20. Kai
Chapter 20
Kai
Over the next week, we spend our late evenings in Leo’s bed, cuddling, kissing, sometimes giving each other orgasms, and always falling asleep together. I wake feeling energised and ridiculously content. Leo is more than my sun. So much more. Not that I’ve been able to tell him so. How do you tell someone you’re in love with them?
Leo’s phone pings as he walks in the door after work one evening. He checks it while taking his coat and shoes off.
“It’s a message from Saffron. She and Jensen are back from their honeymoon and want to know if I want to meet them for dinner or something.”
“You should.”
“Do you want to come?”
I smirk. “She’ll be convinced we’re together if I tag along.”
“She already thinks that. ”
“No. I’m sure I threw her off the scent the last time we saw her.”
Leo rolls his eyes. “You were a total troll.”
“A—what?”
He chuckles, walks over, pats my head, and then kisses me in the same spot. “Never mind.” He stares at his phone. “We are a couple now. Aren’t we?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Then you should come. If you want to.”
I gasp. “Like on a double date?”
“I guess so.”
I fling my arms around his neck. “I’d love to come. I like Saffron. I like your whole family.”
“That’s useful because Hanna will probably invite us over for Christmas the moment she finds out we’re together.”
“Christmas is months away.”
“Exactly.”
I’m so confused.
“I’ll text Saffron.” He taps out a text. “Want any dinner?”
I shake my head. He asks if I want anything every mealtime, even though I never say yes. It’s sweet. He’s sweet.
I curl up on the sofa. Usually, I help, but today, I’m content to watch him. I’m getting pretty good at cooking. I even cooked for Leo the other night. Occasionally, he glances at me and smiles, showing off his beautiful dimples. When he’s finished, I join him at the table, sitting opposite him, with my chin resting on the heels of my hands and my knuckles resting against my cheeks.
“You’ve done nothing but stare at me since I got home,” he says.
“That’s because you’re gorgeous.”
He blushes, which is cute. “So are you.”
“Do you miss Cayenne?”
He shrugs. “Yes, sometimes. But I have something better in my life.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Oh?”
“You.”
I grin.
“You knew what I meant.”
“Yes, but it’s nice to hear it.” I wink.
He laughs. “Chaos gremlin.”
“That’s me.” I purse my lips. “Do you remember when we were playing Cluedo at Janice’s?”
“You mean the night she not-so-subtly threw us out to encourage us to spend time together.”
“Snuggly cuddly time.”
He pulls a face. “Don’t say it like that.”
“Would you prefer I said orgasm time?”
“Ugh, no.” He shakes his head. “What about it?”
“Something made you sad. What was it? You never did tell me.”
He twirls his fork through mince and mashed potato. “I was thinking that, at some point, Cayenne would have to—go.”
“Go?”
“Most cats don’t live to seventeen, Kai. Some do, but not many. Hardly any live beyond that.”
“Oh.”
“What would you have done if you’d never revealed yourself to me?”
I sigh. “I’d probably have got out and not come home one day.”
Leo’s expression devastates me. “I wouldn’t have known what had happened. I’d?—”
I stand, walk around behind him, and hug him. “I couldn’t pretend to die. It would have been the only way. I’m sorry.”
He holds my arm against his chest. “I guess I wouldn’t have had to lie, then.”
He hates lying. To my knowledge, he’s never lied.
“You still don’t.”
“How can I avoid it?”
“Just say Cayenne is gone when you’re ready to. It won’t be a lie. If I never turn into Cayenne again, he really will be gone. Let everyone else fill in the blanks.”
Leo nods and sniffs. “I’m not ready.”
I press my cheek against his. “I know. And that’s okay. I looked it up. The oldest cat in the world lived to be twenty-eight. That’s eleven more years.”
He laughs softly. “Thank you.” He turns his face to kiss me.
“And I’ll turn into Cayenne whenever you want me to.”
“I don’t need you to. I know you’re Cayenne. It’s just—I must sound ridiculous. ”
“No. Not at all.”
“ I know you’re Cayenne, but no one else does. People ask me about my cat all the time. It’ll be weird for that to stop, even though you’ll be right here. Does that make any sense at all?”
“Yes.”
His phone beeps.
I return to my chair so he can read the message.
“It’s from Saffron.”
“And—?”
“She’s suggesting a picnic tomorrow night.”
“A picnic? At night?”
“Yes.” He elongates the word as though he’s suspicious. “She says she’ll arrange everything. We just need to turn up.”
“Sounds fun.”
He hums.
“What?”
“She’s up to something.”
“What?”
“A picnic? At night?”
I shake my head, not understanding.
“It’s romantic.”
“It is? Cool.”
He tilts his head and stares at me.
“What?”
“It’s not the kind of thing you do with another couple.”
“Why not?”
He shrugs. “It’s just not.”
“Humans are weird.”
He laughs. “You’re probably right.”
“Are we going?”
“Do you want to?”
“It’ll be fun. I like Saffron.”
He narrows his eyes. “As much as you like head pats?”
“Hmm, I don’t think that’s a fair comparison.”
“Probably not. Shall I text her and say we’ll go?”
I nod eagerly.
“Even though she’s almost certainly plotting something?”
“I like her schemes. Her last one resulted in you kissing me. You don’t regret that, do you?”
Leo’s expression softens. He smiles, and his eyes become slightly unfocused. “No. Do you?”
“Not for one second.”
We have to drive about an hour to reach the picnic spot Saffron has chosen. It’s on a remote hillside, close to a parking spot.
“I bet this place is packed on a nice day.” Leo parks behind the only other car in sight.
It’s dark. There are no streetlights. The hill is bathed in light from the stars and full moon.
“It’s beautiful right now. I can only imagine how stunning it is during the day,” I say.
“We can come back. ”
I smile. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
A torch shimmers at the crest of the hill.
Leo points at it. “That will be Saffron and Jensen.”
We use the light from Leo’s phone to make our way up the hill, hand in hand. Saffron and Jensen sit on a huge blanket with love hearts, an open wicker picnic basket on the edge. Food is arranged around them, barely leaving enough room for Leo and me to join them.
Saffron points at our entwined hands. “So you are a couple.”
“We are now.” Leo sits.
“When did that happen?”
“Just after your wedding.” I kneel beside Leo, splay my legs to the sides, and rest my palms on the blanket between my knees.
Saffron narrows her eyes.
“Did you have a good honeymoon?” Leo asks.
Jensen nods. “It was amazing. We got to swim with stingrays.”
Leo widens his eyes. “Wow.”
“I know! It was wonderful. They’re so gentle. We went on some boat trips, did some tours of the island, and plenty of sunbathing.” Jensen smiles at Saffron.
“I loved the night markets. So many genuine fakes.”
“Genuine fakes?” I ask.
“You know. Really good copies.”
I don’t know, but I smile anyway.
She gestures to the food. “Eat up. There’s plenty.”
She’s right. There are lots of it .
She points at things and explains what everything is. “Avocado sandwiches, figs, bananas, chocolate ginger, watermelon, pomegranate, strawberries with a dark chocolate dip, and red wine. Jensen didn’t think oysters worked for a picnic.”
Her husband clears his throat and gives us an apologetic look.
“Oysters?” I ask.
Leo puffs out his cheeks. “They’re—um?—”
“Aphrodisiacs,” Saffron chirps.
Leo blushes. “All of these foods are—um?—”
“Foods that get you in the mood.”
I tilt my head. “For what?”
“Oh, you are so sweet! For sex.” Saffron smiles.
“I am so sorry. I tried to talk her out of it,” Jensen mutters.
She glares at him. “Not that hard.”
He tugs at his collar. “Well—I mean, I like everything here. And I guess eating it all means I might—” His face goes bright red.
Saffron kisses him. “You will, my love.”
“Out here?” I ask.
Everyone stares at me like I’m from outer space, which isn’t entirely wrong.
Saffron waves her hands. “No. Of course not. That would have to wait until we get home.”
“Definitely,” Jensen says.
“You two have—? Haven’t you?” Saffron asks.
I glance at Leo.
“Oh! You haven’t! How sweet. Well, maybe you will tonight.” She winks.
Leo wipes his hand over his face. He looks like he wants the ground to swallow him up.
Saffron, either not noticing how uncomfortable her cousin is or wilfully ignoring it, picks up a strawberry, dips it in chocolate, and feeds it to Jensen.
Are all humans prone to meddling in each other’s love lives? It’s funny. Or it would be if Leo didn’t look so embarrassed.
I stare at the sky. “It’s beautiful here. You can barely see the stars in the city.”
“Too much light pollution,” Leo says.
I rest my head on his shoulder. “Do you know any of the constellations?”
“Only the major ones. The Big Dipper”—he points it out—“Orion, which is easy to spot if you can find the belt.”
I put my hand over the one he’s leaning on. “Show me?”
A twinkling sound interrupts us.
“It’s just my phone. No need to panic.” Saffron retrieves her phone, makes a show of looking at it, and pulls a face. “Oh, no, I’m so sorry. Mum needs us to go round, Jensen. She’s in a flap about something.”
“Now?” he asks in as fake a voice as Saffron’s.
“Yes. Right now.” She smiles at me and Leo. “Why don’t you two enjoy the picnic? You can give the hamper back to me when I next see you.” She blows us kisses and pulls Jensen to his feet.
“I hope it’s nothing too serious,” I say .
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Saffron drags Jensen down the hill and out of sight.
A few minutes later, the other car’s headlights come on, and it drives away.
“Wow,” Leo says.
“Does your cousin think she’s subtle?”
“I have no idea.”
“Janice was much more subtle. Or maybe now I understand why she chased us out. It’s easier to spot someone else doing the same thing.”
“Probably. I’m sorry. That was embarrassing.”
“I thought it was funny.” I kiss him. “And now we’re all alone. Whatever are we going to do?”
“Nothing sexy.”
I laugh. “Who’s going to see?”
“Knowing my luck, a police officer. And no, it wouldn’t make it any better if no one else could see you. That would probably be ten times worse.”
I laugh harder and kiss him again. “Nothing sexy.” I grab a strawberry and dunk it in the dark chocolate dip. “But can I feed you?”
He smiles. “I’d like that.”
I bring the strawberry to his lips. He parts them to receive it and eats the strawberry slowly, getting chocolate on his lips. Strawberry juice dribbles down his chin.
I hum. “I can see why this is classed as sexy food.” I lean in and lick the strawberry juice and chocolate off his skin .
He shivers. “Maybe we should pack this picnic up and take it home.”
“We could have it in the blanket fort.”
“That would take too long to set up.”
“True. We can sit on the floor.”
“Sounds perfect.” He puts his hand on my nape, tickles my skin, and kisses me deeply.
My lips tingle; my insides flutter. I rest my forehead against his and then turn my face so I can gaze at the stars once more. The sky is cloudless. The stars stretch above us like a twinkling tapestry. It’s a perfect night. Warm. No wind to speak of.
“Leo, do you trust me?”
He frowns. “You know I do. Why?”
I shift behind him, wrap my arms around his chest, and press my cheek against his back. “I need you to promise me something.”
“What?”
“Promise you won’t look.”