Page 80 of Kai
“Like I'm sneaking a boy into the house.”
Kai immediately grins.
“A boy?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
“Because I feel like we're both a little too old for that.”
I point at him.
“Don't ruin this for me.”
His grin widens.
“Sorry.”
“You're not sorry.”
“Nope, not even a little.”
The stairs creak beneath our feet.
And suddenly I'm twenty again.
Coming home from college.
Trying not to wake my mother after a late night.
Only this time I'm not sneaking downstairs with some nerdy boy from study group.
This time, Kai is behind me—and nerdy is not the word I’d use to describe him.
He’s close.
Close enough that I'm aware of every step.
Every breath.
Every inch of space between us.
“Mary.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you nervous?”
I pause halfway down the stairs.
Because lying would be pointless.
“Yes.”
His expression softens immediately.
