27. Kai

Chapter twenty-seven

Kai

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

I wake up with the smell of vanilla sugar cookies surrounding me and Lea’s long white hair draped over my chest, her warm body snuggled into mine.

A smile curves my lips as she peers up at me through long, pale lashes. “Morning,” she whispers, her voice full of sleep.

“Good morning, angel. Merry Christmas,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

She smiles brightly at me, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head. I hear the pop in her back as it cracks with the movement.

When she’s done stretching, Lea climbs on top of me, wrapping her limbs around me. My hands skim down to her ass, clutching her firmly against my body as I gaze up at her pretty face. “You’re gorgeous, angel,” I tell her, my tone reverent.

A light pink colors her cheeks and chest, and I can’t help but tease her, craving any and every response she’ll give me. The good and the bad. “And your dentist deserves a raise. If I hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t even know you’ve got veneers for those teeth you’d practically lost from that puck to the face,” I say, smirking.

She rolls her eyes. “You can’t ever just be sweet for a moment, can you?”

I tilt my head, and my eyes crinkle at the sides as I try to hold back my smile. “Of course I can. You tell me I’m sweet all the time. Like when I’m eating your pussy, and don’t forget just how sweet my cum is when it’s dripping down your throat.” I smile innocently, and she smacks a hand to my chest, rolling her eyes as she climbs out of bed, and like the foolish man that I am, I follow her on instinct. Now that she’s embedded herself into my soul, I can’t seem to leave her alone, even if she wanted me to.

She grabs a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, tossing them at my face. I catch them and change as she works a pair of my gym shorts up her legs, tying the string tight and rolling the waistband so they don’t fall to her feet. She then steals another one of my shirts, one I’m sure I’ll never get back, but what’s mine is hers, and if I really allow myself to think back on this, it has been for a while.

My heart included.

“You want pancakes for breakfast?” I ask her, following her to my bedroom door.

She scoffs at me over her shoulder, her fingers curling around the doorknob. “ Absolutely not. Pancakes are nothing more than waffles’ soggy, floppy, and sad counterparts. Besides, the pockets are perfect for—” Her words are cut off as we enter the living room to find lights hanging over the windows, a massive Christmas tree decorated in the corner, and a menorah with blue candles sitting in the center of the coffee table.

Neither of us are even Jewish; what the shit is going on?

And since I know it sure as shit wasn’t Santa who came down our chimney last night to decorate, my eyes swing across the living room, landing on Liam.

His face is as red as Rudolph’s nose as he bolts off the couch, clenched fists at his sides as he stomps over to me.

Lea watches with a wide-eyed stare and gaping mouth as her brother pushes me into the wall. I manage to catch myself before I can trip and fall on my ass.

“Woah, dude, what the fuck?” I ask, shocked as hell that Liam, my annoyingly calm best friend, has apparently had a flip switch in his brain at the sight of his sister and I leaving my room together.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Malakai? You’re supposed to be my best friend, and I find you hooking up with my sister? You couldn’t keep it in your pants for a fucking month?” His words drip with venom as he shoots daggers into me.

My eyes flit nervously to Lea, whose surprised expression is wiped clean. A new, indifferent one has taken its place as she sits back into the couch cushions, propping her legs up and resting her arms behind her head.

Liam snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Hey, fuck face, eyes on me, motherfucker. Don’t fucking look at her,” he shouts, spit flying out of his mouth, making me cringe.

“Jesus, dude, you’re acting like a rabid animal,” I tell him. “Get a fucking grip, and don’t forget, you’re the reason she’s even here. ”

His head rears back, eyes widening a fraction. “She’s here because you both needed a roommate. She’s not your little fuck toy,” he tells me as if I’m not already fully fucking aware.

She’s so much more.

My eyes never fully leave Lea, so I don’t miss the subtle eye roll she directs at him.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I straighten my spine, fully prepared to take a hit to my pretty face today. For Lea, I refuse to back down to him.

“You don’t think I fucking know that ? Your sister’s incredible, and she somehow manages to make me smile even on my worst days. She’s so goddamn thoughtful, and always puts others ahead of her own needs, which you’d fucking know if you got your head out of your ass.”

He squints his eyes at me, some of his bravado leaving with each breath he takes.

His lips pinch when he looks over at Lea, still lying on the couch, watching the show unfold before her.

“What is he talking about, Lea?”

She waves a hand in the air, remaining as nonchalant as possible before she says, “It’s nothing, Liam.”

“Don’t give me that shit, Lea. You’ve been hiding things from me, and I think it’s time we get it all out in the open.”

Jesus fucking Christ, I hope like hell we do not do that.

I see her throat bob as she swallows, finally sitting up. “My migraine meds are just really expensive, and I didn’t want to worry you. I know you’ve been sending money to Mom and Dad since you signed with the Scarlets,” she admits, and my chest heaves a small sigh that she left out the part where she, no, we create porn for people online to jack off to so she can afford the simple luxury of not having an ice pick jabbed into her skull.

His eyes swing to me, pinning me with a glare. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”

I roll my eyes. “Lea’s a big girl. She can disclose whatever the hell she wants to you. Or not.” I shrug. “It’s not my business.”

He shoots me another glare before looking back to Lea. “I’m making more than enough money now, Lea. I’m sure I can help with the cost of your meds!”

“They’re twenty-three hundred dollars a month,” she deadpans.

I watch as all the blood drains from his face. “Shit, Lea, I’m sorry. I—” he stammers. “I hadn’t realized it was that expensive, but I promise you, I have the money now. I just got my sign-on bonus, and the money I’m making is literally pouring in. I’m still living in a shitty studio apartment because I don’t want to splurge until I have a fat savings account, but please just let me take this burden on for you.”

Her big, puppy dog eyes are glassy as she stands from the couch, wrapping her arms around her brother’s waist. He squeezes her tightly to him, and she rests her chin on his shoulder before speaking to him in a quiet, watery voice.

“Hey, Liam,” she mutters.

“Yes, Lea?” he asks, his voice weary.

“I think I’m falling for your best friend,” she tells him, but her eyes are on me the whole time.

I hear Liam suck air between his teeth, but I pay him little mind. My chin falls to my chest, a wide grin splitting across my face the moment I recover, and I resist the urge to pump my fucking fist in the air like some clown. I feel exhilarated, endorphins flooding my body, a tingling sensation overcoming each of my nerve fibers.

“Fuck yeah!” I finally say, unable to hold it in any longer, and when my eyes meet hers, I tell her the truth. “The feeling’s mutual, angel.”

“I hate you both,” Liam whispers, and I can’t help the laugh that slips past my lips. Lea releases him, doubling forward and choking on her own laugh. “This really isn’t funny,” he says, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. “But it’s Christmas, so I guess I’ll learn to live with your very poor decision-making skills. ”

Lea recovers from her laughing fit, smacking Liam over the back of the head and waltzing into the kitchen. “Any chance you put a waffle maker under that tree?” she calls out to Liam.

“As a matter of fact…”