[ K A R A ]
Sunlight was spilling in through the large window, causing my eyes to flinch. The sun was out and bright. I looked over lazily to the clock on the wall— it was 9.15 AM!
"Holy shoes! Ryder, wake up!" I released myself from his grip but he pulled me back down to the bed almost instantly.
"No," he groaned.
"But it's 9.15, we have to send Peter and Lacey to the airport!" I said as his eyes jerked open.
I rolled to my side and tried to get up, but my body was too sore, I ended up falling back to the bed. Ryder let out a laugh.
"Ugh... I needa take a shower," I said, mainly to myself.
But Ryder quickly got up and in one fell swoop, he took me in his arms and carried me off to the en-suite bathroom.
"Ryder, what are you doing?" I protested.
He put me down
[ K A R A ]"What you got there?" Ryder's voice broke the silence.He just got out of the shower, and I was sitting on his desk with the paper and pen in hand."New rules," I mumbled out as I kept on writing."You and your rules," Ryder chuckled. "We both know we're just gonna end up breaking them anyway,"I rolled my eyes at him."No, we're not. We're gonna do this thing properly, like two responsible adults," I said.Ryder made his way over to me. He was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. I had to look away before he noticed me gawking at him."Can't we just skip to the part where we fuck?" he said lowly."Ehem," I coughed. "New rule number one, we will be responsible and mature about this. Meaning we can't be reckless. We can't be doing anything
[ R Y D E R ]"Honey, I'm home," I said as I swung the front door open.Kara was sitting on the couch in the living room. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw me. For some reason that made my heart skip a beat."You got pizza!" she screamed happily and raced over.Kara and her junk food obsession, of course."Yes. But wait, do you wanna see something cool?" I stopped her."Is it better than pizza?" she challenged.I raised my eyebrow at her. Putting the pizza box down, I took off my jacket and showed her my left arm."You got a new tattoo?" she gasped.Nodding my head, I peeled the bandage off slowly and showed it to her.“ K a r a ”Those four letters were forever inked on me now.
[ K A R A ]As soon as I got off the phone with Lacey, I jumped off the bed, making a dramatic loud noise as I went, waking Ryder up."Ryder, get up!" I yelled in addition.He turned his head lazily over to me and smiled. "Good morning to you too, sunshine,""The parents! Are gonna be here! In an hour!" I said, panting.Ryder's body jolted up in response. "You're joking, right?""I wish I was," I said as I calmed my breathing."Shit!" He swore as he rolled off the bed.I quickly scrambled to get my clothes on the floor. Then I went to check the bathroom and see if there was anything of mine in there. Yup, I found my scrunchie and my underwear in Ryder’s bathroom.Holy fish sticks! This can’t be good!Ryder and I had been very
[ K A R A ]The next couple of days, Ryder and I were still meeting in secret. We even came up with a code word: Milkshake. It was our secret way of saying 'let's ditch this place and smush’. Peter and Lacey had absolutely no clue. They thought we were going out to get milkshakes at the diner.If only they knew the kind of kinky smuttery that was going on in the house late at night.Okay, that was kind of reckless of me, I admitted it. But I was engulfed in pure ignorant bliss. I felt bad for lying and sneaking around like that, but even all that guilt wasn't enough for me to swear off the crazy sexy Ryder Jake Williams.Like, how can I say no to the best vanilla milkshake in the world?The only consolation was that I knew we weren’t going to hurt anyone. As long as my mom and Peter were happy, we didn’t think it
[ R Y D E R ]When I opened my eyes next, the first thing I saw was Kara’s beautiful face right on my chest. She was sleeping soundly and her skin was glowing under the morning light. Dawn was breaking over the horizon and I knew it was time for us to get back. Last night, after almost getting caught by Lacey, Kara and I went pretty far away from where the RV was parked. We found a little cozy cave-like spot and we stayed there for the night, lying on a bed made of our clothes. We talked all night and watched the stars. I didn’t even remember falling asleep, but here we were.Kara stirred in her sleep, maybe she could feel that I was watching her like a creep. Her eyes then fluttered open and I saw those beautiful big blue eyes. It was weird, but her eyes could make me feel big and small all at the same time.“Good morning, beautiful,” I greeted her with a kiss. 
[ K A R A ]I couldn't look my mother in the eye. My body was frozen in shock. I was afraid to even move a single inch. My worst fear had come to life, mom had found out about Ryder and me. I felt like the Titanic. We had hit an iceberg and we were going down. So far down."How could you do this to us, Kara?" she croaked."Mom... I'm... really.... sorry," I managed to say under my breath."I don't know how serious things are between the two of you... but I hope you realize what's at stake here. All our lives, all we ever wanted was to have a family," she paused and took a deep breath. "Peter and I have decided that we're going to have a baby. We really want to make this family work, Kara," she said again.Tears started to roll down my cheeks. I felt so guilty. Ryder and I had been so selfish. We couldn't just forget about the whole world and do whatever the hell
[ R Y D E R ]It was the last day before Kara had to leave for New York City. I didn't know how to feel about that. A part of me wanted to throw away everything and go be with her there. Another part of me wanted to take her, stuff her in my bag, and take her with me as I go on my surf world tour.Earlier today, we had lunch together as a family — our parents and us two. Kara was surprisingly very calm about everything. How was she not freaking out? Weren't girls supposed to be one being all whiny and clingy? Why was I the one being whiny and clingy?Anyway, since it was her last night in Hawaii, I decided to do something special for her. I had been planning this for several days now, and I must admit… God, I’m nervous.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
[ R Y D E R ]"Kara?" I mumbled lazily as I tried to feel her body next to mine, but my hand was only catching air.I opened my eyes lazily and I saw that she wasn't there. I pulled myself up, looking from side to side. Then I got up and peeked outside the tent, but there was no one around.Something's not right.I scrambled to my side to check on my phone, it was past 10 AM. Kara's flight was at 11. What the heck— I knew I set an alarm last night?"Shit," I muttered to myself, confused. Even her clothes were not there.I tried to call her phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Quickly putting my shirt and jeans back on me, I haphazardly ran out of the tent and towards my truck. I called out her name as I went, but there was no sign of her around. Even as I reached the truck, everything was there in its place,
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TWO YEARS LATER GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * [ R Y D E R ] The dawn was breaking outside the window. This bluish and orange light was creeping up the night sky, signaling the beginning of yet another day. 6:30 AM, the clock read. Kara was still sound asleep, maybe last night took a toll on her? Last night was... a lot of fun. I was getting hard all over again just thinking about it. Slowly I rolled over to my side, carefully wrapping her tiny body in my arms. My fingers ran to caress her soft cheeks. "Hey..." I murmured to her ears as she shuffled a little. "Mmhmm," she mumbled, still closing her eyes. "Merry Christmas, baby," It was Christmas day in Australia, you would not have guessed it from the weather outside. It was 85 degrees and nothing but sunshine on the horizon. Apparently, that was how Christmas was done over here in the land down under. Kara wasn’t saying anything. She refused to wake up
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ONE YEAR LATERTAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]“Ry…?”I woke up this morning shivering and cold. This usually wouldn’t happen. Especially that we were living in Tahiti now, it was 80 degrees outside. And normally, I would wake up with Ryder’s body wrapping around mine like a blanket. He always made me feel warm, so I didn’t even need a duvet. But today, I woke up with the bed empty and it felt cold.“Ry?” I said again, but I heard no answer.I stirred in bed and slowly propped myself up. Ryder wasn’t anywhere in the room. I glanced at the clock and it was still 5 o’clock in the
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ONE MONTH LATERHUNTINGTON BEACH, CA* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]The first thing I noticed about California was the air. The air was salty, but breezy and cool. Ryder and I arrived in the golden state a few days ago. We were living in a cute little Airbnb right by the beach. It was the coolest thing ever.Every morning, Ryder would go out to train by the beach. The first contest on his world tour would be held here next week. Every morning, I would wake up with him, make coffee, and I’d do a little writing as I
* This is a bonus chapter with Peter and Lacey's POV. Enjoy! *[ P E T E R ]“It’s a great wedding, huh?”My eyes were glancing around the room and I locked eyes with my ex-wife. We exchanged a smile and I thought it was polite to make small talk. What I didn't realize was how awkward it was, talking to my ex-wife at our children’s wedding.“Yeah, it is,” she replied.I was holding a glass of scotch and she was holding a glass of champagne. We were both standing by the sidelines, watching our two kids share the dance floor as bride and groom. It was quite an ironic sight. Life had a pretty crazy sense of humor. I remembered a few years ago when it was Lacey and me out on this dance floor, dancing as the bride and groom. We were so happy back then. We thought we were in it for the long haul. And yet here we were, only a
* This is a bonus chapter from Elle and Cole's POV. Enjoy! *[ E L L E ]It was a beautiful night in Hawaii and a wonderful wedding. My best friend, Kara, just got married to the love of her life and I couldn’t be more proud. Today was supposed to be one of the happiest days of our lives, but it felt rather bittersweet.One person’s happiness is another person’s tragedy.I saw Cole standing silently by the sidelines and my heart sunk to my feet. Cole had been in love with Kara for years. That was actually how we met and became friends. He was introduced to me by a friend and he was telling me how he was in love with his best friend. I thought guys like him were so adorable. They were a rare breed. He was so thoughtful and kind. They don’t make guys like this anymore.I decided to help him win the heart of his best friend,
[ R Y D E R ]Kara was probably thinking that I was taking her up to our room, but no. I liked to keep things interesting.So instead, we got some milkshake from my favorite diner and made our way to our Secret Beach. The night was young and full of possibilities. We were giddy and excited, laughing at each other as walked down the beach, barefoot with our hands clasped together. I was reduced to a grinning and smirking mess. Thankfully, she was too."Kara, you're smiling like crazy," I commented."It's because I'm crazy about you, Ryder Jake Williams,""You're so perfect in every way. I'm the luckiest man alive," I stopped our tracks and stood right in front of her.I reached out to hold her hand, and I caught her by her wrist. She flinched when I touched the scar over her tattoo. It had healed, but the mark was still there.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ONE WEEK LATERKAUAI, HAWAII* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]"Oh my God!” mom gasped as soon as I walked into the room. “Ryder's gonna go crazy when he sees you,""Mom!" I hissed and looked away, totally embarrassed."Seriously though, if I swing that way, I would've married you right now," Elle added.It was our wedding day today and I was all dressed up in the bride’s attire. I had curled my hair and let them down, and I was wearing this lovely white lace gown that cascaded down my body so heavenly. When I looked into the mirror, I was in awe too, I couldn't believe myself when I saw my reflection.Ryder going crazy... a girl can only hope.
[ K A R A ]The next thing I know, Ryder and I were driving down the highway in this convertible car. The summer wind was blowing through our hair and Ryder was holding my hand in his throughout the entire ride."We just passed the city limits,” I noted the sign. “Seriously, you're not gonna tell me where we're going?""And ruin the surprise? I think not,""Okay... just answer this then, is it somewhere where we could get a milkshake?" I said it naughtily."Damn, look at you go," he stifled a laugh."Six months of being away from you would do this to a girl,""Baby, I wish I could. But, actually, I want to wait," he said suddenly. "I wanna be that whatever unicorn-guy you've been dreaming of. I'll be that guy that waits for you and loves you no matter what,""What?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *SIX MONTHS LATERNEW YORK CITY* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]"I still can't believe you're getting married to Ryder next week," mom said as she stomped to the kitchen with our dirty plates."You've known him how long exactly? Three months?" she teased, referring to the time when I argued with her over her choices on marrying Peter."Ha-ha, very funny," I laughed sarcastically as I stalked to the living room to continue packing my things.There was so much stuff that I had to sort through, my room was a mess. I even had to use the living room because there wasn't enough space. And now the living room looked like the ballroom in Titanic as they were sinking.If you were