Page 15 of Perfect Chemistry

I laughed and found a bale of hay away from everyone else, and sat down.

[What about now?]

?????: [This is the best view yet. All alone and vulnerable in a dark corner… ??]

There were only so many places that she could be and still see me. I swore as I leaned back and looked up to make sure that she wasn’t up in the loft. I quickly finished off my beer and sat the cup on the floor next to my feet.

[We need to talk. You haven’t said a word to me all week. What’s going on with you?]

She didn’t respond. I looked around the room but still didn’t see her anywhere. Finally, I looked back at my phone and started to type another message. My attention was suddenly drawn to a pair of feet standing in front of me.

My eyes trailed up from the open-toed sandals to the long legs that disappeared into a colorful skirt. I wanted to appreciate the view a bit more than the exposed skin at mid-thigh. Truth be told, I was afraid to look up at the face. I didn’t want to face the sadness of an inevitable rejection.

“I’m here, Kai. So talk.”

Chapter 5

Katie’s POV

Andie was coming to my house in 30 minutes so we could attend this party at Alex’s. Alex and his friends had never been my sort of crowd, not that I really had a crowd. I was friendly with just about everyone at school, but my parents were so strict that I never got to attend these. Now, however, I was 18. As much as they wanted to keep protecting me, they couldn’t use that as an excuse any longer.

I jumped in the shower and got dressed as quickly as I could. I shaved my legs and pits and then stopped short of clearing the whole hedge. I had tried shaving myself bald before, and I did not like it. I kept everything trimmed and tidy, but bald it was not.

I rubbed down every inch of my skin with my vanilla lotion, and pulled on one of the few matching sets of underwear I owned. I had a colorful layered skirt and plain white shirt laid out on my bed. Andie bought me the skirt for my birthday and insisted I wear it tonight.

I generally didn’t like to show off this much leg because I was super self conscious. After four years of soccer, my legs were thicker than any other white girl I knew. Hell, they were thicker than most girls in school. But I loved leg days…and never missed an opportunity to build my ass. So, sighing to myself, I continued to get ready and began the process of taming my wild mane of blonde hair.

I applied a little bit of eyeliner, mascara and my strawberry lip gloss. Then I swiped my fingers through the cream blush and gave my cheeks a slight sun-kissed look. I gave myself one more glance in the mirror before running down stairs with my open-toe wedges. I had just gotten my shoes on, when I heard a car horn outside.

“Is that Andie?” My dad asked from the living room.

“It is,” I confirmed running through the kitchen to find my house keys.

“You all going to Alex’s tonight?” he asked, giving my outfit the once over.

“Yep. You have his parents number if you hear sirens, otherwise I call mommy if I need bail money,” I said, leaning over to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Love you, see you sometime tomorrow!” I called behind me as I ran out the door.

Andie had been sitting in her little red Geo Storm, waving up at me. She had an infectious smile that made other people want to be around her. I couldn’t remember how we became friends, but I couldn’t imagine getting through High School without her in my life.

As I walked down the driveway, she stepped out of her car and leaned up against it before whistling at me.

“Girrrrrrl, that outfit looks so good on you!” she squealed, stomping her feet.

I felt my face getting warm, a sure sign that I was crimson red.

“Do you think I should change the skirt?” I asked her, still nervous about the amount of leg I was showing.

She shook her head, “Absolutely not. I don’t know how you made a white t-shirt look so fucking hot, but you are totally rocking the shit out of it with that skirt.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, my face felt even warmer as I climbed into the passenger seat of her car. “Should I have put on more make-up?” I asked while looking at myself in the mirror of the sun visor.

Again, she shook her head as she glanced quickly at me and drove off through my neighborhood. “You look perfect, Katie. Now tell me what the plan is.”

I felt my stomach turn over, and nausea built up at the back of my throat. I had broken down and told her everything after I talked it out with five-speed. Andie fucking called Bradley.

Who knew that Kai hadn’t said a word about the kiss to his own best friend.

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