I’m scrolling through SF News on my phone when the door finally opens an hour later, the last of the setting sun spilling into the living room. Keo lets out a heavy sigh, kicks off his boots, and hangs up his coat.
It would be stupid to ask how it went. His face tells me enough to know it didn’t go well.
I’m honestly terrified to broach the subject again as to why he’s in therapy. I’m not entirely surewhyI am, I just am. It couldn’t be worse than my own reasons, but still. Hopefully one day, he’ll just tell me.
When he catches me staring, he forces a lopsided smile.
I give him a full one, hoping to coax his into something more. It doesn’t work.
“I may be breaking a promise tonight.” His voice is low as he walks slowly toward me. It has me sitting up straighter. “Sorry.”
I’m not sure what promise he means. “It’s okay?” I ask my question carefully, hoping it’s enough to make him explain without me having to press.
He moves directly in front of me and drops gracefully to his knees. For someone like Keoni—who seems like the very definition of strength—to look as if he’s about to crumble into a million pieces, honestly stabs me right in the heart.
As he spreads my legs, he leans forward, resting his head on my stomach, causing me to lean back against the cushion. Both hisarms wrap around me, and he just falls into holding me.
He doesn’t say a word, and as I brush my fingers through his hair, he shuts his eyes.
We sit like that for some time, Clover joining us after a few minutes to curl up beside us. She licks Keoni’s nose, as if reminding him she’s there. As if either of us could forget that cat.
Only after the sun disappears and the cabin is shrouded in darkness does he shift.
“Life sucks sometimes.”
I almost laugh. “It does.”
“If I could turn my brain off… god, what a day that would be.”
I hum and run my hand across the back of his neck, fingers rubbing at his hairline. The gentle drag of my nails across his scalp makes him let out a soft groan—not sexual, just contented.
“Do you… want to talk about it?” I ask cautiously.
He buries his face in my lower abdomen. “Not really.”
Exhaling through my nose, I gather his hair into my hands and twist it into a loose bun, tucking the end to hold it. “Alright. Just know I’m here if you want to.”
He lifts his amber gaze to meet mine. His full lips that are set in a frown, slowly begin to curl into a smile.
“Thanks, sunshine.”
I really like that nickname.
“Do you want dinner?”
As he leans back, I can see the dread that had clung to him after his session with Britt begin to wash away. He slides his hands to my hips, slowly dragging me across the couch cushion. When our hips meet, his hand rests lightly at the side of my neck, his chin tilted down so his gaze stays locked on mine.
“Yes…” He pauses, and I narrow my eyes in question. “You’ll be just okay eating and cuddling on the couch to watch a movie tonight?”
The question throws me off. “Uh… that sounds like a dream.”
He shifts slightly, a flicker of discomfort passing across his features. “Nothing after that. Just… going to bed.”
It takes me far longer than it should to process, and suddenly I feel like the dumb one.
I think back to our text exchange from earlier.
“I may be breaking a promise tonight.”
