I didn't hear from Jamie all week, I thought to myself as I entered Rose's back yard. I happened to be the last one to arrive from our little group. Luckily for us, Rose's parents were out of town for the next couple of weeks, so we had the place to ourselves.

"Welcome to our intimate back to pool party- and yes that pun was intended. Let's go, change you into something more comfortable," said Rose as she linked her hand around mine and pulled me along.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Freddy and his girlfriend Dahlia. I waved at them with my one free arm. I was glad Rose decided to invite them.

As I took off my top in Rose's room, she gasped at my black strapless bikini top.

"Damn my best friend is sexy af," she said and we began laughing.

"I'm keeping the shorts on though."

"I agree. We don't want to make the boys' lives too 'hard'. Plus your butt looks good in them denim shorts. Look, I know this week has had its ups and downs but tonight, I want you to let loose and be happy. I love you sis."

I had told Rose what went down with Jamie and this girl had been my rock. I'm so lucky to be able to call her and Cassidy my best friends.

"I love you too sis."

As we re-entered the backyard , Rose nudged me in Kiandre's direction. There he was, standing alone like he was waiting for me all this time.

His gaze caught my own. My eyes began to take in the fine piece of man in front of me which then wandered down his sculpted body. He wasn't overly bulky but he had muscles in all the right places. His abs were prominent and he had a V-line that looked like it went down for days.

His blue shorts were worn slightly below his waist, making my fantasies run wild.

I was so caught up in soaking him in, I didn't realize how his eyes wandered over my body. He wore a slightly satisfied smirk on his face and his eyes screamed 'Get over here, if you dare' and my body was compelled to do exactly that.

"Don't you look gorgeous this afternoon?"

"I look gorgeous all the time," I said with a new found confidence he brought out in me.

"I can't argue with you there. You are my Bellissima for a reason. Let's get you a drink."

As the afternoon went on and into the evening, drinks were shared, jokes and memories made along with a lot of random dancing and singing, not to forget the dunks into the pool. Kiandre found himself by my side most of the time when he wasn't playing volleyball in the pool with the boys.

"Let's take a picture together, Bellissima. I want to remember this day," he said and so we did.

"Let's have a round of shots," said Cassidy as he brought out tequila and vodka from the kitchen.

Everyone gathered and sloshed theirs down.

Kiandre proceeded to take my hand in his and whispered, "Let's go somewhere more quiet."

We ended up in Rose's living room while everyone else continued to enjoy the party.

"I enjoy seeing you happy and carefree like this. When I see your smile, I forget all the problems in my world, so is it selfish to say that I always want you to wear that smile?"

My heart was beating so loud that I almost didn't hear a word of what he said. I was bold enough and ended up putting my hand on his chest and said, "Tell me your problems." Perhaps it was the liquid encouragement we had received that made us put our walls down.

"Alright, Angelo, just don't say anything until I'm done. As you know, I have 3 younger siblings. About 7 years ago, my dad was shot and killed by a stray bullet on our way to the grocery store. He died in my arms. I was just an 11 year old kid, and his last words to me were to take care of my siblings. Tyler was 9 and Ellie, 6. We were a happy family. We had enough to get by and two loving parents, but that day everything changed."

Kiandre took a sip of the drink he had poured whilst speaking. I placed my hand on his thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze telling him I was there for him. He looked at me and smiled before continuing.

"My mom started drinking every chance she got. I understood her grieving at first but we needed our mother too. There were so many nights I had to stay awake, comforting Tyler and Ellie, and wondering when would our mother come home. There were so many days I didn't go to school because I had to take care of them. Months went by and my mother wasn't getting better. She got fired from her job for drinking at work. We could no longer afford our house and had to move to an even worse side of the South.

"Tyler began resenting our Mum. He was acting out. It was so hard to keep him from falling into wicked ways. We struggled for a while, having cold showers and one meal a day until Mum got a job at the local bar. She ended up sleeping with her boss hence Leo was born. The bastard wanted nothing to do with the baby, fired my mother and paid her off. All these years I've been everything for my siblings. Once I turned 16, I started with after-school jobs. Mum had gotten another job as a waitress a few nights a week. The other nights she spent with her face down on some random man's lap or drinking her life away.

"If it weren't for me, my siblings and I would have probably been in the social system. Hopefully one day my mother will accept the help she needs."

Kiandre finished his drink and looked down, like he was embarrassed about his life. I placed my hand on his face and said, "I'm so sorry for all you had to endure. I'm so amazed by your strength."

Kiandre instinctively moved closer to me and brought my face near his, lifting my chin with his finger, his lips now dangerously close to mine.

"How can you be so perfect?" I felt his hot breath against my skin, awakening all of my senses. "You are so special to me, the light I knew I needed, Layton Cruz. I don't want to lose sight of you ever, Angelo."

"I'm nothing special. I have my demons too," I mumbled.

"I want to explore you, every part of you, and to me, your demons just make your light shine brighter. So tell me what's hurting you and I promise to try my best to make it go away."

I desperately wanted to kiss him. I bit my lip in anticipation of what was going to come next. With the way his arm snaked around my waist and his eyes gazed into mine, I knew he wanted to kiss me too.

"Layton, can you come out here please?" screamed Rose, bringing us out of our bubble.

I sighed.

"Soon, Bellissima," Kiandre said like he knew I was disappointed that we didn't get to continue our moment.