I was nervous as fuck as I knocked on the door to Kai’s mom’s apartment. Her building was in the same area as Kai’s but was better cared for. Her security door worked, unlike the one in Kai’s building, and the lobby and hallways looked freshly painted. The carpets were worn and disgusting, but the bright hallways made the building feel warm and welcoming.
“Hey.” Kai pulled the door open, his smile big and happy. “Found it okay?”
“Yeah.”
He leaned in and pecked a kiss against my lips, then moved aside so I could come in.
“Alex!” Rain ran up and flung herself at me.
I caught her in a hug, and she clung to me like a spider monkey. “Hi, Rain. How are you?”
“I’m great. Do you like pumpkin pie?”
“I do.”
“Me too.” She untangled herself from me and grabbed my hand. “Kai and Mommy don’t like it, but I do. So Kai bought me a whole pie.”
“It’s a half pie, but yes. You’re the only one who likes it.” Kai ruffled her hair.
“You can have some too.” She pushed her hair back from her face. “Do you like whipped cream?”
“Big fan.”
“Me too! And ice cream?”
“Love ice cream.”
She tugged me into the living room and right over to the sectional sofa. “Sit.”
I sat.
“Kai? Is Alex here?” Cassie’s voice came out of the kitchen.
“Yeah,” he called back. “You two good here while I help her finish up?”
“Do you need another set of hands?” I asked.
“Nope, we’re good.” He winked and swept out of the room.
“Want to see my room?” Rain asked.
“Sure, I’d love to.”
She jumped up and held out her hand. I took it and followed her down the hall. Her room was painted a soft yellow, and she had the same canopy curtain over her bed as she had at Kai’s place. The sheets had fish on them, and the blanket was covered with cartoon puppies.
Rain sat me down on her bed, then introduced me to her toys and showed me her artwork. I had no idea what the average six-year-old could draw like, but she seemed to have a talent for it.
“Dinner time.”
We looked up from the notebook we’d been flipping through. Kai stood in the doorway, an affectionate smile on his perfect lips.
“Food time!” Rain jumped up, her notebook forgotten. “Come on, Alex.”
She grabbed my hand, and I followed her out of her room.
As we passed Kai, he gave me a quick kiss, and heat spread throughout my chest. I wanted to roll my eyes at myself. God, could I be any more of a sap?
Dinner was fun. Cassie had put a lot of effort into the meal, and everything was delicious. Rain dominated most of the conversation, but it wasn’t annoying or weird. I liked it. It felt like a normal family dinner filled with laughs and jokes and a six-year-old babbling about every topic under the sun. It made me feel like I belonged.
Rain and I both had our pumpkin pie with a crap ton of ice cream and whipped cream for dessert, while Kai and his mother had apple pie.
When we’d finished, Kai and I cleaned up while Cassie and Rain hung out in the living room. Something about clearing the table and washing dishes side by side at the sink was so utterly domestic I smiled from ear to ear. Who knew cleaning could be fun when you did it with someone you loved?
After we had put everything away, we made coffee, and the four of us sat in the living room. Rain was more subdued, content with sipping on her hot chocolate and playing on Cassie’s phone as the three of us talked.
Cassie told me stories about when Kai was young and asked lots of questions about school. Had Kai told her about my family situation? She didn’t ask anything personal, which made me think he had.
A few hours later, Rain fell asleep on Kai’s lap. He carried her into her bedroom, leaving me alone with Cassie.
“I’m really glad you came over,” Cassie said.
“Me too. Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome any time. I mean that.” She had a faraway look in her eyes. “I haven’t seen Kai this relaxed in years. You make him happy. It’s been a long time since anything has made him smile like you do.”
I flushed hot, and a thrill shot through my chest. I made him happy?
“He’s always been an old soul. Even when he was a kid, he took the weight of the world onto himself. He’s a fixer, always has been, and he works too hard. I was worried about him.”
“You were?”
She nodded. “He was so stressed about everything. Work, school, us. It was too much for him. But now he’s laughing and smiling and happy again.”
I bit my lip. Was that because of me?
She patted my arm, her touch warm and soothing. “I’m glad you’re in his life.”
“I’m glad he’s in mine,” I said around the lump in my throat.
“I’m tapping out.” Kai came out of Rain’s room with her on his heels.
She’d changed into a set of Spider-Man pajamas and was clutching a stuffed cat.
“Did you brush your teeth?” Cassie asked.
Rain shook her head.
“Alex and I have to go, pumpkin.” Kai knelt and gave her a hug. “I’ll see you on Tuesday after school, okay?”
She mumbled something into his neck. When she let go, she rushed over and grabbed me around the waist.
“Bye, Alex.” She squeezed tight. “Will you be there on Tuesday too?”
I glanced at Kai. He nodded in an “if you’d like” way.
“I’ll have to check my schedule. But if I’m free, I’ll be there.”
“Yay.” She let go of me and held up her stuffie. “Lucy says have a good night.”
“You too, Lucy.”
“Are you a hugger?” Cassie asked.
“Um, sure.”
I wasn’t a hugger, but Kai’s family was, and being part of their casual affection touched me in ways I wasn’t ready to examine.
She folded me into a hug, her grip tight and her embrace warm and filled with affection. I closed my eyes, giving in to the peacefulness swirling around me. She held me for a few beats longer than was strictly polite, then let go. As we headed out, she and Rain waved, her smile full and genuine.
“You okay?” Kai took my hand in his and led me down the hallway.
“Yeah. Just haven’t gotten a mom hug in a long time.” I cleared my throat. “That was fun. I like your family.”
“They like you too.”
We stopped in front of the elevator, and Kai lifted our joined hands to his mouth. He brushed a kiss against my knuckles, and I nearly swooned.
“Want to come to my place?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to spend the weekend with me?”
“Really?”
He shot me a sidelong look. “Yeah. I have to work tomorrow and Saturday. You can go home if you want or just hang out until I get home.”
“I’d like to stay.”
“Want to stop by your place so you can grab some stuff?”
The elevator door opened, and we stepped inside.
“Sure.”
He pushed the button for the lobby and leaned against the wall.
When we were on the ground floor, he held my hand all the way into the parking lot, then kissed me right there in front of my car.
I was floating as I drove to the house.
Both Matt and Eli were staying in town, but Matt was spending the weekend at Jax’s place, since his roommates had left. Eli had said he’d be around most of the weekend, but as I let myself in, the main floor was quiet.
It didn’t take long for me to gather a couple of days’ worth of clothes and some toiletries. The fact that Kai wanted me to bring my stuff over to his place made everything feel real.
The weekend passed in a blur of hanging out half-naked and making love. We had sex more times than I could count, but each time had been slow and sweet and so damn hot. Kai had been as attentive as ever, but the urgency and desperation had been replaced with tenderness.
He’d slowed things down, and while it had been as explosive as always, the sweetness had added layers to my pleasure that I’d never experienced before.
Being with Kai was easy. And by some miracle of miracles, he seemed to enjoy spending time with me too. A part of me had been waiting for him to take it back. To decide he was done with me and I wasn’t worth putting up with anymore. But today had changed things. Maybe one day he could love me like I loved him.
