I could see Theo in one of the mirrors, his focus on me, his brows knitted. “Just spit it out. I don’t want you glowering at me all day.” I stood and walked over to my bag, grabbed a towel, and wiped my face off. Then I faced him.
“I mean—” he said and lifted his hand to rub his nape.
“You’re wondering about last night,” I said for him.
Theo picked up some weights and started doing curls. We were both silent, but I could see on his face he was curious, not budging at the moment. If I didn’t start spilling some information he’d slowly start hounding me.
“I couldn’t let that asshole talk about Kennedy that way. She’s family.” I hated using that word where she was concerned.
Family.
But saying I loved her, admitting that to Theo, at the gym no less, seemed grossly inappropriate.
“Dude, the way you acted, how you went after him, seemed a little bit more than defending her honor.” He was breathing harder as he increased his workout, and I glowered at him. “I mean, if I didn’t know she was your step-cousin, I would’ve assumed you were hitting it.”
“Watch your fucking mouth. Don’t talk about her that way.” Theo stopped what he was doing and looked up at me, his eyebrow raised in surprise.
“Damn, I didn’t mean any offense, man.”
“I just don’t want her disrespected. I care about her a lot.” I looked away, knowing that I was shit at keeping my emotions in check, especially after what Kennedy and I had shared last night. “But I’m not about to talk to you about this at the fucking gym.” I knew I was being an ass right now, but where Kennedy was concerned it was a soft spot, a sore subject.
I wanted to shout out to the damn world that she was finally mine, but until I talked to her and asked how she wanted to go about this, I wasn’t going to just tell anyone who asked.
They could speculate all they wanted, assume, probably even know the truth, but I wouldn’t say the words until I knew how she felt.
We were in this together, she and I.
Chapter Sixteen
Kennedy
Roman reached out and took my hand in his. I couldn’t help but feel happy over the fact we weren’t hiding, that we were showing affection without caring.
The lights in the theater were dim, the previews having yet to start. I shifted on the seat, moving down just a little bit, getting comfortable. Roman held the tub of popcorn, and I had the drink in the cup holder beside me.
Since that night, seeing him defending my honor, and then giving myself to him, so much had changed. I looked at the world differently now.
When the man you loved loved you in return, everything felt right. The sun shone brighter. The air smelled cleaner. Everything was more vivid, colors so bright. And waking up feeling that elation was the best thing in the world.
I looked over at Roman and couldn’t help but smile. He glanced over at me, this funny expression covering his face a second before he leaned in and kissed me. There were a few people in the movie theater, not something I considered crowded, but enough that showing public displays of affection made me a little uncomfortable.
It wasn’t because it was with Roman, but because all of this was new to me. All of it was. I needed to break out of that mold, to not care what others thought. Going through life always worried about being on someone’s radar was a hard thing to break.
But everything was different now.
The thing was, Roman had been my first … everything.
My first real kiss.
My first true love.
The man who had taken my virginity.
He owned every part of me irrevocably.
“You’re thinking pretty hard,” he murmured against my mouth and I pulled back slightly. I licked my lips, tasting a little bit of the salt and butter from the popcorn.
I nodded, wanting to express my concerns, worries, and hopes, but figured maybe it was too soon. Maybe this wasn’t the right place.
Or maybe anytime was the best time.
“Roman?” I said softly, and he shifted on the seat to look at me. I wasn’t going to just beat around the bush, wasn’t going to drag it out. We’d already waited two years to come clean to each other about our feelings. Why waste more time?
“I don’t want us to hide … this, us.” I swallowed, my emotions rushing to the surface. He hadn’t said anything, but I could see he had his full attention on me, knew he was waiting for me to finish speaking before he said anything.
Roman was like that. He had a hard exterior to anyone he wasn’t close with, had a rowdy reputation when he was younger, drank, partied back in the day, but I felt like I knew the real him. The person he hid but who I saw when I looked in his eyes.