Never Standing Still (The Never Duet #1)(53)

Chapter Fifteen


Happy Looks Good On You


The weekend went by too quickly, and Sunday evening, while standing at the departures ramp at the airport, I found myself in a stereotypical situation I never could have imagined. But, then again, Riot brought out many unexpected feelings in me.

He was leaving and I was sad. Sad wasn’t even a big enough word to encompass what was going through my mind. I was going to miss him.

We’d spent Saturday doing the Movies and Sex plan, and then we’d spent the first half of Sunday driving back up to Seattle, stopping along the way at any and all viewpoints, Riot claiming it was our new tradition to see all the viewpoints we across.

“We’ve got to stop and appreciate the moments, Kal,” he’d said as he was trying to convince me to pull off the freeway at the first viewpoint we passed.

“Appreciate the moments?” I laughed at his cheesiness.

“Yeah, I mean, we’re going to spend most of our time apart, so when someone throws a sign at you to literally stop and appreciate the view, I want to do that. With you.”

So we did. We stopped and got out of the car, taking in the view and breathing in each other, even taking a few selfies.

We laughed and talked the entire way, but always stopped at a viewpoint.

When we made it back into Seattle, we drove straight to the house because Riot was anxious to see Marcus, which warmed my heart.

When we entered the house it was as if I ceased to exist. Marcus dragged Riot back to the family room and the video games commenced. I flitted in and out of the room, trying not to intrude on their Bro Time, as Riot so eloquently called it, but couldn’t resist watching the two of them interact and bond.

“You look refreshed,” Nancy stated as I loaded the dishwasher absentmindedly, my thoughts back in Lincoln City.

“It was a good weekend,” I said, trying not to blush.

“Happy looks good on you,” she said, placing a soft hand on my shoulder, her warm voice comforting me more than ever before.

“Do you think I’m setting myself up for disaster here? Is this a really dumb idea?”

“Love is never a dumb idea, Kalli.”

My heart sped up its pulse, blood thrumming through my veins. “I didn’t say anything about love.”

“No, but you look like you’re in love. And that’s okay, Kalli. You, out of everyone on this green earth, deserve love. You give so much of it away, it’s only fair that you find someone to give it back to you.”

“But he lives so far away....”

“And?”

“And there’s Marcus....”

“And?”

“And this could all blow up in my face, and then what? What do I tell Marcus when he asks about him? Or asks if he can come back to play video games with him?” I ask, motioning down the hall toward the room that held my brother and a man I’d developed so many complicated and wonderful feelings for.

“You’re spending too much energy focused on the bad things that could happen. What about all the good things? What if that man in there loves you and Marcus more than anything and only enriches your lives? Are you willing to let that pass by because you might, maybe, have to one day tell Marcus that he doesn’t have a Mario Kart partner anymore?” She tilted her head to the side and gave me a look that made me feel ridiculous, a look that said, ‘You’re not that dumb, are you?’

I sighed because I knew she was right. No one had ever made me feel the way Riot did, and I would be stupid to let fear keep me from him. But I knew it would be a tough road; hard to transition from being suspicious of love, wary of love, to letting myself accept the love he offered me.

The drive to the airport had been quiet. There were too many thoughts and feelings floating around in my mind to give them a voice. But Riot’s hand was on my leg as he drove. Yes, I let him drive my Rover to the airport. He started begging and whining so I relented. Besides, my body was all a mess trying to deal with the emotions bubbling up inside of me, I wasn’t sure I could drive properly anyway.

So, there we were, standing on the sidewalk, people with suitcases passing us by, and I was trying to hold back tears.

“What is this?” he asked softly, his hands brushing over my hair, pushing some behind my ear, a smug grin coming over his face. “You look upset.”

“Are you going to mock me now?” I said, sniffling, running my hand under my nose in a very unladylike way.

“Come here,” he said, pulling me into his chest, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “I didn’t realize you were such a softie,” he whispered into my ear, making me laugh.

“I didn’t realize it either.” I pressed my cheek into his chest, trying to commit to memory how his arms felt around me, what he smelled like, how his stubble rubbing along my neck made the hair on my nape stand on end. But mostly, I tried to lock into place how cherished I felt when I was with him, how glaringly obvious it was that he cared for me.

He pulled away, but his hand found the back of my neck and squeezed, holding me there. “I had an amazing weekend,” he whispered, his face so close to mine. His eyes were on mine and they were full of something, darting back and forth between mine. The air around us electrified, pressure built, and I knew something big was coming. I also knew I was helpless to stop it.