AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Much more myself? How did he come to that conclusion? Excluding Kordin’s arrival on Tuesday, we haven’t spoken a word to each other since The Pen.
“Oh. No, no therapist.” I take a step forward. “As for this week—”
Something bangs into the threshold behind me, but I don’t have to look to know what it is. Kordin’s wheelchair has already destroyed almost every doorjamb in our house. It fits through them just fine. It’s Kordin that’s the problem. He’s been irritable all week, and our home’s trim has paid the price.
“Lenox, my love,” Kordin coos. “I thought I saw you come in here.”
I spin to face my husband. When he doesn’t expand any further, I give him an expectant expression.
He gives one right back though, asking, “So, what are you doing?”
Shaking my head, I say, “I was just asking Kaisin if he’d be able to take you home, that way I can go ahead now and get everything ready.”
“Am I not capable of asking him myself?” His tone is teetering on that line between civil and hostile.
“I know you are, but you looked very busy when I walked by, so I thought I’d save you the trouble.”
Kordin looks from me to Kaisin, then back. “Since I have you both here, we should discuss tonight. Everything needs to go smoothly.”
I couldn’t agree more.
“It will,” I promise.
“Kaisin.” He rotates his head toward his brother, his eyes following a moment after. “No hard alcohol tonight. Stick to beer, two max. And for fuck’s sake, lay off the powder, would you?”
Kaisin’s entire face reddens, including his ears, but he nods. I noticed at The Pen he was coked out as well. If his habit is bad enough for his brother to take notice, it must be a problem.
“As for you, my beautiful wife…” Kordin returns his focus on me. “Maybe, for once, you could try to not dress like a gold-digger at her late husband’s funeral, hmm?”
“Kordin,” Kaisin says with an awkward chuckle.
“She knows I’m kidding. Lenox, tell him I’m kidding.”
He’s not kidding.
“He’s kidding,” I tell Kaisin in an unconvincing tone.
“I would like it if you could see about pulling that stick out of your ass for the night though.”
“I thought you preferred me with something up my ass.”
Kaisin makes a sound in his throat.
“Darling,” Kordin reprimands through clenched teeth. It’s okay for him to tell two men, one his brother and the other a subordinate he’d only met seconds prior, about the time his wedding band came loose in my vagina, but this…this is crossing a line. I wasn’t even talking about anal anyway. I was referencing what he said to me in the hospital.
“I’ll find something fit for the occasion,” I assure him despite having absolutely zero intention of actually fulfilling his wishes. My attire is a constant point of contention for us. Kordin often instructs me on what to wear, but eight years in, I have yet to listen. I’m usually able to smooth things over with him in one way or another. Tonight will be no different.
At The Playground, when I wasn’t naked, I was forced to don ridiculously colorful outfits. People go to strip clubs to forget their misery, and black’s too morose to let them. White was impractical because it stains too easily, so the rule was always the gaudier the better.
I abhor bright colors now. Luckily, Kordin does too, except where I prefer black, he favors white. Everything in his life is kept white—pure, he calls it.
But I’m not pure. I’ll never be pure. Black suits me as much as it soothes me.
Seeing the color on Reece—his eyes, his hair, his clothes, his car—it’s like he was designed to my exact specifications. If I hadn’t seen his apartment for myself, I would’ve thought he was. He doesn’t keep his home monochromatic. He’s decorated it using a multitude of colors, all of them dark and masculine and cozy. I wasn’t really at risk of falling asleep there because he took too long. I was just relaxed enough to.
“I better get going,” I say with a glance at my watch. Without another word, I spin on my heel and leave.
All the way out to my car, I feel eyes on me, and all the way home, I imagine them being black.
