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“In what context?” Adelaide asked.
“Well, for example, I’m naturally pretty shy. I tell students to hold their heads up high and own who they are, but walking in here tonight was one of the most intimidating things I’ve ever done.”
“There’s a big difference between being proud of who you are and extroverted. I think they’re completely separate parts of ourselves. But in any event, at best, we’re all works in progress. So even if you’re a great advocate for pride in who you are and in being confident, you can still feel fear or need reassurance yourself.”
Kingston stood just out of her reach. He nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m definitely a work in progress, but like you said, we all are.”
Adelaide reached out and tugged him forward until he stood bracketing her legs. She ran her hand down the lapel of his jacket and King groaned. Tilting her head to regard his wary expression, Adelaide asked, “Is this too much?”
“No… I…” He sucked in a breath and blew it out again slowly as if calming himself down. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s touched me and you… set me on fire.”
Adelaide laced their fingers together, lifting them. “Is this okay?” He nodded. “When we’re somewhere more private then, you can hug or kiss me. Or both, I won’t mind.” King dropped his gaze, his cheeks turning an adorable pink as he bit down on his lip.
“I’d like that a lot.”
“I’d like to see you again,” Adelaide added, hopeful he would agree.
He snapped his gaze back up to hers, wide-eyed. “You would?”
“Don’t look so surprised,” she chided with an affectionate smile. “You’re charming and smart. Sweet. I like you. I’m still trying to figure out how you’re still single.”
“Yeah, well, that’s where the work in progress comes in.” King huffed out a laugh, but it didn’t really hold any humour, and he shook his head. “Eve, my friend, pushed me to come here. Apps aren’t for me, and I have no game whatsoever. Going basically anywhere to pick someone up is a lost cause. She suggested tonight so if I bombed completely, I’d only have to talk to the person for another couple of minutes before the buzzer went and they moved on.” He ran his hand down his stubble and lifted his lip in a half shrug-smile and added, “I was supposed to be practicing breaking the ice with people.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Adelaide managed with a straight face. “Did you want to go back there and chat to other people?” She widened her eyes and blinked as innocently as she could, but the whole effect was lost when she couldn’t hold back her laugh. King leaned in and rested his hand on her waist, hovering close enough that she could feel the brush of his jacket against her body, but also keeping her still-damp coat away from her. Adelaide licked her lips and gripped his lapels, tugging him closer. She needed to feel him against her. She wanted to know exactly what it was like to hold him.
King was all hard lines and thick bulges—and there was no mistaking the sheer size of the monster he was packing, even half hard. He leaned in close and ran his nose up her throat, rubbing his beard against her cheek. Adelaide’s breath hitched and he hummed, nipping her lobe with those pouty lips that she really wanted to kiss. Her nipples pebbled, the cold coming off the glass against her back and the cool air circulating from the industrial-sized vent nearby, a contrast to the heat they were generating. She gasped when he growled, his gaze locked on her breasts. “I think I like it right here.” Her clit pulsed and Adelaide arched into him, instinctively wanting to rub herself all over him like a cat.
“Yes,” she breathed and tilted her chin up, straining until their lips were a hair’s breadth apart. King nuzzled her nose with his, brushing his lips over the corner of her mouth. But he pulled back far too soon, putting some distance between them. Damn, she wanted to kiss him, more than anything, but she’d made it clear the ball was in his court.
“If I kiss you,” he whisper-growled, “I won’t want to stop.”
“So don’t,” she challenged. He sucked in a breath, his nostrils flaring and eyes dark with lust, but he shook his head, stepping back again. She groaned and nodded reluctantly. “But that’s probably the smart decision to make.” He buttoned his jacket up, then tucked the piece of her hair that had come loose behind her ear, his fingers lingering near her jaw.
“Come and get a coffee and some supper with me. Maybe the restaurant here, or somewhere else. I don’t mind much where we go.” His offer had her heart beating triple time, the swell of hope that this could be more than just a single date hitting her square in the chest.
Two
Adelaide
Y
awning, Adelaide rubbed her eyes. Not sleeping a wink was the cause of her exhaustion, but she didn’t begrudge her decision at all. She’d do it again in a heartbeat. Adelaide smiled a secretive, excited smile that bubbled through her veins like champagne, before gazing at the quiet space at the back of the house longingly. Swinging her hips and shoulders to a song only she could hear, she danced her way up the stairs, to her new makeshift bedroom.
Her meagre possessions resided in the open loft area at the top of the stairs now, just outside of Eli’s room. He needed the quiet that came with being able to close his door—working from home most days meant that he was often deep in a manuscript or in video meetings. The volume that Pop kept the TV at was too disruptive when he was in the middle of talking to clients or in editing mode. The only reason Eli still lived there was to help their mum out, so she didn’t have to work the same hours she’d once done when they were kids. Adelaide helped where she could, but she wasn’t rolling in money either. Story of her life.
On the limited budget she had, Adelaide did the best she could with her new bedroom space. Rice paper screens separated the loft from the hallway, blocking the area off so she had some privacy, and the cupboards and shelving she’d picked up from the thrift store had given her plenty of storage space.
Moving into the loft was an easy decision given the alternative—Pop couldn’t live on his own anymore and none of them wanted him in a care home. So, they’d changed up their bedrooms and made sure he had a place with them.
Adelaide slipped on comfortable clothes and tossed the ones she needed to launder into her cane washing basket before meandering downstairs again. Caffeine in the form of a hot tea, breakfast, and a rundown of her pop’s plans were first in order.
Her date, the one that Adelaide had only just walked in from, was worth being tired over. After the gallery, they’d gone to the casino. The restaurants there were open late, and after their main course, they’d wandered through the cavernous space to find a quiet corner. The weather had done its part to keep people at home, leaving the after-midnight café almost empty. They snagged a booth against the wall of windows and talked until the rain slowed to a drizzle and eventually stopped. The breeze off the Pacific Ocean had blown the low-hanging clouds away, and the grey skies had turned to a pale blue as the sun crested the horizon. They’d talked the whole time, constantly touching too. Holding hands and hooking their legs together left Adelaide’s belly fluttering with excitement and the rest of her insides gooey.
She sighed happily. He was sweet, funny, charming, and thoughtful. The time had passed in a flash, their conversation ebbing and flowing like the waves crashing on the ocean only a stone’s throw away. It swung effortlessly between flirty fun and more serious topics that left Adelaide wanting to know more.
She’d bought a ticket to the speed dating event in the hope that she’d stop pining over her brother’s best friend. As much as she knew she would always love Liam, Adelaide couldn’t have dreamed up meeting someone as wonderful as Kingston. A grin split her lips, giggly and effervescent like an excited kid at Christmas while she made her tea.
Moving around the kitchen with her pop was like a choreographed dance. They did this almost every morning. Her mum always worked the graveyard shift and wouldn’t be home for a few hours, and aside from an early morning coffee, Eli always waited until mid-morning to venture down for food. She popped the milk back in the fridge and retrieved the margarine as her pop commented, “You were out late.”
