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KAI
After we left the hospital, Imani came back to my place with us. All night, I watched her chat with João and Landon and play with Ana from afar. And all fucking night, I tried to gather up the courage to finally tell her.
At ten p.m., João took Ana into the bedroom to put her to bed, Landon was half-asleep in my chair, and Imani stood up and walked toward me with her purse hanging off her shoulder.
“My phone’s dying,” she said.
“I have a charger.”
She frowned. “And I should get home to talk to my mom.”
“You’re not going alone.”
“The chaos has died down enough,” she said to me, walking up the stairs to the door. When we walked out, she glanced at my bike. “It’s just a drive across the neighborhood, and I don’t want you driving on that thing in the ice. It’s too dangerous. Please, stay here with them.”
I stared at her pleading expression and nodded. She didn’t have to know that I’d follow her home. I always followed her home to make sure that she got in safely. And I wasn’t about to let her leave my place while Akio’s family was still lurking out there.
They might crash their car into hers, killing her, and make it look like an accident.
Not again.
“Thank you,” she whispered, pulling me closer.
As she wrapped her arms around me, I hugged her back like I had with Allie the other night. It felt so … different, but still like I had family. Imani might’ve been in my life for only a couple months, but I felt like I could tell her fucking anything now.
Her warmth spread around me, taking me in. All I’d wanted to do all night was hold her tightly. My heart swelled with happiness at the thought of finally being able to be with someone who made me feel … good.
But when she dropped her arms, I felt so fucking cold.
“I’ll text you when I get in safely. Don’t worry about me,” she said, walking to her car.
I crossed my arms and chewed on the inside of my cheek. My heart pounded inside my chest, and I could do nothing but watch her leave me. The second she pulled out onto the road, I’d hop on my bike and follow her, but I … I didn’t want her to go.
Not without me telling her the truth.
“Wait,” I called.
Imani stopped at the side of her car and glanced over her shoulder. “Wha—”
I jogged over to her, grabbed her face in my rough hands, and kissed her hard on the mouth. She froze for a moment, then placed her hands over mine and smiled into our kiss. Resting her forehead against me, she moved her lips on mine.
“I love you,” I whispered as soon as she pulled away. “I love you so much.”
“Kai,” she whispered. “I thought you wanted to wait.”
“I can’t anymore.” I seized her waist and pulled her closer to me, wanting to touch every single inch of her. “I can’t wait until we take care of Akio’s parents. I want you to know how I feel about you now.”
Time seemed to stop as I waited and waited and waited for her to say it back.
Finally, she curled her soft lips into a smile and pushed some hair behind my ear. “I love you, too.”
Heat shot through my body, my lips curling into a smile. I wrapped her up into my arms, picked her up off the ground, and pulled her into the air, unable to stop the fucking happiness that I felt. It wasn’t like anything I ever felt before.
She giggled into the crook of my neck and wrapped her arms tightly around my shoulders. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that. I’ve been wanting to tell you forever.”
After a few moments, I placed her down.
“I really would like to stay with you all tonight,” Imani said, glancing over my shoulder and toward the door. “But I need to go see my mom. I need to talk to her and make sure that nobody hurt or threatened her during work.”
