Thin Love (Thin Love, #1)(47)

“What happens next?” she’d asked him and he’d been left stupid by her question.

He knew that being around her made things easier, left him calmer. But faced with that question and the way they’d gone after each other, left Kona at a loss for the next move. That never happened to him.

“Let me take you out,” he’d told her, the thought coming to him out of nowhere. “This weekend. Tomorrow night. No game tomorrow.”

What was left unmentioned then was the way she’d touched him. The slap to his face, what it did to him, how he’d wanted to devour her, he’d let it fill the space in his car, unsure if one glance, one sarcastic comment would have them trying to claw at each other again. So he waited for her reply, trying to ignore the fact that he held his breath until that answer came.

“Okay.” It was all she said. It was all she seemed able to say and when she finally looked at him, quick glance to her left that was shy, unrehearsed, Kona only nodded, held himself back.

He hadn’t even kissed her goodnight.

But he hated how he’d left things. He hated not knowing if she only agreed to a date out of curiosity. He hated that their first real kiss had been full of anger and resentment. He wanted to touch her, to taste her, to feel her without any of it being a visceral reaction.

He’d spent the rest of the night in his room thinking about Keira’s mouth and skin and just how much he wanted to feel her, to have her with him always.

It completely messed with his head.

He didn’t know what was happening to him; what Keira was turning him into. He didn’t sleep the night before and found himself in the shower thinking of her; then in his Camaro driving toward her dorm that morning. The light outside her building had been faint, the day still dewy and dark, but Kona couldn’t stop himself from leaving his car, from climbing the stairs toward her dorm, from tapping on her door before seven that morning.

When Leann answered, hair pulled tight in a bun and wearing her leotards and dance shoes like she was about to head out, Kona at least had the decency to look apologetic. But the girl only squinted at him, the side of her mouth pinched in a suspicious frown.

“She’s not here,” she’d told him, looking like she was about to slam the door in his face.

“It’s not even seven? Where is she?” Kona tried not to wedge his foot between the door and its frame as Leann started to close it. He knew his voice sounded pathetic, that his words came out too loud.

“Why do you wanna know?” Leann was protecting her cousin. Kona had known that, but that hadn’t stopped him from moving his shoulders in a firm set. When he only inched up his eyebrow at her, Leann’s attitude deflated. “You like her?”

“Yeah.”

“You just want to have fun with her, Kona? Because she doesn’t need that shit.”

He rubbed his face, moved his knuckles into his eyes. “I like her, Leann. I like her a lot and if I just wanted to f*ck her, I would have already.” He thought Leann would appreciate his honesty. “She’s got me spinning.” He looked down, kicked the tip of his sneaker against the doorframe. “No one does that to me.”

Finally, Leann exhaled, released what was left of her attitude. “She had a meet this morning at Lafitte Park. You can catch her at the finish line.”

Kona gave her a smile, grateful that at least Leann was being honest. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Kona?” Leann called, stopping him before he could jog down the hallway. He expected a threat, one that would wipe the stupid grin off his face. But Leanna walked into the hall and for once, her face wasn’t wrinkled with a frown and she didn’t glare at Kona like he was an *. Her eyes were soft and there was a plea in her expression, one that had Kona releasing his defenses. “Keira hasn’t had much happy. Try to give her a little bit, okay?”

So that’s what Kona was doing. Sitting on that park bench watching the trail to his left, wondering what about Keira Riley had him waiting, had him wanting to make her happy.

“You got money on this shit?”

Kona closed his eyes, dipped his face in his hands when Ricky slid next to him. “What’s up, man?”

“You tell me, Kona.” Around them a small crowd was forming near the still taped-off finish line. Ricky’s legs were long, longer than Kona’s, and he stretched them on the bench, his shoulders relaxed as he dug out a bag of sunflower seeds from his jacket. “You’ve been avoiding me.” Kona heard the crunch of the seeds in Ricky’s mouth and tried not to look at him. A runner started to approach, leaner and shorter than Keira, but he still watched, looking behind her for Keira.

“I’ve had shit to do. Been busy.”

To his right, Ricky spat out three empty shells and they landed on the trail in front of them. He exhaled and slipped another handful of seeds in his mouth. “After everything I’ve done for you, man and you can’t give me a half hour?”

“What do you want?” He finally looked at Ricky, feeling the quick slap of anger tunneling into his chest. Kona didn’t want Ricky here. He didn’t want that * seeing Keira. He didn’t want him asking questions or making Keira ask any.

Ricky waited a minute before he answered, cheeks lifting so that his bottom eyelids curled up. “Shipment is coming in. It’s a month away but I need bodies.”