He smirked again, his dimples deep and heart soothing.
"Then, you have my word, Kenz. No other woman but you are allowed to get this close."
He gave me another kiss and I kissed him back, enjoying the mint and sweet taste of his tongue as he kissed me.
"Hey, guys..."
We broke off immediately and turned around swiftly to see Suzy, Jojo and Summer staring at us wide-eyed and all smiles.
My face instantly warms and I could imagine how tomato red I looked right now.
We continued to stare at each other and when I realized I was still in Connor's arms, I pushed him away a little too roughly and Summer chuckled.
"We were...uh..." Suzy stuttered, breaking the awkward silence. "We were gonna come tell you that we're leaving. I have to be at the office for an urgent situation."
"I have classes in an hour too." Jojo chipped in, her face wide with smiles. I could tell just how elated she was, seeing me kiss a guy.
I remembered how at a point in my life, Jojo made me question my sexuality because I was never interested in any man. Now, I was pregnant and also caught in a kiss act.
"I'm still here, though." Summer said with a shrug.
"Uh....I..." I could not bring myself to say another word yet and I sent Connor a glare that questioned 'Why aren't you helping?'.
I was surprised he had an amused look on his face. How could he be finding the situation funny?
"We'll see you around, Kenz," Suzy said again and waved at me. Jojo winked knowingly at me before walking out of the room with Suzy.
"Cute." Summer laughed again and followed behind them.
I gave Connor another glare after they left.
"You piece of..."
"What?" He was laughing now. "Summer was right. It was cute."
I glared at him harder. What a prick!
"Buzz off. I hope you choke in soap water." I hastened out of the room while his laugh trailed after me.
"Why don't you come to have a shower with me?"
I ignored the flutters in my stomach and continued to walk away.
Asshole.
.......................
As Connor and I walked out of the hospital building and towards his car, I sighed a huge sigh of relief. Connor laughed at my show of relief.
"Welcome to the world of pregnant women, Kenz."
I rolled my eyes and mimicked the doctor we had just finished booking our first antenatal appointment with.
"Cut down on your caffeine intakes. Quit alcohol..."
"The alcohol part is the best though." Connor chuckled and opened the front door for me. I dropped the prenatal vitamins we had gotten from the doctor into my handbag before entering the car. Connor shut the door behind me and joined me in the car.
"It's annoying."
He started the car, the smile still on his face.
"What's annoying is that you have to stay away from alcohol till you have the baby."
I threw him a glare. "And what about you? What do you get to stay away from? Why do I have to be the only one who gets to suffer the consequences of our sex?"
I was aware I was nagged by now.
"Woah. Woah. Woah." He swerved his hand to the left lane and slowed his car as we neared the gas station. "Is this the whole pregnancy hormone taking a toll on you?"
I could not stop myself from laughing.
"Hormonal what?"
He only laughed and parked his car in the gas station. He took my hand into his and planted a gentle kiss on it.
"Give me a sec, babe. I won't take long."
My insides warmed at his action and I nodded at him. He gave me another dimpled smile and stepped out of the car. I sighed as I watched him fill the gas tank. I could never seem to get used to all of...this. The sweet kisses. The cute name callings. The idea that he liked me. No, loved. The fact that we were soon going to have a baby together. I could never get used to all of it.
It looked so perfect. Too good to be true. And sometimes, I felt afraid that I would wake up one morning and all of it will be gone and then I would be left with nothing but a broken heart and shattered hopes.
My eyes craned as someone familiar with casual tees and dark jeans dropped from his car and walked toward Connor. His tall husky frame and the eerie feeling that slipped through me upon seeing his presence were undeniably familiar.
Ryan.
His eyes met mine first and he gave me a mock bow before facing Connor. Connor looked at me briefly and in his eyes, I could see hate for Ryan.
They spoke inaudibly with Connor's face contorting now and then in anger.
I felt uneasy about the way they were this close as though they had known each other for so long.
When Ryan made to walk to Connor's car, Connor immediately pulled him back roughly by the collar. The aggression he used to pull Ryan back caused attention from onlookers and Connor retracted his hand again. Ryan said something to him again and with a smirk, he moved to the car again. This time, Connor did not stop him and only looked on like a wounded lion.
I sat up and braced myself as he advanced closer. It was not fear that I felt for him. It was hate.
"Hello, honey." Ryan pressed his head into the open window of the driver's seat and smiled at me. The wicked smile of a murderer.
My fists clenched and I just watched him. Who would ever think that someone this good-looking would be a bloody heartless obsessed killer? Suddenly, his good looks did not appeal to me anymore. If anything, it spites me even more and he looked no different from the devil from hell.
"You know, Connor has been pretty secretive lately and wouldn't tell me anything about you. Or your wounds. How do you like my little present?" He chuckled lightly.
I gritted my teeth together. "We do not have any business with a murderer."
Ryan laughed again.
"Oh, but you do." His laugh dissolved into a smirk. "And so does...that." He pointed to my body and when I traced his finger, my whole body froze.
He was pointing to my stomach. He knew that I was pregnant.
Fear returned to me and my body shivered as he laughed. Immediately, Connor came up and pushed him off roughly. Opening the car door, he stepped in again, leaving Ryan who continued to laugh cynically like a madman.
Connor drove away without further hesitation.
As he drove, I felt the fear in m. Ryan knew about my baby. And knew about Jojo.
He was right. I had so much more to lose now.
I glanced at Connor a few times as we drove in silence. His knuckles were almost white as he held tight to the steering. He looked angry. At himself.
I had so much to ask him. What was his relationship with Ryan? What was it that they had talked about? Why didn't he do anything about Ryan?
But I found myself not being able to say anything.
When arrived at the house and finally stopped the car, he grunted and buried his head in the car steering. He looked down, frustrated and depressed, while I looked on worriedly.
What was he beating himself for?
Without knowing what else to say or do, I reached for his back and smoothed him gently with my hand. He breathed deeply as I did so.
"Forgive me, Kenz." He said. "For being so weak and stupid."
I did not reply to him and only continued to stroke his back gently.
"I want to protect you, Kenz. And I want to protect him too." His voice sounded dejected. Defeated.
Protect him?
"He was my best friend, Kenz. I've watched him cry. We've always been there for each other. I feel I should protect him just like old times..."
"He's killed people, Connor. People." Surprisingly, my voice wasn't the same as the way I wanted it to react. It was calm and understanding instead of aggressive and demanding. It was crazy how Connor still accepted someone like Ryan as a best friend even after all that he had done.
Connor sighed under the steering. "I know. And I know I should give him away. Make him pay for his sins. But I did not. I feel like a coward..."
"You're not," I told him. "You are not a coward. You are only trying to protect someone you love. But sometimes, we have to learn to hurt the people we love so that we can truly protect them."
Like I would to you.
He finally looked at me and I could see the redness in his eyes.
I took his hand into mine and gave them gentle squeezes.
"This is your only option, Connor."
