Page 10 of Away in a Tentacle Lair
“Ah.” A house call to fire me, perhaps.
“It's one of the Briareus boys, sir.”
“I'll be right down.”
It's either Kai come to… Well, I've no idea why he would come, but the alternative is another family member coming to beat me up over what happened.
The family's closeness and control of the area feels criminal. I'm no expert, but that would make them a mafia family, or whatever they'd call it in this area.
There is only one way to find out.
I head downstairs to the pleasant surprise of Kai waiting to see me.
“I didn't expect to see you again.” It's not the best greeting, but it's an honest one.
“You saved my life,” Kai shrugs. “I had to make sure my folks were okay with…”
His feet twist like he's nervous, and his head drops. “Would you like to come to dinner with me?”
“As a thank you or as a date?” I close the distance between us.
“I've already said thank you,” he whispers. His head lifts, eyes only a few inches below mine.
“I'd love to.” I'd love to lean forward and kiss those plump lips, too, but I resist for now.
“Is it local? I don't have transport?”
“I've brought a spare helmet if you don't mind the bitch seat.”
“It seems you've thought of everything.” I praise, keeping the wordsgood boyfrom tumbling out of my mouth.
I'm too close. The static between us is making those lips hard to resist, but my step back feels like a barrier. “I'll just grab my phone from my room.”
“Sure,” he shrugs like a lost puppy.
“Did you want to come with me?” Tagging along behind me might be a little less nerve-racking for him than standing alone in the hotel foyer.
“Okay.” He walks with me to the lift, and we wait in awkward silence as off-key Christmas music plays in the background.
I want to talk to him, but I'm torn between asking about the bay's wildlife and whether I can kiss him. Neither is appropriate at this stage of our date.
Showing him my hotel room is also inappropriate at this stage on our date, but this is already the strangest date I've been on, and I've not left the building yet.
Kai seems almost reluctant to be here. There's chemistry, sure. But it feels like he told his family he likes me, and they forced this date on him.
I should be flattered, but it's probably not a compliment towards me, but a lack of other options for him. How many gay relationship prospects live on this remote tropical island?
Would I cancel the date if I knew it was because I'm the only gay man he's going to see this side of the new year? Hell no. I'll let him dictate the pace, but my optimistic mind says this could be the start of something special. My worst-case scenario is that Kai becomes nothing more than a great memory to rake home with me.
Either way, I'm making the most of today.
Chapter eight
Kai
Leo clings to my waist like he's velcroed to my back. If I were bigger than him, it would be great to have him tucked in behind me, but I’m not. He's bigger and stronger, so when he ducks under branches high above us, he tugs me with him. This is different from driving Millie to work. I will drink over dinner so that we can catch a cab home. I'm not letting him on the back of my bike again.
After dismounting at the restaurant car park, my legs feel like jelly. I had to grip extra tight to hold myself in place against his wriggling body.
