Later,afterAkiohashad a bath and is asleep in his room, I broach the subject with Kendall.
“We had a great time today. He loved it,” I comment. “I wanted to ask you about something though.”
“Okay.” She sets her phone down in her lap and shifts towards me on the couch.
“I think we should tell him who I am, Ken. Who I really am, even if he doesn’t quite get it yet,” I explain nervously. Her eyes go wide and I don’t miss the look of alarm spreading across her face.
“Okay…you don’t think it’s a little soon?” she asks, biting her lip anxiously.
“I think that if it were up to me, he would have known who I was a long time ago. But our situation is unconventional to say the least.”
“It’s definitely unconventional,” she agrees but I know she’s worried, unsure of how to respond. “Can I think about it, sit on it for a little?” she wonders.
“Of course. We don’t have to decide or figure it out right now. It’s just something I think we should start thinking about.”It wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for, but it was better than shutting me down. And then because I apparently hadn’t purged enough of my feelings in therapy already, I bring up another sensitive subject. “Do your moms know we’re back together? I’ve just been thinking maybe it’s time to tell my parents.”
“They know. I told them recently,” she answers, but her mood has shifted from curious and open minded to visibly on edge. She starts picking the edge of her cuticles while she stares down at her hands.
“Okay. How did they take it?” I ask. I grasp one of her hands in mine in an attempt to disrupt her spiraling.
She snorts. “They were shocked but ultimately, they understood. They never blamed you or anything, Kai. They know the choices I made were mine and mine alone. And they never stopped caring about you when we broke up. I think they’re happy you are back in our lives, it just caught them off guard,” she explains.
“Well, that’s good. Hopefully my parents will have a similar reaction. My mom was devastated when you broke up with me. She loved you like a daughter.”
“I know. I loved them too, Kai,” she says quietly.
And I let this sit between us for a few minutes. Because when we broke up, it wasn’t just about us. We threw a wedge in a decades-long friendship between our parents. When we separated, the yearly vacations together stopped as did the monthly dinners with both of our families. Both her parents and mine took sides and obviously they both chose their own children. But maybe if we can heal, we could have something like that again. All of us. Because whether our parents like it or not, regardless of whether they approve, Kendall, Akio, and I are family already.
Kendall’s words break through my wandering thoughts. “Remember when our parents first found out we were dating inhigh school? God, we thought we were so sneaky. Meanwhile, our moms and Mrs. Carlisle had all been scheming behind our backs.” She laughs. This particular memory causes me to chuckle too, before bringing her face to mine for a kiss.
Chapter 53
Kendall
2011
I’msittingonKai’slap while he slips his hands underneath my shirt and places hot open mouthed kisses along my neck.
“Kai,” I whisper, “We’re going to get caught.”
He smiles against my skin and replies, “So tell me to stop,” while sinking his hand deeper into my hip.
“Stopping would be cruel.” Something in my brain prevents me from doing that and instead, I tug on the hair at the nape of his neck and kiss him harder. He skims the top of my underwear with his fingers, dragging them slowly with intention. A tease. I’m fairly certain we’ll end up naked in my bed if we don’t stop. Footsteps coming up the stairs send our hookup session crashing to an abrupt halt.Shit. My mom must have gotten home early from work. I jump off of him, landing on my bed and adjust my shirt just as she opens the door.
“Hey guys…” she trails off looking from me to Kai. “Just wondering if you’re joining us for dinner, Kai?” she asks, confusion marring her features.
“Um sure. Thanks, Mrs. James,” he responds awkwardly.
My mom steps further into the room and pushes the door all the way open. “How’s the project going?”
“Good. We’ve been hard at work,” I answer, stretching the truth a bit and Kai’s face turns bright red.I mean we had been working hard on some things.
“What’s it on?” she inquires.
“What?” I ask, confused. Apparently Kai’s soft pillowy lips and his large, eager, well-traveled hands have melted a few of my brain cells.
“What are you doing your project on?”
Shit shit. Our project.
