50. Kash
Chapter Fifty
KASH
Naina was practically bouncing as we got dressed. She had slipped into a dark pink dress that matched the color of her cheeks when she blushed. Her hair done up in those bouncy curls I loved.
I smiled at her in the mirror as she put on lipstick, and she wrinkled her nose at me.
“You’re more excited about this date then I am,” I said.
I wasn’t a fan of surprises. The last surprise I got was my father announcing that he expected me to get married.
There had been a lightness to Naina since I told her I came to the Windfield for her.
As if she actually thought I forgot her. She wasn’t someone you forgot.
“I’m going to sweep you off your feet, Kassius. Of course, I’m excited.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Naina walked into the closet, and came back with a black tie. I eyed it curiously.
“What’s that for?”
“Blindfold.”
“Oh? Are we exploring new kinks?”
I pulled her into me and kissed her neck, breathing in her scent. She tilted her head back, giving me more access to her neck.
“Maybe. I’m intrigued.”
I pulled back to look at her.
“Seriously?”
She shrugged. “How will we know if we don’t try? Not now, though.”
Naina pushed me back and turned me around, pushing me towards the door.
“We’re going to be late.”
If I thought she would treat me differently after seeing the evidence of my father’s abuse, I was wrong.
Why had I thought anything would change?
Naina was the only person who tried to defend me, and all I gave her in return was to tell her our relationship was pretend.
I looked at her reflection in the elevator mirror.
Why did I have to meet her?
Now that I had her, I wasn’t sure if I could let her go. I couldn’t possibly bring her into my family and risk her safety, mental and physical.
Naina was meant to be as free as the bird tattooed on her arm.
I couldn’t be responsible for taking away her freedom.
Outside the hotel, Naina turned me around and put the blindfold on.
“Wait, the blindfold is for me?”
“Obviously. I don’t want you know where we are going. It’s a surprise!”
“Have I mentioned I don’t like surprises?”
Grayson’s grinning face was the last thing I saw before the blindfold tightened and my vision became dark.
“When have you not liked something I’ve done?” Naina questioned.
“I don’t like it when you run away without telling anyone.”
“Your definition of running away and my definition of running away are vastly different.”
“Your definition is wrong,” I said.
“Kassius, do you really want to be arguing with the woman who has just blindfolded you?”
“That depends on what you’re going to do to me if I misbehave.”
I felt her lips brush over my ear.
“You’ll have to wait and see. Now, be a good boy and play along.”
Naina took my arm, leading me towards the car. She helped me inside, resting her hand on my head so I didn’t hit it.
The door shut softly and then all was quiet, the noises of the city dulled. A second later, the other door opened, and Naina got in the car.
“We’re ready, Grayson,” she said.
The car hummed to life under us.
Naina wound her fingers through mine, joining our hands.
Her excitement was infectious, and it was rubbing off on me. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had gone through this much effort to surprise me. Maybe never. Definitely never.
Usually, I never had the time or the inclination to spend whatever free time I had with people.
I wasn’t sure how long we drove. It could have been minutes or hours. The steady hum of the car and Naina’s hand in mine was the only thing keeping me from ripping off the blindfold.
I wanted to play along, but giving up so much control was off putting and made my stomach churn, even if I trusted Naina.
The car stopped.
“We’re here,” Naina announced.
Thank Christ. I reached for the blindfold and Naina grabbed my hand.
“Not yet.”
I growled. “You said we’re here.”
“Just a couple more minutes, I promise.”
The front door shut, and I reached for Naina, bringing her to my side.
“What do I get for playing along?” I asked.
Naina huffed, her breath fanning across my neck.
“What do you want?”
“I want to watch my cock sink into that tight ass.”
Naina stilled next to me, and I wondered if I had gone too far. She was very open to everything.
“I don’t know,” she said, hesitatingly. “I might want something else in the future, so I’d like to keep that bargaining chip. How about my tits?”
She was utter perfection.
“Done.”
“I can’t believe you made me barter with sex.”
“Baby, I think about fucking you all day, every day. Of course I’m using it as a bartering system.”
She nipped at my ear before sliding away. We were out of the car, and she was guiding me up long steps. We entered a cool, echoey place and then up a couple more steps. The sounds of our footsteps echoed around us.
“Okay, now you can remove the blindfold.”
I reached up, ripping off the tie and blinked rapidly to let my eyes adjust.
We were standing on a landing with stairs leading down to the main floor and four sets of stairs leading up to the second floor.
There were stone archways supported by thick pillars, a statue up on the second landing.
And Naina, standing next to me, grinning so brightly the sun would have seemed dull in comparison. She looked radiant.
“What is this?” I asked.
“This is the Art Institute of Chicago at night.”
Her answer floored me. I looked around at our surroundings again.
“What? How?”
“I asked Vera to help. No more gatekeeping the beautiful things from you.”
I was in love with this woman. I was fucking gone for her.
I reached for Naina, dropping my mouth to hers and kissing her soundly.
“I can guarantee you this, Goldie. Every priceless piece of art here pales in comparison to your beauty.”
Naina blushed pink, the coloring matching her dress perfectly.
“Let’s go. We have a lot of art to see and only one night to see it.”
She took my hand, guiding me up one flight of stairs. I followed after her, not believing my luck that I found her.
I couldn’t believe she did this for me.
Why? Because I told her my father wouldn’t let me go to museums?
I remembered the way she kissed my scars, leaving her lipstick stains behind. It was like she was determined to leave her marks over his.
Every time I thought about the things my father did, I would only remember the way Naina had healed those parts of me.
“Are you having fun?” Naina asked.
“I have been thoroughly swept off my feet. Best date ever.”
Naina shook her head. “You can’t say that. This is only our first date.”
I opened my mouth to deny that, and then realized she was right.
This was our first date.
“Come on,” she said.
She led me around the institute and down to an area where there were sculptures set up on pedestals and a picnic blanket laid out between them.
“You thought of everything,” I said.
“How often do you think we’re getting into the Art Institute at night? I was surprised they let us in this first time.”
“Why? I’m sure all it took was a small donation.”
Naina blinked at me blankly.
“Sometimes I honestly forget that you don’t have to worry about finances.”
She sat down, tucking her dress under her legs. I sat down across from her because I didn’t want to stop looking at her.
“I’ve got fruit, cheese, champagne, freshly baked bread. It’s a proper picnic,” she said.
I uncorked the champagne and poured it into two glasses. At least she didn’t bring plastic glasses. I handed her the glass, and we clinked before taking a sip. I sighed, looking up at the glass ceiling.
Back at the hotel, everyone was scrambling to get everything ready for the opening.
Three more days.
I’d allowed myself to grow complacent.
I thought as long as I could keep Naina away from my father, and I kept him distracted, it would all be fine.
Eventually, my father would have to accept that Naina was a part of my life.
I was an expert at lying to myself because I knew better.
“Can I ask you something?”
I looked down at Naina.
She tore off a piece of bread and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly.
“You can ask me anything,” I said.
She wrinkled her. “You say that, but will you answer?”
“Depends on the question.”
I grinned wolfishly and bit off a piece of cheese.
“Why didn’t you ask me out? Were you really scared?”
I swallowed, and took a sip of the champagne.
“Did you know my parents divorced when I was eight?” I said. Naina watched me, the intensity of her gaze holding me steady.
“They separated when I was five. Mom got her big break then, in Midnights . Dad didn’t like that. He needed a proper wife, someone who could stand beside him and uphold the family name, not one who was out there making a name of her own.”
Midnights ran for ten years and catapulted my mother to success. If she had remained married to my father, the trajectory of her life would have been different. Maybe my life would have been different as well.
“After the divorce, my father did everything to erase my mother’s existence from our lives. He married Diana within six months. He paid off news publications to never mention my mother’s name in association with the Sutherlands. All my legal documents, with the exception of my birth certificate, only had his name. I was pulled out from Spanish class and forced to take German or French. He wiped out half my identity, like it was nothing to him. I was raised to be his shadow.”
Naina sniffled, but no tears fell. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of her tears and that was just another reason I loved her.
“To answer your question, yes, I was scared. Because you are unequivocally yourself. And I am nothing.”
Naina shifted across the blanket, coming over to my side. She braced on hand on my chest, and the other on the side of my hip. Her eyes shone up at me.
“You are not nothing,” she said, confidently. “You are kind, and wonderful, and loyal, and funny, and one of the best people I have ever met. He is none of those things, he never could be.”
I tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I’m starting to understand that,” I said.
What I was starting to understand was that instead of looking at myself through my eyes and seeing my father’s reflection, I needed to see myself through Naina. In her eyes, I would find myself.
“My turn to ask a question?”
Naina nodded.
“Why are you hesitating to renovate the Windfield? Is it because of the resort? Say the word, baby, and I will shut it down.”
Naina laughed lightly, resting her forehead on my chest.
“This is not how I expected this night to go,” she said.
“Isn’t this what first dates are like?” I asked.
She sat back, tucking her legs under her.
“No, first dates are like, do you any siblings, what’s your favorite color, what are you allergic to, read any good books lately.”
“No, brown, strawberries, and no.”
Naina stared at me, unamused.
“Your favorite color is brown?”
“More like a light brown. A little like whisky. How would you describe your eyes?”
That seemed to surprise her, her mouth parting slightly.
“Your favorite color is my eye color?”
“Why is that a surprise? You’re my favorite person to talk to. I love looking into your eyes. Don’t think that I don’t know you’re avoiding the question.”
Naina shifted, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.
“When I was fifteen, I was chased through the woods that surround the Windfield.”
That was the last thing I expected her to say.
“Fuck, Naina.”
She paused to take a sip of her champagne before continuing.
“It was probably my classmates, they liked to hang out there at night. But they were wearing these black masks. I could hear their laughter echoing all around me. I could find my way through those woods during the day, but at night, everything looked the same. And it was stupid, right? I could have stopped. What were they going to do? But I was fifteen and terrified out of my mind, so I ran, and I kept running, right up to the edge of the cliff.”
She released a shaky breath, and I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her to keep her warm.
“To this day, I can’t figure out if I slipped, jumped or someone pushed me, but the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air and falling into ice cold water. I only survived because there were a bunch of people having a bonfire at the hidden beach under the cliff and they saw me fall.”
She hugged me back, gripping the back of my shirt.
“I’m so fucking sorry, baby.” I kissed the top of her head.
“I was so grateful to leave, and I never wanted to go back. If I had gone back, Dad wouldn’t have overworked himself, and maybe he would still be alive. I can’t stop thinking that I let my fear control me, and I lost my other parent because of it.”
That was why she worked so hard to put the Windfield back together, when it was the last place she wanted to be.
“I know I never met your dad, but he wouldn’t have thought that. He knew the kind of daughter he raised. She’s the bravest person I have ever met.”
Naina sniffled quietly.
We sat in silence, our arms wrapped around each other.
Maybe this wasn’t the typical date, but it was better than that. It was us, raw and real, finally learning to trust again.