I jolted out of my staring, attention snapped back by the voice next to me.Flicked my head around with a sense of having been caught.Even though, rationally, I knew I was allowed to look.
“S-sorry?”I stuttered.An older woman was smiling at me, pleasantly.She nodded in the direction Kai had taken to the bar.
“I said he’s adorable.We were talking just now, and he said he’d come with you.”
Blinking, I tried to navigate the potential gulf of meanings that “come with you” could have in this situation.What had Kai told her?Did she mean “he’s adorable” in an “oh, lucky you” sort of way, or in a “we had a very nice conversation and he was attentive and made me feel heard” way instead?Or perhaps some other interpretation that my sluggish brain couldn’t catch up to?
“I mean...yes, yes he is,” I said, eventually.“I mean, yes, we did.Come together, that is.”
Anyone listening might conclude that this was my first time talking to another human, or maybe my first time stringing together a sentence, period.
“How long have the two of you been together, then...”- she glanced down at my name tag - “Tate?”
Right.Okay, right.That settled that, then.I tried to ignore the fact that this random stranger had a better, more solid grasp on the nature of my relationship than I apparently did.
“Oh, well, not long,” I fumbled out in reply.“A month or two at most, I suppose.”
“Well, you’re very lucky,” she said, smiling kindly.“He’s a wonderful young man.And very handsome, of course.”There was a twinkle in her eye at that, and I felt bad for not being able to rise to the moment with something charming and acceptably-risqué.Maybe even make her feel like all her effort keeping our conversation afloat was actually worth it.
Instead I was rescued by Kai reappearing at my side.“Oh, Emily,” he said, easily.“I see you’ve met Tate.”
The woman - Emily, I mentally corrected myself - nodded.“Your boyfriend is a man of few words.But I can still understand the attraction.”
Kai laughed.“You got a ‘few words,’ eh?That’s better than usual.”He pushed the wineglass into my hands.“But yes, quietly delicious, you’re right.”
I stiffened as he leaned in to kiss me playfully on the cheek.
“Well, I shall leave you boys to enjoy your evening,” Emily said, giving me a knowing look.“Some of us are of an age where sleep is more important.”
“Nonsense,” Kai replied, shaking his head.“The night is young and so are you.”
She smiled at that.“Such flattery.Tate, you must be careful, he’s a wicked one.”
I nodded, then forced myself to speak.“I’ll keep him on a short leash, I promise.”I heard Kai swallow a laugh at that, though I resisted the urge to look at him.
“Very wise,” Emily agreed.“Perhaps I will see you tomorrow at the presentations.”
“You’re very cute when you’re flustered,” Kai observed, as we watched her walk away.Then grunted, as I nudged him in the ribs almost enough to make him spill his drink.“Wow, that was meant to be a compliment!”
I rolled my eyes.“Right, totally.”I gulped down a third of my glass.“Okay, so who else in here have you told that we’re screwing?Just so that, y’know, I’m prepared and all.”
“I didn’t realize you were ashamed of me,” Kai said, pointedly.
A beat.“I’m not, of course I’m not,” I said, finally.“It’s not about you, or about being seen with anyone, really.”I sighed.Sometimes the words refused to make themselves available in the right order, and every sentence became an uphill battle.“I think it’s just that work is typically very separate from my private life, and so it’s taking a little getting used to, having them blur.”
We stood in silence for a while then, each periodically sipping from our glasses.Around us, men and women in business-casual talked a little too loudly about...well, whatever people at these interminable drinks-and-dinners actually talked about.
“I can go back to the room, if you’d prefer,” Kai said, eventually.He didn’t sound angry, or sad, but I couldn’t imagine he was actually feeling quite as level and unbothered as his light tone would suggest.
“No, I don’t want that,” I told him.“You’re the very best thing in here, by a very large margin.And I’m including the open bar in that, too.”
He smiled, tightly.“High praise, coming from you.”
I shrugged, awkwardly.“No, but seriously, please don’t go.I want to spend as much time here with you as I can.”
No reply to that, but Kai held up his glass for me to clink mine against in another wordless toast.
It was later, as we were making our way to the buffet - I supposed “gala dinner” sounded more glamorous than “drinks and snacks,” which was more accurate and probably a lot cheaper when you’re organizing it, too - that my resolve started to struggle.Too late to turn around, I realized we would be walking right past one of the old industry guys I’d really hoped not to run into.
