CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 200

Olivia’s POV - The Next Day

I woke up next to Kira, stretching and yawning like a cat who’d just had the worst sleep of her life.

Sleep had been nearly impossible. I’d spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, my mind running through different escape plans. Each one more ridiculous than the last.

Maxwell had made his arrangements perfectly clear before we’d all retired last night: I would ride with him to the family lunch. Kennedy would ride with Kira. Which meant I had to figure out - on my own - how to escape Maxwell’s watchful eye, make it to Nikita’s shop, transform into Olivia, and somehow arrive at my parents house on time.

Simple. Totally doable. Absolutely not going to end in complete disaster.

I rolled over and shook Kira’s shoulder. "Kira. Kira, wake up. We need a plan."

She groaned and burrowed deeper into the pillow. "Five more minutes."

"We don’t have five minutes! We need to figure out how I’m going to..."

"Sleep," she mumbled. "Need sleep. So tired. Everything hurts."

"Kira, this is serious!"

"Mmm-hmm. Very serious. Tell Maxwell... tell him the truth... go back to sleep..."

I shook her harder. "Kira!"

"Nooooo," she whined, pulling the covers over her head. "Stressed. I need rest. Leave me alone."

Fine. If she won’t help willingly...

I grabbed her shoulders and pushed. Hard.

Kira rolled right off the bed and hit the floor with a bang.

"OW! What the hell?!" She sat up, glaring at me with murder in her eyes. "Did you just push me off the bed?!"

"You wouldn’t wake up," I said, not even slightly apologetic.

"Because I’m EXHAUSTED!" Kira scrambled to her feet, her hair sticking up at odd angles. "Do you have any idea how stressful last night was? Between hiding under Maxwell’s bed, watching him throw a naked woman out of his house, lying to your brother’s face, and then having Damien show up..."

"I know, I know, but we need..."

"No." Kira held up her hand. "I’ve already told you what to do. Tell Maxwell the truth. Come clean. Let us all get back to our normal lives where I’m not pretending to date my best friend who’s pretending to be a man."

"I don’t want to hear it," I said firmly. "Not today. Today I need actual help, not lectures about honesty."

Kira threw her hands up. "Fine! Then figure it out yourself!"

She stormed toward the bathroom, muttering under her breath about stubborn friends and impossible situations.

Alright then. I’ll do this myself.

Out of all the plans I’d conjured up last night, only one made sense right now: Tell Maxwell I desperately needed to use a restroom somewhere along the way. Make a run for it to Nikita’s shop. Change into Olivia. Meet everyone at my parents house.

What could possibly go wrong?

Don’t answer that.

I followed Kira to the bathroom to start getting ready, only to find her curled up in the bathtub, eyes closed, already half-asleep again.

"Kira!"

"Go away," she mumbled without opening her eyes. "Bathtub is comfortable. I’m sleeping here now."

"You cannot sleep in the bathtub!"

"Watch me."

I grabbed her arm and pulled her out, even as she poured series of curses on me. She shuffled back to the bedroom and face-planted onto the bed without another word.

This woman is going to be the death of me.

I showered quickly, got dressed in my male clothes, applied my facial disguise, then headed downstairs for breakfast.

The dining room was quiet except for one person already seated at the table, eating quietly.

Kennedy.

Of course Kennedy was already there. My brother had always been annoyingly punctual, especially when food was involved.

An idea sparked in my head. A terrible, brilliant, disastrous idea.

I approached the table, keeping my voice in Oliver’s lower tone. "Mr. Hopton?"

Kennedy looked up. "Oliver. Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Actually, no." I made my voice sound concerned. "Something’s going on with Kira. My girlfriend. She’s been acting really strange this morning, and I’m worried. Since you know her better than I do, I was hoping you could help?"

Kennedy’s eyebrows rose. "You need help with your girlfriend?"

I nodded earnestly. "Please. I don’t know what to do."

He studied me for a moment, then set down his fork. "Alright. Show me."

Perfect.

We climbed the stairs together, and I had to fight to keep a straight face as we approached my bedroom door.

"She’s been like this all morning," I said, opening the door. "I can’t get her to wake up properly."

We stepped inside, and I had to bite my lip to keep from bursting out laughing.

Kira was sprawled across the bed like she was fighting a war in her sleep. One leg was stretched out straight, the other flung to the opposite side of the bed. Her short nightgown - one of those cute little things Rita had brought up last night - had rolled up to her thighs, revealing SpongeBob SquarePants underwear in all their cartoon glory. Her arms were flung out on either side like she was being crucified by sleep itself.

Kennedy stopped dead in the doorway.

I pulled out my phone and started taking pictures. This was blackmail material for life.

"Um." Kennedy cleared his throat, his face going slightly red. "I see what you mean."

"Mr. Hopton?" I tapped his shoulder, making sure to keep my voice masculine. "She’s been like this since this morning. I can’t get her to wake up properly."

Kennedy swallowed visibly, his eyes darting between Kira’s face and literally anywhere else in the room. "What... what do you want me to do?"

"Help me wake her? Maybe... I don’t know, carry her and shake her until she wakes up?"

"Carry her?" Kennedy’s voice increased, "I don’t think..."

"Please," I said, putting on my best desperate boyfriend act. "You know her. Maybe she’ll respond better to you."

Kennedy hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Okay. Just... wake her up. Right."

He approached the bed, then reached out and gently touched Kira’s cheek, tapping softly.

"Kira? Time to wake up."

I kept my phone recording, barely containing my laughter.

Kira’s face immediately softened at the touch. Without opening her eyes, she leaned into his hand, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Kennedy," she murmured, her voice thick with sleep. "Mmm, Kennedy..."

Kennedy froze, his hand still on her cheek. He looked back at me, panic clear in his eyes. "Is this... is this alright?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak without laughing.

Kennedy turned back to Kira, his voice dropping lower, softer. "Kira. You need to wake up now."

Kira’s eyes fluttered open - just barely - and when she saw Kennedy’s face hovering above her, her entire expression transformed into something dreamy and utterly smitten.

"Oh, Kennedy," she breathed, reaching up to touch his face with both hands. "You look so handsome. Even in my dreams, you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen."

"Kira, I don’t think..."

"Come here," she interrupted, her fingers sliding into his hair. "Come lay with mama. I’ve been waiting for this dream for so long."

And then she pulled.

Kennedy, caught off balance, fell forward onto the bed - directly on top of Kira.

Oh my God.

"Kira..." Kennedy tried to push himself up, but she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him in place.

"Shh," she whispered, her eyes still half-closed, clearly still thinking this was a dream. "I’ve been dying to kiss you for the longest time. Since college. Maybe even before that."

Her hands framed his face, and she stared up at him with such raw, unguarded longing that I almost felt bad for recording this.

Almost.

"Kiss me," Kira murmured, pulling his face closer to hers. "Kiss me fast, before I wake up from this beautiful dream."

Kennedy’s resolve was visibly crumbling. His eyes dropped to her lips, and I could see him wavering, see the moment he almost gave in...

"KIRA, WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

My voice exploded through the room like a bomb.

Kennedy jerked back so fast he nearly fell off the bed, scrambling to his feet like he’d been caught stealing from a church.

Kira’s eyes flew open - actually open this time - and took in the scene: Kennedy standing beside the bed, me standing in the doorway with my phone out, her nightgown rucked up around her waist and her SpongeBob underwear on full display.

"Oh my God." Her hands flew to her face. "Oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD."

She grabbed the sheets and ran for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her so hard the walls shook.

The silence that followed was spectacular.

Kennedy stood frozen, his face bright red, his hands shoved deep in his pockets like he didn’t trust them not to reach for her again.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Hopton," I said, my voice steady despite wanting to laugh hysterically. "I think she’s awake now. We should probably head down to breakfast."

"Right. Yes. Breakfast." Kennedy said, quickly walking out the door.

The moment he was gone, I rushed to the bathroom door and knocked. "Kira? You okay?"

"I’M NEVER LEAVING THIS BATHROOM," she wailed from inside. "NEVER. I’M GOING TO DIE IN HERE."

"It wasn’t that bad..."

"HE SAW MY SPONGEBOB UNDERWEAR!"

"He saw more than that, technically..."

"OLIVIA, I SWEAR TO GOD..."

"Alright, alright!" I was laughing now, couldn’t help it. "Get dressed. We have a family lunch to survive."

"I HATE YOU!"

"Love you too!" I called back, still grinning as I headed for the door.

"I’M DELETING OUR FRIENDSHIP!"