I Never Planned on You (I Never 1)

Kyler walks over toward me and puts his arm out as if asking if he can sit. I smile and scoot over. Gripping my chin with two fingers, he angles my head toward him and places a brief kiss on my lips.

“You doing okay? I know that’s not exactly how we wanted everyone to find out, but it’s out in the open now.”

I nod. “Yeah, I’m fine…although I have a feeling we won’t be living it down all weekend or possibly longer. Ms. Natalie already made jokes about it.”

He throws his head back in laughter before wrapping me in his arms and pulling me closer. “That’s funny. I assume they filled your dad and Brian in on what happened because they’ve been given me the look all afternoon.”

It’s my turn to let out a loud laugh, and I lean into him a little closer. As we sit there in silence, just the sound of our breathing together, hearts beating, and the swing squeaking as we rock back and forth, I realize that I am happy. I never thought that I would feel like this again, and it’s all thanks to this man next to me. I will be forever grateful he has stood by me and has helped me through this. I begin to wonder if things had worked out differently and I hadn’t left, when we had met, would we have ended up here?

My brow must be scrunched in thought because I feel Kyler’s knuckles brush my cheek ever so slightly, drawing my attention to him. “Where’s that pretty little head of yours at?”

“I was just thinking if I hadn’t cut off contact with my brother, do you think we would have met and hit it off?”

“Hmmm, well, I know for sure we would have met, it would just have been a matter of when. We would have met sooner if you had ever visited him, but Zach brought me to your family’s Fourth of July barbeque a month after you left. Eventually, coming back with him and Haylee became a regular occurrence.”

“Why do I feel like there is a but in there somewhere…? There’s always a but.”

He looks down at me and smiles. “Well, there’s not always a but, and if it’s as nice as your butt, I wouldn’t be complaining.” His hand slides down my side, and he pinches my butt, causing me jump closer to him. I smack his chest jokingly, and we both laugh.

“But…if we had met then, I would have definitely been attracted to you. That much was clear the moment I opened the door when you were standing on the porch, but you weren’t ready then.”

“And you think I’m ready now?” I sit up straight and turn my head toward him, looking deep into those chocolate-brown eyes. Seriously, those babies should be illegal.

Kyler cups my face between his palms, stroking his thumb along my cheeks, and brings his lips closer to mine. I can feel his hot breath against my skin. “Yes, baby, I think you are. It’s not always easy, but no matter what, I’m here for you to get you through the good days and the bad. I’m not going anywhere.”

Then he presses his lips against mine. This kiss is anything but friendly—it’s feverish, demanding, and passionate. After a few moments of our tongues fighting for dominance, we break apart knowing that either my parents or the Hankses could be watching, ready to make their next smartass comment.

Ky presses a sweet kiss on my forehead before rising. He reaches for my hand to pull me up from the swing. “What do you say we head in and I get to watch you in your element cooking with your mom and Natalie?”

I let out a little giggle as our fingers interlock and we walk toward the front door. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want to be stuck sitting with my dad and Brian.”

“Shit, yeah, that’s 100 percent correct.”

I let out a loud laugh as we walk through the front door.

When Kelly had let me know that she had made up the guest room for me for the night but I could stay in Dani’s room if I wanted, I could feel Dani tense up, unsure how to react. I wasn’t sure if it was because her family, besides Zach and Haylee, finally knew about us or if it was because I would be the only other guy who’d been in her room besides Emmett. I didn’t want to pressure her; I hadn’t since we met, nor would I in the future.

When I met Zach and his relationship with Haylee turned more than friendship, I didn’t mind at first being the third wheel, but over time I started to envy him. I had hoped one day someone would look at me the way Haylee looked at him and vice versa. I just never expected her to show up on my doorstep and be related to my best friend…the girl just two doors down right now in her childhood bedroom.

After we had had a simple dinner with her parents and Haylee’s, we hung out for a little bit longer, had a few drinks, and then decided to turn in. Not long after we went upstairs did we hear the front door close, indicating Brian and Natalie had gone home. I had kissed Dani good night standing in her doorway before leaving her there and walking down to the guest room. It was weird leaving her. This was the first time that I would be sleeping without her since that night after karaoke.

I can’t sleep and end up pacing the room back and forth trying to talk myself out of walking down to her room or talk myself into doing it. As is tradition, my mind is having an internal argument that I choose to silence by reaching for the doorknob of the guest room, taking the thirteen steps to Dani’s bedroom door, and knocking lightly, not wanting to disturb her parents,

who I assume are downstairs still. I take a deep breath and hope that she hasn’t fallen asleep.

The door quickly opens, and I find my beautiful girl standing there in a purple tank top and black sweatpants. She quickly looks out in the hallway before reaching for my hand, yanking me into her room, and closing the door softly so as not to disturb anyone else left in the house. She brushes her lips against mine ever so slightly and wraps her arms around me, pressing her chest to mine. Shit, it’s only been maybe two hours and I missed her already. Why did I wait so long to walk over here?

She breaks the kiss and reluctantly releases from me. I mourn the loss of her body against mine. Unexpectedly, she grabs my hand and pulls me toward the bed, pushing me down and crawling up to meet me. I pull her down and wrap my arms around her.

“Hi.”

“Hi back, beautiful. That was quite a greeting.”

This is much better. It’s crazy that I haven’t been sharing a bed with this woman all that long, but I feel better and at home with her in my arms. We haven’t even had sex yet—I mean, I’ve done things to her, but I haven’t pushed for anything else, just spent plenty of time jerking off in the bathroom—but this is what I have been looking forward to after a long day at work. Coming home to find her on the couch or in the kitchen, kissing her senseless, spending our evening together laughing, and then falling asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms.

I run my fingers down her hair and feel her body relax into me. “Is it weird that I’m in here? I know I told your parents I would stay in the guest room but…”

Dani cuts me off, seeking my lips. Her tongue licks the seam of mine, begging for entrance. She moans the sweetest little moan as my hand grips the back of her head, securing her closer to me, and I pull her bottom lip between my teeth before licking the sting away. Her hips push against me when I let out a deep growl from the back of my throat.