A Simple Apron (One Night Stand, Book 2)

Chapter 11: Unnecessary stress

Kai's nerves went wild again as he sat by the dinner table, Dr. Julien across from him, while Zane took a place on the other side between the two men.

Following their advice, Kai opted to wait in the living room while the Juliens finished preparing the meal. He'd pretended to watch the TV while his mind worked at full capacity, thinking over and over again about Zane. His thoughts only got interrupted when the food had been ready to serve, although Kai wasn't sure if he appreciated the distraction or not.

On one hand, at least now he wasn't getting bombarded by this increasing worry that his relationship with Zane resembled more of a capricious owner and his complying pet than anything else. But on the other hand-

"I am very pleased to finally meet you, Kai." Dr. Julien smiled at him.

On the other hand... Kai was about to face the parental third degree he'd been dreading for days.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir," Kai sweated and picked at his salad, trying not to hold the man's gaze for too long.

"Please, I'm no 'sir', just call me Mark."

Kai nodded obediently, although he felt nervous at the idea of addressing the scholarly man with such informal terms.

"Zane talks a lot about you," Mr. Julien kept commenting.

Kai blushed and narrowed his eyes at Zane playfully. "I hope he only talked good things."

"Oh, so I think, definitely!" The doctor smiled. "From what I've heard, you're a very sweet and hard-working young man."

The fire beneath Kai's cheeks intensified, and he had to look away as he rubbed a hand over his nape.

"Father," Zane whined.

"Oh, sorry, dear. It didn't intend to make you feel self-conscious," Dr. Julien told Kai. "I'm just thrilled that my son has found someone that treasures him back."

Kai couldn't help but turn his eyes back to the beautiful blond sitting by his side. Zane smiled gently at him, a faint pink hue adorning his face. Kai's chest tightened once more.

"Sorry, I think I'm embarrassing you both." Mark wiped his mouth with the napkin after taking a bite of the salmon. "Why don't you tell me more about yourself, Kai? Zane says you work at that cozy coffee shop. How's it going there?"

Oddly enough, Dr. Julien didn't ask Kai any weird, uncomfortable, or compromising questions. The man didn't seem to try to get Kai to slip or make him look bad. In fact, he let Kai lead most of the conversation, going from one subject to another as they chatted about their jobs, hobbies, and random ideas that came to the table.

It turned out that Mark Julien wasn't all that fussy nor the challenging man some interviews displayed him as. The man admitted he wasn't a very outgoing person and got nervous in front of cameras, favoring to be kept in the shadows while he worked on improving his inventions. He even told Kai he admired him for working face-to-face with customers and reasoned he could never have the strength for that. He liked his machines because they were peaceful friends—for the most part.

Kai almost enjoyed his time there to the fullest if it hadn't been for Zane repeatedly asking him if he wanted more food or water, making a beeline to the kitchen when Kai randomly mentioned how good salmon tasted with a bit of mayonnaise.

"My son, always so attentive," Mark laughed.

Attentive...

Was just that, in fact? Somehow Kai had problems believing it now.