Chapter 8
Ezra
Kiki is still snuggled against me, sleeping, when I wake. As much as I’d like to stay cuddled up with her, I can hear Theo in the kitchen.
Shit! Theo!
I jackknife out of bed, waking Kiki as I stumble around tossing her dress at her while I pull on my clothing from last night. “Get dressed,” I hiss.
She rubs her eyes, looking confused. “What’s wrong?”
“Theo can’t see you like this. Fuck.” I don’t want him asking questions I’m not ready to explain. “You need to go.”
Kiki doesn’t say anything as she gets out of bed and gets dressed. I can tell from her silence that I’ve upset her.
“Kiki–“
She holds up a hand, cutting me off. “Don’t say anything. I ordered a car to come get me. I’ll make sure Theo doesn’t see me leave.”
Fuck.
I go into the kitchen, where I find Theo trying to make himself a bowl of cereal. It’s a bit hard with his arm in a cast, so I intercept the milk before he makes a mess. Theo has the TV turned up so loud that he doesn’t seem to hear the door when it clicks shut.
“Do we gots Pop Tarts?” he asks. “I want some with my cereal.”
I go to the pantry, but all I can think about is Kiki. She didn’t deserve to be rushed out of here like that.
“Dad?” Theo comes to stand next to me, looking confused.
“What if we went for donuts instead?” I ask, hating the churning in my gut from upsetting Kiki. I know I shouldn’t have made her leave like that, but I panicked.
Theo jumps up, knocking over the trash can in the process. “Yay!”
“Careful,” I warn, placing my hand over my heart. This kid is going to be the death of me. “After we get donuts, I want to stop by the tattoo shop and see if Kiki is there.”
“You want her to draw on you?” Theo points to the cast on his arm that she decorated while we were still at the hospital last night. “You could get a fish like this one. We’d be twins.”
I shake my head. “Actually, I need to apologize to her.”
Theo grows concerned. “Why?”
“I hurt her feelings. I need to make things better.”
“How did you hurt her feelings?” he asks, frowning.
I sigh, unsure how I can explain this in a way that’s appropriate for him to hear. “You know how grownups kiss when they like each other, right?”
Theo nods.
“Well, I kissed Kiki, but then I got scared. Instead of asking her to be my girlfriend, I asked her to leave.”
Theo crosses his arms. “Dad, you can’t make the princess leave after you kiss her. That’s not how it goes.”
“I know. That’s why I need to give her a pain au chocolat from Ma’s Bakery and tell her I’m sorry.”
Theo huffs, rolling his eyes as if I’m the biggest idiot he’s ever met. “Dad, you have to give her flowers, too.”
I chuckle. “You’re right. What do you say? Should we get dressed and go win back our princess?”
Theo holds up a fist. “Onward!” He races from the room, banging his good arm into the door frame.
“Be careful!” I holler at his back.