𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐒

𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 | 𝐢𝐧

a.c.
I climb the front steps to my house, pushing the door open. Today is Thursday, meaning that it's been two weeks since I've seen Devin. I sigh out sharply, closing the door behind me. I reach into my purse, grabbing my cell phone before walking towards my kitchen for a bottle of water.

"Dinner was fun! I'll pay for next week because you've paid the last two times. Love you, Kate."

I smile, scrolling to my next notification. Three missed calls from an Unknown number. I raise an eyebrow, scrolling even further. Two voicemails from an Unknown number—the same as the calls. I click on the first, raising the phone to my ear.

"Hey, Ayleigh, it's Devin. I need to talk to you. Let me know when you are available. Talk to you soon, bye." Devin says.

I raise an eyebrow, replaying it one more time, listening again.

"Ayleigh, it's me again. We need to talk, Urgently. Call me back when you get this." He says, bluntly.

I push my phone into my butt pocket, sighing. I'll call him back after my shower. A knock at the door beckons me to answer it. I exit the kitchen, walk through the dining room into living room, through to the front door. I pull back the wooden inner door, looking through the locked exterior screen door. A man with short hair and deep ebony curls that frame his face shape stands at my door. His dark eyes sit behind thick lashes and his peachy lips smirk at me. In his hand is a bouquet of yellow flowers—tulips. I look up from his hand, a smile on my face. Milo Richter—Leo's best friend and the first man I've ever loved.
"Milo?" I ask, my voice strangled in my throat as I speak. "Is that really you?"
I reach for the lock on the door, unlocking it quickly, pushing it open. He tosses the tulips onto the patio chair beside him and opens his arms. I run to him, wrapping my arms around him tightly. Leo's has been on a five month deployment, but Milo, however, has been deployed for eleven months. I haven't seen him in person in almost a year—the longest year of my life. We embrace one another, taking each other in with our eyes. He cups my face with his warm, callused hands, and lift my face to his. His lips press to mine and it's a familiar sensation. His soft lips move on mine, and I reply. When we part, he smiles at me even wider.
     "I've really missed you, Ayleigh." He says, looking down at me.
     Before he had to leave, we grew close, almost became an official thing, almost dropped every other person for one another, but before we could, his orders came in, and he was gone with the wind.
     "I've missed you too, Milo. God, I have so many things to tell you about. When does Leo get home?" I ask.
     Milo smiles, counting the days in the back of his mind.
     "Two weeks from now." He says. "He leaves Europe in ten days."
     I smile, grabbing his hands in my own. I look from one eye to another, sighing out sharply.
     "God, it's so good to see you." I say, my hair falling in front of my face.
     He reaches up, brushing it out of my eyes, pushing my hair behind my ear.
"I just thought I'd drop by quickly before I go see my family. I'll see you soon, okay?" He asks.
I nod. He leans forward, kissing me again, releasing my hands. He grabs the bouquet of tulips, handing them to me.
"Bye, Ayleigh," He says, looking down at me with dark eyes.
"Bye, Milo." I reply, staring up at him, my heart throbbing in my chest.
He backs away, his eyes staying trained on me. He slowly turns around, walking down the front steps of my house, then down the concrete sidewalk to his car where he climbs in and leaves. I look down at the tulips, my heart swelling in my chest. I walk to the kitchen where I set the bouquet on the counter. A loud thud upstairs causes my heart to plummet into my stomach, swallowed whole by fear. I slowly approach the staircase, grabbing the railing, squeezing it firmly until my knuckles turn white. I place my foot on the first step, climbing the staircase as quiet as possible. I reach the first landing, taking the sharp turn to climb the second half of the stairs. The thud repeats and I flinch, my heart plummeting so sharply into the depths of my stomach. I take another step, gasping sharply when the board beneath my foot creaks loudly. The rumbling in my bedroom stops and the halls are quieter than ever. My heart throbs in my ears. I climb the stairs quickly, now knowing that whoever is in my house knows I'm looking for them. I make my way to the top stair, walking through the hall, suddenly aware of my bare feet on the cool wood floor. I stand before the cream colored door, grabbing the brass doorknob. I twist it, pushing the door open. My bedroom is a large room with a huge window at the very end, with a bay window couch. A large queen mattress covered with a lavender duvet and matching pillow cases sits against the wall halfway through the room. The on-suite is in a door off to the right but my decently sized walk-in closet is on the left. I look at the window, the air hitching in my throat when I see the tall, broad-shouldered silhouette of a man standing in my room just beyond my bay window couch. I push the door open, positive that he's seen me, and go to ask him what he wants. My eyes adjust the dark room as I reach for the light switch. The light flickers on and I spot the man's face. Devin Calhoun. The air trapped in my throat passes my lips quickly in a sharp sigh.
     "Dammit, Devin," I say, running a hand through my hair. "You scared me half to death. What the Hell are you doing here?"
He leans back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. He raises an eyebrow, looking down at me from across the room.
"Who was that?" He asks, causing me to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "At the front door. Who was that?"
I start to walk in his direction, slowly crossing the room.
"What are you talking about? It was nobody, a close friend, that's all." I say.
He laughs, covering his mouth with his hand before looking back up at me.
"Wow, so, what? You can't kiss and tell? You're that girl who doesn't kiss and tell?" He asks.
     I cross my arms, walking towards him even faster now.
     "So you're just keeping tabs on my life now, huh?" I ask. "Devin, you don't get to do that. Not to me."
He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. He punches the bridge of his nose and sighs out sharply.
     "When I kiss you, do you feel something different?" He asks, a whisper barely reaching my ears.
     His dark eyes seem to want to find solace in mine—searching for something.
     "What?" I ask, my voice quiet, barely audible to both of us. "What do you mean?"
     He walks forward, standing in front of me now, uncrossing his arms. He purses his lips together, exposing a small split in his bottom lip.
     "When I kiss you, do you feel something different?" He asks, louder this time. "Something different than when you kiss Milo?"
     My heart throbs in my chest as I look up at him. Milo was the first man I've ever loved—I've known him since I was thirteen. I met him when Leo registered with the ARMY. Leo met Milo at registration, started a conversation with him, and became instant best friends. I've known him for eleven years... I've known Devin for about a month.
"When I kiss other girls, sure, it's sweet. It's hot. But it's boring. When I kiss you, however... It's like every other kiss I've ever had never existed. It's like they all disappear because you are all that matters." He says.
     I think back to that kiss on the hood of his car—the passion that he held in it. The amount of secrets he told me, and the amount I told him in return.
"I— I don't know, I've never thought of it that way." I say.
His hands find their way onto my waist, pulling me closer to him. I stabilize myself by placing my hands on his chest, looking down at my chipped manicure.
"Never?" He asks, leaning close, his lips hovering before my own.
I shake my head, my hair hanging in my eyes before he brushes it out of the way.
"I've known a lot of people in the Twenty six years I've been alive... none of them, however, have caused time to stop like you do." He says.
I part my lips, looking up at him in wonder. He leans down, his hand caressing the back of my head gently. He presses his lips to mine, stealing the air from my lungs. I close my eyes, a warm, fluttery sensation fills my chest and I quickly become aware of my surroundings... His right hand on my hip. His left hand caressing the back of my head, his fingers intertwined in my golden waves. The pounding of his heart against the palm of my right hand on his chest. I lift my left hand, my fingers trailing along his jawline. He backs off, allowing me air. His forehead presses against mine and he sighs out sharply. We open our eyes, looking at one another.
"How did you find my address?" I ask gingerly, my right hand pinching the fabric between my thumb and index finger.
     He smiles, kissing the space between my eyebrows gingerly.
     "I'm in a Scottish Mafia... I have my ways." He says.
     I laugh, placing my hand on his jaw again, feeling the tension of the muscles in his cheek.
     "What are you doing here?" I ask, rubbing my thumb along his jaw. "I saw I had some missed calls from you."
     His smile fades and he presses our foreheads together again. He grabs my hand, still holding it to his jaw. He exhales quickly, his breath shaky. I pull our foreheads apart, placing my other hand on his other cheek.
     "Devin?" I ask. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?"
     He opens his dark eyes, stares into my eyes, then looks away, back down at the ground.
     "Devin," I say, making him look at me. "What's going on?"
     His thumb fidgets, bouncing on my hand as he thinks. His foot taps slightly, slightly alerting me.
     "We need to talk." He admits, looking me dead in the eyes now. "I think your Brother is in danger."