Unfortunately, Kai didn't get to see Bonnie before she left for Italy again.
Once word (and video) of what Lexi took to calling "The Body Shot Heard Round the World" spread, Kai found himself with a whole new clientele, along with requests to book his bar for private parties. On one hand, he was thrilled that he was drumming up so much new business (and seriously, this town like to drink), but on the other hand, he found that most of them just wanted to get what was now being called "The Bonnie Shot".
If he had a dollar for the amount of times he'd turned around and found some random chick sitting on his bar…..
Happily, unlike last time where he had to rely on snippets of conversations from his friends and siblings to know what was going on with Bonnie, this time he could reach her directly. Unbeknownst to him, Lexi had posted the video on Facebook, (he didn't even know his bar had a Facebook page). Bonnie had liked it and commented:
I can personally vouch for this place, best night of my life!
Kai responded with a shot glass emoji and a bee saying: I still owe you a Bit O' Honey.
Bonnie: I'll be back to collect.
Kai: You know where to find me.
Bonnie sent him a friend request after that.
He managed to wait all of five minutes before he accepted.
After that, it became very normal to see Kai on his phone. Caroline had taken to passing messages through Kai to Bonnie simply because she knew he'd be speaking to her before she would. Their conversations ranged from the mundane to heavy issues, like Bonnie's feelings of abandonment by her mother and father, Jeremy's betrayal, and how he was her first major relationship.
Kai opened up about his parents' deaths, and how they'd all ended up in Mystic Falls, or near in Jo's case. Bonnie marveled at the fact that he had so many siblings, she had a half-brother via her estranged mother, but they weren't close at all. Kai also revealed that although he had gone to law school, he'd never taken the bar. He'd graduated just before his parents' deaths, and something about being cooped up in a stuffy office didn't appeal to him anymore.
His father had owned a few bars and pubs around Portland and Kai had worked in them up until his last year of school. He'd stopped working in them so he could focus on his studies. After his parents died, he'd taken to working in them while he put off taking the bar. When Luke and Liv had revealed that instead of staying local, they wanted to go across the country for college, he'd sold all the businesses and moved with them while they attended Whitmore.
He had come upon his bar by chance, and had instantly known it would be a good investment. Seven years later, and he was proven correct. Gemini had a steady clientele, and thanks to recent events, he was thinking of expanding a little to include an actual dinner area.
When Bonnie had expressed shock that he could cook, the words tumbled out of his mouth before he realized it:
"Next time you're back home, I'll cook for you."
"Seriously? Do you have a specialty?"
Kai paused when he realized he was most comfortable with Italian food. The very same food she'd been having for the past two and a half years, "Um. Italian, but I also make a mean Arroz Con Pollo."
Bonnie had started laughing when he said Italian, but cheered when he changed his mind. "That sounds amazing, I can't wait."
Kai was mindlessly following along with Luke while grocery shopping when he felt the weight of someone's stare. He turned to see an older woman at the end of the aisle, eyes firmly fixed on him. He raised his eyebrows, "Yes?"
The woman sauntered down the aisle, keeping a hold of the basket in her arms. She stopped next to him and gave him an obvious once-over. "I just wanted to meet the young man that has my Bonnie so captivated that she barely finds the time to call her poor grandmother."
Oh shit, this was Bonnie's Grams. He felt his heart kick up in nervousness. While he was trying to come up with something to say, Luke walked up and kissed her on her cheek. "Hello Ms. Sheila. You look wonderful today." He shot a smug grin at Kai.
The little suck-up.
"Boy, ain't nobody falling for your sweet talk today. I'm trying to talk to your brother." She swatted him away.
"Hello, Ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you." Kai held out his hand and was surprised when she took his hand and pulled him in for a hug. "None of that formal mess, you've done a shot off my grandbaby, I think that calls for a hug." Kai felt his face heat up and Luke barely contained his laughter.
"I'm sorry?" Kai wasn't sure if he should apologize, but he did, just to be on the safe side.
"Are you?" She raised an eyebrow.
'Hell no, and I want to do it, and so much more.' The thought ran through his head unbidden.
"I wanted to meet you because I'm planning a welcome home party for Bonnie. I assume you'll want to be invited?" Kai nodded eagerly. "Great, I'll be sure to swing by your bar later to discuss this in more detail. You boys have a nice day." As she walked off, Kai heard his phone chime. Without even turning around Sheila called back, "Tell Bonnie I say hello."
He waited until she was safely around the corner before he looked at his phone, sure enough, it was from Bonnie. Ignoring what she had written, he quickly sent a text of his own.
-Um, your Grams just ambushed me in the cereal aisle.
-Um, who do you think told her where you'd be?
Kai stared at his phone in shock, then a giddy smile crossed his face. She had wanted him to meet her grandmother! Kai finished the rest of the grocery trip on cloud nine.
The first inkling that something was wrong was when he hadn't heard from Bonnie in a while. He'd had a party that night and as usual left his phone in his locker. She would normally leave him little jokes and comments throughout the night because she knew he saved them to read later after he got home.
However tonight, there were only two messages, then nothing more. He laid awake in bed wondering if she was just busy, or if she had finally gotten tired of their quasi-flirtation through social media. He shot her a quick text just to say the night went well. He fell asleep waiting for her to respond.
He woke to a missed call and text from Jo of all people.
-Hey, we're all good, but call me when you wake up.
Kai breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Jo made sure to start off with everyone is okay. Ever since the phone call about their parents, each sibling is extra careful when announcing any kind of news. While his coffee is brewing, he calls his twin back.
"Hey, you up?"
"Yeah, what's going on?"
He can tell from the background noise that she's at the hospital, "I don't know if I should be telling you this but, Bonnie's grandmother had a mild heart attack. Bonnie just got here, looks like she took the first flight out."
No wonder she had stopped messaging him. "How is Sheila? Is she…?" He trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud. He'd spent some time with her after their run in at the grocery store, and Kai genuinely liked the older woman.
"No, she's going to be fine. There's a minor loss of motor functions, but with aggressive physical therapy, she'll be up and about in no time." Jo assured him.
"Thanks, sissy."
"She's really pretty, Kai. Wonder if I can convince her to switch sides." Jo teased before she hung up.
"Evil woman." Kai knew (hoped) his sister was just teasing. He ultimately decided to wait until Bonnie told him the news before showing up at the hospital. After all, if he didn't have a sister that worked there, he wouldn't have even known about Sheila's condition.
He took a shower and was contemplating calling Mason to see if he wanted to hang when his phone rang. It was Bonnie calling to tell him she was back in town because of her grandmother. He let her vent for a while about not being able to reach her mother or father to let them know about her grandmothers' condition. He let her go on before she abruptly broke off, saying her mom had just walked in and she had to go.
He gets a text from her much later
-BTW, I think I met your sister. Dark hair, pretty blue eyes?
Damn Jo. He texted back:
-Ignore her, my eyes are much prettier
-I don't know….
Kai felt a little better. If Bonnie could joke at a time like this, then Sheila must truly be okay.
The next few months he saw Bonnie quite regularly. She had arranged to take a leave of absence in order to care for her grandmother. Since Sheila had also worked at Whitmore as a professor, the school was more than generous with letting Bonnie have the time off.
So Bonnie tended to hang around the bar when she had the free time, pretty much everyone in her group of friends tended to congregate there anyway. She had even been behind the bar a few times lending a hand if it got too crowded. As a lifelong resident of Mystic Falls, she'd filled him in on the juicy town gossip.
He'd even gotten to meet her cousin Lucy, completely by chance. Kai had gotten in the habit of dropping by to see if they needed anything. On this occasion, when he knocked, neither Sheila nor Bonnie opened the door. Instead he was greeted by a tall, dark haired bombshell, who's smile upon seeing him was very knowing.
"Hello." She purrs. "You must be Kai, I've heard a lot about you."
"Nothing but good things, I hope." He tried to joke. Was every woman in this damn family beautiful? Even though Sheila was still a looker now, he's seen pictures from when she was younger and she was a knockout, and Bonnie's mother Abigail was much the same. Hands down, the Bennett women won gold in the Genetic Olympics. He knew a little about Lucy from Mason, turns out they'd dated off and on during their high school years, and liked to hook up whenever they happened to be in the same place at the same time.
"I have to say, you are a big improvement over little Gilbert." Lucy continued, smile growing even wider at his obvious discomfort. He was saved by Sheila coming in from the garden and shooing Lucy away. She passed that Bonnie was off running errands and that she'd see him later.
'Later' turned out to be nearly a whole week.
They'd still texted, but it was five days later before he laid eyes on her again. She had slipped in after last call, and stayed to help him clean up.
"Hey stranger, where you been?" He wiped off a table.
Bonnie groans as she leans over to pick up a few fallen darts, "I forgot how much of a pain it is when you move into a new place."
Kai stops wiping, "You moved into a new place?"
"Yeah, I can't stay at my grams' forever. I love her and all, but I miss having my own space." She looked down, "Plus my dad told me that he'd had the house on the market for a while and it finally sold, so I was gonna have to get my stuff out of there anyways." She shrugs, "This just speeds up the process, right?"
She's using her 'please don't make this a big deal voice' and even though Kai knows it stings, he's willing to let it go for now. He moves on to the next table, "So when's the housewarming?"
A week later and she's helping him clean up after close again.
"I've never gotten the hang of darts." Bonnie laments. He turns to see her attempting to get a dart anywhere on the board. He sets down the box of empty bottles to go join her in the back of the bar where the pool tables and dart boards are located. He watches her attempt again and again before stepping in to coach.
He retrieves the fallen darts before coming to stand right behind her. He reaches out to bring her to stand almost flush with his body, her back to his front. With a start he realizes he was correct all that time ago, when he first remembers seeing her, she comes right up to his chin. He angles her so she's not facing the dartboard head-on. He keeps one hand loosely gripping her hip, while the other skims down her shoulder to her hand where he places a dart in her palm. He brings her hand up to aim at the board.
"Try not to look at the dart itself." He's leaning down to say in her ear, "Look at the board on the wall." He feels her shudder, and fights to hide his smile. It's always good to know she's as affected by him as he is by her. "Visualize where you want it to land."
"I want it to land on the damn board." Bonnie grumbles. He laughs, the hand on her hip tightening for a moment. He adjusts her grip on the dart before trailing his hand down the back of her fingers to wrap around her wrist. "I've always found what works for me is not launching the dart, but kind of toss it with a flick of your wrist at the end." He lets go of her wrist and steps back. "Whenever you're ready."
She steadies herself, no longer reliant on his body behind hers, takes a deep breath and lets the dart go. It doesn't hit the bullseye, but it makes it on the board. Bonnie turns to him with wide eyes and jumps for joy. "YES! Let's try it again."
They run through it a few more times, each time Bonnie getting closer and closer to the middle, until she finally hits it. She jumps into his arms, and he spins her around, both of them laughing uncontrollably. He's had a few over the course of the night, so after a few spins, he starts to feel dizzy. He sets her down on the pool table closest to them and doesn't think before he leans in.
She meets him halfway, her need for him as urgent as his for her. Both of them had been wanting this for so long that there is no time for finesse, or going slow. She's got her tongue in his mouth, while her hands are wrapped around his neck, her fingers tugging at the ends of his hair. His hands are in constant motion, one minute cradling her face, the next running all over whatever parts of her body he can reach.
Kai pulls back to trail kisses down her throat and lick across her collarbone, leaving little bite marks. He wants to mark her as his, so even when she's not near him, everyone will know exactly who she belongs to. The tank top she wore tonight makes it so much easier for him to pull down a strap and fasten his mouth around a brown nipple. That got an instant reaction from her, causing her to arch up into his mouth, as her grip on his hair tightened even more. "Kai, please."
He release her nipple with a pop, "Please what?" He teased. He loved seeing her like this. Hungry, needy, and aching for him. She huffed before pushing against him, briefly separating herself from him. She leaned back to fully recline on the pool table lifting her top as she went, tossing it over her shoulder.
Kai took a moment to just look as she lay sprawled out on the pool table like a damn feast. She'd removed her bra as well as her top so all he saw was golden skin as far as his eyes could see. He placed his hands on her thighs and pulled her so she was sitting on the very edge of the table, causing the skirt she was wearing to slide up around her waist. His hands went to work removing her underwear, lifting her legs so he could slide them up and off. He kneeled down, threw her legs over his shoulders and got to work.
The first lick had Bonnie crying out loud, the second had her reaching a hand down to grip the back of his head, as if to make sure he stayed right where he was. He flicked his tongue up to circle and tease at her clit before dragging it down to thrust inside her. Bonnie is moaning and chanting his name above him and if he had to die early, he'd be happy with it happening now.
She releases his head and he looks up to see her gripping her breasts, pinching at her nipples. He files that away for future notice before returning to the task at hand. He dips his tongue inside a few more times before switching to his fingers. He groans as her body grips his fingers tight, he was going to explode upon contact if he ever got the pleasure of sleeping with her.
While his fingers were plunging in and out, he busied his tongue with her clit again, alternating gentle licks with firm sucks, it wasn't long before he felt her legs start to tremble.
"Kai, shit. I'm gonna cum." That was music to his ears. He replaced his fingers with his tongue, gripped each thigh tight and ate her until she came moaning on his tongue. He lapped up every drop he could get his mouth on, gently easing her down from her high. He kissed his way up her body, stopping at her breasts to pepper each one with kisses, before he licked up her throat, finally sealing his mouth around hers.
Their tongues twine together and Bonnie reaches out to keep him close to her. His hands are unable to stop moving, tangling in her hair, stroking her breasts, as much skin as he can get his hands on, he wants to touch.
She breaks the kiss, pulling in lungfuls of air, "What about you?" She reaches a hand down to where he has been grinding against her, but closes a hand around hers and pulls her away. "If you touch me, I'm gonna lose it." She leans her head against his smiling impishly, "Okay, then I won't touch you." Somehow she manages to maneuver him so he's fully spread out on the pool table, and she's straddling him.
She places her hands on his chest then starts a slow grind against him. His hands fly up to grip her waist, "Fuck, Bonnie." She simply smiles and continues to circle her hips to a beat that only she can hear. Kai groans and wishes he thought to at least take his jeans off, especially when Bonnie starts to breathe harder and move with more urgency. He reaches up to massage her breasts, rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger while she has one hand on his chest for balance, while the other is frantically rubbing between her legs. He hadn't seen her face when she came before, but watching her fall over the edge now was the thing that set him off.
He catches her as she falls onto his chest, and for a while, the only sound is them trying to get their breath back. Bonnie is tucked under his chin and he's running a hand up and down her spine, "I've wanted to do that since the first day I saw you." He admits.
Bonnie places a kiss on his neck, "Really? I mean, I was a wreck that day."
"You were beautiful." He insists.
"Okay."
They eventually manage to get off the pool table. Kai tells her to never mind about the rest of the clean-up, that Luke owed him anyway. He takes her upstairs to his place, 'wait, you own the building? How am I just now learning this?'
He quiets Bonnie with his tongue down her throat and his hand up her skirt.
He also finally gets to give her the shot that she skipped out on so long ago, the Bit O' Honey.