Kyle jerked awake. His muscles tensed and his mind spun as he tried to remember where he was and why he flet a foreboding sense of danger.
The shapes of the furniture in his own kitchen started forming. Right, he'd fallen asleep at the table like a moron, waiting for Kay. And it was the sound of her key in lock that had woken him. She was finally home.
He checked his watch. The florescent hands showed it was barely past midnight. She must've had fun out. Kyle stretched as Kay finally opened the door, still groggy but a lot less tense. He stopped in mid-stretch. Voices drifted from the hallway. She wasn't alone.
"Are you sure it's okay?" a guy asked. The voice was familiar. Eric.
"Yeah, no sweat," Kay answered, dropping her purse with a loud clang.
Kyle jumped off the chair and turned on the stove. He'd just pushed the empty kettle over the flame when the lights turned on. He shut his eyes and fought not to hiss in annoyance.
"Kyle?" Kay asked, surprised.
No. It's the damn Pope.
He turned towards the door, sparks still shooting in front of his eyes. He hadnt been wrong. Kay stood there with Eric, both of them shocked by his existence. Kay wore a lime green long dress with spaghetti straps that looked gorgeous on her. Eric had jeans and a blazer on. The moment Kyle turned to them, he knocked his heels together and his hand shot to his forehead in a salute.
"Commander."
Kyle waved him away. "At ease, kid. We're not at work so you can call me Kyle." Though he'd really rather he didn't.
"Why aren't you asleep?" Kay asked, her voice filled with a tremor that spoke of many things. Worry, fear, annoyance. Confusion.
"I was. I just got up to make some tea." He indicated towards the kettle.
Kay raised her eyebrows, obviously not buying it, but Kyle was more interesred in Eirc who blushed like an idiot for some reason.
"That's why I came by," he murmured.
Sure. For tea. Idiot. "I'll just add water for you two then." Kyle turned back towards the stove and actually put some water in the kettle fighting not to crush the mug he was using in his hand. Anger trickled into him, slow and steady and he did his best to push it back.
He had no reason to lose it, no reason to get all murderous. This was beyond stupid, but it still ate at him, like a maggot slowly easing through his skin.
Kay and Eric sat at the table, looking like two kids caught misbehaving. Kyle tried his best to keep the polite smile on his face and not start interrogating them to find out why exactly Eric was in his house at midnight.
"So," he said instead, "how was the reunion?"
"It was fine," Kay mumbled.
"Eh, not the best. We kinda got stood up," Eric said almost at the same time. Then he looked at Kay guiltily. "But that didn't mean it wasn't fine."
Kyle blinked. His insides jolted again and he clenched his fists to calm down. This didn't mean anything. "What do you mean you got stood up?"
Eric shrugged. One of his knees bounced nervously under the table. "The others canceled on us."
"So it was just you and Kay?" Don't read into this, don't read into this...
"Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his head as if finally realizing sharing that was not a good idea.
YOU ARE READING
Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)
Adventure"It's never going to end, is it? The rivalry, the hatred, the madness. Not even now. Not even after so many years." It has been three years since the last jewel was recovered, and the Agency seems to have put the project to rest. They have a new tar...
