Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(158)

“What are you doing? I thought you had to go?” Grinning at me, he crawled over the edge of the bed, making me lie back as his body hovered over mine. “I’ve got five minutes.” His mouth was over mine and I giggled under his lips. “Five?” I asked breathily as his fingers started to explore me.

Kicking off his shoes, he muttered, “Okay, fifteen then.” Shoving off his jeans, he quickly darted under the sheet with me. I giggled as his warm, hard body collided with mine. And as silent as we were last night, we made up for it this morning.

He ended up running nearly a half hour behind…but it was worth it.

I stayed in Kellan’s bed for who knows how long after he left the house. I was stretched out on it, envisioning where I could put all of my stuff, when I heard Kellan’s phone ringing downstairs. Remembering that my cell was back at home, I thought that maybe Kellan had touched down already and was trying to let me know that he was okay.

Wrapping his sheet around me burrito-style, I dashed down to his kitchen. Hoping I made it in time, I breathlessly picked up the receiver.

“Hello?” I panted.

“Kiera… you okay?”

A familiar accent warmed my heart and I smiled. “Hey, Denny. Yeah, I’m good.”

A long pause. “Are you sure?”

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Remembering my goodbye kiss to Kellan, I sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He laughed a little and I figured he was probably shaking his head at me. Denny was probably thinking, once again, that he was glad his relationship wasn’t so complicated. I sometimes wished mine wasn’t either; the fiery heat in our relationship sometimes burned us both. But I wouldn’t change the love Kellan and I had for each other for anything.

I’d already had the solid, comfortable relationship, and it hadn’t been enough. Complicated or not, Kellan and I needed each other.

As Denny chuckled, I sighed and added, “Kellan and I had a chance to talk about everything last night…it was a good talk. We’re…back together, with no more secrets.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. And I’m a little surprised. I sort of felt like I was dropping you off in the middle of a war zone.” He chuckled again and I pictured him running his hand over his jaw. “I was pretty worried about you this morning, especially when you didn’t answer my texts.

When I realized you’d probably left your cell at home, I thought I’d try you here.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I kind of ran out of there last night…” I paused to bite my lip. “Hey, Denny, thank you so much for being there for me. It meant a lot. It means a lot to me that you still…care. After everything, you still care.”

A soft sigh met my ear. “I’ll always care about you, Kiera. We may not be together anymore but I’m still the one you can call when you’re…lost…alright?”

I smiled, wrapping the phone cord around my finger. “Yeah…same here, Denny. You can always talk to me.”

“I know.” His voice, so warm and soothing, sounded completely stress free. He really was okay. We both were. Denny’s voice switched to in-quisitiveness as he asked, “Is Kellan there? Maybe I should talk to him, now that things are calmer.”

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I shook my head, sighing a little. “No, he left early this morning. He had to catch a flight right back.”

Denny exhaled, sounding a little relieved. Maybe he didn’t really think Kellan had calmed down, at least not when it came to him. He probably figured he would get yelled at again if he spoke to Kellan. Pretty brave of him to even call here. “Quick trip,” he muttered.

I nodded. “Yeah, he’s a busy guy.” I smiled when I said it, thinking of all the upcoming adventures in Kellan’s life. Adventures that maybe we would share together.

Hearing my smile in my voice, Denny’s accent thickened as he asked,

“Are you guys really okay now? After just one talk?” I paused, considering. “It will take more than one talk, but,” I shrugged, “we are talking and we’ll never stop. We both want this, and we’re gonna fight for it.”

Even though Denny couldn’t see it, I set my jaw and lifted my chin at my hopeful declaration. Denny made a noise like he was impressed, and I

imagined

him

smiling

and

shaking

his

head.

“You

have

changed…you’ve grown.” Quietly laughing, I knew he was giving me his trademark, goofy grin. “Maturity sounds good on you.” I pursed my lips, wishing he was here so I could smack him for his comment, then I laughed with him, thinking maybe I wasn’t so mature after all. “Yeah, well, I should get going if I want to make it to class on time.” I sighed dramatically, remembering that I had obligations and couldn’t lounge in Kellan’s bed all day, even if I really wanted to. “Some of us still need to work on graduating.”

I grinned ear-to-ear that I was so close to being done with the pressures and stress of academics. That only left me the pressures of what I was going to do with the rest of my life…but, like every college graduate, I’d deal with that later.

Chuckling at my comment, Denny agreed with me and wished me luck.

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