Da Capo

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kyle woke up rather late Sunday morning, feeling inexplicably thankful that it was the weekend and he didn't have any classes to teach today. He was supposed to meet up with his manager Reg for lunch in about two hours to talk about a BBC news spot that was happening at the Academy on Monday, so he figured he might as well get up and ready for the day.

Kyle pulled himself out of bed and went into his en suite to take a shower. As he stood and let the warm water rain down on his body, his thoughts (as they often did lately) immediately went to Stephanie.

He closed his eyes, letting his head tip back as thoughts of her swirled around his head and steam began to fill his bathroom. His dreams had been filled with her last night - so much so that he almost had a hard time distinguishing the real Stephanie from his dream version of her. In his dreams, the two of them were alone in his bedroom, and her passion was unmitigated; she kissed him fiercely, tugging on his hair and moaning in pleasure as Kyle nibbled her neck. He ran his hands along the smooth skin of her naked waist as they tumbled together onto his bed...

Kyle shook his head, clearing it of his highly erotic daydreams. The real Stephanie had told him last night that she wasn't ready for a relationship yet, particularly because of some arsehole who broke her heart a few months ago. He appreciated her honesty with him, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. It had been so long since he'd felt any sort of connection with a woman, and finding a girl like Stephanie was one in a million.

She admitted that she liked him too, though, so he supposed that was a start.

He had told her he wasn't going to give up, and he planned to stand by his word. Feeling determined, Kyle turned his shower off and grabbed his towel, drying himself off and thinking of Monday, when he would most likely get to see Stephanie again.

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Monday

Stephanie woke up bright and early on Monday morning, hearing Lydia bustling about in the other room. Stephanie had agreed to go to the Royal Academy with her this morning, so she dragged herself out of bed, yawning sleepily as she shuffled into the bathroom.

All of yesterday, Stephanie's mind had been filled with Kyle and their kiss on the sidewalk. While she had told Kyle that she wasn't ready for a relationship at the moment, she couldn't deny the warm and fuzzy feelings that filled her chest whenever she thought of the way he had kissed her, or the way he had squeezed her hand and told her that he wasn't going to give up. Just the memory of that caused her heart to flutter in her chest and a smile to break out across her face.

I don't know if I want him to give up on me.

That thought nagged at Stephanie as she started brushing her teeth, but she tried to ignore it. Suddenly, she heard Lydia call after her from the other room:

"Steph, hurry up!" Lydia yelled, her voice sounding muffled behind the closed door. "We have to go soon if you want to catch Kyle before his class this morning!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes with a grin. She of course had told Lydia what happened between her and Kyle when he had walked her home Saturday night, and Lydia seemed beside herself in delight. However, she was appalled when Stephanie told her she had turned him down when he asked her out on a date. Stephanie had been firm about her decision, and now Lydia seemed to make it her goal in life to get her friend together with Kyle Lancaster.

"You can go without me," Stephanie called back, running her toothbrush under the faucet. "I'll just come by later."

The door to the bathroom burst open, causing Stephanie to jump. "Not going to happen, Steph. I'm bringing you to the Academy this morning if it's the last thing I do," Lydia said firmly, marching forward and grasping Stephanie by the arm.