Based on a collab <33

Chapter 11

  Kai had been gone for a few weeks now and Zane could feel the guilt rise every moment he was away. Lucinda was plenty company, but the desperation he felt for Kai was surreal. The burning passion he had ached for him. Love was truly in the air. If you could even call this 'love'. It was difficult to differentiate the two, but it was easier than the last.
  Lucinda and Zane had been going out to all the different spots the 3 of them had gone previously, but it wasn't the same. Even new places didn't feel whole. But he had Lucinda. That should be enough, right? Why did he feel so alone in Lucinda's arms now? He felt so.. Different. Like he wasn't the same man anymore. Like Kai changed him. Somehow, someway, Kai had made him feel different than any other 'romance' he had experienced.
  Times with Kai were so wonderful it was hard to go back to the normal everyday routine again. Lucinda and Zane had gone out to an ice skating rink, the mall, the park, and their favorite restaurants. Everything seemed normal, like the times before Kai. But this was nothing like the times before him. Every moment when Zane looked at something, in the back of his mind he could see Kai. Like he was daydreaming of him, constantly. How could Zane ever come to terms with something so wrong? To go behind his wife's back, to fornicate with her best friend, to lie to her face every day.
  These meetings. They both knew this was wrong and unjustifiable. If they got caught it would be the end of everything, but they couldn't stop. Every moment together felt so precious, and knowing that it could continue as long as they kept quiet.. It kept them going.

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  2 unopened messages from Kai. Every moment more. They flooded Zane's phone like a river. Zane silenced his phone's notifications in order to keep Lucinda from wondering what her best friend could be sending. They began to slow with time, eventually coming to a stop altogether. Zane waited and waited for more of the lovely pictures of Kai he would be sent daily. Had.. Had he done something wrong? No. All he had done was make the chance of them getting caught less likely. Of course this also came with declining calls, leaving messages on opened, and just not replying as soon as he could.
  Zane still had the taste of Kai on his tongue even weeks later. He couldn't not think of this blessing that had been given to him. Was it really a blessing? He didn't care. He missed his laugh, his voice, his touch. *But Kai had more important things to do than speaking with me. He's busy.* Zane thought, scrolling through the older messages between them, his phone illuminating the features of his face in the darkness of his room.
  "Zane. You should get some rest," Lucinda said, raising the eye mask from one of her eyes to look at the dark-haired man beside her. 
  "I know. I was just.. Looking at something," He said, turning his phone off to look at his wife that lay with him.
  "You seem to be getting less and less sleep every day. Are you feeling okay?" Lucinda asked, scooting closer to him.
  "Yeah, I'm totally fine. There's just been a lot on my mind lately," Zane said, turning to look up at the ceiling.
  "Whatever you say, but please get some rest. I don't want you passing out on our date tomorrow," Lucinda said, covering up her eye with the mask once more.
  "I won't, I promise." He said. He really couldn't promise anything. The thought of Kai kept him up at night. He had been gone for quite a while now and the feeling Zane had just got worse. Like his whole body ached.

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  A few months later, Lucinda had gotten up early and ordered a nice breakfast for the couple as a sort of treat before they had to drive down to pick up Kai From the airport.
  "Baby! Come on, we gotta go! Kai's plane is probably already unloading passengers," Lucinda called.
  "I know, I know. I'm coming. Don't worry." Zane said.
  "Alright. I'll start the car for you. I'll be waiting!" Lucinda said before waiting out of the house to the car.
  Zane had finished doing his hair and eyeliner perfectly that day. He was not going to show up to the airport, after not seeing Kai for more than a month, looking bad.
  Zane had finally found an open parking spot and raced inside, tugging Lucinda by the arm. They ran to Kai's terminal and waited for the ginger to appear.
  Then there he was. The meifwa walked out the gates with his luggage and looked around for a while before locking eyes with the couple, waiting for him near a coffee shop.
  "Kai!" Lucinda said as she approached him, coffee in hand.
  "Hi Luci. Long time no see," Kai said.
  "Heya Kai. It's been a while, I missed your company," Zane said, fixing his hair in the back a bit.
  "Yeah, long time." Kai said, with a slight smile.
  The moment became awkward between the two for a few seconds before Lucinda jumped in, "I was thinking, since today is your day back we could do something fun! Like maybe we could go out and watch a movie? Or! or! we could get ice cream?" 
  Zane's eyes lit up, and he looked towards Kai, slightly biting his lip in anticipation.
  "Ah.. Sorry Luci, I actually have an interview scheduled soon," Kai said, rubbing the back of his neck, "It's live TV, so I can't be late." He said.
  "Maybe some other time?" He asked.
  "We could drive you!" Zane butted in, a bit too eagerly.
  "I already called a cab," Kai said with a sheepish smile.
  "That's okay. I'm free all week at the moment!" Lucinda said with a smile before grabbing Zane's hang and waving goodbye as Kai walked off to meet his cab.

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  Zane and Lucinda had made it back home and as Luci was putting away dishes, Zane watched the TV intently. Waiting for the ginger-haired meifwa to show up on screen.
  There he was, with his now short orange hair looking better than ever. He was sitting on a nice chair while a young looking reporter asked questions. They went back and forth asking and answering things. Kai's voice was so lovely. Zane wished he could have heard it for longer at the airport.
  The interview was almost over when another question snapped Zane out from his bubble of thoughts, "So Mr. Kai. What is your current relationship status?" The reporter questioned, moving the mic closer to Kai.
  "Oh, well, I'm not the biggest fan of serious relationships, but I do date around." Kai answered, pushing the mic away from himself and back to the reporter.
  Zane's heart dropped into his stomach. He could feel it. As much as he knew Kai had to say this stuff on TV, it really did hurt. It wasn't like Kai could openly talk about his affair with another woman's husband.
  He couldn't bear to watch anymore. He shut off the TV and walked into the kitchen with Lucinda, "Let me help you with that, Dear." Zane said, taking a dish out of the dishwasher.