Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Tuesday Teaser



Chapter Six – Kit

THE NEXT few days were a whirlwind of activity , and the weekend had finally arrived. It’d been a good week. He and Beckett worked well together and even had exchanged phone numbers. He thought they were becoming friends. 

He’d also been told that someone would be tailing him after he left work too. Hudson had once again sent a picture of the dragon who’d be following him around after work. 

This time, though, his babysitter would just be keeping an eye on him. In other words, he wouldn’t be working with them like he did with Beckett.

Kit hadn’t been entirely sure how he felt about that, but it made sense. There wasn’t any point in only keep an eye on him during the day. That left all night for bad things to happen. At least Kit had been told. He was already paranoid enough without adding in someone following him that he didn’t know about.

Standing in the doorway of his office, Kit looked the space over with a critical eye. He’d finished painting the space and now had it furnished. He really liked the colors, and it gave the smaller room a bright, airy feeling.

He was rather happy with the outcome.

And speaking of happy outcomes, Beckett had been a godsend. Or maybe he should say a dragonsend. Was there such a word? If not, there definitely should be. 

Beckett hadn’t been joking when he said he was a book lover. He could talk about any author Kit brought up. They’d had long discussions over the classics—including funny little stories about a certain English playwright, poet, and actor from long ago that Beckett had met.

Shakespeare. Beckett had freaking met William Shakespeare.

It boggled Kit’s mind just how long Beckett had obviously been alive. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure how old Beckett was. Was it polite to ask? Yeah, probably not.

Dammit. 

But after spending several days in Beckett’s company, it was fairly obvious the man was much older than he looked—and he looked to be in his early thirties at the very least.

And had Kit mentioned Beckett was drop-dead gorgeous? Kind too. He was always willing to lend a hand, whether it was something Kit or one of his employees needed. He treated everyone in the store with the utmost respect also.

Beckett was perfect in every way—and he did absolutely nothing for Kit’s libido. Not even a spark. Just nothing. Kit really needed to have a serious conversation with his libido. 

Maybe he could trade it in for a new one, because obviously there was something wrong with his. It made him want to beat his head against the nearest wall.

He’s only been half kidding about being terminally single, but it appeared his body took his comment as the gospel.

Fuck his life. 

“Hey. Ready to call it a day?” Beckett asked, coming to a stop next to Kit.

“Yup.” Kit followed Beckett to the front of the store, set the alarm, and locked the door. Beckett had made it a point to always walk Kit out to his car, which Kit appreciated.

Kit unlocked his car door and opened it. “Thanks. Have a good weekend. I’ll see you Monday.”

Beckett rested his hand on Kit’s car door. “Hey, listen, do you have plans this weekend?”

Oh no. Kit sincerely hoped Beckett wasn’t about to ask him out. The only feelings he had toward Beckett were those of friendship. “Not really. Why?”

“You know you have somebody trailing you, but if you do decide to go out, make sure you always stay with crowds. Just to be safe,” Beckett said. “I mean, in this day and age, that goes without saying anyway, you know?”

“Believe me, I know.” Kit wanted to hug Beckett. He really was the nicest person ever. “But no, more than likely I’ll stay home. I’m not really in the mood to party.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I do understand. Okay, I’ll see you Monday.” Beckett pushed Kit’s car door closed, waved, then walked over to his truck. 

Kit  started his car and pulled out of the parking lot, Beckett right behind him. He’d follow Kit all the way to his apartment complex before breaking off and heading home. Wherever home was for Beckett. 

Kit also knew what the dragon who was watching him drove. He thought his name was Leo. Maybe it was Leon. No, no, it was Leo. Like the Zodiac sign. Except he was a dragon, not a lion. 

But didn’t the sign have something to do with fire? Maybe? Which made sense, considering that Leo was a red dragon who breathed fire and… and good grief, can you say squirrel brain? 

Anyway, Beckett had introduced him to Kit. How Leo managed to sit there all night without drawing any attention was beyond Kit. But then again, Kit had no idea just how influential Hudson was. 

Oh, he’d definitely googled Hudson, and he knew the man was insanely rich, just like his good buddy Kage. No doubt about it, money talked. Must be nice.

Kit parked in the underground parking reserved for his apartment building. He lived on the tenth floor and had a fairly decent view, thank goodness. 

The layout of his apartment was one where you entered through the kitchen. The reason for that were the floor-to-ceiling windows at the other end. His apartment had lots of natural light, even if it was small. 

He hung his keys up next to the front door, then locked it. The kitchen was open concept to the living area with a small island between the two. The flooring was some sort of fake light gray hardwood and the walls were white. 

Even the cabinets in the kitchen were light gray. The countertops were gray marble. There was a whole lot of damn gray, so of course Kit combated it with pops of color everywhere. 

The living area only had enough room for a couch, a small chair, and the TV. The bedroom and bathroom pretty much followed the same theme: gray flooring and white walls. 

It wasn’t a bad apartment, it was just… an apartment. He’d grown up surrounded by nature with lots and lots of room to roam. Sometimes it was hard to breathe in this little boxy thing.

He’d kill to have a garden again.

Kit changed into pink yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt that looked as if it had been splattered with pink and orange paint. Tying one part of it into a knot on his hip, he padded out of his bedroom. Flipping his hair over his shoulder, he made a beeline for the kitchen.

Time for wine.

Curling up on the couch with his drink, he turned on the TV. It was a little early to think about dinner, so he decided he’d pick up where he’d left off rewatching Game of Thrones. Hello badass dragons! Then maybe he’d have dinner delivered from his favorite Italian restaurant down the street. 

Honestly, what could be better than that? Maybe if he said it a few more million times, he’d believe it.