Kai Smith x Female reader

Chapter Twenty One

"Glad to see you could make it," He grinned.

"Glad I did make it. This place is nice."

"Right?"

I twiddled my fingers in my lap. "Um, Kai?"

"Hm?" He looked at me.

"Thank you...for inviting me to this. For inviting me to a lot of things."

"Don't worry about it, m'kay?" He whispered back to me.

"Okay...Who is this wedding for, again?"

"My great aunt is getting married for the third time."

"Why was it so important that you be here if it's...um, your great aunt?" The bride, his aunt, was old, her face wrinkled, and eyes just a little bit discolored. It was easy to tell she had been beautiful once, but years and years of dead marriages had taken away that beauty and replaced it with crow's feet and gray hair.

"She likes knowing that everyone wants to see her get married, despite the fact we have all seen it at least once or twice...or three times. She wants to know that people still want to see her even though she's old."

"Oh, I see."

"If I were to get married, I'd only do it once. If I get divorced, then I refuse to get married to anyone else."

I chuckled awkwardly.

My smile vanished when I turned back to the groom and bride. The entire wedding, I was praying Kai couldn't hear how fast my heart was beating.

~

The wedding lasted for the next two hours. The vows had half an hour to themselves, probably. I had almost fallen asleep twice. Halfway through the ceremony, I had considered bolting out of the room.

I was waiting outside for the rest of the attendees to leave before I took off so none of them saw me and wondered who I was. But mostly so Kai would take the hint to walk me to my car.

It was eleven-thirty at night, I was ready to melt into a puddle on the concrete, but a part of me wanted to wait for Kai.

"Hey."

Kai's fingers brushed against my own. I turned.

"How long had you been standing there?" I asked, grinning a little.

"Not too long." He rocked back and forth on his heels, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Wanna see something cool?"

"Kai." I checked my watch. "It's, like, almost twelve."

He shrugged. "Time passes quickly."

"It does," I agreed.

"Then shouldn't we make the best of it?"

I scoffed. "I know but-"

"Pleaseeee???" He slipped his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers.

Oh, how I loved Kai and his pushy antics. He bats his eyes at me like a wonderful, adorable little puppy dog wanting a treat before actually rolling over on their bellies. "Fine," I snapped, harsher than I had intended it to come out.

Kai smiled like a child on Christmas Day. "Come on." He didn't hesitate to pull me along the instant I agreed to follow him.

"Kai, slow down!" I chuckled, eyeing the guests. "What if someone sees?"

"No one will," he reassured me. "Trust me on this one."

"You always say that."

"I don't." He tugged me around a corner and into a secluded hallway, leading me up a set of creaking, old wooden-plank stairs.