Page 71 of The Boy I Once Loved

“Sit down. Can I get you a drink?”

“Coke, please,” I tell him as I take a seat on the sofa, clasping my hands together in my lap.

To be fair, the spag bol is good. Kyle is easy to talk to. We chat about my plans for university, and he tells me about his plans for the future. We end up talking about Liam and Kyle shares some funny stories about some of the things they got up to as teenagers. It’s nice to hear about a side of my brother that I didn’t really get to see.

“You ever see Lauren?” I ask him. Lauren was the girl my brother had been dating for two years when he died. They were high school sweethearts, and I remember them being really cute together. His death had devastated Lauren. The bubbly, vivacious girl became reclusive and a shell of a former self.

Kyle’s shakes his head and looks away. “No, I haven’t seen her in a long time. I don’t even know if she still lives around here.”

Kyles’s hand reaches across the table and he brushes his thumb over my hand. “Can I just say that you look gorgeous tonight and that I have been dying to kiss you since you walked through my door.”

“Oh,” I say, feeling my cheeks flush.

Kyle stands to his feet and comes around to my side of the table. He takes my hand and I stand up. Smiling, he cups the back of my neck and leans in and kisses me. I will my body to feel the fireworks that I feel when Dylan kisses me. But whilst there's mild excitement, his kisses don't set me on fire. I turn up the heat of the kiss, determined to think and feel anything other than Dylan. Kyle groans against my mouth and he walks us backwards until my back hits the wall. His hands grasp at my hips and he leans his body into mine. "You wanna take this to my room?" He asks against my lips.

This is good. Kyle is a good distraction from all things Dylan. There is no danger with Kyle that I’ll feel things that can make me vulnerable. I never want to be that girl again, the one who is weak, defeated and needs a guy to save her. Nodding my head, I allow Kyle to lead me into his room. He kisses me, walking me backwards until my legs hit the base of his bed and we both fall together on to the bed.

“Fuck, you smell good,” Kyle exclaims, his hands moving along my thighs and lifting my leg around his waist.

Casual sex, with no strings, no emotional ties is the way to go. No risk of being hurt or let down. Just take what I need and enjoy myself. I feel Kyle’s hand move under my top and his hand squeezes my breast. I’m suddenly assaulted by the image of Dylan with his mouth over my nipples. The hooded look of lust in his eyes as he did. I freeze under Kyle and he pauses.

“You okay?”

I nod my head. “I think we should slow things down. Sorry, I know I said I wanted to come in here.”

Kyle shakes his head. "Hey, it's fine honestly. I mean, of course, I want to have sex with you, Ella, but I'm good with slowing things down. No rush."

“Thanks, and again I’m sorry.” I feel a complete idiot. He must think I’m a right tease.

He laughs. “I’m not sorry. This was more than enough to make my night.”

We head back into the lounge and we end up playing a few games of cards. Kyle teaches me how to play Queenie, and I actually have fun and enjoy his company. He walks me outside to my bike at the end of the night.

“So, this was nice,” he says, smiling.

I nod my head. “It was, I enjoyed tonight.” I chuckle. “I wonder what Liam would have to say about this?”

Kyle's eyes darken and he looks away from me. "I don't think he'd be happy about it."

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say bobbing my head from side-to-side.

“Trust me, he wouldn’t,” Kyle says with a sigh. I see a flash of pain flit across his face, but he offers me a tight smile. “I’ll text you tomorrow.”

I nod and when he leans in to kiss me, I respond, willing those damn butterflies to start up in my stomach, but all I get is a brief flutter. Kyle’s kisses are nice, but they don’t set me on fire. Not like Dylan’s. Fuck, no matter how much I try, I can’t get him out of my head. I frown when I realise how pathetic it is that a hot older guy is kissing me and I’m pining for my best friend who probably right now has his tongue shoved down Freya’s throat.

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