................

I woke up because I was too warm and because my phone was blustering somewhere in the room.

Kyle groaned but he didn't wake, instead he held my body tighter unto his, my face pressing even more unto his chest. I needed to get out of his embrace and answer my phone quickly before it woke him up.

With precise movements, I managed to shift him to the other side, equally freeing myself from him. Once I made sure that he was still snoozing, I quickly dashed out of the bed in search for my phone.

It was in the bathroom, inside my purse. I answered it before checking the caller-ID.

"Keya?" It was Kelly.

"Mom?" My voice was still hoarse.

"Where the hell are you?" She didn't sound angry but I knew she was borderline.

"I'm at Kyle's," I told her quickly, blushing because his name brought up images of last night.

I squeezed my legs together, squeamishly and that was when I realised I was still naked. I looked around until I found my panties next to the tub.

I pulled them on, hating to wear used underwear.

"Why didn't you come home last night?" She demanded. "Or call to tell us where you were. Your father almost went batshit. I had to hide the phone from him so that he wouldn't disturb you from whatever it is that you were doing yesterday." She rambled.

The way she said the last part was as if she knew exactly what I had been doing. I returned to the bedroom in search for something to wear.

"I'm sorry, I should have called." I lowered my voice so that I wouldn't wake Kyle up. I walked towards one of his drawers and took out his oversized basketball shirt. I pulled it down my body before running back to the bathroom.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I don't want to wake Kyle, mom. It's seven thirty in the morning on a weekend." I told her.

"What are you doing at Kyle's. Where were you yesterday?"

"Uh..." Shít! What was I supposed to tell her.

"Uh, what, Keya?" She asked. "Let me guess, you were at a party yesterday?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed out of a sudden, frowning at the lie.

But, I decided it was best to go with her guess because how was I to explain to my mother that I went on a double date from hell yesterday, only to end sleeping with my best friend afterwards?

"Uh-huh." I could picture her rolling her eyes. "As long as you're fine."

"Yeah I'm fine, totally fine." I lied again.

"Right." That told me she didn't believe me. "Just call when you decided to disappear again, next time."

"Got it. Sorry again."

She made a grunting noise that told me she accepted my apology.

"When are you coming home?"

I looked towards the closed bathroom door, wondering if Kyle was awake.

"I'll call when I leave."

"Okay. Be safe."

"Yes, mom."

"See you later then."

"Okay. Tell dad I said hi and that I'm sorry."

"Will do."

I hung up the phone and sighed as I retuned it back in my purse. I just hoped my mother could reason with Teddy into not grounding me, besides I was almost an adult now.

Since I was already in the bathroom, I decided to wash. As I brushed my teeth with Kyle's spare toothbrush, I avoided my reflection in the mirror. This avoidance didn't last long when I stared at myself anyhow.

I felt like I looked different. Did I?

It was still the Keya I knew that stared back at me. The same light brown hair that was back to its original frizzy perm. The same greeny-grey eyes that stared warily back at me. The same caramel coloured face, fully equipped with a straight nose and full lips. And the same...wait, was that a rosy pink colour I was seeing in cheeks?

Reflexively, I rubbed my cheeks. I didn't remember putting any blusher yesterday. Even if I did, I'm sure that it must've got washed off during that shower I had last night.

I moved closer to the mirror for inspection. I then established that it wasn't make-up that made my cheeks look rosy.

Holy cheeks! I was blushing.

I slapped my cheeks lightly but that action only made it worse. And I had thought being caramel skinned prevented you from this ordeal.

I couldn't blame myself for this. No, I blamed the memories; those heart racing memories of last night.

The gleam in my eyes was evident and I couldn't stop my lips from breaking apart into this ridiculous grin that insisted on staying on my face.

I had to face it. I, Keya Reynolds, was no longer a virgin.

Did I regret last night? No. There wasn't any part of me that did. I swiped my v-card to my best friend and I enjoyed every single moment of it.

Kyle had been amazing. I now understood exactly why girls were after him. However, as I ventured more into yesterday's events, doubt began to escalate.

Holy smocks! What did our friendship mean now?

There was no doubt that we crossed so many lines yesterday. Could I face him after last night? Yes, I could. But I knew Kyle. I knew when he woke he'd want to talk about last night. I didn't want that; to see his regret. I wouldn't be able to borne it.

Then where do we go from here?

I didn't know what he'd want to do.

But, in my part, I knew I had to pretend that everything was still the same. I have to do it, in order to avoid any awkward situation.

I wasn't going to be a coward like last week, by running away. No way, was I going to ruin it again.

As I returned back to the bedroom, Kyle was still snoozing, adorably snuggling on a pillow. For a while, I fantasized that he was thinking that pillow was me in his arms. I went over to him and pulled back his hair from his face.

He should have just chopped the whole thing off. I thought. But, as I looked at him; I was glad he hadn't. I knew I'd miss doing just this, if his hair was cut off.

Fûck, what am I doing? Jeez, I look like a creep.

It was nearly eight o'clock in the morning and I knew I couldn't go back to sleep. It was always this way. Once I was awake, that was me for the day.

Staying in this room with Kyle still asleep while I was up, was not going to down well, so I deducted that I should leave him.

I ventured downstairs for some food. Once in the kitchen, I decided to make some pancakes and cook eggs and bacon while I was at it.

Kyle's fridge was almost running out in essentials. I wondered if his dad left money when he decided to disappear last Friday. But, I knew he didn't. Kyle has relied on himself, always finding odd jobs then and there so that he could keep up with the house bills since his father got fired two years ago.

It was a somewhat relief to know that the house was mortgaged, so at least Kyle didn't have to pay for rent. It wasn't fair what Robert Reyes was doing. It was selfish and cruel to leave Kyle to take care of everything.

The last time I checked, Kyle quit his after school and weekend job almost three months ago, so that he could concentrate on his studies this year. He never told me how he was still paying for those bills when I asked.

However, I strongly suspected he was using money from his savings account. The money he will need for college, the money that was hope for him to leave this place for good; to leave his father rotting in his own misery.

I was thinking through this while I cooked. I was so absorbed in the task that I hadn't heard a figure slumping on the stool on the corner until a gruff voice spoke.

"That smells good, girlie."

"Fu-aah...!" I yelped, almost burning my hand from being so startled.

I whipped around to find a blood-shot eyed and grim looking Robert Reyes, leering at me.

"You scared me!" I told him, putting my hand across my chest as if to calm my ever pounding heart.

Some semblance of a smile latched onto his features and if he didn't appear so gruff looking with a growing beard sporting on his chin, he would have looked like Kyle.

When I first met him, a long time ago, I thought he and Kyle were the exact replica, despite the fact that he had hazel eyes and Kyle had green. This thought was soon wiped from my mind when I saw his true colours.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, some of my thoughts turning to fear. If Kyle's bruises when he was a lot younger were the result of his anger, then heaven knew what this man was capable of.

"Should be asking ya that." He leered. "Since it's my house."

He was drunk. It was nearly half eight in the morning and he was drunk. Come to think of it, I actually had no memory of ever seeing him sober. No wonder the man's skin was turning yellow. If my biology knowledge was correct, this man was in high risk of having jaundice. I could hardly imagine the state his liver was in.

"When did you get back?" I asked for the sake of keeping the conversation going.

He moved towards the fridge and I breathed a breath I've been holding as I turned back to switch the stove off. I was glad, at that moment that I cooked enough for three—knowing Kyle's appetite.

"An hour—where the f*ck is my six-pack!" He bellowed, slamming the fridge door close.

What six pack? I thought, looking down at his bulging stomach.

"I don't know." I answered him.

The look he gave me could have killed me in the spot. The man was two feet away from me and if I didn't back away, I hardly knew what he would have done.

"Where is that boy?" He grimaced.

"Kyle?"

"Who else?"

"Uh...he's sleeping."

"Did he drink my beer?" He staggered towards me.

I cringed. "No!"

"Then explain to me where my fûcking beers are?"

"You must have drunk them all. I don't know!" I was shouting back.

It was the result of my adrenalin and this time my body was choosing to fight not flee.

He took a deep shuddering breath as he clenched his fist. All the while, I was pulling Kyle's oversized shirt down to at least cover my knees.

"What are you doing in my house, Keri?"

"It's Keya!" I lashed out.

He shrugged as he leaned in the counter to steady himself.

"Pack me some of those pancakes, would ya?" He tottered over to one of the stools.

I hated turning my back to his as I did as he asked. He gave me his ugly smile when I pushed the plate towards him, making sure there was distance between us.

He reeked of alcohol and I wondered how he could stomach the food when he began gorging in the pancakes.

"You cook well, Kelsi."

I flared my nostrils when he got my name wrong yet again. Fisting my hands, I decided to not waste my breath by correcting him.

I watched him eat with a glaring look printed on my face, showing him well how much I disliked him. He ignored me as he continued taking bites of pancakes.

He was almost done by the time Kyle showed up wearing nothing but shorts as he walked into the kitchen. I didn't realise it before but he was almost sporting a beard. The small stubble looked sexy as hell with his just-fûcked look.

Our eyes locked briefly and I knew I was blushing ten shades darker when he chewed on his lower lip. The action resulted in butterflies in my stomach. I could've welcomed the sight of his chiselled body if the man that called himself his father wasn't there.

Kyle skidded to a stop once his eyes left mine and saw who was sitting at the counter table.

"Dad?" I watched helplessly as his body tensed, his countenance going from content to hard shell.

Robert Reyes grinned, that leering grin as he watched his son walk over to me.

"Did ya miss me?" He sneered.

Kyle's jaw clenched and now that he was within touching distant, I could feel how his body was trembling.

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked him through gritted teeth.

"'S my house, I can walk in and out of it whenever I want."

Kyle huffed. "Sure dad, it's your house. But who's been paying for the bills for past two years?"

Robert looked as if he swallowed something unpleasant. He ignored Kyle as he staggered off his seat and failed to walk to the fridge.

"You drank all my beers. Beers I bought with my money." He lashed out as he opened the fridge once again.

"No dad. I didn't drink your shît. Why would I want to end up like you? A belligerent, drunkard ásshole!" Kyle fumed.

I moved to touch his fisted arm. He fazed slightly at my touch.

Robert slammed the fridge shut quickly before darting towards us with his hands ready to strangle Kyle.

I stopped Kyle before he could act, quickly putting myself between them.

"Move out of the way, Kendra!" Robert stopped, swaying in his feet.

"Her name is Keya!" Kyle bellowed.

I placed a hand on Kyle's chest, coaxing him to look at me, using my other hand to bring his face down.

The hurt mixed with anger in his eyed ripped through me.

I shook my head at him, trying to tell him that it wasn't worth it.

Kyle's breaths were laboured but I felt him relax at my touch. I turned to face Robert but it seemed he had long lost his interest when I saw him move towards one of the cupboards. He took out two bottles of wine and I guessed it was the only alcohol Kyle kept.

Because we were blocking his exit, Robert simply pushed me aside with rough hands and was about to go for Kyle when Kyle voluntarily moved aside.

"Good boy." He sneered at Kyle, levelling himself at Kyle's face.

I tensed, my heart beating ever so wildly in my chest at what was about to happen.

I knew I wouldn't be able to stop them, but, overruling my expectations, Robert only laughed throatily before disappearing out into the hallway.

I was at Kyle's side instantly, hugging his shaking body.

"Even if I wanted to, I just can't hit him Key," His voice shook.

"I know." I allowed him to bury his face on the crook of my neck.

"I can't...I just can't take it anymore." He tightened his arms around my body.

"Shh..." I rubbed his back, back and forth until he calmed.

"Why is he back? I was doing fine, I was able to breathe again. Am I bad person for wishing that one day he would just disappear forever?" He asked, his tone was mournful.

"No..." I freed myself from his hold in order to look at him. I took his face in my hands. "...you're not a bad person Kyle. Don't ever think that. It's him...he...he needs to learn—"

Kyle shook his head. "He's past that. He won't ever change from what he is."

"But, he has to, Kyle. Have you seen him?" I released his face. "If he keeps this up, he will end up in a death bed, Kyle."

For a fleeting moment, I saw a ghost of smile that never reached his eyes appearing in his mouth. "Maybe if he did, it's for the best—"

I shook my head violently, cutting him off his sentence. "No, Kyle. Don't say that. You don't want that. Trust me, as much as you wish him dead, you don't want that."

Kyle glowered at me, released himself from my hold. "And how would you know what I want?" He lashed.

"Kyle—"

"No, save it Keya. Just..." He inhaled. "...stop."

I pressed my lips together. "I'll stop, but you need to talk to him, soon, before you regret it."

"It's not that easy trying to reason with someone who only lashes at you in return." He shook his head. "I don't care what happens to him. I stopped caring a long time ago... Now can we just stop talking about him?"

"Okay-okay!" I held my hands up in defeat.

No matter how much Kyle said that and no matter how much I wished he did. I knew well that he still cared for Robert. How could he not? He was the only father he'd ever known and the only person that hadn't literally abandoned him like his mother and Jason.

He was still huffing but he relaxed slightly when he saw that I wasn't going to push it. That's when he stared at me up and down.

Like a flick of the switch, his eyes glazed with desire as he stared fixatedly at my attire.

"My Lakers' shirt, really?" It seemed like our conversation was long forgotten.

I shrugged. "It was the only thing, I came across."

"Right. A scheme to seduce me?"

I bit my lip, trying to seem indifferent. "Don't know what you're talking about."

He rolled his eyes as he grabbed a hem of the t-shirt and tugged on it, effectively pulling me closer towards him.

"So would it have worked?" I dared to ask.

He smirked. "Maybe."

"Maybe as in yes?" I pushed myself flat against him. My hands found his abdominal muscles, skimming down towards the spot that made him tick.

"Maybe as in yes." He agreed, his tone was going gruff.

I grinned but as I gazed up to his eyes, my grin faltered. He was hesitant.

"Keya...we need to talk about last night."

Like cold water hitting my body, I froze my actions, carefully backing away from him.

"What's there to say Kyle? I wanted it so..." I trailed, stopping myself from saying more.

"I know, but—"

I shook my head, putting my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear it.

He stopped me by talking my hands from my ears. I huffed indignantly.

"But where do we go from here?" He asked me, both of his eyes probing mine for a response.

I shrugged, because I really had no idea.

"See, this is exactly what I was talking about. This is the reason why I didn't want to do it in the first place." He was unaware of how tight he gripped my hands.

I frowned. "So...you're saying you don't want us to be friends anymore?"

"How can we be friends after last night?" He asked.

"I don't know. Go one like last night didn't happen." I suggested.

But it seemed like these were the wrong words to say when Kyle's face turned into a glowering mess.

"But it did happen."

This is why I hadn't looked forward to this confrontation. I could tell that he was regretting it now. I thought he'd wanted it too. I thought we could remain friends after this, even though I wanted more from him, I just thought...

"What do you want, Keya?" He asked, releasing my hands from his burning hold, only to scorch me even more by trailing his hands on both sides of my arms.

I was confused I didn't know what I wanted anymore. I wanted him but also didn't want to ruin our friendship. We couldn't continue last night without risking our friendship.

"I want us to still be friends. I don't want to lose you Kyle."

"And you think that you'll lose me even if we continue with this?" He emphasised the "this" by gripping my neck with both of his arms and pulling me into his lips.

His lips were like nectar and I was a helplessly addicted bee. I couldn't stop. We both couldn't stop when our tongues met. How could we when there was this fiery heat scalding between us? I fisted my fingers on his t-shirt, gripping harder.

But, at the thought of our friendship crumbling to pieces, I forced myself to stop. I wrenched myself from his touch, moving back away from him, shaking my head in the process.

He frowned at my movements.

"We can't throw away eight years like that." I told him.

"So that's what you want? Pretend like yesterday didn't happen?" He frowned deeply.

"Yeah, but obviously we can't do that." I shot back.

"So what do you exactly want Keya because I'm hanging over the lose here trying to figure it out."

Suddenly, the movie "Friends with benefits", I forced him to watched that one time came into my mind. I laughed, remembering it.