I wasn’t sure if I believed him or not.
“Okay,” I said. “Can we go now? Kai’ll be picking me up soon.” I’d never needed to get away from Lucas so much. My head was spinning. I wanted to believe him, he had no reason to lie, not really. But my level of self-respect and self-worth was at an all-time low and I knew I wasn’t the best person in the world so I couldn’t understand why he’d want me.
He hesitated but then replied, “Sure.”
Back home Lucas watched me like he was trying to figure out some hard maths problem. Or he was trying to figure out me, which could quite possibly be more fucking frustrating. I hoped he figured it out because I would love to know, too.
I never usually wished my time with Luke away but I was now and when Bruno Mars blasted through my phone I couldn’t answer it quick enough. “Hey, Kai.”
“Hey, where are you?”
I gasped. “Are you early?”
He laughed humourlessly. “Where are you?”
“You sounded like such a stalker then,” I said, laughing.
“Maybe I am. Look out your window.”
I rolled my eyes but sneaked a look out of the corner of my eye. Of course he wasn’t outside my window, he couldn’t bloody levitate. “Anyway, are you at mine?”
“Yeah.”
“Outside?”
“Yeah.”
“My mum and Ava there?”
“Uh huh.”
I laughed. “Awkward?”
“Maybe,” he replied.
“Want me to hurry up?
“That would be great.”
They were better with Kai after he’d looked after me when I was wasted but it was still a little awkward. Ava thought it was inappropriate that I was still friends with him, and I thought she was a twat.
“Cool. I’ll be there in a bit, have fun.”
“Thanks, princess,” he replied sarcastically.
“Why does he call you princess?” Lucas asked. Oh, good, he was listening in.
“Apparently I was acting like a diva.”
“Oh,” he replied. I wasn’t sure if he assumed Kai called me princess because he thought I was one, in the good sense. That could add to his dislike of him. It really wasn’t in the good sense, though. Kai thought I was being a brat. I probably was.
We walked downstairs and I saw them standing in the front garden. “Does he not get on with Alison and Ava?” Lucas asked.
“They get on okay but they’re not entirely happy because he’s older, which is just stupid.” He nodded tightly. There wasn’t that much he could say because he was just over a year younger than Kai.
“Hey,” Kai said, smiling in relief as I stepped outside. “Lucas,” he added.
“Kai,” Luke said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.
Oh, this is fun. I was just going to ignore it. There was no way I was picking sides.
“Hey, spaceman–” Kai held his hand up and raised one pitch-black brow warningly.
“Ready to go?” he asked and I nodded.
“Have a nice time, sweetheart, and be safe,” Mum said.
Kai waited in the car while I said goodbye to Lucas, he kissed me longer than usual and then got in his car to drive back home.
Kai was smirking at me when I got in his car. “So, you gonna let me drive?” I asked.
“Yeah, sure.” I stared at him for a second. Did he just say yes? “Just show me your driving licence and we’ll switch places,” he said. “See, you’re still a baby.”
I laughed with no humour. “I hope that makes you feel like a dirty old man.”
His eyes narrowed and I sat back in the seat, smiling to myself and feeling very smug. “I’m not that old, thank you, and as I remember I met you in a club. You have to be eighteen to get into a club, so technically, jailbait, I should be pissed off with you.” He tried to keep a straight face but I could see him struggle.
I knew in about five minutes time I’d have the perfect comeback but right now I had nothing. “You know you suck, right?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Tegan, out of the both of us I’m definitely not the one that sucks.” That wasn’t exactly true but I didn’t want to get into a conversation about all the times he’d had his mouth on me so I kept shut and slapped his arm.
Kai drove to the house Holly and James were viewing, snickering now and then, still very pleased with himself. I got out of the car and ignored him.
The house was at the end of a row of four and looked pretty cute with a little wooden fence and colourful flowerbeds. Holly and James were waiting outside for us and I could feel Holly’s excitement.
Joan, Holly’s aunt, was an estate agent so she let them have the keys for a few hours as the house was empty. Still ignoring Kai, I followed them inside after saying a quick hello.
“Are you not talking to me?” Kai asked, failing again not to laugh.