Page 63 of Holy Hearts
Will he offer us wine?
Dinner?
Swallowing, I knock on the door once we arrive. The sound is altogether too soft and yet somehow loud in the quiet hallway. My eyes trail over the modern-looking wood door and black doormat. I’m struck by the sudden awareness that we’re standing here, on the verge of something I can’t control, in front of a door which leads to a place that feels too intimate for what we’ve planned.
It’s like I can already feel his presence on the other side, in his space.
The thought sets off a spark in me that I wasn’t expecting, heating my face as I take a shallow breath.
Arousal.
“You okay?” Sophie whispers, her hand giving mine a gentle squeeze.
I nod, forcing a smile, but there’s a tightness in my throat I can’t shake. “Yeah… it’s just… you know.”
She smiles at me in that soft, understanding way of hers, and I feel a pang of gratitude.
Just as she opens her mouth to respond, the door opens, and Kai is standing before us. My insides spark with a mix of anticipation, excitement, and nervous energy at seeing his face, and his eyes flare with something similar as he looks between us.
Something in my chest tightens. It’s not just his place, but him—here, looking at me with that calm, warm expression that’s always managed to both settle and unsettle me. Just seeing him, the familiar strength and quiet confidence in his posture, makes the ground feel a little less steady beneath my feet.
“Come in.”
He offers us a soft smile, stepping back to let us in. I step forward half a second before Sophie, positioning myself slightly in front of her.
It’s instinct, the same way I always walk on the roadside of the pavement.
Protective.
And maybe a little possessive.
We both cross the threshold into his space. It smells like him, just as I suspected, that familiar, quiet scent that I associate with late-night talks in our dorm room. Everything here reflects him, from the subtle order, the simplicity, the quiet care he puts into things. It’s unmistakably Kai.
Not plain or boring, but… simple.
“Would you like a drink?” Kai asks both of us.
My heart’s pounding again, and it’s all because of him.
Because the way I feel standing here feels like something new and old at once, something that’s been waiting for a moment like this to finally come to the surface.
And he’s not even going to touch me.
I meet his gaze, and there’s a power there I’m not sure he fully realizes. “Sure,” I manage, my voice coming out a little more breathless than I intended.
He smiles again, that steady, reassuring smile, and for a moment, I feel like everything else—the nerves, the apprehension—fades into something softer. Just me, Sophie, and Kai, stepping into a moment that’s as unexpected as it is exactly what I’ve been waiting for.
“Me too,” Sophie says at my side.
Sophie and I walk farther into the apartment, and I was right about another thing—it is small.
Except… despite the size, it’s curated. There are books placed on tables. A candle on the bookshelf flickering against the leather-bound tomes. A record player sits on a mid-century credenza, lightly playing some nineties music. There’s no television, but there’s a whole shelf of puzzles and board games.
I hide my smile when I see several puzzles detailing scenes from classic slasher movies. It brings me back to that night in thedorm, and my heart pounds in my chest when I think of how we never did finish watching all of them together.
Sophie’s arm snakes around my side as Kai meanders over to a small bar set against one of the walls.
“Wine? Beer? Liquor…?” Kai asks, the last word hanging in the air in such a way that it seems to cut the tension a bit.
