Page 36 of Faithful

“I don’t mean online. I mean one only for me.”

Silence again.

“Kai?”

There’s a groan. “Hold on…” Then some rustling and a moment later I get a new text notification.

I click on it. A selfie of a very sleepy, very sexy-looking Kai in bed with no shirt on fills the screen of my phone.

“Satisfied?” his voice calls from the tiny speakers.

“Very much.”

“What do you say?”

“Thank you.”

“Attaboy.” It’s followed up by the sound of yawning.

“I better let you go,” I offer.

“Don’t.”

“I still have to get some sleep before I leave for the airport in a few hours.” I assume it’s in a few hours, at least, since I haven’t noticed a single car pass by while I was talking to Kai.

“Sleep on the plane,” Kai murmurs.

“Ooooookaaaaay.”

“Tell me something.”

“Like what?”

“Anything. I don’t care…” His words become slurred and I have a feeling he’s about to pass out. “Just want to hear your voice.”

“Ummm.” I glance around my room, wondering how cool it would be if I had a copy ofMoby DickorThe Great Gatsbyor some other classic on my nightstand, but I hardly read these days and if I do, it’s on my e-reader or my phone and it’s not the classics. “Will my shopping list work?”

“Ha ha.” Kai laughs, but it’s muddled and low. “How about you tell me a memory?”

“Which memory?”

“A happy one.”

“Hmm… alright.” I concentrate very hard because I need to rewind back a lot of years and then when it finally comes to me and when I finally dive into reliving my tenth birthday, Kai’s fast asleep. I can hear his soft, even breaths on the line. I hesitate because it makes little sense to tell him something he won’t hear, but at the last moment, right before I end the call, I change my mind and tell him my memory anyway.

5 GOTTA BE ME

The next morning (or later that morning, just to be clear) I wake up bleary-eyed and exhausted and finish stuffing my gym bag while gulping black coffee by the gallon.

Kai’s got a tight schedule while in Nashville due to this being a last-minute addition to his already busy trip itinerary for the year. That’s one of the reasons why he picked a flight that’ll get me to Tennessee in the evening. He’s supposed to be in the studio during the daytime, meeting with Rexler’s team.

Leigh is gone.

She’s having brunch with her family and I’m glad I don’t need to sneak out of the apartment.

My heart beats like crazy on the way to the airport. Sometimes I still feel like it’s a dream and I made up the last few months and no one’s waiting for me in Nashville, but when I land four hours later and turn on my phone, there’s a text from Kai indicating that a car is already expecting me at the pickup zone.

The driver offers to store my bag in the trunk, but just like last time, I’m traveling light with one change of clothes and only the necessary toiletries. Now that Kai’s all over the news, I doubt we’d be able to leave his hotel room even if we cross-dressed, so I don’t need to bring much.

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