“Um,” Lake says, tearing his eyes away from his bride’s. “I guess this is as good a time as any to make the announcement. Riley is six weeks pregnant.”
“What?!” Robin and Kaylee both screech at the same time in excitement. Kaylee bounces up and down on the couch in excitement. Robin rushes from her seat and envelops Riley in a huge hug. Riley just laughs and smiles.
“Congratulations,” everyone starts saying. Happiness and excitement floods the room.
“You dog,” Kale calls over the racket. I look up to him to see a crooked smile on his face. “You’ve only been married two weeks.”
Lake gets that same lopsided smile that makes them look so alike, and shrugs his shoulders. “What can I say, I couldn’t keep my hands off of her.”
“Sinner,” Drake says, trying to sound serious and failing miserably.
“Let’s see,” Robin says, sitting down at Riley’s feet. “You’re six weeks, it’s the beginning of September, so that would put you due in…April?”
“Yep,” Riley says, looking incredibly proud and happy. “I haven’t been in to the doctor’s yet, but the online calculators say somewhere around the twenty-second.”
“Hey, maybe the bun will stay in the oven a little long and come on my birthday,” Kale says with a lopsided smile, a raised eyebrow, and a nod.
And with horror, I realize I have no clue what day Kale’s birthday is.
He must catch the look on my face, because he quietly says to me, “April thirtieth.”
But he doesn’t say it quietly enough, because we get these little looks of doubt from half the people in the room.
This is so early. So fresh. We still have so much to learn about each other.
I love you, and that’s enough for me, Kale had said.
I remind myself of that, swallow down the thing that feels like shame in my throat, and scoot a little closer to Kale.
“Who wants to hear a song?” Kaylee says, breaking the terrible moment. “Cause I know I do.”
“Here, here!” most everyone calls. I smile, not quite able to meet all their eyes. But I’m immensely appreciative to Kaylee for breaking the awkward moment.
“’K, just let me go grab my guitar,” I say.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
That night, after the family has all left, Kale and I wrap up in blankets in the hammock out on our private deck. The lights reflect and twinkle on the lake outside. I sit between his legs, leaning back into his chest, listening to him breathe.
“Did you like them?” he says quietly in my ear. A soft summer breeze sways us back and forth gently.
“I did,” I say as I snuggle my cheek into his chest. He relieved himself of his shirt the second they all left. I stripped down in the bathroom to just my underwear and put it on.
I’ve decided this needs to be our normal. Me in his shirt, him without it. It just seems natural.
“They liked you,” he says as he tightens his arms around me. “I could tell.”
“Your mom was a little intense,” I chuckle.
“Yeah,” he laughs. “She’s always been like that.”
We’re quiet for a minute. My head keeps going back to that awkward moment with his birthday and me not knowing it. There’s still so much we don’t know about each other.
Time to fix it.
“Okay, we’re going to play a little game,” I say as I shift. I spin around, my legs draped over his, facing him. “Twenty personal questions.”
“I’m down,” he says, sitting up and rubbing his hands together. It’s amazing how his face can instantly light up, like this is the best idea he’s ever heard. It’s also amazing how his stomach muscles are flexing in his half-sitting up position, causing his abs to go rock hard. “Hit me.”
“Alright,” I say, unable to not smile when he’s smiling. “Um…okay. Got one. How old were you when you got your first kiss?”
He actually rolls his eyes. “You had to start with one of those kinds of questions.”
“Come on, Kale,” I say, taking one of his hands in mine. “I want to know everything. And this goes both ways, I have to answer all your questions.”
“Fine,” he says with a chuckle. “Okay, I was fourteen. It was with Chrissy Baker during lunch break, behind the school. It was stiff and weird.”
“Fourteen?” I say. “Aw, man. You were a heartbreaker so early on.”
Kale shrugs and raises one eyebrow. “When it comes natural…”
I just shake my head. “Your turn. Ask a question.”
“When’s your birthday?” he asks sheepishly.
“June third.”
“Ah, so you’re only a bit younger than me,” he says as he traces his fingers up and down my arm, sending a million goosebumps flashing across my skin.
“My turn,” I say, trying to not let my eyes slide closed in bliss. “What were you into in high school? Did you play football? You said your dad was the coach.”
“Ugh, high school,” he groans. “Let’s just say academics were never my strong suit. I got detention too many times for not paying attention in class or being late. I didn’t play football cause that took more dedication than I had in me. I think Dad was always a little bugged that I couldn’t commit.
“I also didn’t have the best of friends back then, either. My best friend, Collin, got into drugs really heavy and tried to drag me down into them with him. Drake and Sage campaigned pretty hard to keep me out of all that.”
Once again, I find myself questioning the fact that we are somehow together. I can imagine Kale in high school. He was that beautiful kid in school that every girl threw themselves at. He was the one who had his pick of the herd, who always got exactly what he wanted in school.
And I was the girl who didn’t even go to an actual school. Who was going to college when she should have been going to prom. Who was learning about molecular biology, instead of getting her first kiss under the bleachers after the game.
We’re so opposite, in every way.
“My turn,” Kale says, moving on, oblivious to my scared and fragile thoughts. “You’ve mentioned having a boyfriend before, but never talked about him.”
I lace my fingers through his, holding our hands up between us. I study his hands. Strong, lean. There’s a small scar on his right knuckle.
“His name was Thomas Moir,” I start. “We met two years ago at UW in a nerd class. He was one of the few guys that was taller than me, and he was fairly cute and persistent. So, he asked me out. We ended up dating for about two months, but in the end,” I look up at Kale’s eyes, “there wasn’t any passion there. We were just keeping each other company, really, with a few awkward kisses in between. It wasn’t that bad when we broke up.”
“That’s the damn saddest love story I’ve ever heard,” Kale says, leaning forward and pressing a brief kiss to my lips. “But I’m glad it wasn’t true love and all that happily ever after shit.”
I laugh, Kale sounding completely like himself, even when he’s trying to be romantic. “What about you? How many girls have you seriously dated?”
He lets his breath out in a little huff, leaning back in the hammock. “Well, there was Pam Letter in high school. We dated most of my senior year, until I caught her texting some pretty sketchy stuff to one of my friends. I broke that off, but she didn’t really get we were done. That went on for almost another year.”
“That’s terrible,” I say, feeling anger and heat rise in my blood at this girl’s actions.
“Yeah, that got old,” he says, scratching his jaw. “And then there really wasn’t anyone serious until Angelique two years ago. She was nice and pretty and liked to party as much as I did, so I guess it just seemed natural. But to be honest? She was boring.” He traces his fingers up and down my shin. “All we did together was go to the gym, or stand in front of the camera. She’d talk about what movie she had coming up next. And it was just…work.”
“Well, I’m glad it wasn’t true love and all that happily ever aft
er shit,” I echo him with a smile and a laugh.
“Me too, angel,” he says as he leans forward and kisses me again. I’ll never get tired of them. He can kiss me however, whenever he wants. “My turn,” he says when he backs up. “Um…how old were you when you lost your virginity?”
And everything in me turns all the stiffer.
I don’t want to look up and meet his eyes. I want to crawl into the nerd hole I used to live in and be invisible again. I don’t want to be seen by beautiful eyes and have the attention on me that I never know how to handle.
I take too long to answer, and that in itself is his answer.
I feel Kale’s hand come to my cheek, and it’s soft and gentle. “You’re still a virgin, huh?” he says quietly.
I still can’t look up. I just nod my head.
“Hey, don’t ever be ashamed of that,” he says, and the concern in his voice pulls my eyes up to his. “That’s an incredible thing. You still have that one thing you can never take back. That’s an accomplishment, not something to be ashamed of, Whit.”
I study him, trying to be sure that he’s being sincere, cause oh how I want him to be. How I need him to be. “You really think that?”
“Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?” he says with a chuckle. “I mean that one hundred percent. You shouldn’t just give that something precious you have to give to just anyone. It’s not something that should be wasted.”
The evidence that he did just the opposite of what he said is all there in his voice. It’s not hard to put the pieces of that puzzle together. And I don’t want to ask.
And as soon as I can accept that he really isn’t going to judge me for being a virgin, the hard knot in my chest loosens. “Whew,” I literally breathe out. “That’s kind of a huge deal to share. Thank you.”
Kale actually chuckles as he leans forward and presses a brief kiss to my lips. “I swear, you’re freaking hilarious sometimes. I’m not a jerk, angel. I’m just a confident guy who’s in love with the quirkiest, most fun girl I’ve ever met. Just be honest with me, and that’s always going to be enough.”
“I’m sorry you keep having to remind me of that, over and over,” I say. “The honest truth is just that…well, I’m always afraid of how different we are. I mean, we’re pretty much polar opposites in every way possible, and I just worry that someday that’s going to pull us apart.”
“Not us,” Kale shakes his head. “I’m on you like crap in a diaper.”
“Kale,” I screech. “Gross.”
We just laugh, and he places a hand on either side of my face. I lean forward, rocking myself until I’m straddling him.
“I don’t want to be a virgin for forever,” I say quietly. “I’ve just always been waiting for the right person and the right time. That time might not be tonight, or any time too soon, but…” My eyes drop away from his for a second. Opening yourself up to something so personal and deep is scary. “I want you to be the person I lose it with, Kale.”
There are so many mixed emotions playing across his face. Lust, heat, sincerity, love. It’s all there in a crazy war. “Every word that comes out of your mouth just makes me love you more,” he says.
As my position shifts, the opening of my legs settles right on top of him. And he’s hard.
“And damn, you kill me, woman,” he laughs as I scoot back, and he actually blushes.
I bite my lower lip and lower myself onto him, so I’m lying directly on top of him. He wraps his arms around me, and I can feel the want, the need rolling off of him.
“You have no idea what it does to me, knowing I can do this to you,” I whisper into his neck, just before I tease the skin there with my lips and teeth.
This is about the most scandalous thing I’ve ever done with anyone. And I’m so glad it’s with Kale.
“I’m not sure if you’re the angel or the devil on my shoulder right now,” he grows into my neck as he bites me there.
And oh. My. Heavens. What that does to my hormones.
I may have said that I want to take this slow, but I really don’t think that’s going to last much longer.
Cause I want Kale. I want all of him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“It’s rumored that you two met at a wedding,” the reporter says. “Is that true?”
Kale and I sit side by side, my hand in his, on the loveseat in the studio. We finished the photo shoot this morning. We were, of course, decked out in Your Fantasy clothes. They did it down at one of the marinas, giant boats, trees, the mountains in the background. The photographer said he was trying to capture our similar pasts, both kids from Washington who went on to gain fame. I felt awkward most of the time, trying to look pretty and serious, and in love, while Kale is the world expert at looking amazing in front of the camera.
Instead, we went for more candid shots. Kale kept me laughing half the time. The other half, he’d grab me close, put his forehead to mine, and stare at me like he could see into my soul. It wasn’t hard to look like I thought the moon and stars of him then. This was Kale. And me. And he is everything I want.
We were both surprised that morning, though, by being told that one of the entertainment news channels was sending a film crew to do an interview with us. They were putting together a huge twenty minute special on us, and we were to “give them everything they needed.”
“Yeah,” Kale says, looking over at me. “It is true. It was actually my brother’s wedding.”
He pauses, and half a beat too late to flow naturally, I realize he’s encouraging me to talk as well. “Um, yeah, my friend asked me to fill in for their lead singer who was sick. With uh, a bribe, she got me to do it.”
“Why were you hesitant to agree?” the female reporter asks.
I look at Kale, not exactly wanting to admit the truth. But there his words are again in my head. Just give them the real you. He squeezes my hand, as if he can read my mind. He’s really good at that.
“I have really bad stage fright,” I admit, looking the reporter right in the eye and giving a laugh. “Like, seriously. I was terrified to go up on that stage.”
“You must have gotten over it,” she laughs along with us. “Everyone who was at the wedding said you did amazing. And that video of you that went viral. I have to say, it’s impressive.”
“Thanks,” I say, unsure how to handle the compliments that keep coming my way lately.
“Now, Kale,” she says, turning her attention back to him. “You’ve been known to date celebrities and other models. The world watched you and Angelique Harris for five months. Whitney here was a complete unknown when you met her, she’s gained her fame because of you. Was it the fact that she was so different from you that drew her to you?”
I. Hate. This. These questions. People making assumptions. Every bit of it.
I catch a flash of anger on Kale’s face and he squeezes my hand harder. “I was attracted to Whitney cause she was the most real and honest person I’ve met in ages. People make assumptions and try to tell you how things are cause they think they know you. But truth of it is, I just fell in love with Whitney cause she was, and is, exactly everything I need in my life.”
The reporter sits there for an uncomfortable beat. “Okay, well, thank you for being with us today. Whitney, we look forward to the release of your new album. And Kale, we wish you continued success with your astonishing career.” She turns to the camera. “Until next time.”
“And cut,” a producer says. “That should do us.”
Everyone whips into a flurry. Calvin is all up in Kale’s face, analyzing the shoot and how he looked on camera. Calvin’s eyes keep darting to me, and there’s dissatisfaction on his face.
But there’s Hadley and she is all smiles. “You did great.”
“I didn’t look like an uncomfortable idiot?” I ask, still watching Kale. But he’s all business. He’s in his zone.
“You did look uncomfortable, but it was in no way a bad thing,” she says as we walk back to the costu
me department. People are already ripping my clothes off, changing me. It’s weird. “Everyone knows you were just thrust into all this and you seeming like you don’t quite know what you’re doing just makes it seem all the more genuine. It makes you relatable. Normal, everyday girls are going to love it. That’s what you are, Whitney—lovable.”
“If you say so,” I say as someone hands me a shirt to pull back on over my bra. There are so many people around. Men, women, assistants, camera people. Producers. Tony. And they’re all acting like it’s nothing for me to be standing here half naked.
Big deal to me.
“Could you please bring that divider over here?” Hadley says with an annoyed tone to an assistant. “Can’t you see the poor girl isn’t loving everyone being around when she’s in just her underwear?” And I’m instantly reminded of why I picked her in the first place.
The assistant gets wide, scared eyes at Hadley’s harsh, demanding tone, but he scuttles off and brings it over.
“Thank you,” I say as I pull on the skinny jeans that are given to me.
“No problem, love,” Hadley smiles. Something dings on her phone, and she checks it. “Okay, our flight is ready, so we better get moving.”
Just then as I’m pulling my pants up over my rear end, Kale rounds the corner. His eyes immediately flash to my unbuttoned pants. Instead of seeing just heat there, he looks around as if to make sure no one else is getting the same show he is. He looks possessive. “What the hell?” he yells out at no one in particular. “You can’t just make her change out in front of the whole damn world! Give her some privacy!”
My face warms and my heart flutters. Kale can be so sweet, in his own cocky, overly confident, Kale-ish way. Eyes from the crowd around us dart away, and one girl gives a little laugh. I kind of want to smack her.
“Sorry about all that,” Kale says, pulling me close once I’m fully dressed. “Journalists are the worst. They use cheap tactics to try and get you to say the wrong thing, just looking for a headline. And next time I’ll make them get you a dressing room, ‘k?”