Page 11 of GR8VITY

Shifting my attention to the frame beside it, I ask, “Who is this?”

There’s no wistful expression this time, simply one of pure happiness as she glances at a blonde in the frame with her arms wrapped around a huge black dog. “In the simplest of terms, that’s my sister. Not by blood, of course. She lived with us for a few years, fostering, until a random uncle showed up out of nowhere saying she could come live with him. The black beastie is Bear. He and my Clover right there were best friends.”

She points at the big yellow dog in the frame on the other side of her omma. “I lost her a couple months after. It was kind of my breaking point. Why would I stick around somewhere when there’s nothing left there for me.”

“I’m sorry for the chain of events and the sadness that it caused,” I tell her, reaching out to grasp her hand and bring it to my lips. “I won’t be sorry that it led you here to me, though.”

“Neither will I,” she says softly, turning to face me.

I lean down to kiss her, but we’re interrupted by a knock at the door. Her eyes light up. “Food.”

My brows furrow as I watch her scurry off to the door. I’m so lost in thought wondering how she got food to us so fast that I almost forget that I’m half naked standing here. I’ve barely got enough time to leap back into her room before she opens the door and greets the person on the other side.

I peek out to make sure the coast is clear when I hear the door shut back and her throw the lock. She’s standing with a big bag in one hand and the other covering her mouth as she looks at me. “I’m so sorry, Kyung. I didn’t even think about your…situation before opening the door.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her with a laugh, coming out as I tug the bottom of the robe down where it’s ridden up higher again.

She looks away, but I can still hear her soft snort. Oh, she and Dav En are going to get along just great. There’s no way he would even be trying to hide how funny he would find this. Thinking of him makes me want to bring up tomorrow.

While she’s busy unpacking a few boxes of food and building us plates, I start, “Hey, so I have a question about tomorrow.”

“Mmm,” she says, scooping out chicken on one plate and dumping pork belly onto the other one, both getting a good dose of vegetables and a small portion of rice on mine.

“So, I feel kind of bad,” I tell her. “I have a little friend at home that keeps giving me big sad eyes every time I leave them at home. Would you mind if we had some company on our walk tomorrow?”

She looks up at me and smiles. “Of course I don’t mind. You never have to ask something like that. You should know by now that I’m a roll-with-the-punches kind of girl.”

“I do know that,” I tell her softly, not even meaning it to come out that way. I’m just in my feels tonight.

Her gaze drops back down quickly but jumps back to my face again at my tone. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I answer honestly, because it will be.

“Okay,” she says, not pressing for more information like most people would. I’ve noticed that she’s one that waits until you’re ready to talk instead of dragging it out of you. One of the many things that I like about her.

She grabs both plates and leads me over to the couch, handing me mine as I sit down. Claiming the cushion beside me, we eat in relative silence until she’s decidedly done and sets her plate on the table in front of us.

“Sorry I don’t have an actual table to eat at other than this small one,” she apologizes. “I’m not used to having company. To be honest, you’re the only person that’s been here before.”

“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “I like your space. It’s exactly how I imagined it would look.”

“Yeah? Is that you admitting to stalking me now enough to know what it should look like?” she teases.

I laugh and she stands, walking over to the sliding glass door that leads out onto a small balcony as she adds, “This right here is my favorite thing about this apartment. In my opinion, it makes up for not having a good place to eat.”

Sliding the door open, I see that there’s a screen on the other side to keep out all the unwanted stray bugs and probably cats roaming the neighborhood. The best part is the sound that flows inside as it opens. All of the rain hitting the surfaces outside is practically in surround sound, echoing around the room. Then the smell hits on the smallest of breezes.

I close my eyes to savor the moment. A few seconds later, her hand caresses my cheek, and I lean into it. As quick as it’s there, it’s gone again. I want to feel it again. My soul craves it.

“I’m going to grab a water,” she says as she passes. “Want one?”

“Sure,” I tell her, standing to follow her.

She turns as I stand, and we bump into each other, almost falling over. I catch her as I gain my balance. That’s all it takes. Grasping the back of her neck and lower back, I tug her as close as I can, melding our bodies together as I crash my lips down on hers. Her body literally melts in my arms as this soft moan leaves her that I can feel on my tongue.

I cling to her like my life depends on it while I ravage her mouth, kissing her like I need it to breathe. The curves of her body fit right against mine in all the right places, making me wish for things I have no right to be hoping for yet.

There’s a small window where we pull back to breathe. She sucks in air and pushes my name back out on a whisper. Sign my death note for I’m a goner. Clasping her face between my hands, I kiss her harder than I ever have, and it still doesn’t feel like enough.