Page 10 of Krash & Bern

“We should have gotten movers,” I complained.

“We don’t need movers, Krash. We don’t even have that much stuff!” He mimicked my words from a few weeks ago.

With a roll of my eyes, I lifted my hands and flipped him off. “I know what I said, but now I wish we would have gotten movers!”

“Don’t yell at me,” he warned with a smirk.

“Sorry.” I pouted my bottom lip and crossed my arms.

He walked over to me and kissed my forehead before he headed back out the front door to bring in another load from the U-Haul we’d rented. The two of us moved into our new apartment today. Daddy was against me moving in with a twenty-one-year-old man, but I wasn’t a dummy. I trusted Krash with my life, and he’d never hurt me or put my life in danger.

I was excited to move into my own apartment after living in a dorm my freshman and sophomore years of college. However, I was excited to embark on the new journey with my boyfriend… Krash.

From the first day I’d met Krash during my first day of high school, he’d tucked me under his wing and protected me from all dangers. A year into our friendship, there was a shift in our dynamic. I’d began to see him in a different light. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that I’d started to understand what my feelings meant.

It was the night of Krash’s championship boxing match. The crowd was huge because over the last two years, he’d garnered quite the reputation in the ring. The match started, and he held his own, dodging every jab from his opponent.

The guy had gotten a window to Krash’s face and punched him in the mouth. Krash spit out blood and eyed the man with a look that could kill. Keyshawn moved around the ring on feet as light as a feather. He danced around his opponent and jabbed him several times in the face and ribs. The man had stumbled into the corner of the ring, and Krash took the opportunity to rain punch after punch into his body. The referee pulled Krash away, and Krash’s gaze met mine. He winked at me, and something stirred deep in my core.

The feeling scared me because I felt it in every inch of my body. From the hair follicles in my scalp to the tips of my toes. I couldn’t get him out of my mind. The sight of him drenched in sweat, mouth bloodied, and the confidence oozing from his aura had me hypnotized.

Why did the moment create the shift? Why did seeing him in his element affect me so viciously?

After the match, we went out to eat, just the two of us. He’d taken me to Chili’s, and we ate until we were full. When we went back to the house, we sat on the back porch and stared out at the night sky.

“You’re my good luck charm, Bern,” he’d said softly.

“I don’t do much, Keyshawn.”

“You do more than enough, Bern. You’re special to me. You’ve been special since the day you walked into Mrs. Donaldson’s class.”

Keyshawn placed his hand on my cheek and caressed the skin with gentle strokes of his thumb. The action sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. I tried to look away, but his brown orbs had me locked in place. Despite the cool breeze, my body was hotter than the sun. My palms sweat, and my fingers trembled. Something had shifted. We’d gone from best friends to something more… something much more.

“Krash…” I whispered timidly.

“I like you, Bern. I think I’ve always liked you.”

“I… I don’t know what I feel, Krash.”

He nodded. His tongue slid across his bottom lip. My eyes darted down to ogle at the moisture sitting atop his lip. I gulped as I felt the air leave my body.

“Can I kiss you, Bern?” he asked.

My eyes locked with his. I nodded my head without saying a word. A beat later, his lips met mine for the first time. The kiss was powerful, emotional, and hot as hell. Krash placed his hands on my cheeks and slid his tongue into my mouth.

A moan fell from our lip lock. I placed my hands on his chest and took a step back. What had we done? Why did he kiss me? What did this mean for our friendship? What did this mean for our living arrangements? Krash had been with us for a few months because he had no other family. My parents took him in because he was my friend, and we promised them there was nothing sexual between us… Now? Now I couldn’t confidently say we wouldn’t cross the line one day.

Two weeks after we had our first kiss, Krash asked me to be his girlfriend. Now, we were a couple years in and moving into our first apartment together. As I placed my books on the shelves, I shook my head at the way we’d gotten together. I should have known it would have been only a matter of time before we caught feelings. Krash had been by my side since the day we met. In that span, we’d become each other’s crutch. He was my spine, and I was his ribs. We were too delicately intertwined to not have caught feelings along the way.

After I organized my books, I hooked up my laptop, desktop, and monitors. My music was blaring through the Bluetooth speaker while I sang and put things where they needed to be. I’d just turned on my custom build PC when Krash walked in. His scent greeted me before he had. I looked up from the setup to see him with a fresh pair of basketball shorts on and some Nike slides on his feet.

“You almost done?” he asked.

I nodded. “I’m just making sure everything is set up how I like it, then I’ll go shower and get ready for dinner.”

“We didn’t get a chance to go grocery shopping, so we can order something. What do you have a taste for? I’ll order it while you’re in the shower.” He walked over to me and helped me stand up from my gaming chair. Gaming chairs were more comfortable than office chairs. Plus, the recline was perfect for when I wanted to take a break and rest my eyes between projects and assignments.

“We can do Chinese or burgers. I’m cool with whatever. You know my orders for most places.” I wrapped my arms around his torso and rubbed his back with the tips of my acrylic nails.

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