“Yes, Chef!”
Chapter Fourteen
Spiro
“What are you wearing?” I asked Kaos when he appeared in the living room.
“Clothes.” He spread his arms and twirled once.
I eyed his outfit with due scepticism. As usual, he had one of his oversized hoodies on, but instead of just socks, he also had black skinny jeans and a thin leather jacket. At least his knee-high boots looked suitable for the weather.
I put all four tentacles on my hips. “I can see that. But we’re going out, so you need something warmer.”
“That’s all I got. But the socks under these bad boys have a Christmas tree pattern if that helps.” The grin he offered me was infectious, but I shook my head.
How was I to survive this day without him on his back and me giving him all the orgasms he very nicely begged for?
“How did you not freeze to death on your way here from the airport?”
“I took a cab.”
“Right. We’re planning to take a walk; you’ll be cold.”
“You’ll keep me warm.” He grinned.
I scooped him up and twirled him around. “Yes, but we’re getting you a proper coat.”
“Only if it matches my style.”
“I’m sure they have black clothes in Chicago. Actually, I know just the store for you.”
“Well, then show me.”
“You and your sassy mouth.”Oh how I love it.My hearts staccatoed at the thought as panic flooded my veins.
I set Kaos on the ground, and he was out the door like a toy I’d wound up with a key.
My brain has been spiraling into dangerous territory since Kaos burst into my life. I’d had dreams of him in my house in Greece, doing puzzles on the living room carpet, smiling at me when I entered. I had to keep repeating to myself that what I had with Kaos, no matter how good, was a holiday fling, nothing else.
“Are you coming?” He yelled through the open door.
“With you? Always.” I smirked.
He giggled, stomping in the snow on the side of the pathway I’d been shoveling all morning when he’d been asleep. I put on the herringbone woollen coat designed to let my upper tentacles have separate sleeves. The lower ones, I wrapped around my waist. I could only shift my legs; my other tentacles couldn’t transform, so I wasn’t able to look fully human. It used to upset me as a child, but a lot had changed since then. Both of my brothers and I could shift, but to different extents. With time and mixed marriages, some abilities were being lost on species;others skipped a generation or two, only to reappear much stronger.
We took the UP-N then L’s Blue, then Red Lines to get to downtown Chicago. Kaos stayed glued to my side, but in an unsettled way rather than affectionate like he would be at home. Instead of his usual chatter, he remained quiet, keeping his hands in his pockets unless he was pulling his knitted hat lower on his head.
“Are you okay?” I asked when we stepped out of the subway and walked toward where North Michigan Avenue met the Chicago River.
He looked around as if he were a burglar on the loose, and nodded. “Are you not cold in your tentacles?”
“You know I adapt to the outside temperature. What’s up, Kaos? You can talk to me.” I reached for his hand, and he stared at it with wonder before he took it. The trembling in his icy fingers didn’t stop, even as they grew warmer during our walk.
We took the Michigan Avenue Bridge’s steps up to the street and looked across the river at the Wrigley Building.
Kaos pointed at it. “This is a building and tower that were built in the French Renaissance-style architecture.” He opened his phone to skim his travel notes. “That means we should walk this way.”
“Stand here. I can see the tower and the river from this angle.” I let go of his hand, stepped back and pulled out my phone. Looking at him through the lens, I marvelled at his beauty: his cheeks were pinched by the cold air, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, and his smile was mysteriously small. I took a picture and tried not to think that soon it would be a token of a great memory, not the beginning of something bigger. I needed the remaining time I had with Kaos to be as carefree as possible without spoiling it with what-ifs.
