Chapter 4. Wandering eyes.
"Wait, I told you I was going out on Saturday didn't I? With the White Tigers? Shit... I-I'm sorry Kai, I really thought I'd told you..."
Looking up from his knelt down position as he tied his shoe laces, Ray hesitantly stared awaiting for the others reaction who was stood facing the stove making dinner. It was clear by the look on his face that he was not pleased in the slightest.
"I don't know why, but I figured it'd be Sunday that we were going to do something together, not Saturday..." he continued to plead his defence, "It's just, I've not seen them all for a while, an-and we were all free tonight so I-" "Don't worry about it, have fun."
Kai bluntly cut him off as he stirred the pale coloured sauce round in the pan, refusing to so much as even look at Ray now as he focused on the Thai curry he'd spent close to an hour preparing for the two of them. A blank stare sat on his face with clear tension in his jaw as he clenched his teeth together, mentally struggling to hold back the venom that sat on the tip of his tongue.
Ray hadn't seen him properly for a while either, but fuck him right?
Rising to his feet Ray timidly hugged him from the side and rested his chin on one of Kai's broad shoulders. Even though he wasn't looking at him he gave his best puppy dog eyes and pouted his lips slightly, speaking cutesy to try and defuse the situation that was developing in the kitchen.
"Kaiii, don't be like that... Pleasee.. Don't be mad at me..."
Kai just stayed silent for a moment as he continued to vacantly stir. Usually a baby toned voice would go in one ear and out the other, but when Ray put it on it just did something to him. He wouldn't go as far as to say it got him 'wrapped around his little finger' but, it swayed him some.
He tried to sound as convincing as he could as he next spoke. He really didn't want to start yet another argument here but he wasn't going to completely hide the fact he was majorly pissed off right now. They'd planned this, and Ray was blowing him off for them. Or more so, her.
"I'm not being like anything, I'm fine. I'll just plate this up for you, it's whatever. It'll be nice having a night in to myself anyway."
Like every fucking night.
Releasing him from his hold, Ray smiled at his beau's efforts to seem unbothered. Whether Kai realised it or not there was clear bite to his tone so he knew he was annoyed, and rightly so, but to save an argument he played dumb and pretended to not notice his blatantly obvious frustration with him. He wanted to see his old team from back home!
"We'll definitely do something tomorrow, babe," he promised, reassuringly stroking Kai's back with a smile. "It'll be my treat. It's not like I'll be hungover or anything, it's not going to be a late one. Just a few drinks, that's all."
Having lost interest entirely in both Ray and the conversation, Kai let his eyes darken and blur over as he robotically stirred the food now pointlessly with the wooden spoon, speaking candidly as he stared into the large pan.
"Sure, whatever. Tell Mariah I said hi."
The hand that was stroking his back suddenly became limp as Ray now looked at his lover unimpressed.
He just had to didn't he. Just couldn't help himself.
"Stop it, Kai. You know that ended years ago. She's just a friend," he lightly scolded, not even remotely entertaining Kai's petty comments.
"Mhm." Was the uninterested response before a ringtone then emitted from Ray's front pocket of his black jeans.
"This'll be Lee probably," he said more to himself as he eased the mobile phone out.
Looking at the screen, his guess was correct and he quickly kissed Kai's cheek before answering it and making his way towards the front door.
"I love you, I'll see you later, okay? – Heyy… yeah yeah, I'm on my way now bro, I'll see you soon, I'll be about fifteen minutes."
As Ray closed the front door behind him, the sound of his voice slowly faded to nothing as he walked further from the house and Kai was left with silence. The only sound present was the slow simmer of bubbling food in the kitchen.
He stirred for a few more minutes before turning off the gas and blinked a handful of times to regain the focus in his eyes. Turning his head he took a look at the front door and with a slow and deep inhale of breath he then violently launched the wooden spoon across the kitchen making it clatter in the metal sink, small splatters of sauce landing on the counter beside it.
"WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?!" he yelled to no one, his voice booming throughout the tiled kitchen.
Abruptly he turned from the stove, appetite long gone as he stormed over to the drinks cabinet and flung open the door. Eyes glaring inside for a moment before snatching a tall bottle of whiskey.
He knew this form of self-medication had been a slippery slope for him once before but he'd grown up since then. That was years ago. He was a grown adult now and if he wanted a drink he'd damn well have one.
Pouring himself a shots worth in a glass tumbler he downed it before pouring himself another one immediately after. The strong liquid burning down his throat as he swallowed and grimaced.
Picking up both the bottle and the glass he stepped to take his leave out of the kitchen before giving a final snarl at the pan of food on the stove.
What an absolute waste of time that was...
Skulking into the living room Kai firmly placed the glass tumbler and whiskey bottle down onto the glass coffee table causing the tawny coloured fluid to shake some before sinking himself down heavily into the couch.
He took in a deep breath and exhaled a frustrated growl as he held his head in his hands, mentally ranting to himself and calling Ray all sorts of names in both English and his mother tongue.
It had been another shitty week. Both of them working long hours and when the two were together Ray had been glued to that bastard phone of his until bed.
What was even the point in this relationship? The whole thing was a joke. They barely saw each other, barely spoke. And when the chance arose for them to have just one damn weekend together he went off out.
He'd may as well just be single if this was how it was going to be...
~Bleep~
At the sound Kai lifted up his head as his attention shifted up to his smartphone that had been left on top of the mantelpiece.
Huffing like it was a chore, he stood up from the couch and snatched it up to read the notification on the screen.
[T: Evening Kai, just to say the money has come through okay. Thanks again. Hope u both like it all. And if u ever need any more work doing in the future just let me know! ]
[K: Great. Will do. Thanks.]
Responding back to Tala's text without much thought at all, Kai tossed the phone onto the couch watching it bounce once before sitting himself back down with another exaggerated exhale.
He ran his fingers through his hair before reaching to lift up his drink and took a few more civilised sips as he continued to stew. The liquid giving yet another slight burn as it travelled down his throat.
Seemed like he was out of practise.
Letting his head flop back on the couch, glass rested in a relaxed grasp upon his thigh, he stared up at the ceiling in the silence and pondered.
He really was fine before all, this. All this relationship stuff. Sure he loved Ray and all. But he'd been content on his own. If anything, he preferred it. Could do what he wanted, when he wan-
~Bleep~
Rolling his head he sent a puzzled look down to what had broken up his thoughts once more before leaning over to reach for it and peer at the illuminated screen.
[T: U up to much this evening?]
The faint look of confusion deepened into a scowl.
It was a simple enough question, but.. Why was he asking?
[K: Not really - you?]
Kai sat a little awkwardly holding his phone as he waited for the reply that came around two minutes after. He didn't really understand why they were still talking.
Was Tala bored or something? The work was done... That was it between them now, surely?
[T: Nah, just chillin' at home ]
Attached to the text message was a photo of an opened glass beer bottle on a wooden coffee table, presumably in the redhead's living room.
Kai cocked a brow as he looked it over.
Okaayy?
He wasn't exactly sure what to say to that but reciprocated in taking a photo of his own alcoholic beverage that was now back on the table in front of him and attached it to his response.
[K: Join the club.]
A mere several seconds later his phone beeped again.
[T: Wow, shit day? LOL u have a brand new back yard, what do u have to be miserable about? Where's Ray?]
Kai's jaw tensed a little before sending over his simple response. Just reading his name annoyed him. Why would he bring him up?
[K: Out.]
Twenty minutes or so on the other side of the city, Tala's lips had curled up some at the reply, the thought of the other male being home alone giving him wicked ideas.
Did he dare? Was only harmless fun after all...
Staring at his screen he took a few gulps from his beer bottle as he pondered on how to respond, envisioning the one of two ways this could go.
He shrugged, the smirk on his face becoming more prominent as his thumbs tapped away on the keyboard.
Fuck it, the beer in his system figured it was a good idea. He could always brush it off as a joke if need be.
[T: Ah, that's a shame.. Well, I could pop over if you'd like, y'know just to double check that everything's in good working order outside? ;) ]
Kai cocked a brow as he processed the message. That little winking emoji giving it a whole new meaning.
A small smirk actually tried to tug at his lips on the rim of his glass as he sipped.
Was this guy for real right now? He wasn't really sure what to think...
It had admittedly been some time since someone had so openly flirted with him. And so shamelessly too?
To ask about his boyfriend and then.. whatever that was?!
[K: I'm going to hazard a guess you're bored and home alone too?]
[T: Oh nah, she's in the kitchen makin' dinner :P ]
Kai's mouth fell open before actually chuckling at the audacity.
[K: Wow.]
As the evening rolled on the two males continued to leisurely text back and forth, mainly due to Kai's boredom at first.
But with his inhibitions lowering due to the whiskey he was slowly making his way through, and Tala being on his 6th beer, though Kai would never admit it, he was actually enjoying the distraction.
Surprisingly to him, the two had quite a bit in common.
They both spoke Russian for starters.
Kai couldn't help notice a slight accent when Tala first introduced himself at the bottom of his stairs, though he couldn't really place it with his English being so good.
Whilst texting they'd exchanged the odd Russian word or phrase but they spoke predominately in English for ease.
They both liked the outdoors.
Obviously with Tala's occupation, come rain or shine he was pretty much always outside with his work. And Kai enjoyed the peacefulness of nature and would often take himself for long walks in the nearby park not far from his and Ray's home.
They liked to look well groomed, enjoyed keeping fit and leading a, somewhat, healthy lifestyle.
They both drank on occasion and Tala would have the odd social smoke, but they both frequented the gym often and cared about their appearance when Kai wasn't up to his eyes in paperwork and the redhead wasn't caked in dirt.
Both were blatant workaholics, though unlike Kai, Tala made a point of having that Saturday night blow out in the club every so often.
[T: We should go out some time I bet ur hilarious drunk ]
[K: What makes you think that? ]
[T: Well I can imagine ur all uptight in ur suit and tie all day playing big boss man so I bet u go wild when u finally let ur hair down]
[K: Lol. Guess you'll never know.]
Tala wasn't that far from the truth. There'd been many a time in his younger years when Kai had needed to be picked up from some bar because he'd gotten himself absolutely trashed.
When the news broke that he would have to take over Hiwatari Enterprises after his grandfather was incarcerated his drinking had truly skyrocketed.
He wanted to choose his own path, make his own life choices. He'd felt chained up his entire childhood and now he was going to be CEO of some company making billions daily that he didn't give two shits about? He wanted to have the freedom to screw up every now and then and it not be a big deal. He had just turned 18 and the amount of pressure he was under already was ridiculous.
He rebelled. Hard.
Alcohol on the daily. Drug use. Promiscuity.
His old team had no idea on the extent of how he was living his life for that period of time but they could tell that their ex-captain wasn't okay.
They weren't massively close once they all went their separate ways after the championships but even from a distance it was obvious.
Whenever they did all meet to catch up, Kai's usually punctual self would be late, and when he did finally arrive he often looked dishevelled and withdrawn. It wasn't until Ray saw Kai's photos in a magazine one day, lips locked with some random page three girl in a club and a questionable white substance under his nostrils that he took it upon himself to intervene.
Much to Kai's initial (and very vocal) displeasure, Ray began checking in on him daily with either a visit to his penthouse apartment after work, a morning phone call or a goodnight text and as time went on the two grew naturally very close together. Even going as far as to consider the other their best friend.
His emotional support helped Kai cut back down on his drinking, quit the drugs entirely, and find other methods like meditation to relieve his stress.
Eventually he'd accepted his responsibilities as the company's CEO and like a duck to water settled right in and things were back to running smoothly.
Kai was so grateful for Ray's friendship that he used his new found connections to his advantage and pulled a few strings landing Ray his dream job at the best restaurant in the city and as a thank you he came over one night to cook the two of them dinner.
After a few glasses of wine, one thing eventually led to another and as they say the rest is history...
[T: What time is Ray back?]
[K: Don't know. Nor do I really care.]
[T: Ooh it's like that? Shit. I didn't think u'd fallen out. What happened?]
Kai paused for a moment almost instantly sobering up.
Why Tala kept bringing Ray up he couldn't quite work out but he knew he shouldn't have given it away that the two of them weren't okay.
That was their business. And as mad as he currently was at him, he wasn't going to put out his dirty laundry like that. Especially not to some guy who was blatantly trying to flirt with him.
[K: Nothing. It'll be fine by tomorrow I'm sure.]
[T: Well hey, if it isn't drop me a msg ;) I'll gladly be ur rebound]
Kai rolled his eyes, managing to suppress another smile at the others boldness.
The guy was relentless.
[K: I'm good thanks. Pretty sure I could do a lot better than a scrawny redhead.]
Tala choked on some of his beer at that. His mouth then gaping open at the insulting text message.
Scrawny?! He'd show him scrawny the entitled little prick...
After waiting a few minutes for the predicted sassy comeback, Kai eagerly opened up the text with a quick press of his thumb as soon as it chimed in his hand.
What sat on his screen though was something he hadn't predicted and the faint smirk that had danced on his face dissolved instantly as his lips parted, his eyes too widened as he gawked, and his cheeks couldn't help but flush some at what sat on his screen.
Wow..
Attached to the message was an image; a black and white body shot taken in a slim, full-length mirror. Tala's hair was completely on show and slicked back loosely, the same two strands framing his face.
He was completely topless with, Kai hazarded a guess at, grey-coloured baggy sweat pants on that conveniently hugged him in all the right places.
A cocky smirk was plastered on his face. Obviously. And he was holding his phone up in his right hand, his left resting on the waist band and intentionally pulling them down slightly to show off his deep v-lines.
Turns out scrawny redhead wasn't scrawny by any means. He was actually lean as fuck.
Tala wasn't as bulked up as he was. But still, Kai was somewhat impressed.
And Kai was never impressed.
[T: This scrawny redhead would fuck ur brains out sweetheart.. That offers still there y'know for me to come round and check on everything? I know u like what u see.]
After reading the attached text, ignoring the even more audacious invitation, Kai frustratingly couldn't resist clicking back on the thirst trap image.
Who knew he was hiding all of that under his khaki green t-shirt?
Tala was right. He did like what he saw. He looked hot as hell. But boy didn't he know it.
Arrogance was never a turn on for Kai usually. But the straight spunk of this guy had him strangely curious.
Never being one to kiss ass though, he completely disregarded the photo like he'd never even received it and queried the fellow Russian with his usual witty dry humour.
[K: Do you give all of your clients this same aftercare?]
[T: Lol, nah I don't to be honest, just u Mr Hiwatari]
[K: Yeah? Why's that?]
[T: Not sure. U must be special. Also - ur sexy as fuck.]
Humoured once again by his bluntness Kai smiled as his palm now rested on his forehead.
How was this even happening right now?
Lowering his hand down to his cheek and setting it in a fist, he took a glance at the silver clock on the living room wall.
12:40am.
Oh, 'it won't be a late one. Just a few drinks, that's all.'
Yeah right. Fucking liar.
Sighing through his nose he lowered his hand down completely from his face as he felt himself getting wound up again.
Reaching for the bottle he poured himself another drink and lifted it to take a few sips as he stared at nothing in particular, the tumbler resting against his lips as he envisioned what Ray could be doing right now.
To his recollection Kai had never really spoken to any of the white tiger team. Maybe talked some smack in the beydish several years ago but other than that he couldn't place a time when he'd had any major interaction with any them. They were Ray's friends and that was that, he didn't feel he needed to make any sort of effort with them.
He imagined Ray would be sat talking to Lee mostly. He was like the brother he'd never had, he'd told him before.
The tall one, Gary, was it? He'd be sat opposite, and that little one, whatever his name was... was he even old enough to drink? Who knows. But Kai guessed they'd just be sat talking shit, reminiscing about whatever. Boys being boys and doing nothing wrong.
But she would be there too of course.
Kai pulled a look of disgust as he tried to rid the colour pink from his mind and what the little tramp would be doing.
She'd be sat next to Ray he knew that. Cracking stupid jokes that wouldn't even be remotely funny.
She'd probably touch him on the arm every time he made her laugh and try give him those eyes that all girls knew how to give.
She'd probably be drinking some fruity little drink too and pretending she's more drunk than what she is just for the attention.
Maybe the others had gone home long ago and it was just her and Ray right now...
Having not received a response, Tala took it upon himself to send another provoking text message.
Kai jumped slightly as the phone beeped in his hand, his overthinking ceasing immediately with the new found distraction.
[T: I couldn't help but notice that you kept checking me out from that window upstairs.. You obviously liked what you saw then too?]
Shit. He noticed?
[K: Please, I was just making sure you were doing what you were being paid to do.]
Nice save. He was only half lying with that.
[T: LOL are u always this hard to get?]
Kai flashed some teeth as Tala's mission now became clear as day, instantly forgetting the time and the reason for his irritation moments ago.
[K: I'm one of a kind 'sweetheart'.] he typed, using his earlier pet name against him. [Not everyone gets to have me. Unlike some who'd clearly just fuck anything with a pulse.]
Tala snickered at Kai's accusation.
[T: U make me sound like a complete sex pest. I'm usually not like this I swear 0:) ]
Kai couldn't help but shake his head at the little angel emoji sat at the end of the text message.
There was no way this guy could even be remotely considered an angel.
[K: Could've fooled me.]
[T: Honestly I'm really not!] He continued to defend. [I mean sure I like sex but I'm no fiend. U just caught my eye that's all... I don't know. There's just something about u Kai... U interest me]
Kai re-read that last message a few times as it seemed to be the most genuine thing Tala had said to him all night.
No banter, no bullshit… just straightforward.
Intrigued, he tapped away on his phone's keyboard.
[K: So you don't usually have wandering eyes then when you're in a relationship?]
[T: No. Never.]
It was strange but for some reason, perhaps the alcohol clouding his better judgement, Kai actually believed his words.
It wasn't the response that he was expecting because Tala's confidence really suggested otherwise. He genuinely would have had him down as a complete nympho.
He studied that last text for a bit longer before lowering his phone down to his lap. He was at a lost as to what to respond to him with now.
After several minutes his phone vibrated again in his hand.
[T: Can I see u again sometime?]
[K: I don't think that would be appropriate Tala, do you?]
[T: Why not?]
[K: Oh I don't know. The fact we're both in a relationship?]
[T: What, two friends can't meet for a drink?]
Kai huffed a laugh through his nose, the attempt of innocence failing for him entirely.
It wouldn't be just as friends though, would it? Nice try.
[K: I'll think about it.] He entertained for the sake of it. [Anyways I'm going to bed.]
[T: Ok. Let me know. Sweet dreams, boss man]
Kai chucked his phone away from him on the couch with an exhale of relief to finally have that thing out of his hands and let his head flop back to gaze up at the ceiling.
He felt both mentally drained and completely dumbfound at what had even just happened over the past handful of hours.
He was kind of tipsy but was completely aware of everything he'd said and everything Tala had sent back.
Truth be told he wasn't going to think about shit.
Meet up with him? Why an earth would he do that? That was just asking for trouble.
It was just conversation. Had been completely harmless.
Killed a few hours and had kept him entertained.
That's all Tala was. Entertainment.
Yep.
Standing up from the couch Kai downed the remaining mouthful of whiskey in his glass, picked up the bottle and headed back into the kitchen.
He set the bottle back in to the cabinet and upon closing the door his attention was brought back to the pan of Thai curry that was still sat on the stove, long gone cold by now.
With the alcohol sitting deep in his system, exacerbating his emotions, Kai's earlier anger of the current situation had now transitioned to upset and guilt as he stood alone in the kitchen.
He felt pretty shitty truth be told. Some random guy had made him feel somewhat wanted this evening. Desired in fact... and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't liked it.
Were him and Ray really that bad? The whole situation just felt pretty hopeless right about now.
It had gone past 1:15am and there was still no sign of him.
In his feeling of defeat he walked back out of the kitchen, crimson eyes holding a glossy finish as he took himself upstairs and went to bed.
x-x-x
Several days had passed now and like ships in the night with busy work schedules both Kai and Ray hadn't really seen or spoken to each other.
Ray ended up waltzing in from his evening out with the white tiger team at 3am - Blind drunk. And the following day was spent with him feeling immensely sorry for himself along with countless apologies to Kai who pretty much just stayed in his office doing some overtime most of the day. He couldn't be bothered arguing.
Ray felt awful, though it wasn't the staying out late that he felt bad about and was apologising for. Hell. Kai had strolled in at 7am before now.
The reason he felt bad was for allowing himself to get so drunk to the point that just opening his eyes the next morning was a chore. He'd promised Kai they would do something the next day, and it was safe to say they never did.
He couldn't deny that he'd had a good time though.
It was great seeing his old team again and finally let his hair down.
Not literally.
The amount of fan girls that would maul him in the bar to try and touch his luscious locks didn't bare thinking about.
The past few days had been pretty awkward between them though. (When the two were actually both home together.)
It was just radio silence. Their faces in a book, a computer screen, or their phones.
Whilst Kai felt completely at ease with the peace and quiet, Ray would often find any excuse to break it.
"Tyson's just invited us to a meet up on the 15th," he announced as he clicked on the facebook event notification.
Kai looked up at Ray briefly before looking back down at his book.
"Hn.. Pretty sure I'm free.. Is it a Saturday?"
"Yeah.. Fairly sure I'm working though.." Ray spoke low, pretty much to himself as he stood to go and check his schedule on the kitchen calendar.
He mentally prayed he was off. He really could do with a cheering up with the guys right about now.
"Aw man..."
Shuffling back into the living room, Ray slumped himself back down into his spot on the couch with a huff.
"You're working," Kai guessed indifferently, still staring down at his book.
"Yeah... The mayor has a reservation that weekend so I wouldn't even be able to swap the shift.. Fucks sake."
"They'll be another meet up Ray. It isn't that big of a deal."
Ray glowered over at him. Kai's attempts of consoling him always did tend to fall a little short.
He begrudgingly pressed on the =Not Going= button and mere minutes later the old World Champion popped up in his inbox.
[Ty: Dude! :( Why?! ]
[R: Workin' bro, sorry :( ]
[Ty: Man that sucks! U cant get it off?]
[R: Afraid not. Got a VIP coming in. Everyone needs to work that weekend. We can't pick another date?]
[Ty: No, Max already booked his flight, that's literally the only date we can do T^T ]
Ray's mood lowered even more if that was possible. He would have loved to have seen that little blondie.
Since leaving the team Max spent most of his time over in the states now working with his mother at the research centre. Whenever he did come to visit they were short and sweet and the next time he visited after this time probably wouldn't be until the Christmas period.
There was nothing he could do though.
[R: = Gonna have to sit this one out then :/ Sorry.]
[T: =Isn't ur fault dude. Hopefully catch u soon tho. D'you know if Kai is free to come?]
Ray lazily tilted his head as he looked over at Kai.
"Tyson's asking if you're gonna go."
Kai just shrugged at him.
"Maybe. Don't know. Could probably think of a million other things I'd rather do on a Saturday night than go out with the brat pack to be honest."
Ray's blood instantly began to boil.
He would've given his left arm to meet up with the bladebreakers and this guy here couldn't have cared any less.
Considering all that they'd been through, especially the occurrences over the past few years in helping Kai deal with his mini life crisis, how could he still not think much of them? It literally blew his mind.
"Why are you such a fucking dick?" he suddenly spat and Kai's eyes instantly shot up from the paperback bewildered at the outburst.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Ray bit. "You're actually a first class asshole sometimes, Kai. These guys are meant to be your friends, have been for over 10 years now and you're still keeping up this cold act? Grow the fuck up seriously! Are you going to go or not?"
Ray's usually soft amber eyes held a narrow slit. He was seething, Kai could tell.
What the hell his problem was though he didn't know. He also didn't know who Ray actually thought he was talking to right now.
Whilst he was taken back, on the surface he seemed to remain unfazed and simply retorted back in his usual cool fashion but with a deadly undertone.
"… I'll think about it."
Ray growled before standing up from the sofa.
"Whatever, tell him your fucking self then," he snapped as he flung his cell phone at the space right next to Kai on the couch who didn't so much as flinch as it hit the cushion.
Throwing a side-eye as Ray stormed out of the living room Kai couldn't help but wonder what the actual fuck that was all about.
He could only presume it was due to his disappointment at not being able to go, but what the hell did that have to do with him? Wasn't his fault he had to work.
Picking up the phone he read the final message Tyson had sent asking if he'd be joining them.
Of course he was going. It was just a joke. Sheesh.
He'd always sported the cold attitude. Everyone knew that deep down he cared. Was hardly a secret anymore.
Since when did Ray get so touchy?
With his thumb hovering over the keyboard about to respond, the phone buzzed in his hand and a new notification appeared at the top of the screen.
Without really thinking he clicked on to it and was greeted with a whole new text thread of a long back and forth between Ray and Mariah.
He pressed his lips together into a thin line as his whole body tensed up and before he could even stop himself he immediately began to scroll up and scan the old messages.
He didn't even care that he was invading his boyfriend's privacy right now. What the fuck did she want and why were they talking so much?
[M: OMG it was so good to see you today babe! xox]
[R: Yeahh! The team all back together again! ]
[M: We definitely shouldn't leave it so long next time! I've missed you so much! You're looking really great Ray :) xox]
[R: Haha thanks Riah, you're looking really well too. We need another outing before you guys head back home!]
Kai's face contorted into something ugly as he sneered at the screen. His heart rate had increased tenfold as a jealous rage swirled through his veins. His teeth held clenched as he tried to refrain from crushing the very device in his clammy hands.
She was blatantly flirting with him, could he not see that?
Who the fuck is she calling babe first of all? And Riah? Really?
He continued to scroll down, quickly scanning the conversation as quick as his eyes would allow.
[M: You should come back with us! The elders would love to see you again! xox]
[R: Aw there's no way I could get the time off work love. I could try asking but can't see it getting granted.]
[M: Ask! Won't hurt to ask babe! It'd be amazing! We can sit next to each other on the plane just like old times xox]
Laid out on the bed upstairs with both hands cupped behind his head, Ray vacantly stared up at the ceiling, completely unaware of the volcano bubbling away in the living room as a million thoughts raced through his own mind.
He couldn't keep going on like this... Kai was obviously never going to change. After all this time they were still doing the same shit... Arguing about the same shit...
He thought back to Mariah's proposal about visiting back home for a little bit. He'd actually entertained the idea ever since she'd mentioned it as a change of scenery and some time apart would maybe do both him and Kai some good?
Though, it wasn't like they spent time together anyway so that'd probably make things even worse... Could it even get any worse?
Having read enough Kai scrolled all the way to the bottom of the text thread to see the latest message Mariah had just sent several minutes ago.
[M: Ray! Look at this cute little necklace Lee just bought me! xox ]
His jaw locked as darkened crimson eyes held their piercing gaze on the attached photo. His breathing becoming more erratic as a red mist began to wash over his vision.
Ray's screen was filled with, yes some tacky little cat chain, but predominately, Mariah's well-endowed cleavage.
She was really going to play this game? His lips contorted into a twisted smile that was shortly followed by a laugh but Kai was anything but amused right now.
He was done.
Oh he was so done.
With nothing but adrenaline coursing through him he sprung up from the sofa, stomped up the stairs and swung open the bedroom door so fast it caused the handle to smack into the wall and crack the paintwork.
Ray almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden entry and his head shot towards the door, wide amber eyes meeting garnet slits.
"So 'just friends' send each other pictures of their tits do they?" Kai venomously spat.
Instantly sitting himself up on the bed a scowl now hardened over Ray's features as he threw back his own question.
"The hell are you talking about?"
Carelessly Kai flung Ray's phone on the sheets in front of him and he crawled a little forwards to reach for it.
With dark brows still knitted together he took in the photo in question and his mouth parted slightly, expression softening as he now understood the cause of Kai's outburst.
This, did not look good.
"Babe, i-it isn't what you think," Ray blurted out, trying to reason. "It's not what it looks like."
Though he knew exactly what it looked like, and what it really was and a pang of guilt shot through his stomach as he sat on his knees speechless.
He'd tried to act oblivious with her but he was completely aware of what Mariah was and had been doing since she arrived over here.
He hadn't breathed a word to Kai about it of course, but she had been all over him like a rash when they met up last weekend but he'd just brushed it off as Mariah simply being Mariah.
It was harmless.
That's just what she was like. She'd always been a flirt and a bit touchy feely. That was partly why they broke up in the first place.
Though, it was a part of why they got together in the first place too.
Ray loved her playfulness. Her positivity. The way she could make light of any serious situation. She was gorgeous too of course but that was done now. He wasn't interested. He was with her long enough to know what she was like and what she was trying to pull here but he wasn't interested.
He'd just been dismissing her, right? Hadn't entertained her flirtations at all. Had it not come across like that in the messages that he knew Kai would've now seen?
Not even bothering to stick around for any sort of explanation Kai turned on his heel and cleared out of the bedroom just as fast as he'd entered and bounded back down the stairs.
Ray called out after him whilst quickly scrambling off the bed but upon hearing the front door slam shut just as he'd reached the top of the stairs he knew he wouldn't be able to catch up with him now.
A low whine escaped his throat as he headed back in to the bedroom and grabbed his phone that had been left on top of the now ruffled sheets.
He could feel the harsh beating of his heart thumping away in his chest as he pressed on Kai's ID and held the phone to his ear, the dial tone monotonously ringing for what felt like forever before going to his voicemail.
With a growl he ended the call and opened up his messages to quickly type out a text instead.
[R: Stop ignoring me Kai. Answer the phone.]
He sat himself down heavily on the edge of bed, device clutched between both hands in his lap willing for it to display Kai's name.
With seconds feeling like hours though he caved and tried to call him once more.
Kai just kept on walking. His hands clenched into fists by his sides with his whole chest feeling tight as the adrenaline slowly began to wear off.
His mind was still racing though even if his feet were coming to a more steadier pace.
How long had this been going on for? Did it even ever stop? How could he have been so blind?! So stupid?!
Taking in the park bench he'd just walked past he came to the realisation he had no idea where he was going he was just walking. His phone was buzzing like crazy in his back pocket though he continued to ignore it. He had nothing to say to him right now.
It was probably for the best, for both of them, for him to cool off just a little more before engaging in any form of conversation.
At getting the voicemail message once more Ray ended the call. His eyes slowly beginning to well up as he hopelessly gazed down at the empty screen.
He knew Kai was angry. He would be too. But they needed to talk about this and fix it!
If that was even an option right now...
Rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand to clear the forming tears he timidly typed out another text message.
[R: Kai come home, this is stupid. You're blowing this completely out of proportion. I've not done anything! Please pick up. Talk to me.]
With the constant buzzing beginning to grate on his last nerve, Kai came to a complete standstill and eased the annoying device out of his pocket with an exasperated growl. Several missed calls and messages currently sitting on his display.
He just never knew when to leave him alone! Why doesn't he just go and call that bitch up and bother her! She'd love it he was sure!
[K: The only thing that's stupid Ray is me for actually believing you about "Riah"]
Swiping off of the text thread he opened up his facebook app and clicked on the reminder for the event that Tyson had sent them both earlier that afternoon.
Firmly he pressed on the =Going= button and acting completely on impulse and spite now clicked back on his text messages and opened up the thread that had kept him more than occupied several nights ago.
[K: I'll be at 'Toppers' on the 15th from 8pm. Do with that info whatever you want.]
A mere ten seconds passed before a response came through.
[T: I'll see u there boss man...]
A/N: Haaa Toppers Club... get it? Spinning tops? AJ Topper? Kai being a top?
I'll see myself out...
Many thanks to those that took the time to review the last chapter! You all make my day honestly.
See you on the next one.
K~