by Lulu Pratt
He took a deep breath.
“Well?” he asked, with a note of humility in his tone. “What now?”
CHAPTER 19
Tate
I SUCKED IN a breath, my throat clenching with nerves.
I’d laid it all on the table — Kiki now knew secrets about myself I’d never told to my closest confidantes. To think, I’d met this girl only a week ago, and already I was revealing more to her than any therapist in my life (which is to say, none. I’m not a big therapy guy).
What will she think? I wondered as the empty seconds ticked past, each one upping my heart rate. What if she despises me? Or maybe she would accuse me of still being a poor little rich boy. After all, it wasn’t like I was the only guy in America to have divorced, addicted, and/or dead parents. Jesus, why did I think I was so fucking special?
Just as I was beginning to sorely regret my burst of raw vulnerability, Kiki met my eyes once more.
Out of the blue, she stood up straight and walked over to me, wrapping me in a huge hug.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I melted into her arms. She was small, but her embrace felt encompassing, as though there was a world of understanding in the very muscles of her body. Can empathy be palpable? Because Kiki’s radiated off her.
“I know what it’s like to be lonely,” she murmured in my ear, the words tickling the fine hairs.
“A girl like you?” I asked in wonderment, still ensconced in her arms. “You seem like you have a world of friends.”
Her head shook against my shoulder. “I’ve never had the time, or when I do, I don’t have the energy. Being poor is isolating.”
I squeezed her tight, hoping that just as she was sucking the venom out of my body, I could return the favor.
We stayed there for what seemed like ages, holding each other so close, not just physically, but emotionally.
At last, she pulled away, and I saw a small smile crossed her face.
“I have a pitch,” she said, looking pleased with herself.
“By all means.”
“Let’s have a fun night. I’m still not thrilled that you bought me — or rather, my virginity — but I think we’ve both earned an easy, enjoyable evening. We can do dumb shit, the stuff we never have the time or companionship to do. We could be each other’s friend, for tonight. How’s that sound?”
I thought my heart might burst. How did she know exactly what I needed? Sex was easy to get. Like I said, I didn’t need to buy that. But one-on-one time with another person, no fronts or airs? That was invaluable.
“I’d loved to,” I agreed readily. My cheeks went red, and I continued, “And I might have a suggestion. This is, like, nerdy but… how about a board game? Nobody I know ever wants to play and just hang around. They’re always trying to go out somewhere and get drunk and be photographed. I haven’t played one in years.”
Kiki grinned, which transformed her face from merely beautiful to totally radiant.
“That’s perfect!” she cried. “I used to love them. It’s been awhile for me too. Let’s do it!”
Could this be the beginning of the best night ever?
I tried to hold back the foolish grin that was threatening to take over my cheeks, saying, “All right, cool, then let me take you down to the rec room.”
“You have a rec room?” she asked, incredulous.
“Oh, sorry, is that like, too posh?”
Kiki rolled her eyes and winked. “I think the whole ‘playing board games’ thing counteracts it enough, so… I’ll allow your rich person shit.”
I laughed. “Thank you, your highness. Follow me.”
I grabbed our flutes of Champagne and jerked my head in direction of the stairs. We walked together, with Kiki trailing me just slightly. At this distance, I could feel her warm breath on my neck, which gave me all kinds of chills.
We descended the stairs as the music switched to the Leonard Cohen classic, Hallelujah.
“I love this song,” Kiki moaned, her voice ringing in my ears and sending blood pumping through my body. “Is that stupid? I guess everyone loves this song.”
We reached the bottom of the steps, and I pivoted to make sure Kiki was behind me, even though I knew full well she was.
“It’s not stupid. So do I. Before things, uh, turned bad, my mom used to sing this to me at night.”
Her eyes were misty. “That’s beautiful.”
I blushed, but for once, didn’t shy away from the emotion. “Yeah. Yeah, it was. Whenever I hear it, I think of her.”
“Should we turn it off?” she asked, clearly worried that it was too much for me to handle.
“Usually I do if I have company over,” I admitted. “But… with you around… I don’t know. It actually feels kind of joyous, instead of sad.”
Kiki looked at the floor, but I could still see the happiness in her eyes.
Okay, that was enough vulnerability for one five-minute period.
I clapped my hands together. “Come on, let’s hit this rec room.”
She nodded and we marched together to the end of a long hallway, illuminated by dim orangey lights that reflected off the stone statues that were scattered throughout the area. They were part of this series, Movements en Mise, and all were a variation on the theme of suffocation, of being overwhelmed. I wasn’t surprised I’d gravitated to the purchase.
Finally, we arrived at the rec room, and I hit a button on my watch that lit up the space.
“Daaaamn,” Kiki whistled, her forest green eyes widening. “This is, like, dope.”
The room was sprawling, and filled with every variety of entertainment. It boasted three TVs, a couple of vintage arcade games, a beanbag chair — my only concession to ugliness in the whole house — a pool table… you get the idea. Most of it was stuff I just amassed, because at some point you run out of things to spend money on.
No, no, that’s not true. The truth is that I bought it in the hopes that someone — maybe a friend, or further down the line, a kid — would play with me. I guess that time had finally come.
“Okay, sit tight for a second,” I said. “Make yourself at home.”
Kiki looked around the room. “I’m hitting that bean bag.”
“Ha, be my guest.”
I scurried over to the far side of the room to the wine wall.
I had wine from every major region of the world, more because it was considered “appropriate” to stock than anything else.
“What kind of wine do you like?” I called back.
Kiki flopped into the bean bag, its sides ballooning around her. She giggled with glee and settled deeper into the folds.
“Red.”
“Gotcha.”
I pulled out a bottle of the finest merlot I had, not because I was trying to impress her, but because it was the first time I felt like I had a special occasion to drink it on.
Next, I moved to the pantry, which was built into concealed panels in the wall.
“And what kind of snacks do you like?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shrug. “Whatever you’ve got, I’m not picky.”
“Er, there’s kind of a large selection. You can look, if you’d rather.”
“I’m super trapped by this beanbag, just bring whatever looks best,” Kiki said off-handedly. “I trust you.”
I trust you. Had lovelier words ever been spoken?
I grabbed as much as my arms would carry — Pringles and Red Vines and popcorn and Good & Plentys, on and on and on.
With bursting hands, I waddled back over to Kiki and placed the treasure trove in her lap.
She gazed down in surprise.
“Wow. You were serious.”
“Yeah, this is a real snack-friendly household.”
She snorted, and began sifting through the snacks as I pulled a table in front of her bean bag and threw a pillow onto the floor opposite her.
“What should we play?” she asked. “You’ve got options?”
“Oh sweet, na�
�ve Kiki. Do you see how many snacks I just grabbed? You already know I’ve got tons of games.”
“Good point. In that case… any chance you have Monopoly?”
I beamed. “You know I do.”
I jogged to the other wall, tugging it open and scanning the racks of games, at last locating Monopoly.
Removing it from the cabinet, I ripped the plastic off the box and carried it back to our little settlement.
“Here we are,” I said with a flourish. “As you command.”
She leaned forward eagerly — well, as much as she could, so deep in the bean bag — and caught my eyes.
“You know I’m gonna murder you in this game, right?” she asked so casually it took me aback.
“I’m pretty competitive.”
“Well, that makes two.”
Oh, this was gonna be fun.
As she bit into some chips, I set up the board and distributed our money, remembering the starter amounts even these many years later, and we agreed on the usual house rules. In no time, we were ready to play.
“Okay,” Kiki said, rubbing her hands together. “Game on.”
We each grabbed a die to see who’d go first and the game was off.
Turns out, Kiki was as good as she said. Within only about twenty minutes, she was whooping my ass.
“Damn,” I wailed. “I thought I was supposed to be the businessman here.”
She snickered, garnering a railroad as she did so. “You thought wrong, my sweet, naïve pal. I’m just not an official one yet.”
“What do you mean?”
Kiki’s pale cheeks turned pink. “Oh, well, um… I have this fantasy. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“As embarrassing as a passion for board games?”
She smiled. “That’s true. Um, yeah, so eventually, if I can save up enough money, I want to move to Washington and open up a general store, or some kind of small business, and just serve the community and make enough to relax at the end of the day.”
“Why Washington?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“It’s stupid.”
“You don’t have to put down your dreams,” I gently contradicted her. “Not with me.”
“I guess it’s because Washington seems quiet. Like, peaceful. I don’t know. Maybe I just saw it in a magazine once.” A blush broke over her cheeks.
I shook my head. “No. I mean, you’re right. It is. I’ve been to Seattle before. There’s a big city, sure, but then past that, it’s a bunch of forest and beautiful trails. I loved it, actually.”
“Really?” Her eyes shone with hope.
“Of course. I went there a couple of times. Maybe I can take you, someday.”
At this, she turned her head back to the board. Shit, had I gotten too comfortable and said too much?
Kiki cleared her throat, changing the topic. “What about you, Tate? What do you wanna do, if you don’t love the Vegas life?”
I thought about it, about if I should tell the truth or not. What would she think? I realized that her opinion of me mattered more than just about anything else I could dream up.
I decided on the truth.
“If I had my druthers, I’d move out to Silicon Valley and do tech. Either start my own company, or be a major investor. Not in dumb shit like game apps or useless social media, but stuff that really made a difference. Hell, I wouldn’t even care if I turned a profit. God knows I’m set on money. I just want to make the future brighter, and I think innovation is the way to do that.”
Kiki inhaled. “Wow, that’s kind of amazing.”
“Nah, it’s nothing,” I replied, chewing on the inside of my cheek and trying to seem casual, given her compliment.
“Seriously. Guys in your position could take advantage of so many people. And yeah, Dazzlers does. But it seems like you wanna do the opposite of that, right?”
I nodded vigorously. “Absolutely.”
“I respect that.”
That was the first time Kiki showed that she might see me as something more than a bug to be squashed under her heel.
In my astonishment, I forgot the game entirely.
“Roll the dice!” she said, her laugh undercutting the loud intensity of the words.
We played on, and as we did, we discussed all manner of things. Everything from the latest celebrity gossip — Cardi B did what?! — to books we loved as children. It turns out we were both Harry Potter fans.
“You’re kind of special, you know that?” I asked as I put a house on one of my properties.
She crossed her arms and harrumphed. “I know you’re just distracting me from your little real estate development over there.”
“No, honest. You were obviously cool when we first met — I mean, it takes balls to stand up to your boss like that — but… never mind.”
“What?” she pressed.
“I think you’re great. That’s all.”
Kiki gave me a playful shove on the shoulder. “You’re not half bad either. Okay, can we be done complimenting each other and get back to the game?”
We ended up playing through an entire game of Monopoly, a feat I’d never completed before — has anyone else? It’s nearly impossible. Needless to say, Kiki walloped me.
She counted her fake money with glee. “Look, I’m as rich as you are!”
Through a snort, I said, “Welcome to the billionaire’s club.”
“Wait, wait, I’m gonna make it rain on you, tilt your head back.”
I exposed my throat to Kiki, and as promised, she rose to her feet, fanned out the cash in her hands and began to flick it onto my head.
“Woo, woo! Money rain!” she cried, jumping around like a kid at a slumber party.
I obliged her excitement, waving my arms around and catching some of the fake money in my teeth. It was silly — and the most fun I’d had in my life.
At last, money strewn around me like a summoning circle, Kiki flopped back down into her bean bag.
“Okay, that was awesome,” she admitted. “Man, we must have played for hours, what time is it?”
I glanced down at my watch, trying not to feel hurt that she wanted to know the time, and by extension, how soon she could leave. No, that couldn’t be right, I thought, looking at the watch face.
“It — it’s somehow five-twenty.”
“Wow, no shit?”
Her eyes went wide. I assumed this was a physical manifestation of the anxiety she felt to get out of there. How had I thought any of this was real? Of course she just wanted the money, which was fair.
“Shit you not.” The disappointment in my voice was palpable, but I manfully tried to wrangle it down. “Obviously you’re free to leave whenever you like. You’ll get the money shortly.”
“Actually…”
I yanked my head up from the floor. She was chewing her lip and looking askance, a red glow creeping around her cheeks.
“Actually,” she continued, “if you’re into it… I’d rather… stay.”
Her words hung between us like bunting, stringing us closer together in giddy celebration.
Unable to comprehend this, I had to double check that I’d heard her correctly.
“Stay as in… ?”
“Stay,” she replied meaningfully, arching an eyebrow. “This has been maybe one of the best nights of my life. And I don’t want it to end.”
“Neither do I,” I whispered.
I crawled forward, shoving the game table aside, and bringing my knees up to the bean bag. Beneath my shins were tiny red hotels, digging into my flesh, but I ignored the pain.
In one swift move, I grabbed Kiki’s face in my hands and we were kissing.
CHAPTER 20
Kiki
THE KISS was both astonishing and exactly what I’d expected. How else could we end this wonderful night? It was like destiny had finally coalesced around us.
Tate’s lips were firm yet inviting on mine. I responded eagerly, wrapping my arms around his neck and flicking my tongue atop hi
s.
“We’re going for a ride,” he murmured.
Just then, he got his hands underneath my ass and lifted me up out of the bean bag, his arm muscles rippling as he somehow managed to navigate the soft folds of the chair. I entwined my legs around his waist, pressing myself closer and closer to his pelvis.
I’d known from the beginning that if I were ever to touch Tate, we wouldn’t stop until we devoured each other alive. Sure enough, after only moments of kissing, I was ready to take the next step, and the step after that — all the steps.
“Take me to your bedroom.”
His lips quirked at my eagerness. “Gladly.”
Before I could get my bearings, Tate was carrying me across the room, and miraculously up the stairs, never once ceasing to kiss my lips or my neck. I clung to him for dear life, afraid that at any moment, he might tilt backwards and we’d topple to our deaths.
“I want you naked,” I growled as he finally reached the top landing.
“That makes two of us.”
Tate shoved me up against the living room wall, his hips bound to mine. I used the moment to rip off his shirt and toss it aside.
“Oh shit, you’re hot,” I breathed, looking down at his bared chest.
He’d seen me in tiny clothes or lingerie a number of times now between my various costumes, but I’d never viewed him with even a single button amiss. But now I had the chance to survey his body, and boy, or should I say man, was I pleased.
Tate was built like a quarterback, every muscle sculpted within an inch of its life. Though his neck was lean, his shoulders were hulking with raw power, and his pecs were carved as if he were a modern-day Adonis. He had a black-line tattoo on his right pec of a geometric pattern. And his abs… they simply weren’t fair.
“Your turn,” he said.
With practiced agility, he unbuckled my trench coat — somehow without dropping me — and let it fall to the floor. I was bared to him in my red lingerie. The house was chilly but his body was keeping me warm.
“Kiki,” he moaned. “I could worship you all day.”
Oh, and babe, I was going to let him. My panties were sopping wet. I could feel a trail going down, smearing against his perfectly white wall. Maybe white walls were for moments like this — the pleasure of having them ruined.