Page 93 of Spotlight Hearts

We stumble toward the bathroom together, shoulders bumping, hands brushing. Kai catches my eye in the mirror and gives me that crooked smile again, the one that makes my chest feel too tight.

I grab my hotel-provided toothbrush, load it with paste, and start brushing while he does the same with the second one. We stand side by side like it’s the most normal thing in the world. As though we’ve done this a hundred times instead of this being the first morning after we finally stopped fighting what we are.

I rinse, spit, and turn to him, leaning against the counter.

“So,” I say. “What exactly does it mean to be your boyfriend? Great sex? Amazing chemistry?”

Kai rinses his mouth and meets my eyes in the mirror. “All of that, and someone to lean on when times aren’t so great. Someone to do life with.”

I watch his face in the reflection, the way his expression shifts from playful to serious. I set my toothbrush down and turn to face him fully.

“We should talk about the running,” I say quietly. “Not just brush it off because the sex was good and we’re calling each other boyfriend now.”

Kai’s shoulders tense, but he doesn’t look away. He nods once, slow.

“Yeah. We should.”

I lean back against the counter, crossing my arms. “When you left the villa that morning… it fucking hurt. I let you in. All the way in. And you walked out like it was nothing. As if I was something you could just decide wasn’t worth the risk.”

Kai flinches, but he stays right there, facing it.

“I know,” he says, voice low. “I was scared. The foster stuff… it messes with my head. I keep expecting people to change their minds about keeping me. So when it started feeling real, I panicked and ran. It was the only thing I thought I could do to protect myself, if I cut it off before you did.” He swallows hard. “It just hurt both of us.”

I nod, letting the honesty sit for a moment.

“It did hurt,” I admit. “Ten days of wondering if I was ever going to be enough for anyone. I almost didn’t come back to the plane in L.A.”

Kai’s eyes darken with regret. He steps closer, hands coming up to rest lightly on my waist.

“I’m sorry,” he says. His voice is raw. “I hate that I made you feel like that. I don’t want to run anymore. I want to stay. Even when it scares me. Especially when it scares me.”

I search his face for a long second, then let out a slow breath.

“I believe you,” I say. “But if we’re doing this, being boyfriends, falling in love, all of it, you can’t keep running every time it gets real. We talk instead. Even if it’s messy.”

Kai nods, fingers tightening on my hips. “Deal. No more running.”

The tension between us eases, replaced by something steadier. I lean in and press a soft kiss to his forehead.

“Good,” I murmur against his skin. “Because I kind of like having my control-freak princess boyfriend around.”

He huffs a quiet laugh and tilts his head up to kiss me properly. It’s the kind of kiss that tells me we’re solid now. We’re still wrapped up in each other, foreheads pressed together, when a loud knock sounds on the closed bedroom door.

“Oi!” Michael’s voice booms through the wood. “If you two don’t stop fucking each other senseless in there, we’re going to be late to the meet and greet! Tasha’s already threatening to drag you both out by your dicks!”

Kai buries his face in my neck, laughing. I grin against his hair.

“Be right out!” I call back.

Michael mutters something that sounds like “fucking finally” before his footsteps fade away.

I pull back just enough to look at Kai, both of us still smiling.

“Ready to face the world as boyfriends?” I ask, thumb brushing his cheek.

Kai’s eyes are warm, steady. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

The meet-and-greet room is loud with excited chatter and camera clicks. Super fans line up in neat rows, phones ready, eyes wide as they wait for their few precious minutes with Eclipse.