11

Chapter 11 ~ Talking

Iris pushes herself up from the wall after a minute or so. She dusts herself off and makes her way back into the club. She wants to go back to the house.

She scans the dance floor, finally finding Hannah and Daniel dancing in the crowd of people. She heads over to them, not wanting to leave without telling them.

"Hey, Hannah!" Iris shouts above the music. Her blonde friend turns towards her and smiles. "I'm going home! I'll see you later!"

Hannah nods and turns back to Daniel. Iris turns and makes her way back to the exit. She's thoroughly annoyed when she reaches the exit. Getting through the crowd is hard. If it isn't a guy trying to grope her, it's some drunk girl who has the balance of a toddler.

When she steps back outside, she locates Noah's motorcycle. She eyes the black Harley Davidson with apprehension. This was going to be an interesting ride, she thinks as she gets on and pulls Noah's helmet over her head.

***

To her surprise, she loved the bike ride back home. She'd never ridden a motorcycle before, and it was thrilling. She absolutely adores the feeling of freedom she got when she was on the road.

Now, the next morning, Iris is awake and thoroughly hungover. She stares up at her bedroom ceiling blankly. She can't believe she has to get up already. She has to work and she knows a hangover is the worst excuse for a day off.

Very much against her will, she rises from the bed. She drags herself to her dresser and opens the small medicine box on top. She takes out a pill to help with the pain and pops it in her mouth, swallowing without water.

She gets dressed and heads downstairs. She passes a window and realises something; it's still completely dark outside. She frowns and looks down at her ancient wristwatch.

5 am.

Iris groans but doesn't turn back to her room like she'd want to. Instead, she makes her way into the kitchen, where she opens a cabinet and pulls out her coffee mug.

"Good morning," Kanan's voice behind her startles her and she lets go of the mug in panic. She closes her eyes, waiting for the object to hit the floor and shatter, but the sound never comes.

Slowly, she opens her eyes and looks around. Kanan holds her coffee mug in one hand and his own in the other. Iris lets out a shaky breath she didn't realise she'd been holding.

"You scared me," she says as she looks up to Kanan's face. Suddenly, her memories from the night before come rushing back and her eyes widen involuntarily.

"Iris, I think we should talk," he says, his expression turning serious. He hands her her mug back and she nods numbly. She knows she can't avoid this conversation, no matter how badly she wants to. She always had been the type to ignore a problem until it goes away.

Kanan leads her to the dining room after pouring her a cup of coffee. They don't speak at all and Iris' anxiousness grows as every second passes. The two of them take seats opposite each other.

He just stares at her for a few moments as she takes a sip from the cup, not making any attempt to speak. The awkward silence and his heated gaze on her finally starts bothering Iris so she clears her throat.

"What?"

"Nothing," Kanan states nonchalantly as he continues to stare at her. She feels her temper flare at his attitude. She has to take a deep breath to calm herself before she reaches over the table and punches him.

"You said some things last night..." Iris trails off, sneaking a glance up at the man sitting across the table. She watches him over the rim of the coffee cup as he shifts uncomfortably.

If she was being honest, Kanan really did change for the better. Looks-wise, of course. His blue eyes are brighter and more vivid now that he's older. His black hair has also grown a lot. He used to shave it all off in high school. He's handsome now.

Iris feels her cheeks heating up as the thought passes through her mind. She mentally scolds herself for acting this way. She shouldn't go around calling her best friend handsome and blushing about it.

"I'm aware," he states. Iris narrows her eyes at him before sighing dramatically.

"You're making this awkward," she tells him, annoyed.

"I am not!" He exclaims defensively. She rolls her eyes at him. She doesn't have the patience and her head hurts like hell. She gets up to leave.

"No, wait! Okay, I'll stop making things awkward. Just sit down," Kanan pleads. Iris shoots him a look before sitting back down.

"I... don't know what to say," he says after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Maybe start off by telling me if you were kidding last night," Iris suggests, her tone coming out more snappy than she intended. Kanan flinches slightly.

"I wasn't kidding," he says seriously. Iris sucks in a quick breath. He really is in love with her. Why can't she seem to wrap her head around that?

"How long have you felt this way?" She asks cautiously. Kanan leans back in his chair, thinking.

"Since high school," he says finally. She nods in response, feeling numb all over.

"That long?" She asks under her breath. She doesn't expect him to have heard her, but he clearly does. His eyes drop down to the table as he traces his fingers over it.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She asks gently. Kanan looks up at her from under his dark eyelashes. His blue eyes are blazing with some unknown emotion. It irks Iris that she can't tell what he's feeling.

"Because I knew this would happen," he says dejectedly. Her heart clenches when she hears how sad he sounds. She wants desperately to reach over the table and take his hand but she knows that won't help the situation at all.

"What would happen?"

"You'd reject me," he says quietly. Iris, taken aback, just stares at him.

She doesn't think she'd ever seen him this sad. Not in their year and a half spent together, anyway. She feels terrible because she knows she's the cause of his sadness. She hates herself for not being able to say she has feelings for him, too.

Kanan is honestly such a sweet guy. He'd be her perfect match. He's so calm and patient with her. Very little people care enough to deal with all her problems. She knows she's a handful, yet Kanan has always stood by her. Like fire and ice, right? They just kind of fit. They made sense. Her parents had always approved of him.

Her heart clenches at the thought of her parents.

"I'm not rejecting you," Iris says carefully. Kanan's head snaps up and he looks her straight in the eye. Hope replaces his earlier sadness and a smile tugs at his lips.

"Are you serious?" He asks, looking like a child as he stares at her with wide eyes. She can't help the small smile that makes it's way to her own face. She nods.

"What does that mean?" He asks, his expression guarded again. Iris thinks for a moment. What does that mean? Would she give him a chance, even though she doesn't return his feelings? As if reading her mind, he asks, "Will you give us a chance?"

Her stomach does a backflip when he uses the term 'us'. Would there be an 'us'? She can't figure out her emotions right now. Her parents have always wanted her to date Kanan, ever since she first mentioned him to them...

"Yes, I'll give you a chance," she says at the very thought of her parents. She felt like, by doing something they always wanted her to, she could make them proud. She really does miss them.

In a second, Kanan is on her side of the table and has her in his arms, lifting her off the ground as he hugs her to him. Iris, as strange as it is, feels some kind of odd sense of guilt as she wraps her arms around him.

Feelings could be taught, right?

***

"I earned what?!" Iris exclaims. She's seated on Hannah's bed, staring at the check her blonde friend just gave her. Hannah chuckles as Iris gapes further. She'd never seen so much money in one place, and honestly, she's afraid. What if she lost the check? Or tears it?

"You get paid a certain amount for every horse you ride at the event. A bonus is added if you end up in the prize money," Hannah explains.

Iris had just received her show check. Apparently, everyone who rides in a show gets paid extra. At first, she thought the check may be an early monthly pay, but no, the ten thousand dollars she's holding has nothing to do with that.

Hannah was very much disgusted that she thought the 'small check' was her salary.

"But why is there so much?!" She still can't believe it. At this rate, she wouldn't even have to work at the yard for a full year before she could buy her contract back!

"Honey, you rode two horses. That already earned you seven thousand. Since you placed second on Theodore and sixth on King, that's four thousand extra," Hannah says patiently as her friend continues to gape at the piece of paper.

"Jeez," Iris mutters. "I'll have to thank Mr Kingsley. This is more money than I'd ever imagined to earn in a lifetime at one point."

*🙊*

*Insert quote here*

Lol, I was too lazy today. I went for a trail ride at Hog Hollows (a place near Plettenberg Bay, South Africa) and it was so much fun! The people and horses there are amazing! I was put on a very skittish horse due to my riding ability (which is queastionable at best lol) but he was so sweet and an awesome ride. We raced around through fields and took breathers when we would enter the woods. All in all, I would recommend the place to anyone visiting the area.

Please vote and comment if you liked this chapter!

~ Danielle