Under the Viaduct, H. Anderson [top young adult novels .TXT] 📗

close, facing her, holding both her hands in his at her sides. He stared into her eyes and stepped closer, his feet on either side of hers.

“So,” her voice quivered as she looked up at his blue eyes, swimming with desire. “What did you want to talk about?”

“This.” He tipped his head and caught her lips with his. And caught her breath with his. And caught her heart.

Her grip tightened around his fingers as realization tightened around her chest. She loved him. And that knowledge wrapped her up with both icy fear and gentle warmth. As their kiss intensified, the warmth took over, flooding her body with a surreal sensation of peace.

He released her hands and rested his palms on either side of her face, his fingers in her hair and thumbs on her cheeks, tilting her head up as the kiss deepened, stealing her breath away. She hugged him close, her mind a jumbled mess of sensations, unable to form a single coherent thought.

He pulled away, resting his forehead on hers as he’d done yesterday. Her lips felt inflamed and slightly swollen. Blayne breathed in a long draught of air, his gaze never leaving hers. “Kaylee,” he breathed out, barely a hoarse whisper, “you are so amazing.” His breath on her face hypnotized her. “I…” He pinched his eyes shut and exhaled sharply. “I should get back to work.”

The spell broken, he dropped his hands, taking hers lightly in his as she unwrapped them from around his waist. He pressed his lips to hers one last time in a quick goodbye kiss.

They left their hidden corner and went together to the exit. Kaylee watched him walk away, headed back to the construction site, wondering again what he’d been about to say before he’d stopped himself.

She was going to have a hard time concentrating in her afternoon class. Then she had to TA after that. She touched her fingers to her lips. Best. Lunch. Ever.

After Kaylee’s TA duties were done, she headed over to the building that housed the surplus items the school was selling for cheap. Maybe they would have something she could get for Blayne as a housewarming gift. She spotted the perfect item right away—a small microwave. It looked clean. Hoping it hadn’t been used in some lab rat experiment over in the science building, she purchased it for ten bucks and lugged it to her car.

Looking at the clock on her dashboard as she started the car, she realized that Blayne would probably be home from work. Her TA job went later than his construction job. She smiled, deciding to surprise him.

She pulled up to his building, parking near the steps leading up to his studio. She put the car in park and turned off the engine. Kaylee grabbed her phone and got out, lifting her hand to wave as she spotted Blayne partially hidden on the other side of the stairs, talking to someone, his back turned to her. She decided to leave the microwave in her car, not wanting to stand there holding it while he finished talking.

Taking a few steps in his direction, she stopped, narrowing her eyes. It didn’t look like a friendly conversation. She could hear their raised voices, but not what they were saying. Blayne gestured angrily, and the other guy pointed at him then poked him in the chest hard enough that Blayne took a step back.

Kaylee hurried over. Blayne’s back to her, she pasted on a smile as she approached. The guy glanced at her and shoved something in his pocket. He grinned, instantly sending creepy chills down her spine. “Well, hello there.” He licked his lips, looking her up and down, then looked back at Blayne. “Who’s this, Blayne?”

Blayne turned to her, face wrinkled in anger. His eyes widened slightly when he saw her and he swore under his breath. Turning away from her, he answered, “She’s no one. Come on,” he grabbed the guy’s arm and pulled him away, down the street.

She couldn’t breathe, he may as well have punched her in the gut. She stumbled back a step and wrapped her arms around her torso, trying to stop the hemorrhaging of her soul. Tears fell as she whipped around and staggered to her car. Her phone slipped from her hand and she barely registered it, leaving it on the ground.

Her front tires spit gravel as she sped out of the parking lot. She could barely see through the tears as she ugly-cried all the way back to her apartment. Allie’s car was there, Kaylee couldn’t decide if she was glad her friend was home or not.

After rushing up the stairs, her hands shook as she tried to unlock the door. Before she could even get the wobbling key in the lock, Allie opened it. Taking one look at Kaylee, she pulled her inside and into a hug.

“What happened?” her friend asked, pulling away so she could see Kaylee’s lips as she answered.

Kaylee shook her head, her breath hitching as she tried to get ahold of herself. She went to the couch and sat, holding her stomach and rocking back and forth. As the shock wore off, anger quickly filled in.

Handing her a tissue, Allie sat next to her, angled so they could see each other’s faces. She put a hand on Kaylee’s knee and waited for her to talk.

Kaylee’s words came out jumbled, just as they appeared in her brain. “He started to tell me something last night when we kissed. Then again today. But he stopped. I thought maybe…” She shook her head. “I’m so stupid!”

“I didn’t catch all of that, your tissue was in the way. But I caught enough,” Allie said. “But you are not stupid. Slow down and tell me what happened. And kiss? What kiss?”

Kaylee put her hands in her lap, tearing the tissue to shreds as she spoke. “He kissed me last night. And again today at lunch. Both times he tried to tell me something after,