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Chapter Twelve
Kai
I was in this weird situation where I tried not to think about something I was obsessing about, which only made me think about said thing even more. And by something, I meant someone, a.k.a. Marcus. It was annoying as shit.
I wasn’t the needy, clingy type. That had never been me. It was part of the reason I’d walked out of his room after hooking up, and definitely why I’d given him space over the last eternity, i.e., a little over a week. It was basically the same thing. But it was making me feel antsy, like this extreme case of Marcus-induced FOMO. What if that space made him not want to hook up with me again? Or decide he wanted me to move out early?
But then, what if I went all Kai on him, flirted too much, and he took that as me being clingy, which would have the same effect? I could admit it—sometimes I was basically a tornado in a really sexy, compact body.
So…I decided to do the only thing a man in my situation could do—talk to my boss about it. They were best friends, after all.
Because I knew Declan could be prickly, I decided to wait until the bar closed. What I hadn’t expected was Sebastian to come down a little after eleven that night to hide in his corner and spend time with Declan while he worked. That meant I was going to have an audience. A more patient man would’ve put it off until another night, but I’d never been good at making the smartest decisions.
“Hey, handsome…and hey, equally handsome partner. Did that make sense?”
Declan rolled his eyes, and Sebastian chuckled before saying, “We know what you meant.”
Driftwood was empty other than the three of us and one of the security guys, who was there from when we opened until the last employee left for the night, ever since Sebastian had been outed as dating Declan. It wasn’t ideal, but better safe than sorry.
“I need your advice,” I said, and Declan crossed his arms like he didn’t believe me. “What? I’m being serious!”
Declan smirked. “I’m all ears.”
Sebastian smirked as well, and rubbed his hands together. “This oughta be good.”
“Wow. Your man’s excited,” I teased, then went straight for it. “So…the Sunday we had the cookout after you guys recorded The Vers, Marcus and I hooked up. It was really fucking hot. I mean, he’s fine, yeah, but that doesn’t mean a guy knows how to—”
“Stop. I’m not all ears anymore.” Declan covered them as if he were a child and this would prevent him from hearing me. “I can’t talk to you about this.”
“Why? Don’t the four of you talk about sex all the time? And don’t you run a podcast where you talk about this kind of thing and give advice?”
He dropped his arms but didn’t respond, probably because he didn’t have a good excuse.
“You have to admit he has a point, Dec.”
“Thank you, Sebastian.”
“Yeah, thanks, Bastian,” Declan muttered. “Why am I suddenly the worst loner ever? I’m not supposed to be the one people go to for stuff like this. Shouldn’t you ask Corbin or Parker?”
“I hate to break it to you,” Sebastian told him, “but you’ve always been the worst loner ever.”
I grinned. “I love your boyfriend.”
“I can’t say I’m too happy with him right now,” Declan said playfully, making Sebastian laugh. “Fine, finish your question.”
“Okay, so we hooked up, and then I left his room before he had the chance to tell me to go. Which is fine. It’s not like I think we’re boyfriends and wanted him to cuddle and whisper sweet nothings to me all night.”
“Cuddling and sweet nothings are the best,” Sebastian said, and I was pretty sure Declan melted. He was such a softy and didn’t even know it.
“Gross,” I joked. “Anyway, ever since, I just acted my usual way around him. I flirt and shit like that because I’m me and I don’t really know any other way to be. But I’ve also done it less and spent less time at home, and I haven’t mentioned having sex with him again because I was afraid he’d be all”—I lowered my voice—“That was a mistake. I don’t do love.” I spoke in my normal voice when I added, “And I’d be all…Who said anything about love? And then he’d be all”—I went back to my Marcus voice—“Yeah, but you’re too close, and you’re important to Declan. Me stoic man who needs no one, not even good orgasms. Blah, blah, blah. You get it. You know Marcus. So what should I do?”
They both stood there staring at me as if I’d sprouted another head before busting into laughter.
“Fine. Whatever. I don’t need your help. I’ll figure it out myself.”
I tried to walk away, but Declan eased in front of me to block my way. “I’m sorry. That was just…interesting, to say the least, and you don’t do a bad Marcus impersonation.”
