Page 90 of Faithful

It’s a shit morning because I’m tired and because my excitement over Kai’s arrival is darkened by the intimidating promises of retribution my father’s lapdog so casually threw around in my apartment yesterday.

The first good thing that happens to me is a text from Kai around noon.

K: just landed

There’s a heart emoji too.

I want to see you.

He doesn’t respond for a long time and his next text hits my phone when I’m about to leave work.

K: sry was busy how about tomorrow

in the evening

K: come to my place

Then he sends me the address.

I look it up on Google Maps when I get to my car. It’s an apartment complex somewhere near downtown. I don’t think the fact he’s invited me over fully registers until I’m home in my bed, watching the latest interview Kai and Danny gave to a music outlet in Vegas right before Iodine played their last show there.

He’s been doing things that aren’t usually offered lightly–like letting me meet his mother or allowing me into his private little world–in such a matter-of-fact way that I can’t help but wonder what’s next.

This gives me anxiety.

And that leads to another sleepless night and another exhausting day at work.

The result is a very jumpy, coffee-pumped Dylan Watson who nearly runs a red light at the corner of Denny and Stewart and then misses a turn and ends up being late as fuck.

Not that there was a specific time set. Kai’s text simply said to be at his place by seven if possible. He’d have food delivered. He also included instructions on where to park.

Apparently, I would need to give his first and last name and a unit number (1709) to someone at the entrance.

I’ve been in buildings like these before. Only people with money and a desperate need for privacy live there. Kai has both, although he doesn’t behave like someone with pockets of cash.

Long story short, at 7:30 p.m., after an ordeal with the security guard and finding the guest spot assigned to Kai’s unit, I’m finally in front of his door on the seventeenth floor of a sleek skyscraper that’s all glass and metal beams on the outside and carpets and marble on the inside.

I ring the bell and wait.

My pulse is a staccato beat.

I don’t know why I’m nervous. It’s not like this is a blind fucking date. It’s Kai, for god’s sake. Kai, whose cock I’ve sucked so many times, I’ve lost count.

Why does your mind go straight into the gutter, dude?

There’s the soft sound of footsteps on the other side, then the door swings open and he’s standing there, domestic and a little sleepy in nothing but black sweats and a black T-shirt that readsEating Animals Is Really Weird. Next to the text, there’s a picture of a man’s face. He’s sporting a pair of fangs.

It’s possible that I stare at the design too long because the first thing Kai says to me is, “I don’t plan on bleeding you dry.” He tips his chin down, pointing at the front of his T-shirt. “Unless you’re serious about your kink and beg me.”

I freeze. “Ummm.” I take a step forward. “I never really thought about it.”

The fraction of the apartment that I’m able to see reveals a table set for two. There are candles and the lights are dimmed.

Okay then.

Kai grabs my jacket and draws me inside. Slamming the door shut, he brushes his lips against mine. “Get in here. Let me look at you.”

“Why?”

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