Page 11 of Exile
A warmth seeps into my core as I think about our make out session in his car and how fogged up the windows had gotten. I’m pretty sure we could have fucked right there on the street, and no one walking by would’ve been able to see what we were up to. The idea of ”getting to know” Dominick more personally lights up every nerve ending in my body, and a flush creeps across my cheeks.
“It’s a date, sir.”
After hanging up with Dominick, I grab my backpack and the bag of sandwiches before making my way across my yard to Kai’s house next door. Technically it’s his parents’ house, but they spend six months of every year traveling the country in their RV, enjoying their early retirement. Kai’s dad made some smart investment decisions in his thirties, and now they get to live their best lives. Currently they’re somewhere in the southwest United States exploring the national parks.
When I knock on the door, it takes a few minutes for a bleary-eyed Kai to open it. He’s shirtless, wearing just a pair of gray joggers, and stifling a yawn behind a fist. My eyes snag on the way his abs flex as he stretches, temporarily short-circuiting my brain. I shake my head and mentally chide myself for ogling my best friend.
“Shit, I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?” I take a step back, ready to retreat and let him get his rest.
“Nah, I just got up a few minutes ago… Oh shit, is that what I think it is?” Kai’s eyes light up with excitement when he spies the bag of food in my hand. Kai grabs the sandwiches before I have a chance to answer and takes off to the living room, leaving me completely forgotten as the aroma of tandoori chicken and crispy homemade French fries wafts from the open bag.
“You’re welcome,” I mutter as I close the door and slip my shoes off by the welcome mat before following Kai into the living room.
“You’rethabest,” is the muffled response I get from my friend as he shoves a handful of fries into his mouth.
We spend the next hour going over the notes I took during class while finishing our lunch. I can tell Kai is antsy and not completely focused on the work we are doing. His mind is clearly still on his night in lockup, so I grab his computer from his lap and close it before setting it off to the side. “Let’s take a break. You’re on edge, and I’m too tired to focus. I just want to chill before I go to work.” The smile Kai gives me doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but he nods in agreement all the same.
“Good call. My head isn’t in the right space to retain this shit anyway.” With that, he wraps his arm around me, tugging me into his side, making us comfortable on his parents’ plush oversized couch while he pulls up our favorite season of Supernatural to watch. I grab the throw blanket from the back of the couch and drape it over us, snuggling into Kai’s muscular frame. The scent of his citrus and sage body wash envelops me, and the comfort of our old familiar routine soon has my eyelids heavy with sleep. I drift off not long after the monster of the week is introduced in the episode he chose.
“Hey, ReRe, wake up.” A gentle shake on my shoulder slowly rouses me from the dream I’m lost in. It’s a good dream about Dominick and his hot, possessive kisses.
“Mmm…no…leavemelone…” I grumble as I tug the blanket over my head and nuzzle deeper into Kai’s side.
“You gotta get up, ReRe. It’s time for you to go to work.” Kai stands up suddenly, jerking the blanket off me, letting me collapse into the couch cushions completely. “And you’ve drooled all over me. You’re worse than Archer.” At the mention of his name, the giant Great Dane bounds into the room, jumps on top of me and starts licking my face.
“Gah! Noooooooo! Archie! Bad dog!” I let out a shrill scream as I throw up my arms trying to fend off the slobbering animal. “Get ooooff meee!” I wail as Kai laughs at my predicament. Archer is undeterred by my flailing and continues to slobber on my face.
“MALAKAI DEMETRIOUS ROBERTS! GET YOUR BEAST OFF OF ME!” Archer’s tongue licks up my face and sneaks into my mouth as I yell at Kai. “ACK! NO! GROSS!”
“Aw, ReRe, Archie is just trying to looooove you.” Kai is still laughing as he finally, mercifully, pulls the giant dog off me. I sit up in a huff and shoot him a glare that I only hope conveys exactly how much trouble he is in.
“Archer, spot!” With one firm command Archer immediately bounds over to the dog bed by the fireplace and plops down with a thud that shakes the floor.
“What time is it?” I ask, wiping the dog drool from my face with one of Kai’s hoodies that is draped on the back of the couch.
“Hey! I just washed that!” He jerks the shirt from my grasp with a frown and points to the clock. “It’s four-thirty, and as much as I enjoyed listening to your symphony of snores, I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be at work in half an hour.”
“Shit, why’d you let me sleep so long? I’m gonna be late.” I hurriedly pack up my notes and computer, shoving everything into my backpack haphazardly.
“Seemed like you needed the rest. You were out like a light. You didn’t move through three whole episodes of Supernatural. My left arm was starting to raisin from all the drool.” Kai shoots me a playful wink as he walks with me to the front door.
“Ha-fucking-ha.” I mutter, rolling my eyes at him. He reaches out, grabbing my arm, stopping me before I open the door.
“Seriously, ReRe. You look wrecked. Have you thought about cutting back your hours at work?”
I look up to see my best friend looking down at me with so much concern in his eyes. The bridge of my nose begins to sting, and I look down, blinking back the tears threatening to form. He’s not wrong. I am exhausted. I’m worn down. I’m so tired of working constantly and not having any time for fun. I’m so damn tired of taking care of everything and worrying about Mom and bills and my grades and if I’m taking advantage of Mrs. G’s kindness too much. I’m just…so. Damn. Exhausted. Instead of confessing this to him, I deflect.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a late night, that’s all. Maybe after the holidays I’ll cut back on my hours some. I gotta go. See you later.”
I jerk open the door and head out before Kai gets the chance to probe some more. After a quick pit stop at my house to change and say hi to Mom and Mrs. G, I head to my second job, ready for a long night of waitressing and come-ons from douchey frat bros.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SERENA
“App sampler for table twenty!” Marcus, the line cook, calls as he places the tray of food in the passthrough window.
“Serena, can you run that to twenty? I’ve got to change a keg; the natty just kicked.” Adam, the head bartender, nods over to the table hosting what looks like half a frat house. This is their fourth order of appetizers, and they are on their sixth pitcher of shitty light beer. I’ve successfully managed to avoid their table for most of the night, but it looks like my luck has run out. Stacey is busy mixing drinks, and Veronica seems to be devoting all of her attention to the table of professors in the back, probably very aware that is where the best tips for the night are waiting.