Chapter Seventeen
Steven
We pulled up to the club and the valet greeted us. I took Kai’s hand. There was somebody already at the door.
They looked over at us. They were holding a tablet.
“We’re meeting Jackson. Three under Ashton,” Kai said.
“Yes, he’s already here. I’ll need to see some identification, please,” the person said.
Ashton got out his ID. He let us inside and we were met by an attractive young woman.
“Three for drinks?” she asked.
“Name’s Ashton, we’re meeting Jackson,” I told her.
“Yes, they’re already here. Let me take you,” she replied.
This was the kind of place I would take my friends when they came to Nashville, if I could get on the list. I might be a hockey player, but it didn’t exactly grant me the ability to get into all the exclusive places.
There was a large dance floor with booths around the edges. While the dance floor was empty the booths had people in them. The bar, which took up one of the walls, was also busy. Music played.
A staircase in the corner led up to the VIP area. There was a rope across it and someone standing next to it.
The country singer, Jackson, who was a friend of my teammate Rhett, sat in a corner booth with the very pretty blonde. The same one that we saw on Monday night in the bar at the Grand Magnolia Hotel. The two of them were laughing.
The blonde stood and hugged Kai. “You made it.”
“Thanks so much for inviting us. This place is really nice.” Kai looked around.
“They don’t have clubs like this in Hawai’i?” the blonde asked.
“They probably do, but I’m not going to them. I’m just a student,” Kai laughed. “Hi, Jackson. Hi, Claire. Oh, Steven, Ashton, this is Jackson and Claire. Jackson and Claire, this is Steven and Ashton.”
Jackson dipped his hat. “Thanks for coming.” He looked at the two of us. “Congrats on making the finals. That’s huge.”
He wore a cowboy hat and boots. Claire had on a dress and heels.
“Are you coming to the game?” Ashton asked.
“Claire and I both are. I’m looking forward to it. Are you coming? You can sit in our box if you want,” Jackson offered to Kai.
“The guys got me and my aunties tickets. It’s the first hockey game for all of us. We’re pretty excited.” Kai bounced a little. “Is your matchmaking auntie coming? We can have an auntie party.”
Claire laughed. “I could only imagine. Oh, we should get a picture of all five of us. Something special for Kai’s revenge posting spree. I’ve been liking everything.”
“I saw that,” Kai replied.
She gestured for a server to come over. Claire handed them her phone. “Can you please take a picture of all five of us.”
“Of course.”
The server took a photo and gave it back to Claire.
“Take one for me?” I handed her my phone.
She took another picture, then we sat down.
Claire was on her phone, probably posting the photo. She looked like someone who posted everything and tagged everyone. Her feed was probably aesthetically curated and perfect.
I liked Kai’s socials, because it was random and full of life.
There were pictures of things, like those frogs she called coquis, chickens, plants, food, and other random things.
The photos of her ex were slowly disappearing.
She was probably taking him down a few at a time, after all they’ve been together for years, so that was a lot of pictures.
“Kai, I sent it to you and tagged you in the post.” Claire smiled.
“Thank you,” Kai replied.
A server came over and asked for our drinks.
Four of us ordered beer and Claire got some sort of fruity cocktail.
“Did you have a good time with your friends? Everyone was accessorized so perfectly.” Kai took her beer from the server.
“We had a great time and yes, they are very good at that.” She took her cocktail.
It looked like she had no issue in the perfectly made up and accessories department.
“How long are you here, Kai?” Jackson asked as the rest of us got our drinks. “I’m performing some new material in a small club on Sunday. I can get you and your aunts tickets if you’d like.”
“Oh, they’d love that. But we’re leaving very early Sunday. I have to get back to class.” Kai grimaced. “I’m not looking forward to returning to campus.”
“Do you and your ex share a lot of classes?” Claire asked.
Kai shook her head. “Thankfully, we share none. We’re not even in the same parts of campus much, but I will see some of my ex friends, not to mention, I’m sure campus gossip is going crazy.”
I gave Kai a squeeze. She sat between me and Ashton.
“Your post is going crazy. The story of him running out on you and taking your vacation has interested a lot of people, especially since you’ve been posting about your best life.
Did you see that the purse company even commented on your handbag post and people have been using #bagsbeforealphas.
You could probably leverage some sponsorships if that’s your thing.
I’m happy to help you.” Claire took a sip of her drink.
A worried look spread across Kai’s face. “I don’t know how I feel about that. Mostly because they’re going to blame me for making them look like villains.”
“They are villains,” I assured her, “and they deserve it.”
“Oh, they are. The internet said so. Your ex bestie posted on #amithevillain, someone made the connection to your post, and they deleted it,” Claire said.
Kai put a hand over her face. “I didn’t know that. I just don’t want them to make any trouble for me. I don’t need any petty bitches trying to keep me from graduating or anything like that. I should’ve never let Auntie make that post.”
“Don’t.” Ashton shook his head.
“You're innocent and if they cause trouble, you have receipts. Honestly, they should all get in trouble. Is anyone in a sorority or frat? Mine wouldn’t have put up with bullshit like that. They’d totally get thrown out,” Claire said.
Kai got out her phone and texted someone.
“No, there might be some sort of academic integrity policies, but I don’t know if this violates them.
I don’t want people to think I was being vindictive and ruined their vacation out of spite.
I was simply canceling something I paid for, that I was no longer a part of. ”
“That's fair,” Jackson said. “It’s very shitty of them, but you’re not obligated to pay for something you’re excluded from.”
“Thank you, because I’m still questioning myself.” Kai leaned into me and I pulled her closer.
The five of us talked more about Jackson and Claire’s music, and hockey finals. Kai told us a little bit about her projects and excitement for graduation.
“Should we order another?” Jackson held up his beer.
“This is an amazing place. But we’ve got other places to be. Thank you so much for getting us in.” Kai looked at Claire. “Maybe some other time we’ll be here together and we could go here with all your friends. They’re probably amazing for a night out at the club.”
Claire beamed. “Oh, they are. You have my real socials, so you can message me, and we should absolutely keep in touch. I’m not sure I’ll be in Hawai’i anytime soon. But now I feel like that might make for a fun girls trip. You probably know all the best places.” She finished off her drink.
“I know good places to surf and the best place to get cheap noodles and great sushi. My auntie would probably know the fancy stuff,” Kai said.
Ashton scooted out of the booth and held out a hand for Kai.
“Thanks again, Jackson, this was really fun.” Kai offered me a hand.
I took it and stood. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Yes, thank you,” Ashton said.
The three of us went outside and had the valet bring our car.
“Well, that was fun,” Kai said as I helped her into the backseat.
“Where to now? Do you still want to go to a dive bar, or do you want to go back to our place? I have a bottle of champagne. We can open it if you want. It’s some expensive bottle that my agent sent. I also have some good scotch too if you want to play a drinking game,” Ashton offered as we got in.
Ashton just offered to play a drinking game? What the fuck?
“Well, I’d love to play whiskey pong with you, but you have practice tomorrow, so we probably shouldn’t get wasted,” Kai admitted as we drove off.
Whiskey pong? That sounded fun.
“Pity. Another time. You know, there is a comic convention on O'ahu in the summer, there’s some anime stuff, too. We could play whiskey pong then,” I teased as we drove off.
“That does sound fun. I would absolutely like to see you again. It doesn’t look like there are any Renn Faires where I am this summer,” she replied.
“Pirate costumes are already ordered. We should bring you out to visit us in Washington over this summer and you can come with us to our Renn Faire. What are you doing? Adventuring? Working?” I asked. Those seemed like the logical things to do between graduation and a PhD program.
“The original plan had been to simply stay in the student housing and work a couple of jobs, save up some money, and do some surfing, and all that. But now, I’m not sure.
My brother really wants me to come out to Los Angeles to visit him even if it’s for just a couple of days. But I don’t know.” Kai sighed.
“You haven’t been back since the funeral?” Ashton asked.
“Nope. He was in college in LA when they passed and stayed after he graduated, because that’s where his job offers were.
My parents weren’t rich and didn’t leave us much except for their house, which we paid off with the insurance.
For now, he’s living there, which makes sense for him.
But for me, the idea of going back and staying in my room and going out to the kitchen, and no one being there…
I don’t know if I can do it…” Her voice broke.
“That sounds hard. It’s okay if you don’t want to go back. It’s also okay to give it a try. If it gets to be too much, maybe you could shorten your visit and stay in a hotel. Or you could just come up and visit us. I’m sure the flight from LA to Seattle isn’t that long,” I offered.
“I’d absolutely like to visit you all in Washington if that’s a sincere offer,” Kai replied.
“Oh, it is,” Ashton confirmed.
I’d like that a lot. After just a few days Kai had changed our world, and I wasn’t sure what it would look like after spring break was over.
“I love to travel,” Kai said. “That’s why we were going to Bali.
I often travel with my cousins and brother.
The aunties like to spoil us. Though sometimes I went on trips with my ex bestie.
” Her expression went wistful and I was reminded that Kai had not just broken up with her boyfriend of several years but had broken up with an entire friend group. That sounded hard.
“Have you been to a lot of really interesting places?” I asked.
“A few. The first Christmas after my parents died, my brother was still in college. We had Christmas in Hawai’i with the aunties, and then we went to Japan with some of the cousins.
The family put it together for us. It was great.
My brother and I will take trips together in the summer too, but it’s usually just someplace on the mainland.
While he saves a lot being rent free, he has only been working for a couple of years.
Still, he does what he can to help me, and well, the aunties help us as much as we’ll let them.
But we try to do as much as we can ourselves,” Kai explained.
“I’m glad you have such a good relationship with your brother. It’s great that he’s really supportive of the fact that you don’t want to go back to Los Angeles, and he finds other ways to see you,” I said.
“I’m very grateful for my brother. He sort of wants to beat my ex up though.” Kai laughed.
“I want to punch your ex in the face,” I replied.
“I think outside the hockey rink that might be assault,” Kai said. “But I want to punch him, too.”
“As you should. Will you go on a trip with him over the summer?” Ashton asked.
“Originally, I turned it down. But now I think I will. He and the aunties wanted to plan a big trip to Europe for us.” Kai nodded.
“You should,” I encouraged.
We pulled into our parking space and we took Kai inside. Like yesterday, she immediately removed her shoes. We took off ours as well. My dress shoes were pinchy.
“Do you want anything to eat, to drink? Should I open that bottle of champagne?” Ashton asked, a little anxious.
I was a little anxious, too. Kai wasn’t some random hook up. She might be temporary, but she still meant something to us and trusted us with her fantasy.
Two alphas at once was common for an omega–especially during a heat–and I was a little surprised she hadn't. Maybe she was on suppressants because of college.
Or maybe her ex was really shitty and selfish.
Never mind, we already knew he was shitty and selfish.
She kissed me, pulling me down to her. “Thank you for dinner. That was an excellent recommendation, and I can understand why you’re obsessed with their barbecue.”
“So glad you liked it and we should get that wine again. It was amazing. Though it was Ashton who paid.”
Kai turned and pulled Ashton down to her and kissed him. “Thank you, Ashton.”
“You’re quite welcome,” Ashton replied.
“So, what do you want to do now, Starshine, since you said we couldn’t play a drinking game?” I pretended to pout. “I did get condoms.”
Kai thought for a moment. “I think I’m ready for that entrée.”