Page 205 of Malice and Surrender
“You think he’ll actually win something?” Kai was the first to break the silence.
“As good of a chance of any of them, I guess. His agent is pretty certain that of the three awards the group is nominated for, they will win at least one,” I answered. “Aren’t we a sad, pathetic pair?”
“Speak for yourself,” Kai growled, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “What?”
“I gotta tell you that you’re far less scary when you’re in my flannel pants and Jace’s band T-shirt.”
Kai looked down at himself. “You have nothing else. Do you even buy other T-shirts that aren’t molded to your body? Half of them felt like spandex.”
“They’re for work. The patrons like to see the goods.” I smiled, but sadness was tugging at me. I knew I couldn’t dance anymore, at least not until after the surgery, and I was given the all-clear, but it could be months and constant pain.
I took a bite of pizza and pushed the troubling thoughts out of my mind for the night. I smiled and pointed at the television as the camera panned across the first few rows, and I was able to spot Jace and Raine.
“There they are.” Raine looked slightly intimidated by all the other celebrities around her, but I could only tell because I knew her so well.
“Okay look, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” I said, and Kai’s hand stopped moving halfway to his open mouth. It was annoying me that I didn’t know what Kai was hiding. It felt big, and I trusted my gut.
“Um…what are we talking about?”
“Please spare me, we’ve already seen each other’s dicks, and I have no interest in fucking you.” I took a big gulp of the beer.
“Why not? I’m totally fuckable,” Kai said, and I turned my head to stare at him.
“What the hell is going on with you? Actually, forget it, don’t tell me. All I want to know is why you’ve been so quiet and overprotective this week with Raine, and I will tell you about my knee.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re getting the better end of this deal. What I have is volatile. Why you’re limping doesn’t seem to hold any real weight.” Kai shifted around to face me and kept eating. It felt like we were playing poker. But who had more chips to push into the center of the table?
“I’m assuming this would be our secret. We are not speaking about this to anyone outside of this room?” Kai continued to devour the food, making me wonder how he ate that much.
“Yes, I’d agree to that,” I said.
“Then I need something better than your knee,” he said.
I watched the television as they ran through commercials and more awards that I wasn’t interested in.
“Okay, how about this? I’ll tell you how I hurt my knee,” I said.
“I already know how. It was during a training session for a circus performance.” Kai smirked and polished off the last of his pizza.
“It wasn’t the circus,” I said and then waved my hand, dismissing the argument. I knew what people thought, and yes, it was a fancy circus, but it was more than that to me. It was theater. It was living out a dream, on stage, under the lights, and being the star. I felt like I could do anything.
“Never mind that. The point is the accident I have told everyone about is only a half-truth. There is a much larger story that not a soul knows about,” I said.
“Not even Jace?”
“Not even Jace,” I said and turned my head to look at Kai’s profile as he watched the television. He rubbed his chin as he thought.
“Alright, I’ll tell you, but if Raine hears about this, all the goodwill we’ve built between us over the last week will disappear.” The crowd clapped and cheered on the television, but my attention remained firmly on Kai.
“She won’t hear it from me, and if Jace hears about what I tell you, then the same goes for you,” I offered and turned on the couch to face him. “So, what’s going on?”
“You first.” Kai grabbed the bowl of popcorn I was eating earlier and ate a handful before grabbing the chips and doing the same. Soon he was surrounded by chips, cheeses, pretzels, and popcorn.
“Would you like a bowl you can mix them in?” I offered. I was starting to wonder if he had a tapeworm.
“Can I just put it in with the popcorn?”
“Sure, I was done anyway.” I waited until he was settled before I started.
