Chapter 13 Dallas
DALLAS
Kay is strangely subdued after I gave him the cupcake. He chats with us animately, with hand gestures, but there’s a calmer energy to him than what I consider his normal.
Or is this his normal? I have no idea, but I want to.
Blake and Yuri finish up and show us how to arm and disarm the alarm after we give them a code to program. Once they’re gone, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Thanks, again,” I say.
“No problem, it’s what I do. I protect people.”
“No, seriously though, how do you afford all this?” Hayden asks.
“I’m batman.” Kay drops his voice, and it has Hayden in a fit of giggles. Kay’s eyes sparkle. Or I imagine it. Who knows, but I love it. “I have my ways.” There’s a mischievous glint now.
“Oh, shit. We need to get ready to meet Clayton,” Hayden says. He looks at me and I grimace.
Kay waves his hands at us. “Shoo shoo, me and Ken have plans, anyway. I’ll lock up here.” He looks to me and lifts his hand in a universal gesture of call me.
I nod. “I’ll let you know when we’re done. Should I come over tonight?”
“It’s either that or I watch you all night through all the cameras I put in your place.” He bounces in his seat and nods. “That sounds like fun, actually. And I can watch you jerk off while you can’t see me.”
“Kay,” I laugh his name.
Hayden rolls his eyes. “Come on, we’ll be late.”
He’s right, but I pull Kay in for a kiss and leave him breathless before we head out.
“I think you did good asking him to go exclusive,” Hayden says as he slides into the passenger seat of my truck.
“I like him a lot.” But the reaction to the cupcake still has me concerned. Did I mess up, and he’s just being nice about it? He ate the cupcake with a spoon as we all chatted away. I kept wanting to lick the icing from wherever it ended up landing.
“I’m glad I talked you into going to the aquarium. It’s nice seeing you happy for once.”
“I don’t seem happy?” Usually, I’m fairly neutral at life. If I get too excited about something, I’m bound to be disappointed, and I’d rather just plan to be unimpressed, which is such a bland way of life.
“Not really? You’ve been going through the motions for months.
I’m glad you watched Nightmare and went on an app.
It’s the most alive you’ve been. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it, but could never find the time or figure out a way to ask without feeling like an ass.
Hey, Dallas, you okay? Because you seem way off.
What gives?” Hayden slumps in the seat. “I should have said something before.”
“It’s not your responsibility to check in on me like that all the time. It’s not fair to you. I hadn’t realized I was off, but I think you’re right. I think it’s just been melancholy. Dunno. It hits me around the same time every year around my sister’s death.”
“I know, sorry. I forgot.”
“No need to be sorry. I try not to think about it, but don’t realize how it tanks my mood for so long.”
“I think we should go to a meeting sometime soon.” Hayden runs his hands through his hair.
“This stalker business has me really paranoid. I’m glad my uncle said I could come over there for a few nights.
Hopefully, Kay can get things sorted for us.
Strangely, I trust him.” He cracks a smile and shakes his head.
“He’s kinda weird, but in a fun way. I kinda wish he was my brother.
That would have been a blast growing up. ”
He’d totally be an amazing big brother. Or a bratty little brother. I can see him being both. “Maybe he’s a middle child and trying to compensate for being ignored.”
“I don’t think anyone could ever ignore Kay. He’s too sparkly even if he’s not covered in glitter.”
I turn into the parking lot of the restaurant and thank the gods of parking spots for letting us get one so damn close.
“We’re gonna make it!” Hayden says as he hops down from my truck.
I have the folder with the proposal and we look both ways before we run across the street to the restaurant with Clayton and his business partner I haven’t met before. Here’s hoping we make an excellent impression.