Kai’s phone is connected to the speakers. I don’t recognize the band that’s playing, but that’s to be expected. Kai has an exceptional talent of finding every unknown band in the world.
My attention is quickly pulled away from the music, though, as I let my eyes wander over the room, seeking out Kai. He’s nowhere to be seen, but just as I’m about to cross the floor to go and see if he’s out back, the door opens, and Kai walks in. He has pulled the hem of his shirt up and is wiping his face with it, so he doesn’t notice me immediately.
And I don’t make a sound because my eyes have zeroed in on Kai’s bare stomach and the way his muscles flex when he moves his arm. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Kai half-naked. We pretty much grew up together, so I’ve seen him in every form of dress and undress, but I’ve never really seen him like I do right this second.
He’s in great shape. All sharp angles and lines. He has a six-pack that wasn’t there the last time I saw him without a shirt on, which was… I don’t even remember, now that I think about it. It’s been a while.
But I’ve felt those muscles, haven’t I? My throat goes dry as the night we went barhopping tumbles into my mind like an unwanted guest. I’ve tried to pretend that night didn’t even happen. The verbal diarrhea is embarrassing as fuck, but that’s not what stumps me now. Instead, I remember the way Kai’s palm had felt on my side. I remember how he smelled of tequila and his shower gel. I remember the way his hair fell over his forehead as he leaned over me.
But most of all I remember how he felt pressed against me, holding me down while he talked to me. How safe I felt. How calm he was, and how he managed to make my frantic thoughts quiet down like everything was suddenly okay in the world.
And I remember how his heartbeat felt against my skin. How a strange, tingly feeling ran up from the base of my spine, making me feel warm all over.
“Gray?” I blink and my gaze flies to Kai, who’s staring at me with raised brows. By the looks of it, he’s called my name more than once. “Did you freeze? Should I reboot you?” he asks with a laugh.
I shake my head to clear it, but it doesn’t help because I can still see Kai’s abs, and those bastards are distracting as fuck. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’ve never felt this shaken before. I’ve made an art form out of being cool and collected, but that’s flown out of the window right now, it seems.
“I’m fine,” I say.
Kai doesn’t look like he believes me, but after a few more seconds of staring at me, he shrugs and lets it go, which thankfully distracts me from his body because Kai’s not the type of a person to let anything go. He’s like a hound dog when it comes to detecting when something’s wrong, and once he gets a whiff of something weighing you down, he’ll drag it out of you.
“How are you?” Kai asks as he moves past me and turns the music down. For some reason, he’s not looking at me, but instead, he starts walking around the room, fiddling with the stuff he has lying around here and there. I haven’t seen him in days, but it almost feels as if he wishes I wasn’t here.
Combined with the earlier part where I was… fuck, I don’t even know, checking out my best friend, everything feels very, very awkward. My thoughts screech to a halt. Is that what I was doing? Was I checking out Kai?
I can’t think about it right now. It’s too weird to contemplate while I’m in the same room with Kai, so I push that whole episode to the back of my mind and concentrate on my original agenda of turning Kai into a buffer between me and whatever is expecting me tomorrow in that damn dinner date.
“No,” Kai says the moment I’m finished recounting what my grandmother has told me about Con’s matchmaking efforts.
“No what?” I ask.
He raises both his hands in the air. “I know what you’re going to ask me, and the answer is no.”
“Are you a mind reader?” I counter.
He rolls his eyes. “I might as well be. I’m not going