Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
KAIA
When Fallon invited us to go to Queer Quarters with her and Mackenzie, I was nervous but excited.
Since she’d gotten married, I hadn’t seen Fallon as much as I used to.
We still hung out together, and I’d gone over to their house when they’d first bought it, but I liked to give them their couple time.
Queer Quarters was a queer bar on the edge of Seattle. Mackenzie’s best friend and the barista from the bookstore was one of the bartenders.
I had to admit I was a little anxious to go out with Daisy. We’d only been… seeing each other for a few weeks, and although I could hope no one knew anything yet, I wasn’t naive to think Drea hadn’t gossiped to the whole city about it.
It wasn’t that I was ashamed of Daisy—far from it, actually.
I was just scared. If we acknowledged the situation, if we breathed life into it, then it might go away, and being with her felt so good that I didn’t want it to go away.
Being with her felt like I had finally found a place where I belonged.
“Hey, Kaia!” Rylee yelled from the bar when we walked in.
I smiled and waved at her. “Hey, Rylee!”
“Fallon and Mackenzie just got here not long ago. They’re in a booth over there.” She pointed to where a redhead was nuzzled in the neck of a brunette. Yup, that looked like them to me.
I laughed and thanked her, leading Daisy to the occupied booth in the corner.
I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry to bother you. Is this seat taken?”
The Bennetts came up for air, and Mackenzie helped Fallon clean off her lipstick. “Of course not. Sorry.” She shrugged.
“Oh, I’m sure you are.” I rolled my eyes and let Daisy slide in first.
“Hey, guys. You look like you’re enjoying yourselves there,” Daisy signed. I laughed and relayed the message.
“Have you guys ordered yet?” I asked.
Fallon shook her head. “Not yet. We wanted to wait for you guys.”
Rylee came up and took our order. Fallon and Mackenzie ordered the same shot, and I ordered a lemon drop. Daisy put a hand on my wrist. “Are you sure you want a lemon drop? Do you remember the last time you drank those?”
My blush was strong, and of course, Mackenzie noticed. I groaned and rubbed my neck. “Actually, can I get a strawberry daiquiri, please?” Daisy told me her order, and I relayed the message to the waitress, who left with a smile.
“Not a fan of lemon drops, huh?” I was surprised when it was Fallon’s voice that dripped with sarcasm.
I gave her a look and shook my head. “They’re fine.”
I glanced at Daisy. “What?” I shrugged.
“Tell her why you don’t like them, Kaia.”
“Hell no. Please don’t make me talk about it. I’m so embarrassed.”
She rubbed my leg under the table, and I had to swallow past the desire creeping up. I hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol, and yet my body was already feeling warm.
“Oh, come on. It’s funny.”
It was not funny, but I rolled my eyes and told the story of our trip to the go-kart track. Of course Fallon and Mackenzie busted out laughing, as did Daisy. “Guys, it’s really not that funny. I was drunk.”
“At least you had that excuse,” Mackenzie said with a wink.
Daisy squeezed my leg and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I thought it was cute. It made me feel all types of things.”
Thankfully, the waitress came over with our drinks, distracting everyone from my embarrassing drunken story. After we started drinking and sharing a spinach and artichoke dip appetizer, the conversation continued to flow pretty smoothly.
Nobody joked about my drunken flirting, and Fallon and Mackenzie continued to touch and love on each other. They enjoyed each other while still making sure we weren’t neglected.
The alcohol was starting to set in, and the fact that they were busy in their own world and couldn’t see us helped my confidence.
I reached under the table and caressed Daisy’s leg, moving my fingers up and down, getting closer and closer to where I wanted to be the most. Not too close to be indecent in public, but close enough her eyes started to flutter, if only slightly.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Any chance I got, I stared at her. She was perfect, and she was mine. She was really mine. I’d never take that information for granted.
Mackenzie’s voice startled me. “I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be back.”
I nodded, turning toward Daisy. “Kenzie’s going to the bathroom. Do you need to go?”
She shook her head, smiling at Mackenzie. “No, I’m okay, but can we go dance?”
“You want to dance?”
“I may not be able to hear the music, but I sure can feel your body and follow along.” She winked, and I honestly thought I was going to choke on my drink.
“Yes. We can definitely do that. Fallon, do you want to come with us?”
She smiled, looking between me and Daisy. “Nope. I’m totally content right here. You two have a good time.”
Mackenzie kissed her forehead before heading off to the restroom and Daisy and I moved to the dance floor.
The song that played was upbeat, and I enjoyed the close proximity to her. I turned around so my back was against her front, and she grabbed my hips, keeping me in place. After a while, she turned me around so that we faced each other as we danced. It was very hot.
The song ended, and I started to head back to our table, when she grabbed my wrist and pulled me to her before wrapping her arms around my neck. It was a slow song, so I placed my hands on her waist and we swayed together, leaving very little space between us.
Hi, she mouthed. I mouthed it back and kissed her nose. Our hands were busy, so we couldn’t talk much, but we didn’t need to. I wanted to just be in the moment with her.
As we held each other, swaying to the music, I wanted to tell her everything I was feeling. I wanted her to know that no part of me belonged to anyone else. I wanted her to know how safe she was with me, and that if she fell, I’d always be there to catch her.
Instead of saying any of that and ruining what we had, I let my eyes trail down to her lips. I licked mine and looked into her eyes. Beautiful, I mouthed.
A slight blush appeared on her cheeks and we stopped dancing. I frowned at the gap between our bodies, and she brought her hands up to sign.
“Kaia?” she asked, licking her lips.
“Yes, baby.”
“I…” She kissed me, cutting herself off.
She gripped me so tightly during that kiss, like she didn’t want me to go anywhere. Little did she know, I had no intention of leaving.
The rest of the room faded away as we stood there, lips together, hands touching all over our bodies. That kiss did so many things to me, and as much as I didn’t want it to end, I wanted to get home as fast as possible.
My hands moved to cup her face. She grinned into the kiss and pulled me closer. Close was not close enough. I wanted to be fused together from our toes to our hair follicles. I was in so deep with this woman.
Eventually, I pulled back. If I didn’t, things could get very inappropriate. She pouted about it, and I tried to soothe her by kissing the pout off her lips. It worked, slightly.
“I wasn’t done with that kiss, ma’am.”
Her pout was the cutest damn thing I’d ever seen. “I’m sorry. We’re in public.”
“With the way you were kissing me, I don’t give a damn about where we are.”
I laughed. “Yes you do, and so do I. Why don’t we get out of here so I can do that again? Preferably with less clothing.” I winked
“I accept your terms.” She smiled and pulled me in for one last kiss before we left the dance floor.
I froze when we turned around to head back to our table. I was in my own world with Daisy; I’d completely forgotten about my friends watching us.
When we arrived at the table, they both had matching smirks and raised eyebrows. “Well, well, well. That wasn’t very friendly behavior, Kaia.” Mackenzie’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Daisy nudged me before I could respond. “I’m going to the bathroom.” I smiled and brought her in for a kiss, not caring that my friends were staring at us. The cat was out of the bag now, so why not grab what I wanted?
Daisy licked her lips, and I enjoyed watching her walk away before I scooted into the booth. “What?” I said when they both continued to look at me.
“Kai,” Fallon admonished.
I groaned. “Like you didn’t see this coming? I’ve been in love with her for years, and you were at that party. I didn’t ask her to kiss me like that.”
Mackenzie grinned. “Oh, I was there, I know. You can’t fake passion like that. So are you guys dating now or just keeping things casual?”
I shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it, really. I don’t want to ruin whatever it is. We’re just taking things slow and seeing what happens, I guess.”
“Oh, I know what’s going to happen later,” Mackenzie said with a wink.
Fallon nudged her. “Leave her alone, baby. We’re happy for you, we really are. It’s been a long time coming. Don’t think we don’t notice how you two interact with each other. Why you haven’t gotten together before now is beyond me.”
I really hated this conversation. Everyone knew how I felt about her, which made me feel pathetic. Even though she chose me, for now, I felt like a loser who’d do anything for even a look from her.
I couldn’t help how badly I’d fallen for her, but I was still worried anyone who saw us together would think it was a pity relationship.
They’d think she felt sorry for me for wanting her so badly.
In reality, the likelihood of that was slim, but anxiety and self-esteem didn’t give a damn about reality.
“Because I didn’t think I had a chance. I still don’t sometimes. Like what if she wakes up one day and realizes this isn’t what she wants? That I’m not who she wants?”
“Oh, sweetie. That won’t happen.”
“You can’t know that, Fallon. It can.”
Mackenzie shook her head. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you’re not paying attention.
In the store, I’ve seen how she watches you walk away.
It’s the same way you look at her, Kaia.
like she can’t believe the universe brought you together.
Like she’s the luckiest woman in the world to know you. ”
I had to push that dream away because Daisy was headed back to our table. “Thanks for tonight, guys. I think we’re going to head home.”
“Oh, I bet you are.” Mackenzie winked and my blush deepened.
When Daisy approached our table, she smiled at me and wasted no time pulling me in for a kiss. “Are you ready to go?” she asked when we parted.
“After that kiss? Absolutely.”
By the time we made it home and took Duke out, we were both too tired to do anything but undress and climb into bed. We lay there, skin on skin, wrapped in each other’s arms. We caressed each other and kissed passionately but never took it further than that. And that was perfectly okay with me.
Even though I was getting turned on the longer she touched or kissed me, I wanted to soak in the moment. The vulnerability and the reality that she was actually mine.
I got to touch her and kiss her and love her openly, and that was the best feeling. The only thing that would make it better was if she felt the same way.
I knew some of my feelings weren’t one-sided. I caught the way she’d look at me, or how she’d tell me I was beautiful and kiss my forehead like I was precious. And the way she fucked me didn’t hide those feelings, either.
She took her time and was so loving anytime we had sex. Even if we were ravenous for each other, we both put our emotions into the act.
I broke the kiss with a yawn, and she smiled, caressing my cheek and placing a soft kiss on my forehead, letting her lips linger before pulling away.
“Let’s go to bed, sweetheart.”
I smiled and settled into her arms, placing little kisses on her lips, cheeks, and shoulders before sleep finally took me.