Chapter Eleven

The drive back home was silent. I took Kai to a fast food restaurant for him to use his money to buy food. To my surprise, he only bought a few things. I wasn't sure whether I should feel angry with him or impressed by his stunt earlier. When we got back to my apartment, I decided to let my pride go. I stopped at my door before I could unlock it and turned around.

Kai remained still and studied me. We just peered at each other for a few seconds and I gave in. "Earlier, I was wrong. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so rude to you about your hairpiece or your clothes."

"You're apologizing after having been proven wrong?" His lips curled into a smirk.

"Don't push it, Rapunzel." I clenched my jaw. Kai grabbed my hand and stepped forward. My foot moved back and I felt the door prevent me from leaving. I stopped breathing when he entwined his fingers in mine.

"I will forgive your mistake, Phoenix."

"Why... do you keep calling me that?" I let out the breath I held.

"Because you are warm and kind to me, but when irritated you are passionate and filled with fury. The gem on your neck is a symbol of your beautiful qualities."

"I... don't flatter me!" I snatched my hand away and turned around before he could see how flustered his words made me. I had to admit. Kai possessed some charming qualities. He was frustrating to handle, but he was honest. I put the key in the knob and turned it repeatedly, but the door stayed in place. "Come on you stupid door!" I groaned.

I managed to unlock it and I swung my door open as quickly as I could. Kai mimicked my movements. "Why do you call me Rapunzel? Is he a war hero of some sort?"

"She's a princess from a fairy tale. She's known for having extremely long hair." I muttered and plopped on my couch.

"So because my hair is lengthy, you mock me and compare me to a Princess?" He folded his arms and scrunched up his nose.

"At least you have pretty and long hair." I snort and threw my head back into the cushion. I closed my eyes and let myself relax before I went to work.

"You do too." I felt his hand drag down one of my braids. "It reminds me of when I first saw you."

I smacked his hand away. "Are you going ever going to tell me where we met?"

"In time, when I am better able to explain I will."

~

The rest of the week went by quickly. Before I knew it, the day of the Spring Dinner Party I was hosting arrived. During the week, it felt like Kai's behavior toward me changed. He was quieter than usual, and he always stared at nothing. I knew he had something on his mind, but I never bothered to ask him.

I didn't even have the time to ask him.

"Kai." I leaned over the couch and blew into his face. His hair strands flew up before falling in front of his eyes. He opened them and sighed.

"What do you inquire, Phoenix?"

"I need you to get dressed."

"I am already clothed." He pouted.

"That's not what I mean." I huffed. "You haven't bathed since you came here, and I'm starting to worry about your hygiene. How come you don't smell?" I poked his forehead.

"Smell?"

"Yeah, why don't you stink? Don't people in your world bathe?"

"Of course we do." Kai sat up and furrowed his eyebrows at me. "You haven't taken me to a river or a lake to clean myself. So I assumed that you people don't cleanse yourselves. I don't have an answer about my scent. I am not sure why."

"I don't have to take you to a river or a lake. There is a bathtub in the bathroom." I pointed at the room on the other end. "Follow me." I waved him over and turned on my bathroom light. He stepped inside and eyed all of the supplies inside apprehensively.

"This," I pointed to the shower and tub combined. "Is the bathtub. You fill it with water and bathe inside of it. Then when you're done you take a towel and dry yourself off."

"Where am I to collect the water?" Kai glanced at the tub. "There is no river."

"Watch and learn." I turned on the knob above the faucet and the water came out. I switched the setting to warm and plugged in the drain. Kai ran his finger across the knob in amazement.

"Extraordinary." He uttered softly.

"I don't have any men's body wash, but you can use mine. Oh and here's an extra towel if you— KAI!" I screamed and covered my eyes. He had started stripping out of his robe while I was talking. "You can't!"

"You wanted me to bathe." I could hear the frustration in his voice.

"Not in front of me! Wait until I leave! Have you no shame?"

"I am not ashamed of my body."

"I meant that I'm a woman and you are a man. There are some boundaries we have to uphold here!"

"The female servants in my quarters don't mind when I bathe."

"You know what? I'll just leave. Make sure to turn the water off once the tub is full." I extended my hand out and felt around the room. I found the door and left before closing it behind me.

I felt my entire body warm up when the image of Kai shirtless was displayed in my mind. I slapped my cheeks and took a deep breath. "Curse whoever made that man good-looking and well-built."

I walked into my bedroom and began putting on my clothes for the evening. Yesterday I unbraided my hair and washed it. So now, it was a bit of a mess. But I knew what style I was going for. I used a comb to part it and used some water and oil to guide my hair back. Then I started platting one side, then the other. After 10 minutes, I tied the rest of my hair into a poofy ball of curls in an updo with a red scrunchy to match my dress.

Once I finished my hair, I put on my dress and struggled to zip up the back. It wasn't until I felt a warm and calloused strong hand zip it. I froze and my breathing hitched in my throat. "Kai..."

"Why do the women here display their arms freely?" I felt his breath run down my shoulder.

"You didn't even knock!" I kept my eyes ahead of me, too scared to turn around.

"The door was open."

"That doesn't mean you can walk in while I'm getting dressed!" I whined. "Get out!"

I heard his footsteps fade as he left my room. Once he was gone, I leaned my head against the wall and let out a heavy sigh. I hope he didn't see much. He was so quiet, I barely heard him walk in! "It's okay Casey. I only have to deal with him for one more day." I grabbed my purse and my red sandals with a rose decoration on them.

"You'd better be dressed, Kai—" I stopped when I saw Kai turn to face me with a sour expression on his face. He was dressed in the clothes that I bought for him, looking fantastic and handsome. I bought him black slacks with a white dress shirt with small black stripes and a black dress coat over it. "Ha! Look at you!" I smiled and examined his appearance. "I knew you'd look good in black!"

"It feels strange." He complained. I fixed his shirt collar before flattening it out gently on his shoulders.

"It'll take some time to get used to because it's your first time wearing this. All we need to do now is fix your hair." When I looked back up at him, his eyes were different. He looked entranced and in another world. "Kai?"

"Red suits you." He responded with a soft smile.

"Oh, stop." I giggled sarcastically. "Don't flatter me."

"But I am speaking the truth. Red is the favored color of Elvanor. The village and palace men would all line up to our borders just to get a glimpse of you, even if you only had a red band in your brown hair. Thi's Phoenix can not compare with the beauty standing before me." He raised my chin with his finger. "You are like a rare gem, alluring to any man who seeks the finest things. And your skin is very soft and glows brighter than the moon."

What the heck? He just spoke to me in poetry. And my ears liked it. "I... Um..." I had no words to say. "Thank you?"

"You are very welcome."

"Okay! Uh! Let's get ready to go!" I slipped on my sandals awkwardly and almost tripped walking to the door.

On the way to my Dads house, I went to the grocery store to pick up some wine and other beverages. Kai helped me carry some groceries into my father's home but he took a moment to look at all the pictures on the wall.

"Are they your family?"

"Yeah." I placed some of the wine bottles on the large dining room table and began setting up for the party.

Kai looked at pictures of Samuel, and Jackie. Then he saw my father and my stepmother and stopped at one frame. "That's you." He grabbed the black picture frame with the photo of me smiling at the beach. The picture was taken 12 years ago.

"Yeah, that's right. How'd you guess?" I placed several utensils neatly on the table and glanced at him occasionally.

"This is where we met." He mumbled. "Where is your mother?"

I dropped a fork and it made a loud clang. Silence followed the sound, and I felt my jaw clench when I shifted my gaze to him. "What? What did you just say?"

"Your mother is not here in any of these portraits. Where is she?"

"How... do you know about my mother?" I walked over to him cautiously. He sighed and placed the picture frame back onto the dresser.

"She brought me to your healers."

"Healers?"

"The place you brought me to. The men wear white robes and the women wear thin cloth made of cotton."

"The hospital?"

"If that is what it's called, then yes."

"My mother died 13 years ago. She was murdered." I frowned.

"Oh..." Kai's expression changed completely. "I am, so sorry." He bowed his head and kneeled on one leg. "My condolences."

"I just feel so confused. If you knew my mother, I would remember you. She took me everywhere." I took a moment to think about it, but there was no memory or recollection of this man in my mind. "How come I can't remember you?"

"Is there truly nothing of my existence linked to your memory?"

"How did we meet? Just tell me."

"I already have." He shrugged.

"You didn't!"

"You don't believe so because you have no memory of how we met."

"Who exactly are you?" I poked him in his chest. "You found my apartment, you knew my name even though I never told you. And now you talk about my mother. I don't think it's any coincidence that you recognized my picture from 12 years ago. Oh, and let's not forget about the time you said that we were going to reunite when the time comes."

"There are a lot of questions you have that I can't answer now. First, you must remember our first encounter. I have given you hints."

"Whatever." I shook my head, unamused. "Listen, I have a Party to host tonight. I need you to help me offer drinks to the guests."

"I am not your slave to push around, Phoenix—"

"Just do it!" I shouted in his face, and he jerked back in surprise.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. This is for my job. When it comes to working, I am super stressed. And I'm nervous because this is the first company dinner I'm hosting for our team. The CEO is also attending. Just help me with this and I won't ask you to do anything else, okay?"

"What's a CEO?"

"She's like... the Queen of our company." I used my best comparison in a way that he would understand. "We have to make sure she is entertained as well as the other guests attending." I plugged my phone into a nearby stereo and turned on some soft pop music. "Oh! And here!"

I pulled Kai closer and took a hair bow from my pocket. "Turn around."

"Why?"

"Just Turn." I rotated him and began pulling his hair back into a low ponytail. Then I tied it and wrapped it through the bow to make a messy low bun.

As long as he looked presentable from the top and front, it would be fine. I turned his body again to check and brushed the strands hanging at the side behind his ears. Then I smiled and nodded in approval. "You look handsome— I mean, great." I bit my tongue. "You look great!" I cheesed, mentally facepalming my brain. I didn't want to boost his ego. I'm sure he knew that he was a good-looking man.