Page 102 of Until We Burn
I quickly take him off of speaker and press the phone to my ear. My eyes nervously dart to Helen’s bedroom door. I slouch in relief when I can still hear her snoring.
Kai groans. I can hear his sheets ruffle as he stirs around in his bed. “Morning, Di.”
I can’t stop imagining his tousled black hair, his biceps flexing as he stretches into his rumpled bed sheets, his sweats slinging low on his hips.
I brace my forehead between my hands. It’s only the crack of dawn and filthy thoughts of Kai are already polluting my brain.
“Hi. I-I mean—” I gulp and shake my head.“Good morning.”
I can hear the lazy smile trail through Kai’s voice. “You alright there, princess?”
“Fine!”
“You sound a little flustered.”
“I do not. That’s just…” I scramble out of bed with more force than necessary. “You’re speaking nonsense, and I have to get ready.”
“Whatever you say,” he chuckles.
Kai doesn’t hang up. Instead, he stays on the phone with me while we both go through our morning routine together. It’s so strange to brush my teeth and hear him gargling mouthwash on the other end. It feels too intimate to start the day with him like this, yet it’s utterly comforting at the same time.
“Do you ever get freaked out that you’ll accidentally swallow your mouthwash?” Kai asks.
I spit out a mouthful of it with my heart pounding a little quicker.
“Practically every time I use it.”
We toss these simple, random questions back and forth as we make beds, pry open closets, and get dressed for the day.
With every little observation and question Kai raises, the ties binding me to him pull me in even closer and I can’t help but grasp at straws to keep talking to him and keep the goodbyes at bay.
But when our bags are packed and the sun finally comes up, there’s no other choice except to hang up.
I frown and slump my cheek into my hand. I fake an upbeat smile anyway. “Have a good day, Kai. I’ll see you later.”
“Wait, wait!”
I eagerly press the phone back to my ear.
Kai lets out a breath. “I wanted to thank you for being there for melast night. I know the sex helps us unwind and everything, but I also really love talking to you.”
Surprise catches me off guard.
He liked spending time with me?
I smile giddily into my hand. I draw in a deep, steadying breath to compose myself.
“W-Well, um...I love talking to you, too.”
“Yeah?” A playful lilt to his voice tells me he’s smiling.
“Yeah.” I blush. “You’re freakishly good at calming me down when I feel like ravaging a whole city.”
Kai laughs.
Even when we finally hang up, my cheeks are still pink from smiling so much. I try to get through the rest of my morning routine even though my thoughts are colored by green eyes, a deep, playful laugh, and visuals of the people Kai and I hate being flailed around Wallace’s zamboni.
For once, my unusually quiet phone doesn’t make me tense as much as it used to. Bàba’s announcement last night feels easier to bear under the adrenaline running through my veins. Everything might be an absolute mess right now, but I’m so relieved to have found Kai through the ruins. For a moment, I think I can handle what’s being thrown my way.
