“Bad?” Kai asked, frowning when Gia gripped his wet shirt.
She inhaled, shifting her weight to the top of her top, figuring if she could take it slow, she’d be fine, but no…not even then. Kai watched her, his expression worried when he covered her hand on his shirt with his fingers.
“I’m sorry,” he told her, looking for all the world like he meant it.
“For…for what?”
“You’re gonna hate this,” he said, then bent forward, moving one arm to the back of her neck and the other behind her knees. She released a noise, something that she meant to be a complaint, as Kai adjusted her, bringing her body closer, settling her against him like she weighed nothing at all, and all thought left her mind. “Come on,” he told her, moving toward the building. “I’ll get you dry and wrap your foot then you can bitch about anything you want.”
She curled her arm around his neck, leaning against his shoulder, letting herself enjoy the heat of his body and the smell of his skin and, for the life of her, Gia couldn’t think of a single thing she wanted to complain about.
KAI’S APARTMENT was different from the last time Gia had been in it. As she sat shivering on the end of the chaise, he insisted she take while he hurried around the place trying to find things she guessed he thought would help her, she scanned the changes he had made.
There were pictures now on the walls; all bright colors of a young girl—his daughter’s, Gia assumed—smiling face. There were pictures of them together in front of a purple sunset, of Kai and a woman who could have been his twin with a younger version of the girl between them. There were pictures of Kai in his U of H uniform and some of him, Wilson, and Pérez with the Las Vegas skyline behind them as they lifted their glasses to the camera.
He’d made this apartment his home now by adding his friends and family to it, but Kai had also put up posters, mostly of Star Wars and Firefly, several Marvel vintage covers that seemed to fit him somehow along the vacant spaces of his walls and around the shelves on his entertainment center.
“Here,” he said, hurrying back to Gia with a thick terrycloth robe he draped around her. “I have some boxers you can roll up and a hoodie, but for now, until I wrap your ankle, warm up with this.”
The man didn’t leave Gia much choice. He had her arms through the massive robe, tying the belt and her wet hair in a towel before she could refuse him.
“What about you?” she asked, pointing to the water dripping from his thick hair. “You’re going to ruin this chaise and your…friend will be pissed at you.”
“It’s stuff, Gia,” he said, using the hem of the long robe he’d given her to soak up the wetness in his hair. “Stuff can be replaced.”
“That explains your predicament.”
Kai looked up at her, pausing with an ACE bandage in his hand. “What predicament?” She remained silent as he watched her, his attention sharp, focused before he shook his head, returning his attention back to her ankle. “If you’re talking about my financial situation…I paid the penalty.”
“I heard,” she said, leaning forward to watch how he held her foot, moving it closer to examine the swelling. Gia only sat back when Kai tilted his head, fanning his fingers in a wave to make her rest against the cushion. “And I wasn’t talking about the ten grand.” She winced, tried to pull her foot out of his grip, but Kai held onto it. “I…meant your…over-generous…ow…indulgences.”
He didn’t look up at her as he moved the foot around, his features pulled down in concerned. “You’re nosey.” He held her leg in one hand, the warmth of his palm relaxing her, as he reached for the bandage. “What I do with my money,” he continued, his attention on the work he made of wrapping her swollen ankle, “has nothing to do with you, the franchise, or the damn league.”
Gia remained quiet, letting Kai do his work, focusing on how attentive he was, how carefully he touched her before he sat up, moving his head to get a better look at his handiwork.
“There. That should help,” he finally said, looking up at her. He sat across from her with Gia’s foot against his thigh and his palm resting on her bare leg.