Cosmo's Luck // 𝐊𝐚𝐢 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐳

49.

The meal was delicious; not to toot my own horn or anything, but if there's any skill that I want to show off then it's got to be my cooking! We had the best conversation over the table, from serious conversations about family life to mocking each other and our most embarrassing moments. We praised and complimented each other throughout; we got along like a house on fire.

"Do you want me to do any clearing up?" Kai asks, rising to his feet and collecting all of our cutlery and bowls before I can argue against him.

"The kitchen is clean and tidy, all that's left is those bowls." I tell him, getting up and tucking both our chairs under the table.

"How did you do all of this so quickly?" He gapes, putting everything in the dish washer.

"Tidy as you go, it makes everything easier and a lot less work." I shrug it off, looking up at a clock on the wall. "Do you want to do something now or should we just chill out?"

Kai looks up at the clock, narrowing his eyes in thought as he reads the time. I don't know what we could do now, it's nearly half past nine, so everything will be closed. I don't fancy going on a complete bender like we normally do, as I've got to get back to work tomorrow afternoon and I'm pretty sure Kai does too.

"We could go for a walk?" He offers, looking to me whilst taking my phone from the side, turning off the background music that I completely forgot was still playing. "It isn't the weekend, so it's not like there will be loads of people out."

London will forever by busy in some way, it's the capital city of England. As long as we stick to the more isolated routes, we shouldn't have a problem running into people. But, it's dark? And it's the middle of the winter? Christmas is within less than a month's time, it's going to be absolutely freezing out there?

"As long as I can change out of this." I mutter, signalling to my outfit.

"It's your decision, not mine." Kai shrugs, getting one last look at my dress and giving me a boyish grin. "The dress is warm enough though, no?"

"If my dress is warm enough then you'll be fine to go out in your boxers, no?" I genially mimic him, standing on the bottom of the stairs and turning to face him. "I promise I'll get changed really quick!"

'Change' and 'quick' do not work together in my books. Not because I don't like getting changed quickly, but because I'm always way slower than I think I am. In my head I'll be getting changed at the speed of light, whipping things from my wardrobe and nearly snagging the collar in the process, when in reality I'm just making a complete mess of my bedroom and getting ready at a snail's pace! I grab a pair of black, denim, mon jeans, an old t-shirt that I wore today and a plain, grey, warm iets frans hoodie that I'm pretty sure was Aidan's before I stole it from him. I grab my matching black iets frans puffer coat that I bought a year ago and have worn both this year and last- because who needs to spend more money on buying a winter coat when you've got one- and finish the outfit off with a pair of converse. Well, I say finish off, Kai's yellow beanie is what tops off the outfit, of course.

"Got everything?" He asks as I jump off the bottom of my stairs, taking my housekeys from him.

"Yep, lead the way!" I smile, making sure my lip balm is in my pocket before leaving the house, holding his hand in mine to keep them as warm as possible.

❦

We peacefully strolled down the Chelsea Embankment. By the time we got here from his house, it was even later than we expected. But, it meant that the only people left walking down the broad path were couples, a bit like us, who just want a little break. The canal boats bob up and down on the murky Thames, which is pitch black without the sun reflecting on it. There's a few shimmers of moonlight catching on the ripples, like splatting white paint onto an onyx canvas. If you focus carefully, you can hear the water over the low rumble of London. It reminded me of my home in Bristol, and how me and my sister used to throw sticks into the grubby and grey brooks, racing them down the stream.