CHAPTER 12: Drunk mouth, sober thoughts
2401 Words
KAI
“Oops.” I hear Odessa stumble into the next room.
I kept the door to our conjoined suites open because she has been gone all night. She even left the bracelet that has her tracker inside behind but we managed to track her due to the card she was using and she has been at the same bar all night.
“Kai!” She beams when I walk into the room. “You should have come my dude! I danced to this wicked band and we had spicy margaritas. I even met some soldiers who just dropped me off.”
“Good for you.” I have never heard her Russian accent so potent before. “And the number?” I point at the digits written over her forearm.
“They want to take me on a boat tomorrow,” Odessa falls back on the bed. “Is the room spinning? I feel like it is spinning.”
“For you maybe.” I pull her up to check her eyes. “You don’t look so good.”
Her face looks burnt but the rest of her body is a little tanner than before. The little color she has gained over week is obvious, especially in a white ruffle long skirt set.
“I had too many margaritas.” Odessa slurs and looks straight into my eyes.
“Spicy margaritas,” I try to smile because this is the calmest I have seen her since our reunion.
“I really miss him.” Odessa separates our hands to remove the wig on her head.
“Him?” I ask even though I know the answer.
“Liam,” she runs her fingers down her ink black curls like she would piano keys. “He would have loved Thailand, especially dancing all night with strangers.”
“I am sure.” I walk to the fridge to get her some water.
“Knowing him, he would have bought the whole bar shots just so they could be on our level.” She unties her sandals, “we would have run into a fountain because this place is so hot and then we would have found some beach where we watched the stars all night before reality caught up.”
The last thing I want to talk about is Liam f*****g Griffith, this is why I bitterly say, “that sounds like a dream.”
“No.” Odessa shakes her head like I said something disappointing. “It is what we did before I went on tour. We got lost in Rio and had to walk for miles back to our resort but still, it was perfect.”
I pass her the tub of cold water, “it is late and you need to sleep.” I really hate the sadness that is tugging at her eyes.
“Liam would have known.” Odessa says when I turn to walk away.
“Know what?” I hate that I stop.
When I turn around, she is clipping her hair up and has put the tub by her bedside table.
“That I need to throw up first. I can’t sleep with alcohol in my body.” She walks to the bathroom and buries her head in the toilet but the liquid load that comes out of her doesn’t stop her from saying, “he would have known what just to say at this moment too.”
Odessa sits on the floor to sigh but even exhausted and fresh from throwing up she looks beautiful.
How is that possible?
How is that fair on my heart?
“I really miss him,” she wipes the side of her mouth with her eyes closed. “I really love him.”
That does it!
“You give him too much credit.” I pull her up and place her in the empty bathtub. “The time will come when you will soon realize, Liam Griffith was never not worth it.”
She chose a life with him over her family business. I know she claims she did it for music but he was feather that broke the camel’s back.
Liam broke Odessa Dominaka and she still doesn’t see it.
I am not proud of it but I pick up the removable faucet and spray Odessa from top to bottom. She springs back to consciousness immediately with a shriek so darning but my focus is on her white garments that are turning transparent.
“I may not be blonde prince charming but my brother has nearly O.Ded enough times for me to know, never to let anyone pass out as drunk as you are.” I huff.
“SERIOUSLY?” Odessa is awake but I still pour more water over her because she hurt my feelings.
Unlike her, I wouldn’t hurt her physically or with words.
“Yes seriously, we have training tomorrow.” I watch her throw up over the ice bucket by the tub. “Grandpa will be watching so I don’t want to be embarrassed by you.”
I drop the faucet to get her a towel.
“God, you are a jackass,” she spits when I toss her the towel.
“I did say I wasn’t prince charming.” I walk to the room to get her dry clothes but when I return with said clothes, I am attacked with water.
“ODESSA!” I wipe my eyes to get a clear vision. “Seriously? How old are we?” I am fuming till I hear her laugh.
It starts off as a giggle but it grows the more she looks at me as water drips down my body.
“Okay.” I walk to her carefully. “Give me the faucet, just—” she sprays more on my face. “You are making a mess and I am not cleaning up anything.”
I try to reach for her but she slips away so I pull the extension back and she lets it go.
“No Kai, I am already wet.” I press and soak her entire being with more water. “I deserve that.” Odessa surrenders and I drop the tap.
“Nice underwear.” I cheekily check her out.
What? She is a fit girl.
“Thanks, it’s Calvin Klein,” she takes the towel I give her. “I am definitely sobered up, which means it is time to eat.”
Odessa walks out of the room by peeling off her wet clothes.
“Do you have anything on your side?” Odessa unclips her hair. “Do you think this place offers 24hour room service?”
“I am not sure,” I can’t even think straight because I just saw Odessa is half naked. “But let me get you some clothes, okay?”
“What?” She faces me to give me the full view.
Bikini style bra with a band, boy-cut underwear that shows the bottom of her cheeks and long narrow legs paler than any part in her body.
She is hairless and toned which would explain why she won against Kaizer but her rock hard and flat stomach is full of bruises and so is her left collarbone and bicep but other than that she is flawless.
“Clothes.” I stutter like a fool.
“No, food.” She turns away to show the bruises on her lower back. “Feed me Mr King. You have seen enough half naked girls to no be fazed by this.” She picks up my robe and throws it on.
“Right food.” I grab a towel and follow her into my room.
Twenty minutes later we are on the balcony and I am watching Odessa eat my leftovers. The moonlight is hitting her skin and her smile is bigger than I have ever seen in my entire life.
“Do you need me to cancel our training session, it is literally 3am and grandpa would understand. He is not really watching so you could sleep in or—”
“Maybe postpone it to a later time? I get it our chemistry is off but it was our first mission. We’ll get better.”
“You are a nice drunk.” I finally remember from our college days.
“No,” Odessa counters. “I am a fun drunk which means next time, just come with Mr King because k-pop star or not, you are a 22year old, rich, sexy and talented man who is never going to be in a party city like Bangkok.”
I want to correct because we actually have a lot or property here but decide to enjoy the conversation.
“Party city?” I refill her glass of water and try not blush at the mention of her calling me talented and sexy.
“Watch The Hangover trilogy buddy, you are welcome.” She winks and takes the glass, “so yes to next time? I think that wig unlocked a new character in me.”
“Fine but we need to get you to bed.” I stand and pull her up, “training is postponed to 12.”
“Deal,” she kisses my cheek and walks away.
Oh Kai, please don’t fall for it.
“You are not hangover.”
Nobody is more surprised than me as Odessa walks into the gymnasium in a sweat vest and knee length leggings.
“The power of aqua is miraculous,” she ties her hair up and stretches her arms. “Ready? I just did 20 on the treadmill as warm up.”
“Ready.” I pull off my shirt because it is soaked in sweat.
She might be leaving soon but my work is just getting started, so I have been toning up all morning for my photoshoots later this week.
I have to keep up my rep as the sexy and talented k-pop star.
ODESSA
Whoa.
Kai Choi is ripped and I mean, two v-lines pointing to his groin area ripped.
“Nice tattoo.” I try not to sound awkward because it is by his hipbone. “What is it?”
“It’s a red dragon,” he pulls up the band of his shorts. “Kudo has one like this behind his calve and I used to idolize him. He was the only one nice to me for a while.”
That is…sad.
“Can you believe I let Katana do it?” He starts laying down the mats, “he was high as a kite but I was 14, drunk for the first time and I am wrath?” He snorts and for some reason I find it funny too.
“By the way, why is sober Katana like boogieman scary?” He is also fast as lighting and quick with a weapon, he is almost as good as Ivan.
And Ivan Dominaka is considered a perfect human weapon.
“Well, he is the best of us but also the one with the most conscious. Do you know what we called him when we were younger?” I shake my head so he answers, “the I-see-dead-people kid.”
Oh.
“Miyo had him hunting as soon as he was 8. She saw the potential that young so if you ever think you have it bad, someone out there has it worse.” He pats the mat to check firmness. “Ready to have your ass kicked by wrath?”
“Oh Choi,” my eyes darken playfully. “Do I have to kick all 7 brothers down to prove I am the best?”
Clearly because Kai is faster and quicker than Kaizer but they all use the same style of fighting. An irrational one which means instead of using force, I use brawns to pin him—not once but twice.
“You are fast for a skinny thing.” Kai is out breath because he didn’t use his feet more. “Tap, I am out.”
He taps the mat for the third time and I release my legs from around his neck.
“You didn’t use your good arm again,” he smirks to himself once we’re on our feet again.
“Good arm?” I toss him a water bottle.
“Never mind, showers?” He suggests coily and I nod because I have done enough sweating for the day.
I might not be hangover but I am having the worst hot flashes and need to return to back to bed.
LIAM
“What do you—what are you talking about Olivia?” I am pacing around in her hotel room because she is back in L.A.
“I bought enough tests for you to see for yourself.” She holds the tests results from the hospital. “I am pregnant Liam.”
“No.” I grab the paper but I don’t understand a thing so I take a box and pull out a stick. “Do it again, now.”
I am an NBA professional basketball player who was signed for millions. I don’t want to degrade Olivia but I wouldn’t put it past her so I watch her pee on the stick and wait.
The three minutes feel like years as we watch the timer countdown. I don’t mean to be dramatic but I never thought my life would depend on a timer counting from 3minutes.
“I didn’t plan this okay? I just thought I was sick from Paris but once I missed my period and I did the math.” She wipes her eyes, “look Liam. You are the only person I have slept with—” the timer goes off.
I pick up the stick and I look at the clock, 7:17pm on a Wednesday night is the exact time and day Olivia Fisher blew up my life.
“I know it was a mistake but it only takes one night and—” I hug her.
I have put her through enough so now it is time to take some responsibility for what I have done. I am the one who wanted to hurt Odessa, not her and sadly, it seems I overly exceeded because now it is permanent.
Olivia is really pregnant.
- Writer
