Page 58 of The Sweetheart
“Okay. Tell him anything he needs, just let me know.”
“On that note, he said he wants more of those sexy little panties you got for him.” Nolan waggled his tongue lasciviously, and Myles groaned in disgust.
“Okay, almost TMI, but tell him I got him.”
Nolan immediately picked up the phone and video-called Kai, smiling when he answered immediately.
“Hi.”
“What are you doing?”
Kai held his arm out wide so that Nolan could see him on one of their inflatable loungers, dead centre of the pool. The water was crystal clear, reflecting blue skies and the occasional cloud. Kai was wearing the trunks he’d borrowed from Nolantwo weeks ago. They were still ridiculously large. Even if Kai would let him buy him his own gear, Nolan really liked him in his. “That’s good, baby. Did you put sunscreen on?”
“Yes. Cherry made me, and she made me drink water.” Kai pulled the phone in close to whisper, “She kind of scares me.”
“Don’t cross her. She runs a tight ship.”
“Are you coming home soon? I miss you.”
“I think you saw me three hours ago.”
Kai shrugged. “I’m just saying. I could be lying on you right now.”
“I’d like that.”
“How’s your day going?”
“Shit.”
Kai grinned. “Even more reason to come home.”
“Soon, baby. I just need to see your face for a few minutes.”
Myles:
Landon tomorrow @ 9:30. He’ll stop by.
The message popped up at the top of his screen.
“Hey. I had Myles make an appointment with Landon for tomorrow morning.”
Kai visibly shrank. “You’ll be there right?”
“I told you: you and me together. It probably won’t take long, and then, maybe, you’ll deserve a treat. Why don’t you spend today thinking about what treat you’d like?” he said, hoping to distract Kai from worrying too much. “You know what? Why don’t I come home for lunch?”
“Yeah.” Kai’s face brightened, drawing a soft laugh from Nolan. He admired the face staring back at him, taking in every feature. It broke his heart, thinking about all the ways that people had been cruel to him, and now he had to add Chris to that list. How the hell was he going to explain why Katie had stopped coming around if Chris made good on his promise to keep them separated? How could he make his brother understand that Kai needed people he could rely on, not people whowould let him down and fail him the way that others had? He’d gone through hell and somehow had still come out the other side sweet and kind and caring. Just thinking about him hurting made Nolan want to wrap him up in his arms and never let him go. The desire was so visceral that once it was lodged in his chest he needed to make it happen.
“Alright. I’ll grab sandwiches from the place near here and I’ll be on my way.”
23
Kai wanted to vomit. He could feel the breakfast that Nolan had forced him to eat churning in his belly as they waited for Landon to show up. Since Nolan had told him about this appointment, he’d been besieged by memories of his grandmother, her last months and the constant animosity he’d been subjected to by his aunt and uncle. He’d always known his uncle hated him, but even after he’d stopped trying to make him like him, he’d been plagued with “why?” What was it about him that made him deserve that much hate? He’d been able to put it out of his head for so long, but now, all of those memories, all of those insecurities, rushed back and Kai couldn’t help but dwell. It was so frustrating. If he could just ask the question, he could fix it, preferably before anyone else found out. Like Nolan.
Since they had an early appointment, Kai had come to work with Nolan. The shop was an enormous building wedged between Vaughan and North York. Nolan had given him a brief tour and introduced him to a couple of the mechanics and one of the managers, but Kai had been far too distracted to take in much.
They sat side by side on the couch, and he had a death grip on Nolan’s hand. It was taking every inch of willpower he had not to crawl onto Nolan’s lap and bury his face in his neck.
I’m not going to congratulate you for being a survivor, baby, I want to go to war for you to make it right… What happened to you should never have happened at all..
