Page 27 of Passion and Payback

He bent down so he didn’t have to shout, which gave us all the privacy you could get in a packed club. “Look, if you’re having a good time running around, talking to random people, dancing like an idiot, then you be a happy idiot, alright? If you want to get hit on, then go get hit on. If you wanna go get laid, then do that, I’ll be here.”

“Now, why would I want to do that here?” I asked before the not-drinking part of my brain could point out that was an idiotic question.

Sure enough, Kai’s brow rose. “Remember the first time you dragged me to a club to have a good time?”

I knew my face was turning red as it warmed. “I…maybe?”

“And how we knewyouwere having a good time.”

“Kai.”

“In the bathroom stall. With some muscle-bound guy who looked like he was force-fed steroids? That was when I found out you liked them big.”

The guy had been big in other ways too…which is how I’d always pictured Kai. Not that I was living in fantasy land over that. I had seen the man in loose shorts and no underwear several times, and there was no mistaking the distinct outline. I’d also seen him naked once after we’d gone to a gym and got into the sauna. The towel had slipped off when he’d stood up, and even soft, it had been an eye full, which had also meant I’d had to make myself scarce before the evidence of my reaction was evident.

So yeah, I did remember the man who reminded me of the best friend I desperately wanted to sleep with. I also distinctly remembered said best friend coming to find me because I’d been gone for too long, and he’d been worried. I had stumbled out of the stall we’d been occupying, ignoring the knowing glances from others and feeling like my heart was going to drop to my feet when I saw a bemused Kai standing by the sinks. Then, the moment I saw him understand what he’d just walked into, I sincerely wished it was possible to disappear from existence.

“That was a long time ago!” I said, swatting him. “Stop bringing it up!”

“That’s the second time I’ve brought it up,” he laughed, making me swing at him again. Not that me swatting his armwas going to do a damn thing anyway, the man was a living golem. “Look, just have fun the way you want.”

“And you’ll be down for it?” I asked him carefully.

He frowned at me. “Absolutely. I want to see you have a good time tonight.”

I thought about it for a moment and then grinned. “Alright then. I have just the idea.”

“What’s that?”

“Come dance with me.”

“What?”

I laughed at the shocked expression on his face. “C’mon. I’ve never seen you dance, and you’ve never danced with me before.”

“Because me dancing looks like someone tried to stuff a scarecrow with rocks and made it wiggle,” he said, his nose wrinkling.

Now, there was a compelling image. “So what? Do you see some of the people out there? Frog in a blender. Guy who looks like he’s having a seizure. And I dance like one of those blow-up things you used to see outside car lots. Nobody but the most snotty, arrogant jerks who won’t dance will give a shit how anyone dances. So come on, give it a try.”

I could see he was struggling with what I was asking, but I stood there, waiting to see what he would do. I had said my piece, which was more than I would have said any other time. Who the hell knew if it was because I was in a great mood, the cocktails were finally catching up with me, or maybe losing so much had made me a little bolder about trying to get something I wanted?

When he groaned, I knew what was going to come out of his mouth. “Fine, we’re both going to regret this, but fine. Let’s finish our drinks. I don’t want to take those with us.”

I tried to be subtle with my joy over his agreement, but I doubted I was anything but one step away from jumping for joyin his eyes. He took one look at me and rolled his eyes as he drained the bright yellow drink I’d ordered for him, which he said tasted like fermented lemonade, and I downed the rest of my mojito.

To his credit and entirely on brand for Kai, despite not looking forward to it, he wasn’t dragging his heels as he followed me. If anything, I could see him looking more and more unsure as we reached the stairs and descended onto the dance floor. I grabbed his wrist and gently pulled him behind me, careful not to lose him.

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do,” he finally admitted when I came to a stop and turned to face him.

I smiled up at him. “You’ve seriously never danced? Not even when you got drunk on base and got stupid with your buddies?”

“No,” he said, bending close so I could hear him better. “I don’t dance. Don’t know how.”

“It’s easy,” I said with a grin, beginning to move my body. “Just go with whatever your body wants.”

“It wants to get the fuck off this dance floor,” he said but continued to stand there all the same.

After a moment, he began to move with me, not copying my movements but taking inspiration from them. I grinned. Yes, it was awkward and not that impressive, but the attempt mattered the most to me. Seeing him swaying, trying to get into a rhythm to make me happy was enough to lift my spirits even higher.

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