cooking, and I was washing dishes. Working at a restaurant had the added bonus of free food. No air mattress, but we did have a shitty motel room with only one bed.”
“Wow.” I wanted to say I couldn’t imagine, but I had a pretty good idea. I hadn’t been close to starving, but it was rough in the beginning. “You spun it into something big, though.”
“We did. And there’s a lot of satisfaction in that.”
I wanted to ask if he ever repaired things with his mother, but was that appropriate when a relationship ended that way?
“I still don’t talk to her,” he said, as if reading my mind. “It doesn’t matter what we’ve done with the place, to her it’s still not a proper way to earn a living. When I figured out nothing I did would be good enough, I severed ties.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I had something better to say.”
Kingston kissed me on the forehead. “You mean it, and that’s what matters.”
As we settled into silence again, drowsiness pulled my eyelids shut. I struggled to pry them open again.
“Hey.” Kingston shook me gently. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
Embarrassment coursed through me. “I promise it’s not you.” Or rather, it was, but not in the way falling asleep on a date looked. I was letting my guard down around him.
“How much sleep do you get at night?”
“Enough.” Four to six hours.
He climbed from the SUV and helped me do the same. “Not enough,” he argued. “But I’m flattered you trust me enough to sleep here.”
I did. That should be a scary thought. It wasn’t, though.
He kept an arm around my waist as he walked me to the front of the vehicle, and made sure I was settled inside.
I didn’t mean to doze on the way home, but the next thing I knew, we were parked behind my house.
“I’m a lousy date.” My voice was gravelly from being woken up. “Falling asleep on you over and over.”
“You’re the best date I’ve ever had.”
When he said things like that, my insides melted. “I’m not so tired I won’t remember that in the morning.” Did that make sense? I wasn’t sure.
“Good.” He brushed his lips over mine. “Thank you for tonight.”
He waited until I was inside, and then drove away.
I leaned against the back door, and stared at the ceiling. I wanted more. Another night with him. Another kiss. Another fuck. Another anything.
At the same time, that sales pitch was still looming. It didn’t matter that Kingston wanted to get to know me, or that Owen had called just to talk... It didn’t change their ultimate goal, and it didn’t change that I’d pick my business over anything in this world except my friends.
There was a looming expiration date on Kingston and Owen’s being in my life. There was no other way to look at things.
Chapter Fifteen
My next couple of days were disrupted by fantasy enhanced memories of Kingston, especially any time I was in the kitchen.
My dreams were mostly of Owen whispering in my ear in that deep, seductive tone. He wasn’t always saying sexy things, sometimes it was as simple as Willis Tower lights up at night, and it’s the most amazing display of technology meets art.
When Owen called me on Saturday night, anticipation tightened in my belly just from seeing his name on the screen.
“Hey, Kitty Cat.” His voice and the nickname caressed my senses.
Were aural orgasms a thing? I was starting to think so. “Hey, yourself. We’ve moved on to pet names now?”
“Pet, Kitty Cat, I get it.” He chuckled. “You ever send anyone else a picture of your fleecy pussy?”
“Never once.”
“Then you’re only Kitty Cat to me. I like the exclusivity of that.” He was starting off strong.
Not that I minded. Maybe I should. But it felt amazing to just hear him, that he’d called, that this was so easy to slide into... I couldn’t take issue with any of it. “You’re definitely a club of one.”
“Question for you. Where have you always wanted to visit?”
“Tokyo.” I didn’t need to think about my answer. “I want to see a real cosplay café, and wander a city that’s amazingly huge on the inside, but still has a connection to nature farther out. Don’t suppose that’s on your list of places you’d set up a shop.” Why would I ask that? Because Even though I’d barely known them more than a week, I was reaching a point where I couldn’t picture them not in my life.
Owen’s laugh was