Chapter 33

L ila had to admit that the "Nothing but the 90s" party had turned out to be pretty great. The music was spot on, and the fits ranged from Tommy Hilfiger everything to various shades of Nirvana-esque flannel. Also, there were lots of butterfly clips happening, and Lila wasn't the least bit mad about it.

She did, however, miss Wren something fierce. Though she'd temporarily lost her wingwoman to the museums and the architecture of the Old World, she took comfort in the fact that every time they talked, Wren's smile seemed to be brighter, the weight on her shoulders a little lighter.

Lila also missed Vicky and Dani, who'd both moved back to their hometown after graduation. Julia and Nate were still going strong and now living together, so even though Julia was still at school, she wasn't at the party tonight. Lila couldn't help but feel like many of her girlfriends were moving on without her, which made her even more grateful for her boys. Things were simpler in a lot of ways since she'd moved in with them. Except for the large asterisk that loomed next to King's name.

"You're not dancing," Knight chided as he slid next to her against the railing of their front porch. He was clad in what was his best approximation of the "boy band in the late 90s" look. With spiky gelled hair and everything. Seriously, it was crispy to the touch and more than slightly terrifying.

"Nah." She shrugged. "I guess the mood hasn't hit me just yet." She leaned against the railing and turned her head to look at him. "Why aren't you out there?"

"I felt like adopting more of a supervisory role this time around."

"I'm here for that energy." Her lips curled up in a nostalgic grin. "Can you believe it's been a year since we tore up the floor with our wicked dance moves?"

He chuckled heartily. "We were the best ones out there, for sure." Knight's expression turned from joyous to pensive as he continued, "Not to get too cheesy on your ass, but I'm so glad that our paths crossed back then. You know you've got a brother for life, right? No matter what?"

Lila's throat suddenly felt all lumpy as she gently hip checked her friend. "Same. No matter what, no matter where, no matter when."

Knight stuck his pinky out, and Lila linked hers with his. Then they turned back to survey the party. Déjà vu pricked at her consciousness as she glanced down to the side of the house and saw King leaning against the side of it.

Knight cast a knowing look her way. "Go get him, Li."

Lila's brows furrowed. "I don't know that he wants to be. Gotten, I mean."

"Are you sure about that?"

She shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. All I know is that I'm scared." It came out barely above a whisper. "I don't think my heart can handle the aftermath of another rejection." Though in her heart, she knew that wasn't quite right. Not anymore. Not with how much King had changed. Still…

"You love him though. Don't you?"

Lila paused, debated. Then she decided to go with honesty. Because it was Knight, and he was one of her best friends. She nodded, swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. "Yeah, I do. So much it aches."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Knight raised his brows but didn't wait around for an answer. He just smiled, chucked her softly on the chin, and made his way down into the dancing crowd.

Almost as if her body was on autopilot, she made her way down the couple of porch steps and headed left to where King was perched. He pushed off the wall and advanced so they were almost standing toe-to-toe. Again, he hadn't dressed up for the theme, though he looked edible in the black tee and dark jeans look he was currently rocking.

The left side of his mouth slanted up, exposing a dimple that was simultaneously adorable and sexy as hell. "Tell me something. You still think you can handle my dance moves?"

"You saying you want to dance with me, King?" Lila's stomach was a kaleidoscope of butterflies.

He nodded. "I'm saying I want to dance with you, La." King's index finger traced a line from her temple down the slope of her jaw, and Lila was totally gone. Whatever this was, it was happening. And she was going to let it, consequences be damned.

She stepped back without a word and turned away from him, throwing a devilish look over her shoulder. "Let's see what you've got."

"Trust me, you can't handle it."

"We'll see."

Lila was keenly aware of the heat of his body as he followed her to the dance floor. The beginning notes to "No Diggity" started playing, and King whirled her around to face him. Keeping a hand on her waist but space between their bodies, he started to dance, and she moved with him. Unlike last year, when hers and Knight's dancing was hilariously silly and over-the-top, this dancing was pure and utter sex.

King pulled her closer and the space between them vanished. His strong hands angled her so that she was practically riding his muscular thigh. The rough material of his jeans caused all sorts of delicious sensations in her lady parts. She could feel him, too, thick and hard and heavy against her stomach.

They danced until she thought she'd explode, and then King's lips were next to her ear. His gravelly tone was gloriously lust-laden as he grunted, "Inside. Upstairs. Now."

The moment she nodded her agreement, he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her through the throngs then inside and upstairs until they'd gotten to his bedroom.

As soon the lock clicked on the door, they were on each other, their mouths and tongues fighting for control as King grabbed Lila by her ass and lifted as she hitched her legs up around his waist. She locked them around him and furiously grinded her body against his dick. He walked them over to the bed, dropping her on the mattress then covering her body with his. King moved his body against hers with frenetic energy, his bottomless eyes clouded with need every time they snagged hers. He moved his mouth down to her pulse point. He traced it with his tongue and then bit down softly.

"Goddammit, La. I want to be inside you so bad it hurts."

"Be inside me, then."

She arched up into him, loving the way that the friction made him hiss, and reached for the button of his jeans. As soon as she'd flicked it open, he pinned her hands above her head, just for a second, before he let go and divested himself of his jeans and sheathed himself with a condom from his nightstand drawer. Then his skilled hands reached underneath her dress and wrested her underwear down and off, his hard dick filling her before she had a chance to breathe. And the feeling in her chest at that precise moment was one of profound relief.

"Fuck, La. You feel…"

King leaned down to take her mouth, holding himself still inside her as she adjusted to him. Then he started to move, long, hard strokes that threatened to shatter Lila at any moment. It wasn't precious or soft. It was desperate, untamed. Utterly feral. And Lila wondered how they'd lasted so long without this, without this feeling of riotous contentment. Of completion.

She felt the delicious sensation of sparks licking up her spine as King brought her up and over the edge, the sparks spreading over her body and dancing behind her eyes. Then, impossibly, he increased his intensity and thrust into her even harder as he chased his own relief. When it came, he was beautiful, letting everything go as he gazed at her intently before closing his eyes as pleasure overwhelmed his features.

He collapsed on top of her, and she welcomed the heaviness that covered her body like a blanket. He propped himself up on his forearms. "Fuck, La, that was…"

"Everything," she finished quietly.

He nodded. "Yeah."

The implications of what they'd just done swirled around them, but neither of them spoke. They just stared at each other. Lila mapped out the shadowed planes of King's face so that she'd always remember the way he looked in this moment. The softness in his eyes. The curl of hair that had fallen over his forehead.

She wanted to tell him that she loved him, that she'd loved him before they separated and probably had never stopped, but she stayed silent, willing the words to stay inside. For the moment, at least.

Reluctantly, King separated from her to clean up, and Lila smiled at the sight of him still wearing his shirt.

"We didn't even take the time to get naked," she said as she sat up with a laugh, looking down at her dress.

King smiled at her as he emerged from the bathroom. He reached and grabbed his shirt at the back of the neck and pulled it up and off. "Better?"

Lila took in the perfection of his perfectly toned form and felt her desire start to rise again. "Much," she murmured as he advanced on her, and she had the feeling that round two was going to be even more enjoyable than round one.

Her hands were at the hem of her dress, ready to pull it over her head, when she noticed the glint of the necklace hanging around King's neck. And then her stomach bottomed out.

Was that… It couldn't be…

She scrambled off King's bed to get a closer look.

King's expression morphed from playful to panicked as he realized what she had focused her attention on. As she got closer, her suspicions were confirmed. It was her crown necklace. The one that her grandmother had given her right before she died. The one he'd said he lost.

Lila's brain whirled as she tried to process how she felt. A minute ago, she'd felt like everything was finally falling into place, and now? Now, she wanted to know what the hell kind of a game he was playing with her.

She tried to arrange her words into a coherent sentence, but all she could do was extend a finger and touch the crown charm.

King stiffened under that touch, his chest starting to inflate and deflate quickly. "Lila, I can explain…"

His words snapped Lila out of her trance. "Explain why you lied about losing my necklace? Why you've hidden it from me all this time?"

She felt so foolish. She'd actually thought that King wanted to be with her, for real this time. But the presence of this old talisman brought up all of the feelings and insecurities she'd had when he'd told her he lost it. When he'd watched her crumble in front of him at the pain of losing something so precious. Which wasn't even about the damn necklace. It was about him. Because though she'd given it to him with no intention of ever asking for it back, she'd also underestimated how much their "breakup" would decimate her. And how the thought of him having something she treasured when he'd discarded her so easily made her sick to her stomach.

"I'm sorry, La. I should have told you I still had it." He gulped. "I should have just given it back when you asked for it."

"Why didn't you?" Lila had to know why. His honesty in this moment felt necessary, vital . Because if they didn't have trust between the two of them, what the hell was the point?

His face was tormented as he scanned her face. "I… I don't know," he finally uttered in a pained, whispered tone.

"You don't know?" Lila tried to keep the frustration out of her voice as she repeated his words. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, staring at each other, and she willed him to answer. She needed him to answer.

When he didn't? She swallowed a disappointed sob and maneuvered around him, crossing the threshold of their shared space and then entering her room. She clicked the deadbolt, locked her other door, and then slowly slid down the wall, crumpling into a ball on the floor.