LOGINAVA“Kai, are you still mad at me?” Charles asks from across the dining table, his eyes fixed on him.Kai, sitting next to me, rolls his eyes before picking up his glass of wine and downing it in one go. “Do you deserve me not being mad at you?” he shoots back.“He doesn't,” Blake chimes in, side-eyeing his dad while trying and failing not to laugh.I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to hold it in, but a smile still spreads across my face.“Blake, maybe you should stop adding fuel to the fire and actually help me beg for forgiveness,” Charles snaps, then looks back at Kai. “ I already told you I was on a business trip and I wasn't able to make it back early.”When Kai doesn't say anything, he adds with a sigh. “Alright then. How do I make it up to you? ”Kai looks at him with a blank look on his face. “Maybe you could rewind time to the Iron Crest Victory Gala and actually show up. You know… support me like a normal uncle?”“Can you do that, Dad?” Blake adds. “ It's a small request
AVA“Excuse me?” Mr. Westbrook’s voice cuts in. “And you thought a home meeting was the appropriate place to announce something of this magnitude? Not a boardroom? Not a formal discussion?”I almost scoff. Of course that’s his concern. Not the decision itself, but the setting. I can practically see where Luke gets his bad behaviour from.Mom straightens, her tone colder than I’ve ever heard it directed at them. “We would have preferred that but the reason behind this decision is sensitive and not something you’d want discussed in a room full of outsiders.”Mrs. Westbrook’s expression tightens. “And what is that supposed to mean?”Dad glances at Mom. They have a whole conversation without words, just their eyes and Mom gives a nod.Then she says it. “It’s about Luke.”“What about Luke?” Mr. and Mrs. Westbrook say at the same time.“What about Luke?” I echo, before I can stop myself.I don’t care about Luke. But whatever this is… it’s big. Big enough for my parents to walk away from a
AVAMy eyes flutter open, barely parting before I try to sink back into the warmth of sleep but then a wave of headache crashes in, forcing my eyes open completely. I let out a groan and stare up at the ceiling, a yawn slipping past my lips. So much for going back to dreamland.I turn onto my side and that’s when I see Kai. He's half tangled in the sheets, bare skin peeking through, and completely knocked out.I blink.“I woke up before him?” I mumble to myself, my voice rough with sleep.That’s… new. He’s usually the early one.My gaze drifts downward and that’s when I see it.My dress is discarded on the floor. His tuxedo isn’t any better, rumpled and abandoned right beside it. My heels are somewhere near the chair and my bra is hanging off the edge of it. And my panties… somewhere I don’t even remember tossing them.A breath slips out of me, my lips twitching despite the dull ache in my head.“Oh… Kai definitely needed that sleep,” I murmur under my breath as the memories from last
KAI“It’s time to announce this year’s Star Quarterback,” the head coach’s voice echoes through the ballroom, but it feels louder than that, like he’s standing right beside me, saying it straight into my ear.And the second those words leave his mouth, my heart stutters.Then it starts pounding.Hard.What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I suddenly wired with nerves like this? Like my heart is about to punch its way out of my chest?I shift in my seat, my eyes locked on the podium. The coach looks down at the paper in his hand, then leans closer to the university president beside him. They both look over it, murmuring something to each other that no one else can hear. The longer they take, the harder my heart pounds.This is new.This is a fucking new feeling for me. I don’t get nervous. Not like this. I’ve been playing football since high school. I’ve competed, trained and always been one of the best on the field. But I’ve never felt this. Never cared this much.Football was neve
AVAThe second Kai and I step inside the hotel ballroom, heads turn to glance at us.At first, I’m stunned. So stunned that my fingers tighten instinctively around his fingers where they’re laced together. My mind, being the traitor that it is, immediately drifts to the leaked video that was sent to my parents.What if it’s out? What if everyone has seen it? Maybe that’s why their eyes are glued to us.Because I can’t quite understand why everyone would be staring like this. It’s not like Kai and I being together is some shocking new development. The entire school already knows we've been together ever since I dumped their golden boy, Luke.“Are you okay?” Kai mutters beside me.I turn my head to look at him. His eyes are already on me, studying my face carefully.“I am,” I say.His hand slips from mine only so he can slide it around my waist, pulling me closer against his side.“Look at them.”I follow his gaze, glancing around the ballroom again.“They’re all staring because of h
AVAI gather my hair into a bun, my eyes fixed on my reflection in the mirror. I tilt my head to the side, studying how it looks pulled up.Oh no.Definitely not.I release the bun and watch the black strands spill over my shoulders. Much better. Hair down it is. I smooth it out with my fingers before lifting my gaze back to the mirror. The corners of my mouth curl into a smile at the woman staring back at me.“I look… gorgeous,” I mutter under my breath.My hands drift to the tiered ruffles of my dress as I turn slightly to the side, then to the other, checking how it falls over my body. My smile grows wider.How does Kai know exactly what would look good on me?The dress. The color. The style. Everything.He must’ve been paying attention long before we even started dating to know what would suit me like this.The burgundy gown fits like a second skin, hugging every curve and highlighting the small dip of my waist, then the fabric gathers in cascading ruffles from my waist all the
AVADeep down, I know it’s not really about avoiding home or facing my parents. That’s not why I want to go to his place. The truth is, I just want to spend time with him.I don’t even understand why I am so drawn to him. Every time I try to pull away, I end up right back here like some part of me
AVAButterflies stir in my stomach as I press the doorbell and wait. I grip the strap of my tote bag, holding onto it. Thrill and fear battle inside me, the thrill of doing something I know I shouldn’t, sneaking over to my neighbor’s house and the fear of being caught in the act.I glance around ag
AVAI wish I could block my ears and not hear a thing right now, with the loud moans filling my skull. I should go grab my headphones from my room to drown out the noise, but the thought of even hearing those sounds up close makes me recoil. I am stuck in the living room and the moaning is deafeni
AVAThe hard glare on Luke’s face shifts to visible shock. His jaw drops, and his gaze drifts to the source of the voice behind me. I notice his grip on my arm has loosened, and I use all my strength to fling his hand off me. I’m sure his hold has left a mark on my bare arm.I catch the faint whiff







