Deep in that thought as he walked down the hall to his boss’s office, Kai didn’t notice Louis approaching him. He didn’t notice until Louis bumped his shoulder. Startled, Kai looked up at the scruffy man; his beard was even thicker than when Kai had first met him.
“Hey, so…Kai.” Louis looked up and down the hall, like he was about to tell him something so vastly important, no one else could be around to hear it. Seeing that they were alone, he leaned into Kai’s side. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you…” He let a dramatic pause fill the air that was almost uncomfortably long. Just when Kai was about to ask him what he wanted, he got on with his request. “I’m going to ask out your ex, but I don’t want to break the guy-code, so I’m checking with you first. That okay with you?”
For a second, Kai had no idea what he was talking about. Then it struck him, and he smiled. “April? Really?” Kai glanced down at the adventurer-hero-wannabe. He tried to picture him on a date with April. He couldn’t.
Louis’s face was dead serious as they walked down the quiet hall. “Yeah, and I know that dating a friend’s ex is an off-limits kind of thing, especially since the two of us are tight and all, so I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t infringing on another Alpha male’s territory.”
Kai smiled at the reference and looked away. He hadn’t realized Louis thought so much of their relationship. It warmed him, then it saddened him. He’d be leaving Indiana Junior behind soon. Louis took his silence for uncertainty. “Look, I don’t want to mess us up or anything. Guys have to stick together. Say the word and I’ll keep away from April, because your friendship means more to me than a nice ass.” Leaning in, he asked Kai, “Does she have a nice ass?”
Kai laughed and clapped him on the back. Remembering some of the outfits he’d seen April wear, Kai nodded. “Oh yeah, it’s pretty nice.” Kai patted him again before dropping his hand. “I don’t care if you date her, Louis. Truly, it doesn’t bother me.”
The pair slowed as they approached Mason’s office. Excited, Louis grabbed Kai’s shoulders and hopped up and down, like Kai had just told him that they were going to Disneyland or something. Kai hoped he could pull his enthusiasm back a notch or two for April. Although, she probably wouldn’t mind the attention. Putting his hands on the man’s shoulders to calm him down, he looked him squarely in the eye. “If she says yes…” Louis scoffed at that, like April saying no wasn’t even a possibility. Kai bit back a smile at the man’s confidence. “If she says yes, take her to that nice place you mentioned, and order that snail thing. And Louis…”
Louis raised his shoulders under Kai’s hands and shook his head. “What?”
Dropping his hands, Kai smacked his shoulder. “She’s a friend of mine, treat her like a lady.”
Louis straightened his stance and rested a hand on the tranquilizer gun at his hip. “I am the epitome of a gentleman on a date, Kai.” He raised an eyebrow at him and leaned in. “Why do you think I’m so successful at the mating ritual?” Kai grinned as Louis patted his back and started walking away. “Don’t wish me luck, because I won’t need it!” He called over his shoulder.
Standing in front of Mason’s door, Kai watched the strange man saunter down the hallway. Definitely an eclectic group of scientists they had here. Laughing as Louis scratched an itch in the shaggy head of hair that probably hadn’t seen a speck of shampoo in quite some time, Kai tossed out, “Oh, you might want to shower, too!”
Not turning to look back at him, Louis raised a finger in the air. “The female species loves the scent of machismo, Harper. Remember that, the next time you snag a date with a hottie.” Twisting to finally look at Kai, he smirked as he paused at the corner of the hall. “Then maybe she won’t dump your sorry ass.” Winking, he added, “Hey, if you get lonely, you could always hook up with Missy again.”
Then he darted around the corner and disappeared. Kai softly laughed to himself. He’d actually miss Louis, and his odd, sometimes correct advice. Imagining Louis and April together made him shake his head. Regardless of his confidence, he silently wished Louis luck. He was going to need it.
Kai’s momentary lightheartedness crashed back to bitter reality as he twisted around to face Mason’s door. Once he opened it, he would begin the process of leaving Jessie. He was horrified and anxious to get that ball rolling. Closing his eyes and exhaling a slow, controlled breath, he knocked on the door.
Almost immediately, a worn voice replied with, “Enter.”