Page 49 of Waves
“I know,” Kai agreed, his smile returning. “I love you too, which is why I understand.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I worry about you, too. There are stalkers and burglars and murders and all sorts of foul people teeming on the land, and I leave you alone with them. I’m afraid I’m going to come back and find out something terrible happened to you while I was away.”
I took a breath and made a mental note to catch him up on all my drama later. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I could say the same, and still guarantee you’d do so anyway.”
“You make a good point, as always.”
“I’ve got old man wisdom,” Kai teased.
“Shut up,” I said with a playful nudge.
Kai pulled me back to him for a quick kiss before he rolled out of bed and stretched.
“What do you say to us going out for breakfast? I’d like to demolish a whole plate of diner food right about now.”
“When was the last time you ate?” Kai asked, his disapproval as clear as a bell.
I sheepishly giggled and climbed out of bed. “I’d rather not say.”
* * *
We arrived back at the marina with the sun still rising, casting golden hues across the water. Kai looked extra gorgeous in the jeans I stocked on my boat for him. He hopped into the passenger side of my car, where he waited for me to join him.
Before I started the engine, I turned to him while still in my seat. “I need to tell you something.”
“Okay,” Kai said, dragging the last letter.
“You remember what happened at the barbecue, right?”
“I wish I could forget,” Kai huffed.
“Well, since you’ve been gone, I spoke with Mary and Eric, and uh... they were right. I can’t keep expecting Thom to change when I know he won’t.” I paused and took a deep breath. “I, um, I had been keeping track of him calling me and following me and stuff, and Mary and Eric backed me up in court. He can’t come within a hundred feet of me now. So, that’s one less thing for you to worry about when you’re gone.”
“That’s great,” Kai said with a huge smile. “I really mean it. I’m happy for you, getting your life and your friends back. Now they just need to lock him up and throw away the key.”
“I suppose,” I said with a shrug. “I never really wanted him in jail, just to be left alone. Mary says he disappeared off social media after his friends turned on him like a pack of wild dogs, and supposedly he even disconnected his number while he’s off licking his wounds. Oh, and Andy and Cathy came up to me a few days after the news broke to personally let me know Thom finally went off to rehab. I’m sure they just wanted to gossip, but the news was still comforting. He’s pretty much out of our lives until further notice.”
“How did they find out?”
I chuckled because he really was too pure to understand gossip. “Well, Mary posted about going to court with me, and she may have even included pictures of some of the threats I forwarded to her for safekeeping so... all of his friends got to see my side of the story.”
“I hope they apologized to you.”
I shook my head and started my engine for us to leave. I didn’t want their sympathy. Showing them all the truth had been enough vindication for me.
* * *
KAI
We arrived at the diner early enough to still call our first meal breakfast. Ezra was on his second glass of orange juice, while I sipped on some coffee (which was such a treat, since Ezra hated the stuff) when a tall, platinum blonde walked over to our table. I suspected from her attire she was not a waitress. She almost looked as if she returned from a night of carousing, her sequined skirt hanging crooked on one side.
“Hi, Ezra,” she said. She raised her hand to wave but quickly curled her fingers back, picking at the collar of her flowing blouse instead.
Ezra’s utensils hovered in midair when he stopped sawing through his pancakes. Without even looking up and acknowledging her, he resumed cutting through his food.