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QUINTIN
When I wake up in the morning, Kas is gone. His side of the bed is cold and empty, letting me know he’s been gone for a while. Sundays are usually the days he’s in here with breakfast, forcing me into an uncomfortableness I can’t quite explain.
Sometimes people can’t take compliments well. They feel awkward if someone has something nice to say about them. That’s how I feel about nice gestures, and not just nice, but amorous and intimate actions. Bringing me breakfast makes my skin prickle.
But now that he’s not here with breakfast, it makes me wonder what’s going on, because while it may make me feel a certain way, I’m aware he needs to do certain things, so I allow them because he lets me use his body in the way he knows I need. No matter how uncomfortable he may feel when my knife slides across his skin.
I get up and get dressed, using the bathroom and checking the loft bedroom, but there’s no sign of him anywhere. Once I’m in the kitchen, I find a note on the counter.
Grabbing breakfast with a friend. I’ll be back later. We might go for a hike after, so don’t worry if I’m not home right away.
I place the note back on the counter and start making food for myself. Kas hasn’t mentioned friends before. Neither one of us has been big on creating relationships with people since leaving Vermont. Willow was a friend of mine there, and as soon as I accepted an invitation to go out, I ended up joining her friend group in order to appear normal. There were some bar nights, a Halloween pub crawl, and even a few lunches. To say that things ended badly is to put it mildly. The less people you surround yourself with, the less people you have to explain yourself to when things start to go wrong. You can get up and go if need be, but if you have close friends, you have to come up with an excuse as to why you’re fleeing town.
We figured it would be best to keep things minimal here. We’re friendly with people at work because it’s a necessity. You can’t be the creepy, quiet loner. You’re going to be the first suspect if something happens. So we do what’s necessary to keep up with appearances, but nothing more.
Kas is smart, so I question what he’s doing and why. Especially after what happened yesterday.
I think about it as I devour my meal, not even bothering to turn on the TV.
It’s hours later when Kaspian walks in, finding me on the loveseat with a book in hand. His face is red from the cold, his hair disheveled from the wind, and a wide smile on his face from whatever he just got done doing.
“Hey,” he greets, removing his jacket and boots near the door.
“Hey.”
“I expected you to text me,” he says, running a hand through his brown hair.
“You know I don’t do that much.”
He gives me a grin, walking toward me. “Yeah, I know. Technology’s not really your thing. Is it because you’re old?”
“Is thirty-two old now?” I ask, arching a brow.
“It is when you’re twenty-five.”
He bends down and kisses my lips.
“Mm. Well, we both know you have Daddy issues. It’s probably why you’re with me.”
He gives me a look, standing up straight. “Funny. I think we both know why we’re together, and it’s all thanks to me.”
“Well, if you really think about it,” I say, standing up. “It’s because of me and what I did.”
He smiles. “Who knew murder could bring two people together?”
“Did you have fun today?” I ask, following him to the kitchen.
“Yeah, I did. We hiked to Exit Glacier. There were quite a few people out there today.”
He wants me to ask who he went with, and that’s why I won’t. It’ll drive him crazy, and I’m not so sure he was actually with anybody.
“That’s good,” I say.
Kas pulls a Gatorade from the fridge before spinning around to face me. “We also went to that new place in Seward for breakfast. The one that just opened up last week.”
I nod my head. “Was it any good?”
It takes him a few seconds to answer, his gaze studying mine. “Yeah, it was.”
