Page 45 of Waves
“Uh, I can see her anytime. I’ll just reschedule.”
Kai pulled himself closer and draped an arm around my waist. “You should go.”
“Fine, then I’ll tell her we’re both coming.” I huffed and erased what I already wrote, retyping my response all over again.
“Ezra.” Kai kept his voice light but firm enough to still be serious. “Do you see Mary bringing Eric everywhere?”
“No, but they live together.”
Kai smiled, and he rested his face on his fist. “We live together.”
“Yeah, for only a few days at a time, which is why I want to spend that time with you.”
Kai let out a deep sigh and fixed his brown eyes, as deep and dark as the bottom of the ocean, on me. “It’s not healthy for you to ignore your friends and spend all your time with me. Go meet up with Mary, and I’ll hang out here with Ishmael. We will both be delighted to see you when you return.”
I frowned and lowered my phone. I could see I wouldn’t be winning this one. “Fine,” I mumbled before typing my message for the third time.
Kai planted a quick peck on my cheek before he climbed out of bed. “I’ll be in the pool.”
“Have fun,” I called after him.
* * *
Mary met me at the teahouse later in the day. While I would always be glad to spend time with my best friend, I was too busy watching the clock the whole time and worrying about Kai. Sure, he was all smiles now, but he would want to be back in the sea before long. I didn’t want him putting on a brave face to give me another day with him.
“So, how’s the boy toy?” Mary asked while cutting into her Chicken Kiev.
I rolled my eyes. “Stop. Don’t call him that.”
Mary kept her attention fixed on her plate. “You keep looking at your phone and grinning like an idiot.”
“Yeah, I, uh, I got him one of those prepaid minute phones the other day. He texts like a grandpa and it’s adorable.”
Mary snorted and finally looked at me with a smile. “You really like him, don’t you?”
Mentally, I channeled Julie Andrews while she twirled in the mountains and sang at the top of her lungs about the hills being alive. Instead of looking like a fool in love, I shrugged while still smiling.
“It’s been, what, two... three months?”
“Well, he’s away a lot, Mar. We only get a few days a month together at my place.”
“Ah, so you’re not dating,” Mary said with a mischievous grin.
“I didn’t say that. It’s complicated.”
“Have you slept with him yet?”
“Mary!” I hissed, gesturing at all the tables around us.
“Ezra, everyone is too busy having their own conversation to eavesdrop on ours. Now give me the dirty details on this guy.”
“He’s not like other guys I’ve dated. I mean, he turned down a blow job. Who does that?”
Mary took a long sip of her tea. “Not any man I know.”
“Right?” I said with a low gasp. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but still. “And then on top of that, he’s not... he isn’t really into...”
“Sex with another guy?”