Page 32 of Ky
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ky
I came home covered in more grease and dirt than normal.
Wait.
Home?
Since when had I started to refer to it as that? Somehow over the last few weeks, this was what this place had started to feel like.
Usually, I at least went to my room at the compound and tried to rinse off some of the day before I headed back here, but the realization that I had feelings for Chris that I could no longer deny had hit me too hard today. I felt the need to rush back here and…well, I hadn’t gotten that far in my planning.
Talk to him. That sounded like a good first step. Maybe tell him how I felt about him and finally confess the reasons I had kind of been a dick to him lately. Then apologize and grovel as much as humanly possible because I really was truly sorry. Chris was an amazingly warm guy and he hadn’t done a single thing to deserve everything I’d slung his way the last couple of months.
“Hey,” Chris said as he walked down the stairs and despite my shit mood around him lately, he gave me a genuine smile.
“Hey,” I parroted, then froze.
There were multiple things going on right then.
One, my brain was trying to force out the words that I hadn’t rehearsed enough to feel confident saying out loud.
Two, the dizzying sensation of his scent—which was slightly stronger than it normally was—hit me hard.
And three, he wasn’t dressed for a casual night in.
There was something about the slim fitting button up shirt and relaxed slacks that made me wonder what I was missing.
I couldn’t say he didn’t look good though. But then again, he always did. No matter if he was wearing his board shorts and half covered in sand. Or coming down to grab a glass of water in his plaid sleep pants and thin cotton shirt. And of course, there were his at-home-lounge-clothes, which were usually loose shorts and some sort of soft looking graphic T-shirt.
Fuck, what the hell was I going on about?
And now there was this. This look was…well, it currently had me speechless, that was for sure.
“Something up?” I asked and internally cringed because I sounded like a cold asshole.
“Oh, yeah,” he said as he continued to walk down the stairs while rolling up his sleeves a few times. “I, uh, have a date tonight.”
What?!
“A date?” I tried—and failed—to sound relaxed.
“Yeah. This, uh, guy that I keep running into at Royally Brewed asked me out and I agreed.”
He studied me for a beat and I tried my best to school my expression. Though he hadn’t come right out and told me he was interested in men, I had a good idea that he might be. I mean, I did see him make-out with Brand. With the way that he took control of the situation that night and the way he seemed relaxed about the kiss, I could tell it wasn’t his first male lip-lock rodeo. Then there was the way he had been subtly flirting with me, or that was how I saw it. I didn’t think I’d been wrong about all those little things—the extra touches, the lingering glances, or the sexy smiles he’d send my way. Yes, sexy, because they fucking were.
Obviously, I didn’t have anything against it and the last thing I wanted him to think was that I did. The internal problem I was having right now was that I wanted to be that guy he was going on a date with. I wanted to be the one that he was getting all done up for and I wanted to be the one to pick him up at the door.
Now I was thinking about putting him on the back of my bike and once that image hit my brain, things started to spark and fry.
“Oh, okay. Cool,” I said and managed not to sound surprised or irritated at all. “I was going to order some dinner and find something to watch.”
Like he cared. I had no idea why I felt the need to seem like I had any sort of plans all of a sudden. I didn’t and it was obvious by the lame ones that had made their way out of my mouth.
“Alright,” Chris said as he grabbed his keys out of the bowl next to the door. “I’ll see you later.”
“Chris,” I said as he opened the door to leave.
