Unexpected

Chapter One

KAI

His car window began to fog up as he stared out at the passing buildings. The condensation from his breath wasn't mixing well with the freezing temperatures outside. A storm was apparently heading their way, and the number of salt trucks out on the road made it seem like this could be a big one. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine a blanket of snow covering the city streets. The thought didn't comfort him. No one around here knew how to drive in the snow, so traffic would likely be a nightmare tomorrow. He sighed, and continued to stare blankly at the tall buildings.

"Is everything okay, Sir?"

Kai tore his gaze from the window. Torin was looking at him curiously in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah," he mumbled, and turned back to the window. He felt rude for not wanting to engage in conversation with his father's private driver, but he was too irritated to care. His father was the one, after all, who had insisted that Torin drive him around this morning. The idea of being chauffeured around like a celebrity had always made him feel like a snob. Plus, Kai missed driving his own car. He liked the idea of being able to go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was one of the only times that he felt free from all the weight and responsibility that lately threatened to crush him.

Unfortunately, he'd been pickpocketed last night, and they'd stolen his wallet, which of course included his driver's license. His father always thought it was beneath a person of Kai's status to drive himself, so of course he'd jumped at the opportunity to send over Torin when he'd heard that Kai wasn't able to drive himself. Torin had shown up late in the morning and offered to take him wherever he wanted to go. Kai had almost sent him away, but he'd developed a soft spot for the driver over the years and had a hard time acting ungrateful around him. Torin had always been kind to him, and he always stocked the car with Kai's favorite snacks, even though he barely rode with him anymore.

Torin began turning down a familiar road and Kai perked up a bit. He needed some cheering up after that disaster of a party last night. He desperately wanted some down time to just hang out and not worry about his life. He worried way too much. And if anyone could cheer him up now, it was his best friend, Thorne.

They'd first met at the same awkward socialite events that their parents had forced them to go to when they were younger. Thorne had also grown up in a rather affluent family, though his father had chosen the military route rather than the family business route, as Kai's father had. Despite their similar upbringings, the main difference between Kai and Thorne was that unlike Kai, Thorne didn't have any problem disappointing his parents. His dad had tried to get him to enlist in the army more than once, but he'd threatened to desert almost instantly if he were forced to join. And knowing Thorne, he'd have had no problem doing it either. His best friend wasn't exactly the prime example of someone with a straight moral compass. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kai didn't have enough fingers on his hands to count how many times he'd gotten in trouble because of Thorne.

Thorne no longer saw his parents much, as they had basically disowned him after a string of bad behavior during college. That bad behavior had resulted in him dropping out before the college could expel him. But Thorne hadn't been fazed by his parents' rage and attempt to change him; he'd simply announced that he hated their lifestyle anyway and wanted no part in it. He still tolerated Kai's lifestyle, though—since Thorne liked to say that Kai was only there as a hostage rather than a willing participant—but Kai knew that it was only out of loyalty that Thorne still came along to some of the social events that Kai dragged him to. And Kai only took Thorne along because he couldn't stand to be there by himself. Just like the party his family had thrown for him last night—which just happened to have been his birthday party.