I answered the phone with all that pent-up anger bubbling right under the surface.
“What?”
Okay, so maybe it wasonthe surface.
“Hello to you too,” King said as I brought the binoculars back up to see the waitstaff had opened umbrellas over each of the tables so patrons could continue their dinner by candlelight uninterrupted.
Kill me now.
“Yeah, hi,” I said, not in the mood for casual chitchat as the rain began to fall a little harder.
“Is this a bad time?”
“Well, it’s not a great one.” Was I being extra surly? Yes. But King would be acting the same way if the shoe were on the other foot. Not that I could imagine him ever sitting out in the rain monitoring the guy he wanted to fuck while he was on a date with someone else.
Or maybe he had done that. Zac and Easthadbeen fucking before King. That was the rumor, anyway.
But I didn’t want to think about that.Not then. Not now. Not ever.
“Do you need something? You must, considering you’re calling before nine. What’d you do, set your alarm?”
Silence met my questions, and when it seemed I wasn’t going to get a response, I wondered if maybe there’d been another message. Another email sent.
“I’m calling for an update,” King said, caution lacing his voice. “But you seem preoccupied?—”
“You’re the one who sent me to babysit.”
“Ah, okay. That explains it.”
I frowned. “Explains what?”
“Your mood. You were never good at sitting still. Even worse at watching.”
My mind immediately detoured to the gutter, but I shoved that aside and barked, “I’m fine.”
“You sound annoyed.”
“You would be too if you were sitting outside in the rain.”
Seeming to pick up that I was in no mood to talk, King quickly changed the subject. “I assume everything’s going all right with Theo?”
“If you define all right as his currently being on a date with one of Japan’s most eligible bachelors, then yes, he’s fucking dandy.”
“I see. I assume he’s taking great pleasure at making you suffer as his babysitter?”
He had no idea. But I could hardly confess to Theo’s teasing me about being jealous.
“You know how he gets when someone is sent to make sure he behaves."
“Painful.”
“And then some. He’s going to drag this dinner out for hours, and now that it’s raining?—”
“He’ll take even more pleasure in it.” King chuckled. “Just remember, you’re there to keep him safe from others. If you want to strangle him, I’ll authorize it.”
I laughed despite myself, because maybe, just maybe, I’d take King up on that.
“Good to know. Anything new in your neck of the woods?”
