. Vanessa is spoiled, she’s selfish and she only ever looks out for one person—herself. You can’t trust her, Kia. I’m her brother and even I don’t trust her. This blind faith you have in her will only get you hurt.”

It wasn’t blind faith. It was friendship. Maybe it was because I’d never had a friend before so maybe I wasn’t the right person to say, but believing in each other was what friends did,
wasn’t it? It felt like it was my job to always pick her side, because that was what she would do, right?

“Kia.” His fingers were surprisingly warm as they touched my face. “
I don’t want to argue with you. I know Van’s your friend. I would never get in the way of that, but you can’t be blind to her faults.”

“I’m not blind to her faults, Adam, but
I…”

How was I
supposed to tell him that despite all
my
faults, she had become my friend? Out of everyone in our school, she had picked me. In a lot of ways, the person I had become in the last few months was because of her friendship, because she helped me see the better side of me. I owed her to be loyal and have her back.

“She needs me,” I murmured at last.

Something flared behind his eyes and the next second, he was in my space, blocking the world as he loomed over me.

“I need you.”

Adam

I kissed her and ignored her pitiful sound of protest. I did however notice she didn’t pull away. Her lips opened under mine as desperate and hungry as I was for her. Her cool fingers brushed against my cheek and glided back into my hair. I didn’t care. My own fingers closed into the fabric of her jacket at the waist and I held her to me.

She tasted exactly how I remembered, like chocolate and innocence. The sweet scent of her skin and the floral fragrance of her shampoo tangled together to form an irresistible temptation. It was as though I’d died and gone to heaven.

Kia pulled away. White plumes rose up around us with our unsteady breathing. Her heart cracked against mine in a wild dance. It was only then that I realized she was backed into a shop wall with me holding her there. I had no memory of pushing her back and I briefly wondered if I should apologize.

“What … what are you doing?” she panted,
her voice breathy with want.

I raised an eyebrow.
“I thought it was obvious.”

I bent my head and claimed
her mouth a second time. I heard her gasp, felt her shudder. Her lips opened for me and I grinned inwardly. I drank from her, taking long sips of her sweet taste. I didn’t stop until we were both gasping and inhaling sharp slivers of crisp mountain air.

“This can’t change anything,” she
said, her breathing as harsh as mine.

I laughed
thickly. “Baby, this changes everything.”

“
No, Adam.” She shook her head. “It can’t…”

I pressed
my lips to her warm cheeks, her chin and eyelids. “How can you expect that when you melt in my arms every time I touch you?”

“
You need to stop.” But it was
her
fingers in my hair, gripping me to her. When I let my lips hover over hers,
she
kissed
me
.

“You
first,” I growled, but stopped. I pulled back a notch to search her eyes. “We should probably move before I get us arrested for inappropriate behavior in public.”

She still looked torn, but I was relieved when she chuckled. “Probably a good idea.”

I drew her away from the wall and led her a few steps to avoid temptation. “Where to first?” I asked. “It’s just you and me for the next…” I checked my watch. “Two hours and thirty-five minutes.”

Kia narrowed her eyes watchfully
. “So, is this your master plan to convince Nessie you and I should be together? Because one would think you had this all planned from the start.”

I offered her a
sly grin. “No, my master plan was to get you to myself for a few hours.” I reached for her hand and considered it a success when she didn’t pull away. “I’m going to wait until after the holidays to talk to Van about letting her share you.”

“Why after?”
she asked, not nearly quick enough to hide the droop in her shoulders. Maybe it was because I was glad she was as anxious to be with me as I was to be with her, but I was actually pleased to see her disappointment.

My
free hand moved up to brush away a snowflake off her cheek. “Because making a deal with my sister is like making a deal with the Godfather.” I grinned. “You have to wait until she’s in a good mood and Christmas is never a good time. Van’s always a little extra cranky around this time of the year, especially with Mom and Dad here.”

“Sounds elaborate,”
she murmured.

I
shrugged. “It’s not. I just know when to pick my moments and I know my sister. I will talk to her though. I promise.” I tightened my fingers around her. “But, in the meantime…” I took a step back and swung our joined hands. She was spun under my arm and yanked into my chest where I caught and held her to me. She burst out laughing, the sound beautiful in the crisp, cool air and warm against my throat. I chuckled, pressing my lips to her temple. “You owe me a second date.”

Still laughing,
she tilted her head back and met my gaze, hers warm and bright. “A second date?”

I nodded,
bringing my face closer to hers until our noses brushed.

“I wasn’t aware we had a first.”

“The carnival,” I reminded her, stroking a kiss to the end of her nose.

“You mean with the tickets you bought to take another girl?”
she teased.

I raised my head and arched an eyebrow
. “You mean to take
you
,” I corrected. “After all, you’re the one who told me I was an idiot for never having been.” I let my eyes narrow. “Then you accused me of cheating. I was hurt you know.”

She rolled her eyes. “
I didn’t say you cheated. I said you were a turd, which I stand by and you were not hurt.”

“
I’ll have you know I was.” I sniffed haughtily. “Especially considering how much I was looking forward to our first date since I drove you home that first night.”

Her lips parted in surprise
. “What? No!”

I snorted, finding her reaction unusually funny
. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

She stared at me, her mouth opening and closing while she slowly rocked her head from side to side.
“I guess I’m not very good at reading signs,” she murmured at last, sounding a bit dazed.

I
laughed. “Apparently.” I sobered. “I wanted you from the moment I saw you behind the register at work.”

“You did not.”

I raised a hand. “Scout’s honor.”

“But that was such a disaster!”
she cried.

My
lips curved. “I know, but it was reasonably better than your
accident
in the kitchen…” I burst out laughing when she swatted at me. “That was my favorite.”

“God…”
She moaned, covering her face with face hands. “I wanted to die.”

“
I think that’s what did it for me.”

She peeked at me through her fingers, her cheeks pink
. “Me being an uncoordinated klutz turned you on?”

“
No, you being so completely you.” I bit my bottom lip and watched her through my lashes. “You’re fun and smart, and I told you how much I like those qualities in a girl. I guess it also helps that I think you’re probably the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.”

She let her hands drop away and she glowered dryly at me
. “Okay now I know you’re just trying to get into my pants.”

Having not been expecting outright denial like that, I blinked
. “What?”

She folded her arms
. “Your sister is gorgeous. Claudia is Gorgeous. That girl from yesterday … what was her name? The blonde who was a second shy of humping your leg.”

I wisely kept the grin off my face.
“Taylor.”

“Right. Taylor is gorgeous. Do you see the pattern here? I don’t fall into that mold.”

“And why would I want the same as everyone else when your uniqueness is so much sexier? I like you. I like everything about you, and to me, that’s the ultimate beautiful.”

She stared at me as though
I’d switched to Spanish. Her expression was bewildered and a little annoyed, which only amused me further.

“There’s something wrong with you,”
she finally muttered.

I sighed dramatically. “Yeah, w
ell, you’re stuck with me now. No refunds.”

Her expression melted from a sweet smile, to uncertainty before finally settling on a
n anxious frown.

“
What if you can’t convince Nessie?”

I
took her hand and brought it to my lips. “I won’t let that happen.”

We took the streets of Whistler Village at a slow, leisurely pace. Our combined footfalls were muffled by the soft crunch of snow beneath our feet and the rush of other foot traffic around us.
We bumped as we dodged the rush of shoppers moving around us in waves.

“I can’t believe how busy it is here,” Kia murmured, turning her entire body
towards mine to avoid getting jostled by a round woman weighed down by an obscene number of packages.

Using it as the perfect excuse, I slipped my arm around her middle and dragged her into
my side. She didn’t seem to notice as she watched the pass of people behind her. Her brown eyes shone beneath the lights strung from shop windows and posts. They glittered in her hair, emphasizing the warm, pink glow in her cheeks. She reminded me of a kid at Christmas, like she couldn’t get enough of staring at everything. She didn’t even notice when I bent my head and brushed the side of her head with my lips.

“Where do you want to go first?” she demanded, her voice high pitched with giddy delight. She made a little bounce on the balls of her feet while biting her bottom lip.

“My bedroom,” I groaned, starving to pry the plump little distraction free and taste it for myself.

Her eyes were big and round against her face, the wonderment and excitement
barely restrained as she looked at me. “I don’t think we’d get any shopping done there.”

I exhaled, washing both our faces with a plum
e of white smoke. “Baby, shopping would be the last thing on our minds. I promise.”

With a smile that lit up her entire face, she wrinkled her nose and gave me a playful shove. “Come on. We have to head back soon.”

Without waiting for me, she spun on the heels of her boots and hurried away. I expelled another frustrated breath before following.

Truthfully, I had no idea what to expect while shopping with Kia. I was so used to Van and my mom, who spent the majority of their time examining every article of clothing in
the store that I felt momentarily whiplashed by how quickly Kia was in and out. She seemed to know exactly what she needed to get, grabbed it and left. There was no lingering or loitering. It was a little strange, but at the same time…

“I think I love you. Marry me.” I cornered her outside one of
a shop, pushing her up against the wall and keeping her there as our breaths mingled and our hearts raced against each other’s.

I hadn’t meant it seriously.
At least I didn’t think I did. When I’d spoken the words, I’d done it as a joke, but the moment they were out, hanging between us with her standing maddeningly close … I couldn’t be sure anymore.

“I want swans,” she murmured after a moment.

I blinked, certain I’d heard wrong. “Swans?”

She nodded, running her tongue over her lips. “For the wedding. Bla
ck ones with little gold tiaras and gold feathers.”

I grinned. “I’ll make it happen.”

She laughed, shaking her head. Without another word, she slipped passed me and continued on. I stayed there, stunned that I was stunned. I was also hurt that she actually thought I was joking, which was stupid once again because I had been … hadn’t I?

I ground the heel of my hands into my temples as the badgering confusion chiseled at my skull. I was both impressed and annoyed that she c
ould toy with me with such little effort. The girl had some mad skills and I couldn’t say I didn’t love it.

“I’m hungry,” I announced once I’d caught up with her.

“Me—”

One minute we were walking and the next I was lying flat on my back, the air gone from my lungs and my butt aching like I’d broken it.
I wheezed as I fought to comprehend why the world had suddenly flipped on me and why my chest hurt.

A low groan alerted me to the
figure sprawled over my abdomen, accounting for my inability to catch my breath. I raised my head to find Kia raising hers, her cheeks a violent red as her eyes met mine.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pushing herself up onto all fours. “Are you okay?”

“What the hell happened?” I grumbled, rubbing a tender spot at the back of my head where it had made nice with the ground.

“I
… there was ice and … I didn’t see it … I’m really sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?”

It suddenly made perfect sense.
Normal Kia was uncoordinated enough. Add ice and you were just asking for a concussion.