Kai POV

Over the last few days I haven't been able to get my mind off of Avery. I found myself dreaming of him every night, replaying the scene of his body writhing in pleasure at my touch. After his brother came to pick him up I had decided that I would not interact with him again, but despite what I said I couldn't help myself from wanting to see him.

 I dove into work at the bar trying to distract myself from my thoughts, but it didn't help in the slightest. In the past when I received advances from various customers I let them down easily and moved on. Now, however, whenever someone approaches me I can't help but think to myself how I don't want them because they're not Avery. My mental exhaustion kept growing, and it seemed like the harder I tried to forget about him the more he would appear in my mind.

 Thinking about all this made me wonder if I should try reaching out to Micah. We hadn't talked since he left with his brother, and while he didn't seem to be upset when he was leaving… The circumstances were less than ideal. I had received a call from him after I cleaned up Avery and laid him down in bed to sleep, letting me know that he needed to close the bar early to look for his brother.

 I already had a small suspicion that the Avery in my apartment was his younger brother, but I had no real evidence to confirm it. So, when he told me his brother hadn't come home yet and they couldn't get a hold of him, I asked him to send me his picture. Sure enough, they were the same person. I gave him a quick rundown on what happened, then waited for him to come over and take him home.

 I told him he could take time off if he needed to look after his brother, assuming that he would just call out Friday night until they could get Avery settled. To my surprise he ended up calling out for his next three shifts, and aside from those to-the-point communications we have not talked. It's been a little over half a week since everything happened, and I'm not too sure where I stand. I wouldn't blame him if he decided to quit.

 Speak of the devil, just as I was lying in bed thinking about everything I got a phone call from Micah.

 "Hello?"

 "Hey, Kai, it's Micah. I hope I didn't wake you up, I know it's rather late."

 "No, I was still awake. What can I do for you?"

 "Listen, I know that I promised I wouldn't give your information to Avery if he asked for it. However… I can't keep it. I am so sorry, I know this may make you angry with me, but there's a good reason behind it."

 What the hell? It was him who voluntarily promised he wouldn't hand over my number to his brother, I didn't ask him. Why the change of heart now?

 "And what reason would that be?"

 "It's not my place to say anything about it. I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be sending Avery your number after we hang up."

 "Alright then, if you already decided then there's not much else to say. Thanks for letting me know."

 "Oh, and Kai, about the bar… I don't want it to be weird between us. I love working there and I have no ill feelings towards you. I know I called out suddenly like that, but the meds didn't work for Avery and my mom needed help looking after him. He is a dominant omega after all, so having his heat cycle without any help was hard on his body. I hope you understand, I didn't mean to ghost you or the bar like that."

 "You don't need to explain yourself Micah, I understand. I'll see you later this week then, goodnight."

 So, he is giving Avery my number, huh? I suppose I should be on the lookout for a message or call from him at some point. I found myself feeling slightly excited at the opportunity to speak with him. I stared at my phone screen for a few minutes, wondering if he would text me right away. The questions piled up, why does he want to talk to me? Is he angry? Embarrassed? Is he trying to figure out what happened? How much of Thursday night does he even remember? As the minutes passed my eyelids started growing heavy, and soon I fell asleep, phone in hand, waiting for him to contact me.

Pulling away from the kiss, I looked into his eyes and couldn't help but smile widely. "Do you know how beautiful you are?" I said to Avery with his arms wrapped around my neck. "I've never felt this away about anyone or anything before in my life. Even though I have you here in my arms, I can't help but want to hold you closer, tighter, for so long that it would be impossible for either of us to let go." Avery's light pink lips slightly turned into a shy smile, and his eyes turned glassy with tears. He opened his mouth to tell me something, and while his lips moved no sound came out. "What are you trying to say? I can't hear you." He started mouthing words again, but I had no idea what he was saying. As I kept focusing on his lips he started fading from my view, and the more I tried to ascertain his message the faster he would disappear.

 I eventually woke up in a cold sweat, my breathing rapid and my heart racing. I had been having the same dream over and again ever since meeting Avery, and last night was no different. Looking at my phone I saw that it was 11:30am, and there were no new messages or missed calls. I shouldn't wait around like this, there's no guarantee he would even contact me to begin with. Changing into a pair of sweatpants I decided to go for a run. It was a rather hot day today, so I decided not to put a shirt on. I tied my shoes after slipping them on and headed out for a light jog.

 After about forty-five minutes I decided to turn around and head back home. While it didn't necessarily help with clearing my mind I definitely felt less anxious about everything. I decided to take a shower after getting home, then made myself a late breakfast with some eggs and bacon. Once I was done, I grabbed my phone. Still nothing, huh? Well, I guess I'll do some chores to try taking my mind off of it.

 Opening my banking account, I transferred $1,000 into my mother's account, then sent her a text to let her know that the money was deposited. There is still plenty in there, but I would rather be safe than sorry. As expected she read my message but didn't respond. Next I started a load of clothes and put away the laundry that was in the dryer, then swept and wiped down the table and counters. It was getting close to 3:00pm, and I had ran out of things to do.

 Sitting on the couch I flipped through the channels on TV trying to find something that could occupy my time. Suddenly, my phone lit up with a message from a number I didn't recognize:

Hey… This is Avery. Um, the person who you helped last week… I know you probably don't want to hear from me. The thing is, I really want to meet with you. Are you free for dinner, by chance? It's okay if you don't want to, but please think about it.

 He wants to have dinner? He seems a little nervous, but to be honest the thought makes me rather excited. I know in my mind that I should distance myself from him, but something in my gut is telling me that I need to see him. As long as nothing too serious happens, it should be okay… Right? I decided to agree to dinner, so I texted him back:

Hello Avery, I am free for dinner. Did you want to meet tonight? We can go to any restaurant you'd like. Though, I'm not sure why you want to meet, so if you'd rather have more privacy I can make us dinner at my place.

He responded rather quickly saying that a restaurant was fine. Of course, he'd probably feel uncomfortable coming back here after what happened. After a little more back and forth we decided on a steakhouse that was just a couple miles from my apartment. Looking at the time it read 3:25pm, and we were meeting at 5:30pm. Just two hours before I see him, what should I wear?

Looking through my closet I decided on a plain black T-shirt with a new pair of jeans that I had. Since I was going to ride my motorcycle to dinner I pulled out my black boots from under my bed, and then sat on the couch waiting for the time to pass.

Watching the time count down felt like torture, but finally it hit 5:10pm and I was able to get dressed, pull my motorcycle out of the garage downstairs, and make my way to the restaurant. I felt increasingly nervous on my way to dinner. What if he hates me? How do I act? What do I say? Do I just let him take the lead in conversation? But what if he finds me boring because I don't initiate?

Soon I pulled into the parking lot. I took off my helmet and started walking to the entrance, when I saw him standing outside near the door. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He wore a pair of form fitting black slacks that accentuated his thighs, and a slightly larger light blue shirt that was tucked in the front of his pants and hung off of one shoulder. His long blonde hair was braided down the back of his head, but there were some strands that were loose and framed either side of his face.

Calling him radiant or beautiful seemed like an understatement, and I couldn't stop my heart from racing while looking at him.