The bus took off at the camping site.

I was hoping an obstacle would come our way to make us return to where we came from, but things didn’t work the way I wanted them to. Massie practically dragged me to come along, claiming she needed a female friend. I didn’t want to go without Kai after he didn’t answer me clearly, but Mum encouraged me to loosen up, and Massie didn’t take no for an answer as well. They claimed I shouldn’t miss the fun as well.

I trod off the vehicle, all tired and dizzy. “I can’t wait to put up the tent,” I whined, primarily to myself.

“I’ll do it for you,” Ryan popped beside me, scaring me.

I gave him a look from behind my shoulder as I walked. “Since when have you been this close?”

He wore a goofy grin. “Since you farted and tried to hide it.”

I grimaced. Was he crazy?

“Alright, bad joke. Just wait for me to put up the tent. You’ll sleep with Massie, right?”

I nodded. I didn’t need to mention she practically forced me.

Ryan mounted up the tent while Massie was… touching up her makeup as though she was used to people doing things for her, or as if the animals in the forest cared about her cakey face. I tried to help the guy as much as I could, but he seemed good on his own.

“Done. Have a great night, ladies. Long day ahead of us.”

I thanked Ryan then fished out my phone to text Kai, ‘I wish you came with us. The weather is lovely. Hope you’re doing well still xx.’

He left the text on seen. I felt a little hurt, but I assured myself he’d reply later. I believed Kai was a nice guy. He wouldn’t rudely leave a text not responded to.

Yet he did. I sent him a text every day during the week, and he left them all on seen.

‘I fell during hiking and hurt my knee, haha. I really shouldn’t have come. I should’ve fought Massie. How about you? What are you doing alone?’ -Sat, seen.

‘Ryan is such a sweetheart. You guys are lucky to be his friends. He took care of my wound.’ -Sun, seen.

‘Why are you not replying? Are you okay? Are you overthinking? Kai… imissyou.’ -Mon, seen.

‘Is everything okay? Is it even you who’s leaving my texts on seen?’ -Tue, seen.

‘I’m confused. I don’t really know what I feel. What you’re doing isn’t helping either, but I miss you still. Do you miss me too?’ -Wed, seen.

‘Alright, I give up. You do you. I’m sorry for bothering you. See you tomorrow.’ -Thu, seen.

It was a tough week. It felt longer with the thoughts of Kai not leaving my mind. He awaited a decision from me yet wasn’t cooperating. Moreover, I couldn’t sleep at night. The bug spray didn’t work as well as it promised, or maybe it was because I brought an almost empty bottle that only had two sprays. I couldn’t sleep well since I was forced to attend a mosquito orchestra I didn’t approve of. Massie, on the other hand, slept like a log with a satin eye-mask.

My phone vibrated beside my head.

‘Pssst, Mel.’

‘What do you want, Ryan? My mood isn’t the best with the lack of sleep.’

‘I have somewhere to take you.’

‘Seriously? How do you know anywhere worthy in this damned forest anyway?’

‘Trust me. Come out of the tent.’

Since I couldn’t sleep anyway, I obliged and came out in search of the guy. Ryan was close to my tent, leaning on a tree. I walked up to him, and he immediately held my hand. The sudden skin contact left me petrified.

“What—”

He interrupted, “Stay close. If I lose you, Kai is going to kill me.”

“Huh?” I knew I was happy to hear his name but also surprised. Kai didn’t come to the trip, so how would he take me to him?

Ryan dragged me through the trees without an explanation. His warm hand was my only heat in the chilly forest, and he held hard on it, harder whenever it loosened. My nose sank deeper in my scarf, not wanting to break and fall from the cold.

He stopped, and I bumped into his back.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Mel, you see the light there?” He pointed towards it, and I nodded. “Walk until there. He’s waiting for you.”

My eyes widened. “Ryan, how—”

He closed the distance between us to engulf me in a hug of the warmest. It was too tight that I smelled a hint of his manly cologne, but I was also glad he couldn’t see the heat of my cheeks. All my words sank back into my throat at his gesture. I wasn’t sure how to feel about Ryan anymore.

“Keep your phone on. Call me if you need anything,” he reminded, cupping my cheeks in his mittened hands.

Then he walked off and ignored my confused, faint calls. I was scared of being left alone, but he said Kai was close there. Holding onto the hope Kai was on the other end, I cut my way through the forest’s end. Walking through the soil wasn’t my expertise, but I did my best.

From an angle Kai couldn’t see, I watched him rub his hands together and blow air between them. He never ceased to check his surroundings; my stomach erupted in butterflies at the thought it was me he was looking for.

God, I really missed the man. My heart was palpitating. I breathed in and out, remembering how he ignored my texts. Maybe I needed to act hard-to-get to get back at him, but my plans took a drastic change when I saw him smile. Did he think of me?

I walked from behind the tree. “Kai!” I hollered.

He instantly caught my figure in his eyes. The smile spread wider on his pale face, and he started sprinting towards me. He picked me up and off the ground in a hug.

“Yes, I missed you,” he finally answered my text. He put me down but kept me in his embrace. “I’m sorry I didn’t come. I wish I listened to you. That was an agonising week.”

He rubbed my back up and down, sending needed heat throughout my whole body. His face nuzzled in my scarfed neck, and I felt his breath through it. My hand played with the hair on his nape. I hugged him harder, making sure he was real in my arms.

When we pulled away, he held my freezing cheeks and leant in slowly. It felt as if he was giving me the time to decide whether I wanted a kiss, which was unfair considering the short interval. But hey, I had a whole week to regret my decisions. Ironic how most of our past kisses were aggressive.

I wanted him. Fúck social ranks. If we were meant to be, we would be no matter what anyone wanted. All that mattered was our own feelings.

I met him halfway and connected our lips. He tasted like coffee and smelled of his special cologne. Being that close to him made me feel an unusual type of warmth. He kissed me tenderly; I thought I’d melt in his arms. When he pulled away, I was even more sure of my decision with that sincere glint in his eyes.

“It’s cold. Let’s get into the car,” he mumbled a centimetre away from my lips.

He had opened the passenger seat for me before he rode on the other side. The heater was on, so the car was much warmer than outside; I started taking off my scarf.

“How was the week?” he asked, adjusting the heater.

“Tiring, agonising, a struggle, and the list goes on. At least I know hiking isn’t my favourite now.”

He chuckled. “It’s great I didn’t come, then.”

I frowned. “It’s not. You chose to be away right when I expressed how I liked you…”

Kai stared at me wordlessly, one side of his lips tugged up. He extended his hand to tuck a loose strand of my hair behind my ears. I shivered at the touch.

“Angel,” he called. “Time is a teacher. It taught me a day could be more than twenty-four hours away from the people you need. I’ve learnt my lesson.”

I buried my cheek deeper in his warm hand, smiling. “Cliché.”

He snorted. “You promised to tell me the ending to the book, Mellie. Tell away.”

“She quits the affair with her ex,” I started.

“Shame. It provided sex scenes.” His lips pressed together in a thin line.

I snickered. “You have the same conflict as the main character. She was questioning immorality. What you just said is immoral, Kai.”

He chuckled. “I only meant it from a reader’s viewpoint.”

“Did you come all the way here to hear the end of a book?”

“No.” Kai smiled. “I came to ask you to be mine.”

I blinked countless times in disbelief. Was I dreaming Kai Kingston wanted me to be his already?

He nudged me, and I hissed in pain, “Ow! Why did you do that?!” I rubbed my arm.

“You were zoning out.”

After minutes of excusing my silence with being busy rubbing my arm, I asked him, “Why me?” If we were going to establish a relationship, I needed to make sure not to repeat past mistakes.

“I’d say why not you, but I have an answer to that.” He relaxed back in his seat and looked up to the sky through the transparent window on the car’s ceiling. “You give me the rush, Mel. I haven’t felt it in a while until I met you, so I’m not about to let go of this lovely feeling.”

I hesitated to reply. That all could’ve been a fling, fleeting emotions we temporarily felt. As he said, they gave us the rush, but we didn’t understand what it consisted of exactly.

“You also made the best egg wraps I have ever had. That’s enough reason to want to wake up to your face every morning, gosh.”

I laughed. He wanted to marry me because of some egg wraps. “You’re one of a kind.”

His eyes lingered on me for a few more seconds, awaiting a reply. “I want to.” I nodded with a small smile. “I’d like to test where this would reach,” I quoted his words.

Kai grinned. He slid his driver’s seat backwards and patted his lap. “Come here, kitten. I want you closer.”

I bit my lip, and he extended his hand my way to grasp. I obeyed, and he situated me on his lap. He kissed my forehead, both my eyes, my nose, cheeks, chin, all in giggles until he reached my lips.

My eyes got droopy while I let him do most of the work. His rubs on my back soothed me until I felt myself fall asleep in his arms.

.  .  .

A relationship has bloomed :) this is a story of 30 chapters, so I suppose it's pacing fine. starting the next chapter, the climax will be approaching.

Thoughts about the plot so far? The courtship? Ryan’s behaviour?

Expectations of Kai's secret, and predictions for their relationship?

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