Page 49 of Declan
If ever.
Once we were clean, we got out and dried off. We didn’t say much to each other as we left the bathroom, but it didn’t feel weird. Kyler smiled, and I mirrored it. Being around him was easy.
“Here,” I said, tossing him a shirt and athletic pants. They’d be a little big on him, but there was a draw string. That didn’t help the length, though. I smirked as I saw him roll the bottom. Not much, but enough.
“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh at my shortness.” He snarled his upper lip at me. Once he dressed, I realized he looked even better in my clothes than I did. “You know, I used to think I was kind of tall before I met you. Or maybe that’s just because Brysen’s so short.”
“He means a lot to you, doesn’t he?” I asked, seeing the way Kyler’s face lit up with the mention of his friend. “You talk about him a lot.”
“Brysen is absolutely insane,” Kyler said with a laugh. “He’s messy, unorganized, obsessed with aliens, and has this belief that everyone has a soul mate. That we were ripped from them long ago and when we finally stumble upon them in our current life, it’s like our bodies are magnets that will draw us together.”
“I’ve heard that myth before.” I stepped into a pair of clean boxer briefs and ruffled my damp hair with the towel.
“But even though he’s crazy,” Kyler continued, sitting on the bed. “He’s my best friend. We fight sometimes and bicker like an old married couple, but he’d step in front of a train for me. And I’d do the same for him.”
“What about Royal?” I wasn’t as fond ofthatfriend. The guy had sure seen right through me that night atRaw.“He seems a little older than you two. Were you friends in school?”
“Nah, Brysen and I were friends in school but we didn’t meet Royal until after we graduated. We met him one summer at the lake. He was with some buddies, and we got drunk together.”
I arched a brow at him. “So, you’re a delinquent, huh? Getting drunk at eighteen.”
“Dude, I was getting drunk at, like, sixteen,” Kyler responded with a laugh. “But yeah. That’s how we met Royal. The three of us hit it off and the rest is history.” He fluffed the pillow before placing it against the headboard and reclining back. Making himself comfy on my bed. I liked it. “What about you? Any best friends?”
“No.” I leaned against the dresser, not trusting myself to go near him. Because I could’ve totally gone for another round. “I have a few people I talk to, but I don’t consider them actual friends. More like acquaintances. It’s hard to have true friends in this business.”
Kyler nodded. “I remember you saying you didn’t have celebrity friends, but wow. It must be tough not to have someone close you can talk to.”
“Well, I guess Gideon is a friend,” I said. “He’s been with me for three years, and he’s one of the only people I feel I can fully trust.”
“Does he know about…?” Kyler trailed off and pursed his lips.
“Yeah,” I answered as my nerves spiked. “I never told him, but I’m sure he knows. You’re not the first guy I’ve snuck into my room.”
That got his attention.
“Really?” His curiosity was piqued. “Damn. And here I thought I was special.”
“You are,” I said before I could stop myself.
Kyler’s wide grin weakened as he scrutinized me.
“How so?” he asked.
I couldn’t tell him the truth. The other men I’d screwed had satiated my lust and pleased me in ways a woman never could, however, I’d still felt disgusted after each encounter. After sleeping with them, I’d be allowed a few moments of ecstasy before sinking back into the empty abyss.
Kyler was special because I still hadn’t felt that disgust. Sex with him was earth-shattering. But it wasn’t only the physical pleasure that made it so. It was all of it; holding him in my arms and kissing his lips, moving inside him, and hearing his pleasured moans. It was seeing the elation on his freckled face as I took him to new heights.
It was just being with him.
“Back to hiding, huh?” Kyler looked at his hands, something I’d noticed he did when things got awkward. “Whatever. This is just sex, right?” His gray eyes focused on me. “No sense in making it complicated.”
I pressed my lips into a line and averted my gaze from him.
“It’s late,” he said, sliding off the bed. “I have to be at work early. I’m assuming so do you.”
“Yeah. Bright and early to film a sex scene.” I scratched at my jaw.
Kyler chuckled.
