Page 36 of Devilish

“Yes,” Kai said, excitement lacing his voice as he nodded and shifted even closer. He traced the formation in the air. “There. Right?”

“Right. And see that bright yellow star?”

“I think so—oh yeah, there it is.”

“And the one near it that looks like it’s blinking?”

He moved up as though he could see it better if he got closer. “I see it!”

“They’re all part of Perseus, which was named after the Greek mythological hero who killed Medusa.”

Kai glanced back at me, a cute little grin on his lips.

“What?”

“You would’ve been a good teacher, you know that?”

“A teacher?”

“Uh huh. You’re full of all these amazing facts and seem to love learning and reading.”

“Maybe so. But I’m not sure any teacher I know would be allowed to talk about ancient butt plugs.”

A burst of laughter left Kai. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Plus, you’re too good looking to be a teacher.”

“Oh? Do say more.”

Kai flopped back down to his side of the bed. “Nope, that’s all you’re getting. Now be quiet—I’m looking at the stars.”

I smiled to myself and also went back to enjoying the view, both in the sky and beside me. A sense of contentment filled me as I listened to the soft waves crash into the cliffs below.

I was just about to drift off when I heard, “You know, never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined ending up in a place like this.”

I turned my head on the pillow to see Kai staring up at the stars, a wistful expression on his face. My first instinct was to reach out to him, to assure him that this was most certainly real and he was here.

“I used to live under a bridge in Brooklyn—did I tell you that?”

He definitely hadnottold me that, because the idea of Kai shivering under some bridge in the cold night made me feel fucking murderous.

Not wanting to alarm him when he was opening up to me, I did my best to keep my voice neutral when I responded, “No, you didn’t.”Breathe. Don’t freak him out.“I’m sorry you had to live like that.”

“Why?” Kai turned to look at me. “It’s not your fault.”

No, it was his no-good parents’ fault.Fifteen.That was how old he’d said he was when they kicked him out, and as I lay there beside him, staring at his perfect face, all I could think about was how much I would give to have a moment alone with them.

How could they have kicked out their own child? How could they live with themselves not knowing if he was alive and well?

“I know that,” I said, shifting onto my side so I could slide my hand under the pillow. The last thing Kai needed to see was my clenched fist. “That doesn’t mean I’m not sorry for what you went, through.”

He shrugged it off as though it was nothing. But his tight, thin smile told me something altogether different. It was such a contrast to the joyous expression he’d had when searching out patterns in the stars.

It was fucking heartbreaking.

“They didn’t like having a gay son,” he said, and went back to looking at the night sky. “And since nothing was going to change that fact, the best way to fix the problem was to get rid of it.”

I’d had my suspicions as to why Kai was kicked out, but hearing him talk so calmly about it, so matter-of-factly, made some untamed part inside me claw to get free. I wanted to hunt down his parents and tear them apart.

“What did you do?”

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