Kendra...

I knocked on the tall wooden door and waited for it to be answered. The thing was huge and shiny with the most beautiful carvings I have ever seen. Leave it to Iris to find a house with the most extravagant door. She and Alex had finally returned from their honeymoon a few days ago and they had invited me over to see their new house.

I looked down at my loose-fitting blouse and tight jeans, hoping that I looked presentable enough. Iris loved this blouse, she was the one that bought it for me. But she wasn't the one I was trying to impress.

Eli was going to be there, and this would be our first time in the same room with other people there since...

I felt a chill run up my back. The same chill I always felt when I thought about that night.

The past few weeks have been amazing. I had put all my worries aside and allowed myself to act on all the things I was feeling. And those actions were quite enjoyable.

Eli has been sneaking into my apartment almost every night and has been gone before Kyle woke up. We've been debating when and how we should tell him. Sneaking around was fun, but we both knew that soon enough Kyle would need to know.

The door to the house finally opened and Iris stood at the door grinning.

"Welcome to my home," she said, stepping aside to allow me in.

I stepped into the foyer of what might be the best house I've ever seen. The marbled floors, fancy paintings, winding staircase, and chandelier were something I didn't expect to see when coming here. But this was Iris after all and she did have access to a good bit of money thanks to Alex's family.

"It looks amazing in here," I complimented.

"I know, right?" She said, "And you haven't seen everything yet."

"If this is what the foyer looks like, I can't wait to see the rest."

"Well, let's go meet the guys in the kitchen to get a drink and officially start the tour."

"Ok," I answered, hoping she didn't see the smile that came on my face at the mention of the guys.

I looked down at myself again before following her to the kitchen.

Eli and Alex were at the shiny new island, with drinks in hand. They looked up when they heard us enter.

Eli's eyes were instantly on me, taking my body. Somebody liked what they saw.

"Hey boys," Iris waved, "Look who's here."

I simply smiled and waved, not trusting what might come out of my mouth at the sight of Eli.

I took the seat opposite him, knowing being far from him might be what's best for both of us. He definitely won't keep his hands to himself if I sat next to him.

"So, what have you been up to since we've been gone?" Alex asked.

"Nothing much. Same old stuff," I answered. "But this isn't about us, it's about you guys. How was The Bahamas?"

"It was amazing," Iris' eyes widened and she continued to tell stories of their time there.

It would be a lie if I said I heard everything she said. I was too busy stealing glances at Eli from across the island. My best friend was too into her story to notice anything.

"You know what, enough talk about the honeymoon," Alex stopped his wife as she was about to get into another story, "Let's give these guys a tour."

"Yeah, let's see if it's actually as good as you keep saying it is," Eli teased.

"Oh, it will be. You're just mad that you're stuck with that little apartment now," Alex teased back, "Enjoying it?"

"Very much," he answered, his eyes landing on me, "I have it all to myself to do whatever I want."

I quickly looked away, trying to hold back the smile that threatened to show itself.

While nights were spent at my apartment, the days were spent at his. Many lunch dates ended up with us naked on Alex's favorite couch.

"What was that?" Alex asked.

"What was what?" Eli asked.

"That look you gave her."

"What look?"

"Eli, I saw that. Matter of fact I saw all of it since Kendra walked in here."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

Iris looked at me as I stayed silent, her brows raised in curiosity.

"Man you didn't see anything," Eli defended.

"Dude, I've known you since we were kids. I know when you're lying."

"Did something happen between you two while we were gone?" Iris asked. "And don't you dare lie to me Kendra, cause I can tell when you're lying too."

I looked over at Eli, who looked defeated. It made no sense lying to them, they knew something was up.

"Well..." I began, but Iris was already screeching in excitement.

"Something did happen!" She said, then a smirk appeared on her face, "Did you guys have sex?"

"Oh, they definitely did. Did you see how he was looking at her? He had an 'I wanna see you naked again' face."

Neither Eli and I answered, and Iris continued to screech in excitement.

"It's about time!" She said, "Y'all's sexual tension was starting to get on my nerves."

"Right?" Alex said in agreement.

"So, does this all mean you guys are like an actual couple now?" Iris asked.

"Uh...yes," I finally answered.

Iris clapped her hands in excitement. "Double dates!"

"When were you guys planning on telling us this?" Alex asked.

"Not today," Eli answered.

"Why not? We're your best friends," Iris frowned.

"We wanted to just enjoy it before we let people know," he answered.

"And I wanted Kyle to be the first person we told about it," I added.

"You haven't told him yet?" Iris asked and I nodded.

"He probably already knows something is up," Alex said.

"He doesn't know," I assured him.

"Have you guys been hooking up at the apartment when he's there?"

"Yeah," I answered shyly.

"Oh he definitely knows," Alex chuckles.

"But it's late at night when he's asleep," I said.

"And you think that's enough?" Alex asked.

"I mean, they could pull it off. As long as they're really quiet and Eli doesn't leave things lying around."

"I don't know about the being quiet part, cause Kendra can be loud..." Eli said with a smug and Iris squeaked.

"Eli!" I hissed, throwing a fake fruit from the basket in front of me.

"But I'm sure I haven't left anything over there," he added.

"Well..." I began and Eli turned to me wide-eyed, "You left the socks with the basketballs on them. I washed them thinking they were Kyle's and gave them to him. He came to me yesterday asking why Eli's socks were in his sock drawer."

"See!" Alex yelled.

"Shit," Eli cursed under his breath.

"And there was that time you left your camera in my room."

"Wait, he was the one that found it?" Eli asked.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Wait a minute...why was the camera in your room?" Alex asked.

Eli and I looked down and our friend erupted in laughter.

"You freaks," Alex laughed.

"You know Kendra, I didn't know you had this in you," Iris said.

"Can we stop talking about this?" I asked in embarrassment.

"Uh, no. I have a lot of questions," Alex said.

"What about the tour of the house?" Eli asked.

"Oh that can wait," Iris said before turning to me, "I want all the details. From the beginning."

Eli and I looked at each other. There was no sense in hiding it all away from them. Though, some things had to stay between us.

"Well, it all started the night of the wedding," I started.

"That explains why you two were missing all night," Iris said.

And with that Eli and I continued to tell our friends how our relationship came to be, leaving out a few details of course. It did feel good to finally get it out and talk to someone about it. But I do hope that talking to Kyle about this didn't get this uncomfortable.

**********

Eli...

"Eli's here!" I heard Kyle yell from the other side of the door.

A few seconds later it was open, and he was standing behind it grinning wildly.

"Hey Eli," he greeted.

"Hey, buddy, what's up?" I said, giving him a high-five.

"Nothing really," he shrugged, stepping aside.

I walked into the immaculately cleaned house. I smiled to myself, Kendra's probably been stress cleaning.

"Where's your mom?" I asked.

"In the kitchen," he answered, "Oh, I need to show you something."

And with that, he took off into his room. I dropped my camera on the table nearby and headed to the kitchen. I walked up behind Kendra and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Hello Mr. Carter," she said leaning into me as she continued to stir whatever was in the pot

"Hello Ms. Wright," I said kissing her exposed shoulder.

"You better stop before Kyle sees us," she said, making no move to actually stop me

"I thought we were going to tell him," I said, placing a kiss on her neck next.

"Not like this," she said.

I was over at her apartment because we had finally decided to tell Kyle about our relationship. A month had passed since it all started, and it was becoming difficult to sneak around. At this point, I was convinced that he knew something was going on.

I was about to kiss her neck again when I heard his bedroom door close. I quickly stepped away from Kendra.

"Check it out!" he said running into the kitchen and placing a cardboard box on the kitchen table.

"What's that?" I said peeking into it.

"It's my science project," he said, "I'm making the solar system."

"These planets are looking cool," I said, holding up what I assumed to be earth.

"All that's left to do is figure out a way to set it all up," he said.

"I already gave you some ideas Kyle," Kendra said from the stove.

"But those ideas aren't cool mom," the boy replied.

I chuckled, which got a glare from Kendra.

"Eli, can you help me with a cool display?"

"Sure, why not," I answered.

"Yes!" he cheered carrying the box to the living room, "Come on."

"Don't get too caught up with your space stuff, dinner will be ready soon," Kendra said.

"I hear ya," I replied before following Kyle.

Our little night together was going without a hitch. We ate, played games, took pictures, and helped Kyle with his project. Even though the boy was having a good time hanging out with us, he was oblivious to the uneasiness that was present between his mother and I. The time to tell him about us was getting closer, and the fear of how he would react was starting to sink in. Even though Kyle had mentioned to me that he was cool with me and his mom dating, I was nervous that the reality of it might be a bit different.

Kendra stepped back into the living room with a plate of chocolate cake, Kyle's favorite. She was pulling out all the stops tonight. She gave me a look as she sat next to me.

It was time.

"Here Kyle," she said to Kyle who was sitting on the floor, working on his project.

"Cake!" he screamed, grabbing the plate, "Thanks mom."

Kendra looked at her son then at me. She raised a brow, asking if I was ready. I was about to nod, truly ready for the situation, but the buzz in my pocket stopped me. I mouthed an apology to Kendra before pulling my phone out. I was expecting it to be Alex and was ready to ignore the call. But then I saw a name I wasn't expecting.

Angela.

My stomach dropped.

"I have to take this," I said to Kendra and she nodded, probably noticing the sheer fear that was on my face.

I got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen as quickly as I could.

"Hey Ang, what's up?" I answered.

"It's dad," she said sniffling, the gloom obvious in her voice, "You need to come home, now."

Hey my faithful readers! 

Let me first say I'm sooo sorry for taking so long to post a new chapter. School has been getting pretty hectic and finding time to write is getting more and more difficult. And I want to say thank you to those of you who are still here and sticking with me and this book. I'll try my bet not to let you guys down anymore.

Anyway, I hope that you guys liked this chapter. Don't forget to vote and leave your views and thoughts in the comments. 

Hopefully I'm able to find some time again soon to post another chapter. But until then, be safe out there.