Cinder swirled her drink and studied the movement of the ice cubes as they bobbed in the clear liquid. Despite Thorne's best efforts, she had warded off the alcohol that her friends were consuming and stuck to water. They needed someone to drive them home after all. Besides, liquor was bitter and had too strong of an aftertaste for her. She left the heavy drinking to Iko and Thorne.
She downed the rest of her water in one gulp and placed the glass back down on the counter with enough force to draw the eyes of several people around her. Cinder felt a blush crawl up the back of her neck and she withdrew her hands into her lap. She flexed her left hand, testing its grip, and sighed. The metal wasn't creaking, but it didn't feel as calibrated as it probably should. She would have to tweak it the next time she got into the shop.
"Cinder!" Iko called, stumbled over. Cinder's best friend tripped into the chair next to her and giggled uncontrollably. Iko had definitely had a few too many drinks, and though her giggling was nothing new, it was more pronounced drunk. "Thorne's hitting on another pretty girl!"
Cinder's eyebrow raised. Carswell Thorne was a huge flirt. They'd met when he came into the shop where she worked part time to get an oil change and had flirted hard with her. She'd warded him off easily enough, and they had settled into a mutually abusive relationship. Of course, there was no real abuse involved, just some scathing teasing. Whenever they went out, which was far more often than Cinder liked, Thorne always found some pretty girl to flirt with.
Tonight he was talking to a small blonde girl who Cinder actually recognised. Her name was Crescent and she was in one of Cinder's classes, programming if she recalled correctly. Crescent was a brilliant student and a really nice girl, and she really didn't need Thorne hitting on her. Cinder patted Iko's shoulder and stood to go drag her drunk friend away from the nice girl. However, just as she was standing up, Crescent rolled her eyes at Thorne and pushed him away by the nose. She also didn't appear to be drinking, so Cinder took that as a sign that she could handle Thorne by herself.
Cinder sunk back into her seat and looked at Iko. Her friend was draped awkwardly on the bar, only half sitting in her chair, still giggling. She sighed. Iko was going to be very hungover tomorrow, and she knew Thorne would be the same. There were reasons that Cinder didn't like going out on school nights, but on the rare occasion she did, she never drank.
Still, Iko wouldn't have too hard of a time hiding her hangover. Her friend was very adept at using make-up to cover things up, and being dark-skinned as she was, her dark circles never stood out like they would have on someone with paler skin. Iko turned her head to look at Cinder and abruptly stopped giggling.
"Cinder," she said, sounding drunk and very serious. "Why is my hair blue?" She lifted a lock of it in front of her face for emphasis.
Cinder sighed. "Iko, you dyed it yourself last week. It looks great."
Her friend sat up quickly. "It does!" Iko turned to look back at the bar. "I love this song!" she exclaimed and Cinder rubbed her forehead in frustration. "I'm going to go dance! Bye Cinder!" Iko said cheerfully, leaping off the barstool with far too much grace considering how much alcohol she'd consumed.
Cinder watched her disappear into the throng of people before turning to the bartender and ordering another glass of water. He gave her a friendly smile and poured her the glass. She returned the smile and turned back to the crowd, scanning for Iko. The girl had disappeared completely and Cinder sighed heavily. She glanced at her watch. It was only eleven forty which meant she still had an hour and twenty minutes before she might be able to drag her friends home.
The door to the club banged open and a new crowd of people entered. Cinder wasn't going to cast them a second glance until she caught sight of a mane of curly red hair. She blinked in surprise and zeroed her gaze in on the group. Her initial surprise faded as she recognised a friend. The girl with the red hair caught sight of her quickly and waved.
Cinder returned the wave hesitantly. Scarlet Benoit was a year above her, but they'd had a run-in at a few of Thorne's parties and had become pretty comfortable as friends. Scarlet's hulking boyfriend Ze'ev Kesley, nicknamed Wolf by Thorne, was just over her shoulder and they had three others with them. At first, Cinder didn't recognise any of them, but then the other girl in the group turned at looked right at Cinder.
The girl's expression lit up and Cinder felt a smile twitch her lips. Winter Hayle Blackburn was more than a little excitable, but she was endearing and sweet and incredibly pretty. She was also Cinder's step-cousin and the only member of her family who she actually liked. Winter instantly began pushing through the crowd to reach Cinder.
Cinder stood up and met her part way. She smiled in greeting and Winter threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly. She pulled back and smiled. "It's so good to see you, Cinder! I wasn't expecting to see you here on a school night, though."
Cinder shrugged. "Thorne and Iko can be very persuasive when they both want the same thing."
"Isn't that the truth," Scarlet agreed as she reached the other two. Cinder let her lips twitch in greeting to her friend.
"Scarlet," another voice cut in, and all three turned to see Wolf's huge form hulking behind his girlfriend. "Let me take your coat to the coat check."
Scarlet beamed and removed her black coat. She passed it to her boyfriend and kissed his cheek. Wolf nodded to Cinder once before wading back through the crowd to coat check where the last two members of the entourage were. Cinder followed Wolf with her eyes, and Winter picked up on her gaze quickly.
"Oh! Cinder, have you met Jacin?" she asked.
"No, I don't think so," she said, wracking her brain for the name. Winter had never introduced her to a guy before, so she was pretty sure she'd never met him.
"He's Winter's boyfriend now," Scarlet said. "He has the emotions of a brick unless it's related to Winter," she whispered to Cinder.
Cinder smothered a laugh as Winter beckoned excitedly to her boyfriend and the other two guys. Led by Wolf, the boys made their way over to the bar. Cinder studied the two newcomers she'd never met. The first boy had longish blonde hair that was tied back and sharp eyes. He was attractive and well-muscled, but his face was set in a hard, neutral expression. From the way Winter grabbed his arm as he approached, she reasoned that he was Jacin.
The other boy was an inch shorter than Jacin and built in a leaner fashion than both his companions. He had black hair that was tousled like he ran his hands through it often, and sharp eyes that made Cinder's heart flutter. He was smiling and Cinder felt her mind go blank. He was gorgeous. The way he was dressed, a black button-down shirt and jeans, lead her to the conclusion that he knew exactly how attractive he was and she wanted to hate him for it, but he seemed like a nice guy too.
"Cinder, this is my boyfriend, Jacin. Jacin, this is my cousin, Cinder," Winter introduced, waving a hand between her boyfriend and her cousin.
"And," Scarlet added, a sly smile edging up on her lips, "this is Kai Dehaui."
Cinder tucked her metal hand behind her back tentatively and smiled. "It's nice to meet you," she offered.
Kai smiled at her and Cinder wondered how she wasn't currently combusting. "Scarlet's told me a lot about you."
Cinder whipped her head to look at the redhead, but Scarlet just winked and took Wolf's arm. "We're going to go get some drinks," she said before dragging her boyfriend away.
"And we're going to dance!" Winter exclaimed, pulling on Jacin's hand. Cinder watched the blonde's hard expression soften as he caved to go with his girlfriend.
With that, Cinder was left alone with an attractive guy she knew nothing about. Kai shifted a little uncomfortably, but he looked better than she felt.
"What are you studying?" she asked finally.
"Business," Kai replied. He ran a hand through his hair and Cinder felt herself blush. He had a few strands of hair sticking up now, but somehow it only added to his attractiveness. "I'm in my fourth year of my degree now, thank God, and my father wants me to move into working for him."
Suddenly puzzle pieces clicked in Cinder's head. Dehaui. Dehaui Corporation. Also known as one of the biggest companies in the country. Kai was Rikan Dehaui's son which meant he was absolutely loaded and definitely did not need to be out at a tiny local club with friends. He probably could have bought the whole club if he wanted to.
"Cinder?" Kai asked cautiously and she realised that she'd been staring into space just over his shoulder.
"Oh sorry, I just thought I saw my friend. It's nothing."
He smiled at her reassuringly. "Of course, don't worry." His gaze flickered to the bar behind her. "Would you like a drink?"
She blinked once in surprise before she shook herself out of it and shook her head. "Not drinking tonight, unfortunately," she replied. "Thank you for offering."
Kai shrugged. "Guys are supposed to buy beautiful girls drinks, aren't they?" Cinder flushed instantly at his words, and it took Kai another second to realise what he'd said, but she noticed his ears turned pink quickly afterwards. "I'm going to grab a drink," he said quickly, trying to brush away the embarrassment. "You don't mind if I disappear quickly?"
Cinder shook her head quickly. "Of course not." Kai grinned at her one last time before he slipped past her to the bar. She was still flustered when Scarlet appeared suddenly, curling an arm through hers.
"I knew you two would get along," she teased.
"Scarlet, we just met. Besides, he's Rikan Dehaui's son!"
Scarlet waved a hand dismissively. "Cinder, he's not like that. He wouldn't be friends with us if he was. He's a super nice guy. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by him."
Cinder brought her hands to her temples and massaged them. "Then I'd have to explain this," she grumbled, gesturing to her metal hand, "and I really don't feel like telling this story."
Scarlet's eyes softened, but she didn't relent. "He wouldn't question it. He might be a little curious, but he definitely won't think any less of you, I promise."
Cinder was about to reply when Iko and Thorne appeared on the edge of the dance floor, both staggering along. Iko was walking by herself, albeit unsteadily, but Thorne was being assisted by a girl nearly half his size. Cinder quickly broke away from Scarlet, moving to take Thorne's weight from the girl. She gladly relinquished him, but there was a glimmer of affection in her eyes.
"Thanks, Crescent," Cinder said, pulling Thorne's arm around her shoulder.
"Cress," the blonde corrected. "Call me Cress." She glanced at Thorne again and Cinder saw heat rise in her face. "When he's sober, if he asks, he did give me his number." Without another word, she turned and disappeared.
Scarlet wandered over and inspected the very drunk Thorne and Iko. "It's not even midnight," she laughed.
Cinder snorted. "When has that ever stopped Thorne before." She stole a glance towards the bar, where she picked out Kai chatting with Wolf. As if feeling her gaze, he looked towards her, but Cinder snapped her gaze away, flushing again.
Iko let out a loud giggle, gripping onto Cinder's side that wasn't supporting Thorne. Scarlet laughed again and Cinder shook her head affectionately.
"I should get these two home safely," she said.
"Alright," Scarlet consented. "But, Cinder, Kai's a great guy. I think you'd really like him if you got to know him more."
Thorne mumbled something unintelligible and Cinder took that as her cue to leave, guiding her very drunk friends to the coat check. Iko and Cinder retrieved their coats and then they headed for the parking lot.
Cinder found herself invited to hang out with Scarlet far more often than usual and was getting to know the members of Scarlet's friend group very well. Jacin was still pretty stiff, but that wasn't anything new according to Scarlet. Wolf and Winter she already knew, but Cinder was starting to really, really, like Kai.
He was humble and very smart and yet he still had a scathing, sarcastic sense of humour that appeared at the best times. He knew how to make everyone laugh and he was very well liked. Cinder found she had a lot in common with Kai and enjoyed the time they spent together. They didn't necessarily hang out along, but she'd stumbled across him in the library a couple times and they'd studied together.
Iko was thrilled. She had wanted Cinder to get a boyfriend for a very long time, and though her initial reaction was jealousy upon seeing how handsome Kai was, especially considering who his father was. She'd quickly gotten over it though and had gone into full shipping mode, trying to get Cinder to call Kai constantly.
Cinder herself was unsure. She still had not confided in Kai about her prosthetics and her accident. Whenever she found the opportunity was right, there was always an interruption of some sort to prevent her from doing so. It felt a little like she wasn't meant to tell him. For the time being, it wasn't a huge problem, but when Scarlet seemed so insistent that Kai liked her, it filled her chest will doubt and an anxious nervousness.
Friendship was safe and friendship was what she knew how to deal with. She could be friends with Kai. That much was proving to be easy.
Cinder had cracked open her physics book and was staring down a particularly tricky problem when someone pulled out the chair across from her. She glanced up and saw Kai smiling at her. He had his computer in one hand and his economics book in the other as he sat. Cinder returned his smile before turning back to her textbook.
Kai and Cinder had been studying together for three months now. Naturally, as Cinder was in Mechanical Engineering and Kai in Business, and the fact that he was a fourth year while she was in her second year, meant they never studied the same thing, but it was never hard to focus when he was there, and it felt just a little less stressful with a friend nearby.
She tapped her pencil against the page, frustrated. This particular problem was giving her grief. Her usual methods of muscling through with reason had failed, and none of her theory notes were helping her at all. She let out a grumble in frustration and ran her other hand through her hair. She didn't even realise what she'd done until a piece of hair got stuck in one of the joints by her index finger.
Cinder paled instantly. Kai's eyes were locked on her hand in surprise and Cinder cursed herself. Usually, she knew when she'd be around Kai and she wore gloves to disguise her hand, but she hadn't expected to see him today and had removed her gloves in the warmth of the library. She lowered her hand slowly to the table and met Kai's eyes tentatively. His gaze was surprised, but not disgusted, and was flickering between her hand and her eyes.
Cinder took a deep breath. Now had to be as good a time as any. "I was in a fire as a young child. My nanny died in it. It took my hand and my ankle and gave me terrible scars."
Kai blinked in surprise. "I'm so sorry, Cinder. That's horrible."
She wet her lips. "When they pulled me out, they thought I was going to die. They managed to save me and I received skin grafts to disguise most of the scarring, but the nerves in my leg and hand were too damaged to save. I've had prosthetics for as long as I can remember."
Kai gently reached out and covered her metal hand with both of his. "Did you think I would think less of you if you told me?"
She raised her chin a little. "I didn't want your pity."
He studied her. "Then I won't give it. If it's not too much, which leg?"
"Left," she replied carefully.
Kai nodded and slowly removed his hands. "I don't think less of you, Cinder. After all, it doesn't change what kind of person you are," he said confidently.
She stared. No one had ever accepted the story so smoothly and easily. Scarlet was right when she said that Kai wouldn't make a big deal out of it. It was so strange to think that someone knew about her accident and how scarred it had left her and didn't treat her any differently. She broke eye contact with Kai and looked down at her page again, feeling heat blossom in her cheeks.
After a second, Kai said something again. "It doesn't make you any less beautiful either."
Cinder snapped her head up to look at him, but he was looking at his computer now, his ears bright red.
Scarlet was turning twenty-one, and she was throwing a birthday party. Cinder and all her friends had been invited, and currently, Iko was twisting Cinder's hair up, trying to tame it into something presentable. Cinder watched in the mirror as Iko's tongue poked out the corner of her mouth as she inserted the final pin. Her friend stepped away, finally satisfied, and Cinder reached up to touch her hair.
Iko gasped and lunged forwards, knocking her hand away. "Cinder, don't touch it!"
Scolded, Cinder dropped her hand into her lap. Iko stepped to her side and pulled down a single piece of hair on each side. Then she sprayed what felt like an entire can of hairspray to get the style to stay. Cinder loved it. Usually, her hair was thrown into a ponytail as it never seemed to cooperate when being styled, and he didn't really know much about styling hair anyways.
Iko, on the other hand, had eagerly embraced the opportunity to dress up Cinder, having picked out her outfit and now doing her hair and make-up. "You'll knock Kai dead for sure," she said in a teasing tone.
Cinder flushed and Iko laughed. "Iko," she grumbled, "I'm not trying to impress Kai."
"Nonsense," her friend scolded. "Of course you're trying to impress Kai. You are in love with him."
Cinder glared at her friend in the mirror and Iko just grinned. The blue-haired girl spun away from the chair, disappearing into her closet. Iko had been storing Cinder's outfit for her to ensure that Cinder didn't see it before the day of Scarlet's party.
When Iko emerged from the closet holding the clothes she was to wear, Cinder felt all the blood in her body drain into her feet.
Scarlet was answering the door to her apartment that she shared with Wolf and she beamed upon seeing Cinder and Iko. "Cinder, Iko, you both look gorgeous!"
Scarlet was wearing a dress that came to just above her knees with long sleeves, and it was the perfect shade of burgundy that it didn't clash with her hair and glittering under the lights. She looked stunning, and Cinder wasn't sure that she deserved the compliment. Iko grinned at Scarlet, stepping around Cinder to hug the birthday girl. Iko was wearing a strapless blue crop top and a white skirt and it matched her perfectly.
Iko's choice for Cinder's outfit had been surprisingly tame, but also far more extravagant than she could have wanted. Cinder was wearing a sparkling silver dress that was just a little longer than Scarlet's. It was equally as form fitting, but it had one thick strap that wrapped around her left shoulder. Iko had forbidden her from wearing gloves since everyone at the party already knew about her accident so Cinder was bearing her metal hand for all to see. Iko had been fortunate enough to choose boots for her too, boots that covered her artificial foot.
Iko shimmied past Scarlet into the party, heading straight for the dance floor and Cinder finally entered the apartment. Almost as soon as she was inside, someone whistled. Cinder scanned across the room and caught Thorne's eye. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, but she glared and he turned back to his date, Cress, who he had been seeing since the night Cinder met Kai.
Scarlet shut the door behind them and linked her arm through Cinder's. Cinder let Scarlet guide her into the party, ignoring most of the looks that people cast her.
"Happy birthday Scarlet," Cinder said after a moment.
The redhead smiled. "I don't suppose you'll consider marrying Kai tonight as my present?"
Cinder flushed. "Scarlet, we're not together!"
The birthday girl gave an exaggerated sigh. "I know, and it is a crime. He's head over heels for you," she said, her voice teasing. Cinder stayed quiet and fiddled with the neckline of her dress with her free hand. Scarlet stared at her. "You don't believe me. Unbelievable. You two are the most hopeless people in the world when it comes to feelings."
"I don't want to ruin anything," Cinder rebuffed stubbornly.
"Oh honey," Scarlet teased, "you would make his whole life by telling him."
Someone called Scarlet's name and she turned, releasing Cinder's arm. She gave Cinder one last smile. "Talk to him tonight, okay? Consider it an order!"
With that, Scarlet spun on her heel and flounced away. Cinder was only alone for a couple moments before someone appeared at her side. A hand landed on her arm and she jumped before realising it was only Kai. Her heart thumped as she took in his outfit. He was wearing an ice blue button down and nice jeans and looked very similar to how he had when she had first met him.
"Drink?" he offered, holding out a cup.
Cinder smelled alcohol, but she took it anyways. She and Kai had similar tolerance and taste in drinks so she expected to not be completely disgusted. Thankfully, it was a coke with the tiniest bit of rum mixed in. Very tolerable. "Thanks," she said.
"You look beautiful," Kai offered, smiling brightly.
Cinder forced herself to keep her rollercoaster of emotions under control. "Thanks. You look pretty good yourself."
Kai gave her a sideways grin. "That's the idea." He reached up and popped his collar, wiggling his eyebrows and looking completely ridiculous.
Cinder laughed and reached out to fix his collar. She smoothed it out carefully. Then she realised how close they were standing. They were definitely in each other's personal space and Cinder's hand was still resting on Kai's collar, just above his collarbone. He wasn't moving away and neither was she. His eyes were locked on hers and Cinder felt electricity spark in her veins. Kai's free hand began to drift upwards and it was hovering near her cheek. She realised with a start, that he was going to kiss her.
His fingers brushed lightly against her skin and his face gently dipped down towards her, but before anything could really happen, Cinder heard someone call her name. She spun quickly, breaking out of Kai's grip. She nearly dropped her drink as her cousin appeared out of nowhere throwing her arms around her. Cinder stumbled and barely caught Winter, nearly backing into Kai.
Jacin was right behind Winter and raised an eyebrow at both Kai and Cinder. Cinder knew she was bright red, and she figured Kai was a little flustered too. "Are we interrupting something?" Jacin asked dryly.
Kai laughed. "Of course not. I was just giving Cinder her drink."
Winter pulled away from Cinder finally and smiled broadly. Her eyes were twinkling and despite her usual obliviousness, Cinder had a feeling Winter knew exactly what was going on. "Come dance with me, Cinder! I love your dress by the way," she said. She plucked the drink from Cinder's hand and placed it on a nearby table.
Winter's hand curled around Cinder's arm and she tugged her towards the designated dance floor. Cinder cast one last helpless look towards Kai, but he had tucked his free hand into his pocket and was watching her with something warm glittering in his eyes. Cinder turned away quickly, going willingly with Winter.
A couple of dances later, Winter finally released Cinder to leave the dance floor, stealing Jacin to keep her company. Cinder made her way to the edge of the room, desiring to leave the spotlight. Several strands of her fancy hairdo were falling out, and Cinder had decided to avoid Iko on the chance that her friend would blame her for her hair's uncooperativeness.
Cinder found the drink table in the other room and, assuming she wasn't getting the drink Winter took back, poured herself a new rum and coke. Her human hand trembled slightly as she held the cup, thinking back to when Kai had handed her the drink, so she slid the cup into her metal hand. She took a long sip and frowned through the burn of the alcohol.
"Drinking to forget your problems?" Wolf asked, appearing from almost nowhere.
Cinder scowled. "I don't have a problem."
Wolf's expression flattened. "Cinder, I'm bad with relationships. I honestly have no idea what Scarlet sees in me, but come on! You have one very big problem and he's about three inches shorter than me, a major nerd, and his name has three letters."
Cinder sighed, taking another drink. "What is it with everyone assuming that I like Kai?"
"Because it's the truth," Wolf replied. "Just do something about it before Scarlet does. You know how she is when she's meddling." Without another word, Wolf filled two cups with drinks and walked away.
Cinder couldn't help it as she glared bitterly after Wolf. What did he know? Apparently, as much as everyone else did. She groaned. She liked Kai a lot and it was honestly such a big headache. Especially now that she was considering whether Kai was actually going to kiss her or if she was making it up in her head.
Cinder didn't look for Kai. She stayed relatively close to the drinks table, but after her first drink, didn't have any more. Iko had filled up her cup a while ago and had tried to persuade Cinder to look for Kai, but had really just made her want to hide in a hole. She hadn't seen Scarlet or Wolf since Wolf was getting them drinks, but she knew that she should probably avoid Scarlet less the birthday girl took things into her own hands.
She was fiddling with a joint on her hand when Cress wandered out of the kitchen and caught sight of her. The blonde lit up and scurried over.
"Oh Cinder! I need your help! I lost my earring when Thorne and I were hanging out and I can't see it well enough without my glasses to find it!" Cress thumbed her ear to prove her earring was missing.
"Where did you last have it?" Cinder asked carefully.
"I think it was in Scarlet's room," Cress replied.
"Why were you there?"
Cress flushed. "Okay maybe we weren't talking, but I still need to find it!"
Cinder laughed. "It's okay Cress, I'm not judging. Let's go find your earring."
Cress led Cinder down a hallway towards a bedroom that she assumed was Scarlet's. Cress pushed open the door and was surprised to see Scarlet, still dressed in her finery, on her hands and knees on the carpet. Cress quickly moved to join her and the two girls combed over the carpet.
"Cinder," Scarlet said, "can you check in the closet? We can handle out here."
Cinder blinked. She had no clue why the earring would be in the closet, but she moved towards it anyways. She stepped inside and knelt down. Scarlet's closet was a walk-in, but small. Two people could fit inside if it was a little squishy, and Cinder was just more confused. How on earth could Cress have lost her earring in the closet?
She couldn't have. That was the answer. Suddenly Cinder realised:
Scarlet. Meddling.
She stood up quickly and turned to see the door of the closet closing in her face. Cinder pounded on it. "Scarlet!"
"Sorry Cinder, but this really does need to happen," Scarlet sang, her voice muffled on the other side of the door.
Cinder jostled the doorknob, but it was locked. She let out a long low groan and cursed herself for being so predictable. Honestly, she had not been expecting Cress to be in on it, so she supposed Scarlet's plan was good, but it was frustrating anyways. Plus, she had no idea how they planned to get Kai in the closet it with her.
If they wanted to trick him they'd have to unlock the door so that he could wander in and then Cinder would be able to escape.
What she wasn't expecting was to hear four sets of footsteps enter the room. Cinder tensed.
"Wolf, Thorne, what are you doing?" That was Kai's voice. He sounded confused and Cinder realised that Wolf and Thorne had probably just grabbed him and dragged him there.
"Solving your problem," Scarlet replied happily.
Cinder prepared to shove out of the closet as soon as they opened the door. When it open, she sprung forwards only to collide with Kai who had been firmly shoved in and they both toppled backwards thanks to Kai's greater weight. They landed awkwardly on the floor, Kai on top of Cinder, and Cinder bashed her elbow on the wall behind her and cursed.
The door slammed shut again and the lock clicked.
"We'll be back in a bit!" Scarlet called through the door and Cinder heard the three sets of footsteps retreat.
The closet was pitch dark aside from the strip of lights that snuck in through the sides of the closet door. Kai was balanced precariously above Cinder, his arms on either side of her to brace himself. Their legs were entangled too and in the dim light, Cinder could vaguely see the redness in Kai's cheeks.
Kai tried to move off of her, but there was something attaching their legs together and Cinder realised that his pant leg must have caught on her prosthetic. She blushed and cursed under her breath.
"Do you think you could lift yourself just a little higher?" she asked awkwardly.
Kai laughed with equal awkwardness and did as she asked. Cinder slid down between his arms until her face was underneath his chest. Her fingers reached for the prosthetic and she habitually removed it, subsequently freeing Kai from its trap. As soon as he was free he rolled off of her so that he was sitting beside her. They were still basically pressed next to each other because of the lack of space, but at least they weren't actually attached.
Cinder slid forwards some more and spun so that she and Kai were facing each other and leaning against opposite walls. She deftly reattached her foot and looked up at him. He was studying her face in the gloom, and she could still pick out the faint pink of a fading blush. Cinder felt the heat of her own cheeks and she wanted to disappear.
She was locked in a closet. With a boy she liked.
Cinder wanted to strangle Scarlet. What part of her friend had thought this would be a good idea?
"Are you okay?" Kai asked suddenly.
Cinder blinked at him. He was squinting to try and see her face. "I'm fine. I wasn't the one dragged up here and thrown in a closet."
Kai laughed. "Yeah, that was awkward. Thorne told me that he needed to show me something in the kitchen so I walked in and then Kesley's there and they're both grabbing me. Next thing I know I'm being dragged and shoved in here. How'd they get you in here?"
"Cress said she lost an earring in here. I realised too late that this was a stupid decision of mine to trust her, especially since Scarlet was in the room too."
"Ah, well at least you weren't manhandled."
Awkwardness fell across the closet and she watched Kai nudge the door with his toe. They were sitting, facing each other, with Cinder's bent legs in the middle and Kai's knees on either side of hers.
"This wouldn't be happening if I wasn't such a coward earlier," he mumbled.
Cinder blinked. "A coward?"
He laughed. "I was going to kiss you before Winter showed up. I was also going to ask you out last week at the library and bring you roses when we went out for lunch that one time. I had all these great, grandiose ideas planned and yet we ended up here, in a closet, because Scarlet's done with my cowardice."
Cinder felt all the blood in her body rush to her face. "She wasn't lying?"
Kai stared at her. "Cinder, I think I've been in love with you since the day we met. Whatever Scarlet said, I'm sure she wasn't lying. I just thought that it was too soon to ask, and then after you showed me your hand, I thought I had been reading into your nervousness all wrong."
Cinder could barely breathe. All this time, she had been so sure that she was the one reading too much into it.
"I'm sorry I've screwed this all up. I wanted it to be romantic and sweet and completely the opposite of whatever this is," Kai rambled, his hands waving dramatically.
He was adorable. He was rambling and it was endearing and Cinder's heart couldn't take much more of it. She leant forwards and shifted onto her knees. Kai stopped talking and just watched her. Cinder gently rested her hands on his shins and practically crawled between his legs towards him. In the dark, Cinder leant forward and her hands found Kai's chest. They slid along his shirt until she found his collar.
The light was just illuminating their faces so Cinder could take in the surprise etched across Kai's expression. She laughed at him. "Please, shut up. You're adorable, but please stop talking."
Kai did as she asked and he leant forwards and kissed her, his hands coming to cup her face. Cinder kissed him back eagerly, her right hand sliding around to twist in the hair at the back of his neck. Kai broke the kiss because he was smiling too hard.
"I've been waiting too long to do that."
"Shut up and kiss me again."
When Scarlet unlocked the closet an hour later, Cinder was curled into Kai's chest and he was playing with her hair, having released it from Iko's deathtrap. The redhead had smirked at the expressions on her friends' faces.
"Happy birthday to me, indeed."
Author's Note: I don't really have much to say about this. I read the Lunar Chronicles. They're great. Kaider is the best.
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