Chapter 9

That night, Kaine lay in bed and stared at the ceiling of the dark room that Sheila had him staying in. As he contemplated the day, he began to smile as he thought about how he was going to see Zavier the following morning. That is, before he realized that he was doing so and immediately sat up, his blue eyes wide.

Kaine had never been the type of man to look forward to meeting anyone really. But Zavier was different, he made him feel heard without having to speak and was gentle around him. Kaine had heard of feelings like these before, but had never imagined that he was capable of feeling them too. But, how would Zavier ever feel the same way? Kaine shivered and wrapped his blanket around himself. No, he thought, there was no way that Zavier, a man that was literally going on blind dates with women, could possibly have feelings for him. 

Kaine suddenly tasted salt, he frowned and touched his face. A small tear was running down his face and he quickly sniffed and wiped it away. He had no clue why he was tearing up, probably because he was confused and delusional, Kaine decided. Otherwise, who would cry over a man they barely know?

In the morning, Kaine came to a conclusion: he had simply read too many books and his imagination had come up with the stupid idea that he had a crush. After all, he wasn’t young and dumb like the characters in those books. Not to mention, there was no such thing like a “happily ever after”, he had seen enough death to know that.

As he opened the door to let Zavier into the office, his determined decision about love was thoroughly cracked as Zavier walked in with a cheerful grin, breakfast, and caffeine. As he strolled past, Kaine scanned him up and down. This time he was wearing a tan, knit sweater and black cargo style pants. He wore a matching tan beanie with a little black fluffy pom pom nestled on top. 

Kaine bit his lip slightly and shook his head before he sat down beside Zavier.

“Oh, you’re sitting on my side this time?” Zavier asked him with a happy smile as he got out their food. Kaine coughed awkwardly and tried to portray a nonchalant vibe while he internally panicked, questioning if he should go to the other seat or get closer.

Zavier didn’t notice regardless, and simply handed Kaine a plate as he began to eat. Kaine simply took the plate with an internal sigh, at that point he had realized that it probably wasn’t completely his imagination malfunctioning.