68. Kai
Kai
Outside of hockey, the arena where I shine brightest is loving Kendall, adoring her, and making sure she knows every day how much she means to me. All those things come naturally to me because she’s just so easy to love and call mine. She always has been.
It’s early May, a month after we broke our pact. Spring is in full bloom in Boston, flowers budding, greenery taking over, and the sun trying its hardest to break free of winter's icy grasp.
Spoiling Kendall and Akio has become one of my favorite pastimes and when I heard about the upcoming charity gala, sponsored in part by the Bucks, an idea began forming in my head.
She deserves one night free of diapers and making dinner and caring for other people.
One night where she can feel glamorous, dance, eat delicious food, and drink expensive wine.
I’ve planned and plotted meticulously down to the very last detail, including having a dress tailored, hiring a team of makeup artists so she doesn’t have to lift a finger, and enlisting her moms to help with childcare.
In a shocking turn of events, Veronica offered to babysit Maddox and Akio until Kendall’s moms could relieve her.
Emma it seems is also going to the gala as Jax’s official date.
All that’s left is the surprise, the grand reveal.
***
Kendall
I think Akio took Taylor’s favorite toy by accident, a white plush unicorn.
She had it yesterday when we all got together. Can I stop by real quick to check?
She’ll be a gremlin at bedtime without it.
Sure. I don’t remember seeing a unicorn anywhere though
Irespond to Veronica's text while rifling through my bag, before I enter my apartment with Akio. But as soon as I open my door, I know something is off. It feels like someone has been here, like their presence is still lingering, clinging to the air. But that doesn’t make sense.
The only person who has a key, other than my moms, is Kai.
Why would he be here without telling me?
Nothing looks out of place or disheveled, at least not in the entryway or kitchen.
I pick up Akio quickly and check his room first, my heart rate skyrocketing as I crack the door open.
Everything looks the same there, his bed unmade, his toys littering the ground.
Maybe I’m just being paranoid. But then I reach my room and it’s clear someone has been in it.
There’s a large garment bag lying on my bed with a note.
This doesn’t appear to be the work of a serial killer or burglar.
Not that I have anything of much value to steal.
I pick up the note written on off white thick card stock. It’s in Kai’s handwriting.
Thank fucking god.
Dear Ken,
I know the last letter I wrote you wasn’t easy to read.
Hopefully this one is. I live to love you.
I love to love you and tonight, I want you to have fun and just enjoy yourself.
I wanted to surprise you and sweep you off your feet properly.
I hope I get to do it for the rest of my life.
You are cordially invited to the Rayfield Memorial Charity Gala as my date.
I’ve taken care of everything. All you need to do is say yes.
Yours Always,
Kai
P.S. I can’t wait to see you in that dress, but I’m even more excited to take you out of it.
Kai. Of course this had been Kai’s doing, the romantic that he is.
I put the note down and unzip the white garment bag with nervous energy. And there, perfectly pressed, and no doubt professionally tailored, is a stunning Oscar de la Renta. My breath catches in my throat as I remove it carefully and admire it.
“Akio, can you go play in your room for one second, baby? Mommy just needs to make a phone call,” I tell him, stunned and unable to peel my eyes away from the crimson dress.
He scampers away to his room. The dress itself is a work of art.
It’s buttery soft, with off the shoulder straps and intricate red flowers crawling up the bodice.
It has a slit on one side and it looks like it would hug me in all the right places—places I usually want to smother with Spanx.
It's elegant, gorgeous, and I’m too scared to think about how much it probably cost. My heart’s swelling in my chest, my hands shaky as I run them over the dress made specifically for me.
This had taken a level of planning and execution I can’t even imagine.
For a second, I wonder, Have I died and fallen into a Pretty Woman alternate universe?
That is the kind of statement this dress makes, the kind of unfettered power it wields.
I’m caught in my reverie when my phone starts buzzing in my pocket.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hi,” he says cheerfully and I can hear him giddy and smiling through the phone.
“Kai,” I say, struck by a loss for words “This is too much…”
“It’s exactly the right amount,” he counters.
“You had said you wanted to go to a ball or a wedding. But a fancy one. Somewhere we would have to get dressed to the nines. Where we could huddle in the corner and people watch and shit talk everyone. You wanted an unforgettable magical night full of extravagance. This is it, Ken. And you haven’t even heard about some of the best parts yet. ”
He remembered. He did all this for me because I mentioned it one time.
And I’m starting to understand there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for me.
No limit he wouldn’t cross, no wish that’s too big.
And don’t I deserve that? Don’t we all? A love that feels unconditional, uncontainable, that squeezes too hard, listens intently, and makes us feel seen and heard and valued.
Kai’s voice cuts through my wandering thoughts. “Did you hear me? You haven’t said anything in a while.”
“Wait what?” I mutter as I pace around my bedroom like a caged tiger, expensive couture dress in hand.
“In a few minutes, Veronica is going to be there to pick up Akio. She’s watching him and Maddox until your moms can take over,” he informs me.
“Emma is going too?” I practically squeal with delight.
“Yupp. A makeup and hair artist will be at your apartment in thirty minutes. All you need to do is tell them what you want done. Emma too. And Jax and I will be there at 7:00 sharp to pick you both up,” he replies.
“You’ve thought of everything,” I murmur, stunned.
“I’ve thought of everything,” he repeats. “So, is that a yes?” he asks, already knowing the answer.
“Of course it’s a yes,” I smile. “But how do I repay you, thank you for this? It’s too much, Kai.”
“You don’t need to repay me. All I need is you and Akio and this life we’re building together. That’s all I’ve ever needed. I plan on spoiling you both forever.”
“Okay,” I reply as tears form in my eyes. “I love you, Kai Matsumoto. Thank you for being so good to me.” But already I’m scheming up my own grand romantic gesture. One that would show him just how much I love him and how much he means to me.
“I love you, Kendall James. It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
Sometimes I’m in awe, utter disbelief that whatever gods exist out there decided to give Kai a beautiful face and an even more beautiful heart to match.
But who the hell am I to judge the universe, higher powers, deities?
They’ve intertwined Kai’s path and mine many many times.
They’ve given me the most precious gift in the form of my son. Maybe they are on to something.
***
He shows up at my apartment looking like sex on legs.
Like he walked right off the cover of Vanity Fair and into my hallway.
He’s wearing a sharp midnight suit that’s painted on him, tailored within an inch of his life, a crisp white shirt underneath accompanied by a black bow tie.
His thick dark hair is slicked back, one tendril that refuses to stay put sweeping his forehead.
His face is all hard angles—sharp jaw, chiseled cheekbones, and crooked scar contrasted against softer features, like his brilliant onyx eyes, plush lips, and sun-kissed skin.
It’s enough to make me wonder, Will the sight of him ever not unravel me, consume me, obliterate me?
He looks good enough to eat, and I want to devour him.
Jax is standing behind him like a sexy brooding bodyguard.
But I don’t give him any of my attention.
Jax has the whole bad boy with a mysterious past vibe going for him. But Kai, Kai is breathtaking.
I. Can’t. Take. My. Eyes. Off. Of. Him.
He is so unnervingly, infuriatingly handsome. And at this moment, all I can do is smile because he’s mine.