“Well,” I said, “You’re officially making every other man I’ve ever met look like a cardboard cutout.”
“Don’t do that,” he said, teasing. “They were probably just working with what they know. I’m just a man that’s beenthrough enough shit to know what matters. These days, I don’t have time to waste. Not on people, not on things, and not on energy that doesn’t feed me. So if I’m talking to someone, it’s because I want to. Not because I’m bored. Not because I’m trying to prove something. Just… because I see value in it.”
Lord.
I had to mute the phone for a second and scream into a throw pillow. When I came back, he was still talking—something about the farmers market opening up early tomorrow—but all I could think was,This man is the intelligent kind of dangerous.
“What about you?” he asked. “What do you need right now, Khloe? And I’m not talking about marriage or your daughter or your job. I mean you. What does Khloe need?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, more honest than I meant to be. “Peace. Something of my own. Something that’s not attached to being someone’s mom or someone’s wife or someone’s everything. Just… something for me.”
He got quiet for a second, then said, “That’s fair. And you deserve that. I hope whatever this turns into, whether it’s just this conversation or more… you get exactly what you need out of it. No judgment. Just respect. You feel me?”
I felt that down to my core.
“I do,” I whispered.
“You sound tired, though,” he said gently. “You want me to let you go?”
“No,” I said before I could stop myself. “I mean… I should get somethings done for work tomorrow, but…”
“But this feels good.”
“Yes,” I admitted smiling.
“I’ll let you go for now. But I’m definitely calling again.”
“Okay.”
“And next time,” he added, “maybe I’ll get to hear your real laugh. Not the polite one. The belly laugh. The one that only comes out when you’re really happy.”
I smiled so wide that I knew I looked crazy. “Goodnight Stacks.”
“Goodnight,” he said. “Sleep well.”
I stared at the screen long after the call ended. That wasn’t so bad, I told myself, exhaling with a light laugh. I was proud. Not because I crossed some wild line but because, for once, I did something for me. Something outside of wifehood. Outside of motherhood. Just… Khloe. Maybe it was the intentional conversation or the way Stacks made space without expectations, but whatever it was, it reminded me that I still existed under all the titles.
I was still lost in that warmth, just twirling the ends of my hair and thinking about how I hadn’t felt that in a long time when the bedroom door opened.
Kairo stepped in looking so damn good. His shirt sleeves were rolled up just enough to show the veins in his arms, and his fresh cut was the kind that made me forget everything I was mad about. His presence filled the room before he even said a word. He smiled like he hadn’t seen me in weeks, eyes twinkling like he’d been counting the minutes.
“Hey,” I said, trying not to show how quickly I straightened up.
“How’d it go?” I asked as he started unbuttoning his shirt.
He nodded, still grinning. “It actually went really well. She wants to sleep on it, but I’m sure I’ll get a call tomorrow with some good news.”
“That’s good.”
Before I could say anything else, he walked over and kissed me. I thought it would be one of those quick ones—just a hey-baby-I’m-home peck—but the moment his lips touched mine, he kissed me with tongue. It was long, deep, and slow like he waspouring every apology, every missed moment, every regret into my mouth. It knocked the wind out of me.
When he pulled back, I was breathless. He scooped me up and laid me across the bed like I weighed nothing at all. His lips found the softest part of my inner thigh. He didn’t say much after that. His mouth did all the talking with slow strokes of his tongue that made my legs tremble around his shoulders. He devoured me in the best way.
My head fell back against the pillow, eyes fluttering closed. It was the first time in a long time I felt good in both my body and my mind.
And in that moment—beneath Kairo’s hands, with the echo of that phone call still lingering—I realized something… It was the beginning of me choosingme.
10
