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He reaches for my hand with such understanding in his gaze that I feel a tear slip down my cheek. His hand changes course, fingertips brushing the tear away.
“It'll get easier. Promise,” he says with a sad smile. “And I'm always here if you need to talk,” he adds as his hand captures mine. He gives a gentle squeeze, then we start walking again, hand in hand.
We walk all morning and stop by a beautiful lake for a break at about midday.
Kai takes off his backpack, dropping it by his feet, and proceeds to empty it. He pulls out a picnic blanket and an array of foil or paper wrapped packages. There's even a couple of plastic Tupperware dishes.
“I did a bit of everything,” he says as he begins to unwrap them. There's a whole load of food, from golden fried chicken legs to a selection of deli meats and creamy coleslaw. There's even what looks like yellow cornbread, and the fudgiest brownies I've ever seen.
“Kai, this looks amazing!” I say, my mouth is already salivating just looking at all the delicious food. We sit down and tuck in, me moaning out loud much to Kai’s amusement.
By the time we've finished, I'm absolutely stuffed, and definitely need a little rest before we start to head back. I lie down on my back, groaning.
“That was fucking awesome, Kai,” I say, closing my eyes and feeling the warm sun on my face. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Lilly,” he says softly. “It's nice to have some company for a change.”
I crack one eye to see him leaning on one elbow, smiling down at me, his brown hair sticking up all over the place, as usual. He's haloed by the sunlight, and his beauty takes my breath away. These guys, they're all so beautiful, yet so unique. Kai with his hot nerdy vibes, Loki with his fallen angel looks, Jax with his gruff Viking feel, and even Ash and his cold, yet stunning beauty. No wonder they are the rulers, the Knights, of Highgate Prep.
“Tell me more about you and the guys. What were you like as kids?” I ask him, suddenly desperate to know more.
“Well, our parents all grew up together, and now own a joint business, so we've basically been friends forever,” he starts with a grin. “We used to get up to all sorts of mischief, especially Loki, he used to lead us into so much trouble.” He laughs outright then, and it's a beautiful, joyous sound. “One time, he got us to rig up all the toys in his sisters’ room so that when they opened the door, they all flew off the shelves and landed on them. Only, it wasn't his sisters that opened the door, but their nanny Martha! I've never run so fast in my life as I did that day, running away from her screaming at us, threatening all kinds of punishment.” He chuckles, eyes alight with remembered mirth.
I giggle with him, imagining them all tormenting poor Martha, unsurprised that Loki was the mischievous one.
“Ash managed to sweet talk her out of it, as usual, he was always the peacemaker,” he muses. “Still is, I guess.” I frown a little,Ash the fucktrumpet a sweet talker?
He tells me other stories, like the time when they were all thirteen, and Loki convinced them to drink a bottle of vodka he'd stolen from his parents, who were never there so wouldn't have noticed. According to Kai, they were so sick that none of them have been able to touch the drink since.
Or the time when they were fourteen, Ash decided to run away and become a concert pianist. According to Kai, Ash was an extraordinary piano player. His music was apparently so full of emotion that you were swept away and transformed into someone new.Ash the Ice K?
He'd convinced them all to tag along, but they were caught by Mr Vanderbilt, trying to catch the bus and taken promptly home.
His eyes darken then, a haunted look entering into them.
“We didn't see Ash for weeks, or Luc, Ash’s twin, either. And when we next saw them, well, Ash no longer played piano, and Luc, he had an anguished look in his eyes that I’ll never forget.” His own eyes are full of sadness mixed in with rage, a combination I’ve not seen in them before.
My heart breaks for Ash. What terrible thing happened to not only keep him from his friends, but stop him from doing something he loved? And I’m more than a little intrigued about Luc, Ash’s twin.
Not knowing what to say, I reach out and grasp his hand, interlocking our fingers and squeezing. I hate the sadness, the hopelessness I can see in his eyes. I can't help feeling there is something more here, and although I feel so comfortable and safe with the guys, I can't seem to find the words to ask more.
I can’t stand the tormented look in his eyes, and I'm racking my brain for something to take it away when inspiration strikes.
“When I was seven, we had a talent show at school,” I begin, “and I decided to dance like my mum. She danced at Grey’s, a club in London…”
“Wait. Your mom danced at Grey’s? LiketheGrey’s? In Soho?” Kai asks, his tone impressed and eyebrows raised.
“Yep. I practically grew up there, watching them all dance. I used to think they were beautiful ballerinas, who, you know, happened to take their clothes off.” I chuckle, the memories flooding back over me. The soft lighting, the sound of the sensual music wrapping round me as the dancers moved with a grace that defied gravity. The memory doesn’t hurt like I expect, and that surprises me.
“Anyway, I stole one of my mum’s costumes, her routine was based on belly dancing, and I remember the beautiful turquoise silk outfit that was the softest thing that I’d ever touched. I hadn’t told her what my talent was, I wanted to surprise her.
“Cue the night of the show, and I darted onto the stage when the music started playing. I’d danced like I’d seen the girls at the club do, like I’d seen my mother do, starting to remove some of the silk scarves that made up the skirt, just as Mum did. She definitely was surprised, that’s for sure!” I tell Kai with a laugh as I remember my mum’s face and that of the other parents as I basically started stripping. Kai joins me, and his laugh is music to my ears.
“Did you get into trouble?” he questions, wiping his eyes.
“Surprisingly, no. Mum and Lexi, who came to watch, just cheered and then took me out for pizza and ice cream afterwards.” I beam at him, and even though my heart twinges at the memory, I’m not crippled by it.
Kai’s eyes soften, his laughter fading away as he looks at me. Reaching out his hand, he cups the side of my face in his palm, stroking my cheek with his thumb.
