They're my colleagues, and this isn't about relationships or love.
This is about sex and exploration, and awakening.
If he steps over the threshold and we have sex again, it won't be part of the game. It'll be more intimate and searching. And if I fall asleep in his arms, what then?
It was hard enough to say goodbye to Lex. I can't make the same mistake with the rest of these men. My heart won't take it.
I wave Kase goodbye, holding on to the fact that tomorrow is another day and another date.
Maybe that'll help me forget just how much my heart already feels involved.
17
NIALL
On the day after Kase’s date, Kyla doesn’t pick another. She doesn’t give any kind of explanation, so we’re left wondering if the game will continue or if it’s all over after just two. Kole and Dex are annoyed with Kase. They think he did something wrong, but Kase is adamant that their date was great and that Kyla was happy at the end of it.
So we wait.
We’re professionals at work, but we have fun together too. Kyla brings in an awesome tray of brownies, and we devour them with all the intensity that we’re hoping to get to devour her with someday.
We have fun lunches at the deli, getting to know each other more, and it’s all great. Kyla’s cool with Lex and Kase so any theories about them putting her off the game seem wrong. Maybe she just needs time to recover. I’ve known these guys a long time. Fucking any of us would take it out of a woman’s body.
Or maybe it’s more than physical. Maybe it’s the intensity of dates with men who Kyla is only just getting to know.
On day three, I’m uploading some photos of my latest creation—a Viking on the thigh of a fifty-year-old male—when someone clears their throat behind me. Turning, I find Kyla standing with a small piece of white paper in her hand. Is that what I think it is?
“I guess you’re up,” she says softly.
“Seriously?”
“Yep. Niall is lucky number three.”
“Fucker,” Noah says, appearing behind Kyla as though he followed her.
“I will be later,” I snap and immediately feel bad because I shouldn’t be flippant about any of this. “Sorry, Kyla. That came out badly. When it comes to my asshole brothers, my tongue is sharp.”
“No one knows how to press Niall’s buttons better than me,” Noah says with a stupid grin on his face.
“What about me?” Nash says, sticking his head around Noah. Of course, he’d be there to interfere with my discussion with Kyla. My brothers are such nosy douchebags.
“Can you all fuck off so I can talk to Kyla? None of this is your business. You better apologize.”
Noah and Nash turn their attention to Kyla and notice her flushed cheeks. Whether they’ve upset her or not, they are quick to say sorry and skulk away. I know they’re bummed that I’ll be the first of us to be with her. Noah was sure he would be. The guy has a thing about talking about the future as though what he wants is an absolute certainty.
“Are you good for tonight?” I ask her.
When she nods, my heart skips a beat. I place the tablet on the counter and rub my hands on my jeans, inhaling a deep breath to quash what feels like nerves bubbling behind my ribs. I shouldn’t be nervous about this. Sex isn’t something I’ve experienced nerves about since I was fourteen and rutting with a seventeen-year-old in her bedroom while her parents slept on the other side of the wall.
I need to pull myself together.
I have a chance now to make tonight less awkward. All it will take is a soft approach. The rest will come later. When I cross the space between us, Kyla straightens herself. I run my hand over my closely cropped hair, a nervous habit that my brothers don’t share. Kyla blinks up at me with wide, slightly worried eyes that I need to soothe. None of this will work if she has reservations.
The blue tank that she’s wearing is the same color as the sky on a summer’s day. I reach out to touch the fabric, moving slowly, so she doesn’t flinch. My finger brushes her warm skin. “Are you excited about our date?” I ask.
“Niall, picnic outside,” she whispers, nodding, the paper I wrote my date information on crackling between her fingers.
“Exactly.”
“I’m excited,” she says.
“Good. It’ll be fun. I know the perfect spot, so I’ll pick you up at seven pm.”
“Okay.” Her breath leaves her lips in a rush that I’m hoping is relief.
I touch her chin, tipping her sweet face to mine. “You know I’ll look after you. We all will. There’s nothing to be anxious about.”
“Yes.”
Bending to kiss her cheek gently, I breathe in the soft floral scent of her skin. “That’s good. I’m looking forward to it.” I’ve always loved a girl who blushes. There’s something so cute about witnessing a person’s physical reaction, especially when it’s to my words and proximity. “Oh, and wear a dress.”