Page 39 of Take Me, Sir

Kyndall

I'd been livingin LA for over two weeks, I realized suddenly as I washed up the dishes I dirtied today. I'd gone grocery shopping yesterday afternoon, then spent most of this morning making meals for the week. While I had the money to eat out at nice restaurants every day, I didn't have the inclination. The occasional splurge was one thing, as was spending the money when out on a date, but I'd always preferred to make things myself. I was no chef, but I was a fair enough cook, especially when it came to eating healthy. Plus, I enjoyed it.

I could still remember my mother and Lia in the kitchen when I was little, the two of them bonding over dinner or some special holiday cooking. I'd been too young for a long time, and then too much in the way. The few times I'd been allowed to help out, it'd been all of the mundane sort of things that hadn't really taught me much of anything.

After living in the dorms at MIT for two years, I'd been sick enough of college food that I'd bought cookbooks, watched shows, and taught myself how to cook. My old apartment hadn’t contained a very large kitchen, but now that I was here, I intended to put this new, beautiful kitchen to good use.

I had a dishwasher, and I used it most of the time, but today, I needed the sort of mindless monotony that came with doing some kind of work. A little over two weeks here and I felt like I hadn't really had time to take the time to settle in, to relax.

Not that I wasn't enjoying my new life here.

I absolutely adored my nephew, as well as my new sister-in-law. I liked Hanna and Cross well enough and knew that we'd become true friends as we spent more time together. My apartment was perfect, and I'd already made money at a game. I was sure I could find more.

And then there was Dean.

I couldn't think about the good parts of being here without him. He was the best part of it. An apartment. Poker. Those things I could've had back in Cambridge, or somewhere else for that matter. Dean, I knew, was one of a kind. Just like this thing between us.

I'd never believed in luck when it came to poker, so I definitely didn't believe in it when it came to anything else in life. Being with Dean, however, made me look at things in a different light. How else was I supposed to explain all of the things that had to come into play to bring the two of us together? Coincidence? Fate? Destiny?

Whatever it was, I was grateful for it, because things with him were going really well. I'd been wary about going on a date, and then more than a little nervous about going to the club, but both things had gone well. Better than well, actually.

True, Dalton was still being a bit of an ass and seeing him, and Juliette at the club had been awkward, but Hanna and Cross had been nice. I hadn't really interacted with anyone else there – well, except for the redhead who'd wanted to have a threesome – but they'd all seemed relatively normal.

What I felt wasn't normal. Or, rather, it hadn't been normal because it'd felt so normal. My whole life, I felt like I didn't fit. Not with my family, not at MIT. I'd always been too smart for most people. Too young. Too different. No one understood me, not really, and I'd never expected that anyone would.

I hadn't realized how resigned I was to that until now. Meeting Dean had sparked something inside me, but I hadn't completely accepted it until I'd walked into the club and realized what I'd needed all this time. Always being the smartest, and usually the youngest, person had left me with something to prove, something to maintain. At the club, though, I could give it all up, and no one would think less of me. It was natural to hand over that control and allow Dean to take the reins.

I'd gotten a glimpse of how it could be when Dean had tied my hands, but seeing the trio performing at the club had given me the courage I needed to accept what Dean was offering.

And it'd been fucking amazing.

The sex had been great, but that hadn't been the best part for me. That had come when I realized the relief of letting it all go, of letting Dean take care of me. When I realized that I wasn't a weak person because of it.

That giving up control was a strength in and of itself.

If it hadn't been for the family issues I was experiencing, I would've been on cloud nine, thrilled at the prospect of my new life here. Even if it'd only been Dalton's attitude toward Dean, I would've felt better. I had people on my side, and I was sure they would help me wear Dalton down.

Without my brother, however, I didn't have anyone to help me out with our parents.

I knew they weren’t happy with me moving to LA, but I hadn't realized that buying an apartment would set them off. I'd mentioned it to them in an email over the weekend, and they'd called me yesterday to tell me how irresponsible and reckless I was being. They'd actually put the phone on speaker and taken turns telling me what a bad idea it was, like some sort of surreal ping-pong match.

By the time I'd hung up, I'd needed a couple drinks and a hot bath.

And then phone sex with Dean.

It'd been just as amazing as every other sexual encounter I'd had with him. Plenty of orgasms and, even better, total relinquishing of control.

It'd helped clear my head enough to sleep, and when I'd woken up, I'd felt up to some work. Now that I was done with my cooking, it was time for me to start looking for games. I'd made enough last week to not have to worry about money for a little while, but I always liked to build up as much as I could whenever I could.

Especially now that I wasn't sure if I was going to continue playing poker.

I enjoyed doing it, the thrill, the challenge, but I'd been thinking about the future in new ways recently, and I wasn't sure counting cards to take money from seedy men was the best way to ensure that future.

The problem was that I didn't really know what else I wanted to do, which meant the smart thing would be to continue playing until I'd built up enough money that I could take my time figuring things out.

I sat down at my laptop, ready to start looking for the next game, but before I'd gotten very far, my phone rang. I frowned when Dalton's name flashed across the screen, but I picked it up anyway. No point in antagonizing him.

“Hey.” Okay, so maybe that was a bit abrupt, but after listening to our parents for more than an hour yesterday, I wasn't feeling much of anything positive toward family at the moment.

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