Chapter 43

Kai

"H ey, Ashy," I said after waving to the group of people I'd been with to keep it low. "What's up?"

"Hey. Are you busy?"

Still unable to hear a word he was saying because of how loud these restaurants were, I got up and walked away from our table. "Sorry, I had to move somewhere quieter." I leaned my back against the wall. I think this was the hall leading to the bathroom. "So what were you saying?"

"Oh, nothing special. I just asked if you're busy, but it sounds like you are." He went quiet for a second. "Are you still in the restaurant?"

"Nah. I came with a bunch of people to a new place that had just opened. It's actually awesome. How about you join me?"

A group of girls passed me on their way to the bathroom, and a hot brunette with a killer body caught my eye. I was pretty sure she checked me out, so I smiled at her before going back to the call. "So what do you say? Feel like joining me?"

Ash snorted. "I'm beat, Kai. We had a long day in court, and I think we're making progress with the jurors—"

"Come on, Ashy," I groaned. "You need to live a little, too. You know?" Ash putting all of his focus on the trial was unhealthy. He was driving himself nuts, and sometimes, me as well. I understood that he cared, but he couldn't stop living; I mean, what if Diesel did end up going to jail? What would Ash do then? Of course, God forbid I ever told him that. I'd implied it the other day, and in return, Ash nearly ripped my head off. I wasn't trying to be mean, but he had to face reality.

"I'm really tired, Kai," he said with a heavy breath.

"Want me to come home, then?" I asked while hoping he'd say no. It wasn't that I didn't want to be there for him. I did. But doing it every day was fucking hard, and sometimes, I needed a break to let loose. It had been a week since we last had sex, and my dick was about to burst with how horny I'd gotten.

"No, no," he quickly said. "It sounds like you're having fun, and I'll probably just ruin your mood."

The same group of chicks moved past me again, and this time, the brunette definitely checked me out. "Are you sure?" I asked, my eyes zooming in on her ass as she passed me.

I love women in tight minidresses. "Because if you want me to come over, I will."

"No, it's fine. You do you."

One might claim he sounded half-hearted just now. And if I'd dived deeper into the long pause he took before answering me, I might have felt too guilty to stay here. But then again, I was horny, and knowing Ash, he'd give me none tonight. Therefore, I decided to stick around for a bit more, get laid, then go and be with him. It would be a win-win, right?

"I'll come over once I'm done, okay?"

"O-Okay," he said quietly, sounding as adorable as ever.

"You're so cute, Ashy." I smiled, already eager to move. "Anyway, see you soon, babe." I then hung up the call and shoved my phone into my back pocket before going back to find that sexy brunette who'd look fine on my cock.

Soren

After getting the cold shoulder from Ashton for the past six days, my team managed to drag me for a drink to some new restaurant that opened up not too far from the court.

To think, I used to be the one giving Ashton the silent treatment in the past. Now, after getting a taste of my own medicine, I realized how immature it was of me, although I knew it was childish back then, too. Only sometimes my ego got the better of me, as it often did whenever Ashton Sage was involved.

"What's the matter, Charlie?" Eiv asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Looking across the table, I found Charlie messing with his phone, a deep crease between his brows.

"My wife called me five times already, and I've only just seen it," Charlie sighed, scratching his head.

Snorting, Eiv reached for the bottle of wine we'd ordered for the table. "That's why I'll never get married."

"Don't be a brat, Eiv. Melody is a lovely woman," I said, sliding my glass closer to him. Understanding the message, he didn't skip my glass and made sure to fill it until I had to stop him with my hand.

"Are you interested in Melody, Soren?" Eiv wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I had to roll my eyes.

"I think that's enough wine for you."

"Not even close."

Charlie pocketed his phone, then brought his gaze to meet us. "Sorry, guys, I have to go now."

He was about to pull out his wallet to pay for his meal when I stopped him. It would be a cold day in hell before I'd allowed my subordinates to pay.

"Go ahead, Charlie. We'll meet tomorrow," I told him before he thanked me, grabbed his things, and ran away.

"Where did Charlie go?" Hanna, my second co-counsel, asked as she returned from the ladies' room.

"The wife called."

"Aww, that's a shame. We were having such a good time." She pouted.

"Whatever!" Eiv said, wasting no time before ordering our table another bottle.

An hour later, Hanna also left, leaving me alone with Eiv and a half bottle of wine.

"You're not going to bail on me, too, are you, Soren?" Eiv smirked, tossing one hand behind his chair while taking a long sip from his glass.

"Well, it's late, and we both have work tomorrow," I said, already looking around for our waiter to ask for the check when Eiv reached for my arm.

"You know, we can go home together." He grinned, meeting my eyes.

Placing my hand on his, I softly removed it. "What we did was a mistake, and you know it, Eiv."

"You know, calling it a mistake after so many times is kinda pathetic." He snorted, then ran his fingers through his bleached hair. While doing so, the white T-shirt he wore rose just enough to reveal a strip of his toned lower stomach. Remembering how fun dragging my tongue along those fine abs was almost made me agree to his offer. Almost .

"We can't get distracted, Eiv. Not until this case is over."

He pouted his lips, his finger circling the rim of his glass. "Is it because of him?"

His question annoyed me, and I looked down at my wrist, my eyes focusing on my wristwatch, slowly counting the numbers.

One, two, three, four, five—

"You know I don't mind when you think of him while we do it," he purred, leaning closer so his breath was in my ear.

I found it to be extremely annoying, so much so that it was hard to focus on his lewd words, and not even counting helped.

"You can even call his name when you come—"

"Enough," I cut him off, my voice coming out rougher than I planned.

Disappointment flashed for a split second in his bright doe eyes before he went back to being normal. "Your loss," he tsked while pretending to look around the busy restaurant.

"It is my loss." I tried to offer him slight comfort.

Eiv was a wonderful, sexy, smart guy. Yet, he wasn't for me. And while getting down and dirty with him used to be fun, lately, I noticed he was getting too attached, meaning it was time to stop. Resisting him wasn't easy, not because I wanted him but because he so easily offered me the comfort I lacked. He didn't judge me the first time Ashton's name slipped through my lips, nor the tenth time. He even encouraged it, which was just another sign that this thing between us wasn't healthy. Not that I was one to speak about healthy relationships. For years, I'd treated Ashton like a bird in a cage. My little Sparrow . And while he willingly stayed inside the cage, even when I kept it unlocked, it wasn't healthy and clearly affected us both.

The atmosphere at the table got awkward, with Eiv still refusing to make eye contact. Ready to call it a night, Eiv stopped me by cocking his head in the direction of another table.

"He's hot." He darted his tongue out to wet his lips. "A complete one-eighty from you, but that would do me good. Don't you think?" he said while I turned to see who he was referring to.

Eiv's voice turned into white noise the moment my eyes locked on Kai, who was sitting with his arm wrapped around an almost naked girl, his lips on her neck. What the hell?

I was out of my seat before Eiv could even attempt to stop me, already making my way to that cheater's table. I had no idea what I'd say once I reached them, but that was a thought for later because right then, I saw red.

"Excuse me." Apparently, that was the only thing I came up with. I loved that now , of all times, was the time for me to be awkward with my words.

Kai removed his lips from the woman's collarbone, or breast, to be more accurate, then slowly moved his eyes to me, a deep frown glued on his idiotic face.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he snarled, his hands still wrapped around that whore's waist.

"Me? What on earth are you doing?" I hissed, my rage splitting between him and that lady, who I was sure made some poor choices in her life. "How dare you toss yourself all over this cheap whore—"

"Hey!" she barged in, but I completely ignored her and went on.

"What about Ashton?"

His brows pulled close as he finally moved from beside her and stood up. "What about him, you dumb fuck?"

Shocked, I jerked back. "I beg your pardon?" My jaw twitched. "Who are you to call me dumb?" I crossed my arms over my chest, rage boiling in the pit of my stomach. "Is one bastard child not enough? You want another—"

The collar of my shirt was in his fist before I completed the sentence, and if it weren't for Eiv, who came to stand between us, I would have already gotten punched. Not that I cared if it was Ashton's honor at stake.

"How about we all calm down, okay?" Eiv smiled, forcing Kai to drop his hand from around me.

"I'm going to tell Ashton he's wasting his time on a cheater," I spat out, wishing this jerk would fucking vanish.

He laughed, but it lacked humor. "Ash knows I'm here, you OCD freak." He spat out that word, freak , and as much as I would like to pretend it didn't hurt, it did. But since what he said right before was more important than my pride, I pushed away my feelings and focused.

"What was that?" I hissed, unsure I heard correctly.

"I said, we're in an open relationship, asshole. So you and your twink better get the fuck out before I break your face. His , too." He glanced down at Eiv, who still seemed offended by the twink comment.

"You think you can beat me, huh?" Eiv snarled. "Wanna go outside and see for yourself, big guy?"

I was still processing this new information Kai had just hit me with when I noticed too many eyes were on us. Understanding that staying here was a bad idea, I placed my hand on Eiv's shoulder. "Let's go," I told him, ignoring the fuss gathering around us and, mostly, ignoring Kai.