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Chapter Nine
Kinsley
Everything has gone ridiculously well over the last week. I took Mollie to the airport yesterday, but other than that I’ve spent every second with Mavick. He’s shown me everything he loves about New Orleans and I even went to his gym every day. It’s hard not to fall for a man who’s as passionate as he is. He loves the kids he’s working with and it makes my heart thump even more to watch him work with them.
I watch as the kids all give him a fist bump as they head out the door and even get a few new smiles more today than I’ve earned the past couple of days.
He saunters over to me, his tank top showing off his body and his eyes squinting in my direction. “Those little fuckers think you’re hot.”
“Whatever.” He catches me off guard and causes me to bust out loud in laughter.
“No they do. I heard them. They like to show off for you.”
“I guess if it keeps them focused on getting better, then I should just come here every time I visit.” He sits beside me, his arm brushing mine as he does.
“Or… you could just move here and help me open my new gym.”
“Isn’t this your gym?” I try to blow off his obvious slip on the me moving here part.
“No… I volunteer here just to help the kids. I want a space that’s strictly for them. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now.”
“That sounds awesome. You’d be great at it… these kids love you.”
“So you’ll move here?” He leans forward with his elbows on his knees, looking down at the floor while he waits for my response.
“Don’t you think we’re moving really fast?” The lump in my throat barely allows my voice to be heard. I don’t want to upset him, but I’m just not sure about how quickly we seem to be tangled in each other’s lives. I have family in Denver and a life outside of what I’ve done this week.
“I’m not thinking about that at all. I’m thinking about how much I’ve enjoyed your company the past week and how much I don’t want you to leave.” His voice gets deeper and lower as he continues to talk. “I love going to bed with you every night and waking up to you every morning.” He sits back against the wall and looks at me, sending the weight of his words over my shoulders.
“I’ve loved it too.” I don’t continue and give him my reasoning for not being able to just uproot my life. I physically can’t say the words he’s obviously afraid I’m going to say.
“I want to go home with you and meet your family. I’d have you meet mine if there were any left.” He surprises me with his request and for a minute I just look at him and take in that he’s reaching for a reason to not let me go.
“Why do you want to meet my family?”
“Because I need to decide if I’m moving to Denver or not. I’d love it if you’d move here and help me with the gym… but truthfully I can build my gym anywhere. There are kids all over that need a place like this.” He’s clearly thought long and hard about this.
“Mavick… I can’t ask you to move to Denver when you’re literally a legend here.”
“You’re not asking.” He says with a matter-of-fact tone, leaving me speechless. He’s willing to move to Denver and I’ve barely even considered re-locating for him. To be honest, I haven’t thought about anything this week except the here and now with how much I’ve loved every second of being with him.
“I need to think about this for a minute.” He stands up quickly and walks away, leaving me sitting by myself. I watch him make his way to the back of the gym and notice that he’s yet to lift his head.
My heart throbs thinking about what he’s thinking… hell, I don’t even know what I’m thinking. It seems like it’s all happening too fast. But then again, who’s to say how fast someone can fall in love. The thought of him hurting is hurting me and that’s a huge sign that I’m not ready to say goodbye to this man.
Not sure what I’m going to say when I get there, I walk slowly to him even though he’s punching one of the heavy bags. I slide my hands around his waist from behind causing him to still instantly. I hold him and rest my face against his back.
“We’ll figure it out. But you have to promise me something.” A single tear falls down my cheek before I can get my request out.
“Anything.”
“Don’t hurt me. Don’t cheat on me. Don’t lie to me.” He twists around and pulls me into his arms. His palms slide to my face, then down my arms before he begins to speak.
“I will do everything in my power to protect you. I won’t lie or cheat on you because hurting you is the last thing I’d ever consider. Kinsley… I fucking love you.” It’s as though my heart bursts into a million butterflies when the last four words wash over me.
“What?”
“I love you… and I want us to live together. I don’t care if it’s here or in Denver. I’ve shown you New Orleans… now you show me Denver and we can decide, but what I can’t deal with is you telling me that you don’t feel the same way.”
