“I don’t know, Lai. When it first happened, it was around the time we were first introduced. We lived in two different states, so there was no point in us trying to make a relationship outof what we were doing. We would link up whenever he came to visit, and there were times he flew me out to see him. Neither of us was looking for anything serious, so we decided to have fun and enjoy each other for however long we wanted to.”
“Why did you guys stop messing around?” I probed. There was something she was leaving out, and I wanted to know what it was.
“Well, at some point, things started to become too heavy, and I decided to pull back. There was no point in getting all my feelings involved when we weren’t planning to be together. Then their grandmother passed, and he came back to town, and we hooked up again.”
“Okay… then what happened?”
China took a big gulp of her drink before she turned to face us.
“I found out I was pregnant, and I didn’t want to be a single mother, so I got an abortion. I kept it from him, but when he came down to visit, he found out when he was working on my car. He found the paperwork in the glove compartment and cut me off.”
“China, no.” I covered my mouth in shock because the two of us never kept secrets from each other, and this was a major secret for her to have held on to for so long.
“I know. I know. I felt like shit afterward, but the damage had already been done. In my mind, what we had wasn’t serious, and I thought he would eventually walk away anyway. You know I’m a self-sabotager. I can’t help it.”
She wasn’t lying. China had been a runner when it came to relationships. As soon as things got too deep, she was on the first thing smoking. I was always the hopeless romantic out of the two of us.
“Well, I’m new here, but it seems like he’s smitten with you. Hell, both of you ladies seem to have reconnected with men whoworship the ground you walk on. Laikyn, you should have seen the look on Kyon’s face as he watched you and Kalvin at dinner. He looked as if he wanted to come across the table and put his hands on the man,” Roxy added.
“I can only imagine. A part of me wanted to laugh when I saw you all at the dinner table. When I first saw Kyon, it never occurred to me that he was the client Kalvin was pressed to work with. I wanted to fall through the floor when I saw the way he glared at us when we walked in.”
“Yeah, Aaron gave me the third degree all night behind the two of you. He was convinced I must have known about what was going on. Then he quizzed me on how we knew each other. When I told him, he refused to believe me, so I told him to fuck off.” Roxy shrugged her shoulders as if she was unbothered.
“I think all of the men were caught off guard. A part of me feels bad for Kalvin because of how important the deal was to him, but he burned a bridge with me. I know I’m going to have to talk to him because we have property together and my stuff is still at the house, but I really don’t want anything to do with him,” I admitted.
The way Kalvin attacked me in the room still haunted me, but I chose not to mention it because Kyon was big on protecting those he loved. I couldn’t risk him getting into trouble for trying to be there for me.
“I wish we weren’t on this ship because I know Kyon would have beaten him unconscious. You already know how crazy he is about you,” China added.
“Yeah, well, I don’t agree. I just got my man back, and I’m not interested in visiting him from cellblock C.”
“Ooh wee. Look at you already calling him your man again. I’m happy for you, Cousin. I witnessed firsthand what that breakup did to you, and you deserve to be happy with a man who truly loves you. Kyon is your person, and he always has been. Ifeel bad because he used to be in my inbox begging to talk to you, and I eventually blocked him. Guess I owe him an apology too.”
“Don’t even remind me. Kyon keeps telling me not to feel guilty, but I can’t help it. I trusted Kyon with every part of me, but it all went out the window when I saw those photos. It never once dawned on me that someone could be cruel enough to play God with our lives.” I downed the rest of my drink as I tried to focus on the positives in the situation.
“He’s right, Cousin. I saw those same photos, and you couldn’t convince me he wasn’t a lowdown dirty dog. The only people who should carry the blame are those losers who set him up. I know you want him to stay out of trouble, but I hope he gets revenge on them. They cost the two of you so much.”
“I don’t want revenge, China. What we went through was awful, but having him back in my life outweighs all of the hell we experienced. All I want to do is live a happy and healthy life with my man and rebuild everything that was destroyed.”
I meant what I said. As angry as I could be, I wasn’t. Having Kyon back in my life filled every void from the last three years. We both used our time apart to focus on ourselves and build the lives we wanted. Now we could come back together stronger than ever.
The ladies and I went back to the beach with the men and watched them play football in the sand while sipping our drinks and talking shit. Kyon’s friend Nigel joined us, and we all had a good time until it was time to board the ship. Kyon and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other and ended up ordering room service while we locked ourselves in the room for the rest of the night. We were making up for lost time, and I was enjoying every second of it.
Chapter
Eight
Kyon Shoulders
Day Four
I smirked as soon as I walked into the room. Laikyn was sprawled out in bed with her hair covering her face. Her light snores filled the room, making me chuckle because she swore she didn’t snore. I guess I had to take some of the blame since I had been keeping her up late the last two nights. I thought about leaving her alone, but today was a special day, and I wanted to start it off right.
Setting the tray of food on the desk, I crawled into the bed and rained kisses all over her face. Her bright eyes popped open, but she relaxed once she realized it was me. She smiled, showing off her deep dimples. I couldn’t help but to get caught up in her beauty as I stared into the face of the woman who had my heart on lock.
“Good morning, handsome. I see you’re up bright and early. Did you have a meeting or something?” she asked in a deep, groggy tone.
“Naw, Barry White. I got up to get us breakfast.” I smirked as she shoved my shoulder.
