Dangerous Games

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

When Samuel returned from work, he was shocked to see the flowers gone. His keys went on the plate, and he called out to Kali. The house was silent, but the lights were on, and her car had been in the garage. He knew she was home.

"Kali!"

"I am coming."

She appeared on the stairs, wrapping her hair into a bun as she skipped merrily. "I guess there are no dinners on the patio today."

Kali stuck her tongue out at him, understanding that he was teasing her for her appearance.

"We are having dinner inside, in the living room today. I ordered."

"Hmm. What's on the menu?"

"Junk." She threw herself into his arms, and he caught her with a huff. With her feet dangling above his, she held fast to him by his shoulders. "Burgers, pizzas, hot pockets, fries, tasty fried chicken."

"Wow. What are you trying to eat away now?"

"The disaster of this morning."

She kissed him, and he set her down on her feet. "I told you it didn't bother me."

When the flowers arrived, he noted her dread when he read the note out loud. She was embarrassed. No doubt, wondering if his mind was travelling in the direction the card was leading. It might have worked if Kali didn't have the habit of hanging around his family or her own. Whoever wrote the letter was obviously unaware of how much of her movements she shared with him and how much he knew because of Ember and Winston.

When she wasn't with him, she was either at work, with her sister or friends. Ember was her number one call when she wanted to go out, but since his sister was away, she went out with colleagues or college friends. And she always took pictures.

The sender wasn't the only one that didn't notice. Kali, apparently, was also unaware of how much of her routine he knew. Maybe that said a lot about the amount of attention he paid to her.

"I promise." He reiterated. "I didn't believe whatever he was trying to sell. It didn't bother me in the slightest."

"It bothered me." she retorted. "It bothered me, and I didn't want to see it when I returned. I couldn't think of a single reason to have it in the house."

"Alright then, as long as you're comfortable."

She looked at him, taking his hand and stepping closer. "You really don't doubt me, right? About the flowers? I know I said it before, but it bothered me all day. We just agreed to date, and I would hate for you to think I am with someone else or I was with someone else."

He squeezed her hand back and kissed her cheek. "I might not have said it directly, but it doesn't bother me because I don't believe it. I might not be attached to your hip, but I don't believe there was any secret man in your life."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Go up and change. I'll set everything up. Do you want to pick something to watch?"

"Anything is fine."

Samuel took off to their room and quickly changed out of his work clothes. He didn't take too long to get back down to find Kali putting the last pieces of their ordered dinner on the coffee table. Samuel helped by picking a few of their throw pillows and setting them down for seats.

"Ember called today," Kali told him as he sat beside her.

"Yeah, she called me too."

Samuel took a plate from the table and held it up as Kali dished a good serving of fries and chicken.