CHAPTER NINE: TENSION

~ We didn't need words. Our hearts spoke in silence. ~

POV: GABRIELLA BROOKS

I stood in front of the dormitory, arms crossed, pretending not to be nervous. The sky was already melting into dusk, and every second that passed, I convinced myself a little more that he wasn’t coming. That maybe i made a mistake in calling him, It wasn't too late to start calling Sage so she could talk to Lyra and I could spend the night at her place.

Then I heard it.

The low growl of an engine, smooth and powerful. Heads turned. I didn’t have to, I knew it was him.

Kai pulled up on his black motorcycle like something out of a dream I didn’t know I was allowed to have. Same leather jacket he wore earlier today, one hand relaxed on the handle, the other pulling off his helmet in that unfairly sexy, slow motion kind of way.

“Hey.”

Just that one word. But God, the way he said it...my heart skipped so violently it felt like it forgot how to beat.

“You came,” I breathed, not even trying to hide the awe in my voice.

“Yes.”

Kai didn’t say it like a favor. He said it like a fact. Like it was inevitable. Like of course he came...for me. Then he reached behind him, pulled out a second helmet, and held it out with a shady grin. “Come on. Get on.”

This boy... Should I be scared that he was suddenly being nice to me?

I hesitated for a second, then took the helmet from his hand and wore it. He turned back to face the road, gave the bike a slight rev, and waited. I swung my leg over the seat and climbed on behind him, awkward at first, unsure of what to do with my hands.

“You can hold on to me, you know,” Kai said, his voice teasing. “I don’t bite. Unless you want me to”

I wanted to roll my eyes. I wanted to say something clever like I always did. But my face was already on fire. Instead, I did what he said, I slid my arms around him, slowly at first, then tighter.

And wow.

The warmth of his back, the way he felt under the jacket, solid, strong...made something deep in me flutter and fall all at once.

Then we were off.

The motorcycle roared to life and surged forward, and I gasped but not in fear. In awe. The breeze whipped against my face, cool and wild, and I’d never felt anything like it. My heart raced with every curve of the road and every hum of the engine beneath us.

Kai rode like he knew what he was doing. Like he’d done this a thousand times. But what really got me was the speed, not too fast and also not too slow. Just perfect. Like he’d somehow figured out what I could handle before I even knew it myself.

And me? I was in love with the thrill, the way the world blurred into color and sound. I tightened my grip around him, pressed a little closer, and smiled like a crazy person behind the helmet.

It was my first time on a motorcycle and I never wanted it to end.

But it ended way too fast for my liking because after about fifteen minutes, Kai was already pulling up at our apartment building. He parked the bike and that was my cue to get down, I placed my hands on top his shoulders and gently got down. He did the same and we both removed our helmets, I handed over the helmet I was wearing to him and our fingers brushed sending shivers down my spine.

I don't like this feeling.

We both went upstairs in silence and Kai went over to his door while I stood there clueless. I didn't know if to ask him to let me in for a while, because I didn't tell him I was homeless when I called him to come pick me up.

Kai must have sensed me still rooted in one position, because he turned around and gave me a funny look.

"The Briella i know would already be running into her flat, why are you just standing there?" He asked with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"So...the thing is...

"Do you want to come in?" He asked surprising me.

"Yes"

"So quick?" Kai smirked and I felt the urge to slap it off, not literally though.

"Forget it, I'm not interested anymore, I'd rather have a cool evening resting in my apartment without the presence of any obnoxious being." I bragged and expected him to plead with me.

"As you wish, sugar." He had a broad smile on his face when he said that.

Did he just call me sugar? There was a hint of something lazy in it, like he wasn’t in a rush, like he had all the time in the world to watch me act on my words.

"Wait..." I laughed because I suddenly realized why he was so calm. "You already know I don't have my keys right?"

"Ouuuu" Kai chuckled. "Was it that obvious?"

The fuck?

"Wow" I breathed out.

How the hell did he find out?

"Sage messaged me a few minutes after you called me, said you were being stubborn and I should make sure you get settled in a hotel. I didn't bother telling her you already called me to spend the night at my place."

"Spend what night?" I raised my voice and all Kai could do was to burst into fits of laughter.

I don't see what's funny here, honestly.

"Nothing's funny you caveman" I said again."What do you mean spend the night? I only called you cause i needed someone to talk to before I made a decision on where to stay."

I had to fully explain myself because I couldn't have him thinking I wanted to spend the night with him. The thought of it never crossed my mind, not even once.

"I'm sorry" He raised his hands up in the air as if surrending and that brought a small tiny smile to my face. "You look so cute when you are angry."

I'm not believing that.

"Let's go in" I ignored his previous words and marched towards his door. "Open up, I need to rest my back."

Kai chuckled softly and opened the door with keys he brought out from his pocket. I went in and felt like I had stepped into another world.

"You live here?" I asked in total awe.

"Yes i do" He shrugged like it was nothing.

Nothing? This wasn't nothing. This house was everything, I totally wasn't expecting this when he brought me in. From the outside, it looked like any other building in the neighborhood, quiet, plain, nothing special. But the second I stepped through his door, my breath caught.

It was nothing like mine.

The apartment was huge and open, with ceilings and windows that stretched wide, letting in the soft glow of the city lights. Everything inside looked expensive, like the kind of stuff you see in those rich kid K_dramas. Dark wood floors, velvet-black couches, glass tables with golden edges. The lighting was warm and moody, casting shadows that made the place feel…intimate.

There was a fireplace crackling even though it wasn’t cold, and a massive flat-screen on the wall playing music I didn’t recognize. A sleek bar stood in the corner with bottles that looked older than me, and in the center of it all was Kai. Leaning against the counter like he belonged there. Like this wasn’t surprising. Like this was him.

"Not what you expected, huh?" He smirked.

I shook my head slowly.

No.

Not at all.

"You didn't come off to me as a rich kid, riding a motorcycle and living in a neighborhood like this." I openly told him.

"And that's where you are getting it all wrong. I'm not from a rich home, I come from a very simple family. My friends, Maverick and Rowan are the ones from rich families, they bought and decorated all these for me as an early birthday gift." He explained as he took off his leather jacket and threw it on the couch closest to him.

All his muscles were in full display, the veins on his hands were so visible and the short sleeve shirt he was wearing did nothing to help.

"Are you listening?"

"Yes of course" I snapped out of my thoughts immediately. "You have nice friends"

"I do" He smiled. "Come sit over here and have a drink, unless you want to keep standing."

I slowly walked over to the bar and sat on the chair across him, the atomizer at the bar had a different scent from the one in the living room and I couldn't help but internally applaud his friends for funding all of it.

"You said early birthday gift so when's your birthday?"

"Next month 25th, yours?"

"So I'm older than you" I giggled. "My birthday was on the 6th of March"

"Are you always this delusional?" Kai had an amused look on his face. "You turned 18 this year and I'm turning 19 this year on the 25th of June."

Kill Joy.

"I don't care" I rolled my eyes. "I'm older than you"

Kai shook his head at me before bringing out two glasses and opened a new bottle of wine. I didn't know when I started telling him about my situation with my parents. It must have been the wine. I had never realized that Kai was such a funny person, because i was laughing at anything he said. We talked about anything and everything, it felt like I was talking to someone I had known for ages, if anyone had told me three weeks ago that i would be having a heart felt conversation with my annoying neighbor, I would have hit that person's head on a wall. Literally.

"I just realized that I don't know your full name" I told him.

"Kai Alexander Flynn" His voice was smooth and unhurried, the kind of voice that didn't ask for attention, just claimed it.

What was this boy doing to me? Even his name was perfect.

"Alexander....I think I'll call you that from now on" I joked.

"Hmm" Kai hummed, a small smile playing on his lips.

I didn't say anything back and the conversation drifted into silence. Not awkward silence. Loaded silence. The kind that pressed against your skin and made it hard to breathe.

I couldn't take my eyes off him, one of his arm was resting lazily on the back of his chair, his other hand nursing his drink. His blue captivating eyes were on me too—calm, unreadable but there was a pull in them, something unspoken.

I cleared my throat and sipped the wine just to do something, but it didn’t help. My heart was loud in my chest. His gaze dropped to my lips, just for a second, then came back to meet mine—and suddenly the air shifted. Slower. Thicker.

Kai didn’t say a word. Neither did I.

But I felt it. The heat crawling up my neck, the ache of wanting to look away and not being able to. He leaned forward a little, not enough to touch me, but enough to make my breath seize. His eyes stayed locked on mine like he could hear every thought in my head.

And the worst part? I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted him closer. I wanted—

Kai reached out, slowly, and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers grazed my cheek, barely there, but it set my insides on fire.

Still, no words. Just a look.

And in that silence, I knew. If he kissed me right now, I wouldn’t stop him.

Not even a little.