“A bet!” we both say in unison.
“Yeah, your mom thought it would be some time this year. She thought you would be hesitant, cautious, and look at the situation from every angle. I assumed last year and Mrs. Carlisle is very surprised you two held out this long,” she explains.
Kai and I start laughing. It’s funny the way things work out. How everyone knew we belonged together long before we did. Like there has always been an invisible tether connecting us to each other. Maybe that’s what our love story is about, its roots anyways. We aren’t just childhood friends turned high school sweethearts, a cliche cautionary tale. Our story is unwavering friendship that grew and grew until it morphed into something new and different, beautiful and unbreakable.
Chapter 54
Kai
Igetthecallat4:30 in the morning, when most of the world is still sleeping. I check my phone with tired eyes, because if someone is calling this early, it can’t be with good news.
Fuck. It’s my publicist.
“Hello?” I answer gruffly, tendrils of unease roiling around my stomach.
“Hey, Kai, sorry to wake you. But this is kind of important,” Stephanie replies curtly. “And I wanted your take before it went to print.” Stephanie is all business and no nonsense. If I didn’t know her any better, I would say she suffered from an undeserving power trip. But she bosses us Boston Bucks players around like we’re petulant children in need of a scold or good backhand. Stephanie does her job and she does it well, and right now, I appreciate her ability to cut through the bullshit and get directly to the point.
“It’s fine, Steph, what’s going on?” I ask, trying and failing to smooth the edge of alarm in my voice.
“A mildly reputable magazine snapped pictures of you getting ice cream the other day with…a boy.” A short pause. “That is presumably your son?” she asks. She knows the truth but I can tell she’s waiting for me to confirm it.
“Yes, he’s my son,” I respond, sitting up and swinging my feet over the edge of the bed. I have a terrible feeling I should be upright for the rest of this conversation.
“So, the magazine plans on publishing the picture tomorrow with the taglineBoston Bucks former bachelor has secret son.
Fuck. Fuck.Fuckkkk.
I can feel my heart pounding in my ears, bile and stomach acid threatening to make its way up my throat. I’m not super concerned about my reputation—that has been trashed and rehabbed more times than I can count. But I’m worried about my parents' reactions and Kendall and Akio's privacy. I release a long sigh.
“What are my options here, Steph?” I run my hands through my hair repeatedly like it could soothe me.
“Well, you could pay to make it go away. That would probably be the easiest option, path of least resistance and all. You could ask them to kill it in exchange for an exclusive, all access interview with you. Or you could just say fuck it and let the vultures in. If it’s not them today it will be someone else tomorrow,” she explains nonchalantly, like it isn’t my future or anyone else’s on the line here.
“Right,” I mutter.
“But something tells me this situation was kept a secret for a reason, one you probably aren’t particularly ready to share with the world just yet, hmm?”
“You’re right. Tell them to kill it in exchange for whatever kind of access they want...I don’t want this coming out. Not yet. I need to at least talk to her first and my family.”
“Her?” she pries. And I know it’s not out of curiosity, at least not entirely. She very much wants and needs to stay ahead of the story.
“My girlfriend,” I clear my throat awkwardly. “His mother.”
“Ah. I’ll try my best to keep a lid on it for now. But sharks are in the water and they’re circling. Someone is going to leak this probably sooner than you would like. I just wanted you to be in the loop.”
“Thanks, Steph. Let me know what they say,” I respond and end the call.
Before I get out of bed, I make another call to Kendall. I’m anxious to hear what she has to say about all this. I explain the situation with the magazine to her as calmly and quickly as I can. And she assuages any guilt I might have felt about it, the way only she can. She tells me that eventually both our families are going to know and so is the press and everyone else. She said ultimately the choice is up to me but she knows the terms and conditions, what she signed up for dating a professional athlete. We both agree that we want to protect Akio as much as possible and control the narrative but we aren’t going to chase away every single story that comes up. Eventually, the world will find out about our past and our present and that’s okay.
I want them to. I want everyone to know they’re mine.
***
Aweeklater,Itellmy parents and my younger sister about Kendall and Akio during our monthlymandatoryfamily dinner. My mom looks shocked and my dad seems a little pale, like he’s going to be ill. My sister, however, is ecstatic.
“This is so cool! So, I’m an aunt now?” she asks enthusiastically, her black bob swishing from side to side as she glances from my parents to me.
“Yeah, I guess you are,” I answer, reaching over and ruffling her hair. She might be an aunt but she’s still my younger sister and the baby of the family.
