ZARIA

Chapter 10

Zaria

Zaria stood in front of the house, staring at it as if it were a monster that would swallow her whole if she dared to enter. Every time she tried to move, she would remember what happened the night before, and something in her would clench at the thought of it, preventing her from going further.

She knew she was acting ridiculous; they were both adults, and it was perfectly natural for them to go out and enjoy themselves. Yet, she hesitated.

Zaria knew that it was stupid and immature; hell, after everything she had gone through and experienced, something like bumping into her boss enjoying a drink in a nightclub shouldn't even make her blink twice, and yet, every time she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but imagine the man as he had been the night before; dressed in leather pants and tight black shirt that hugged his body in ways she didn't dare think too long about, so very different than the usual suits he wore.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes at herself. She wasn't a child, for fuck's sake, but a grown woman, so she better start acting like it, seeing as she had a job to do, and no amount of embarrassment would keep her from Ren; the boy was too important.

Zaria took a big breath before entering the house and making her way toward the kitchen from where she could hear voices.

"Morning!" Betty exclaimed as she stopped at the threshold, sending a smile her way before turning back to the stove where she was making pancakes.

"Morning," Zaria said, her voice cracking a little when she noticed who the other person in the room was. She glanced at him and then quickly averted her eyes as they met a dark gaze, making her flush bright red; she was sure of it.

"Ren still asleep?" she asked, deciding to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, even as the words 'you saw your boss in leather pants' kept repeating in her mind on a loop and making her want to giggle like a fool, which she thankfully didn't.

She could feel Kei's eyes on her, the feel of them making a shiver run down her back.

She really needed to get a grip, she thought as she cleared her throat.

"Yes. He is really enjoying the opportunity to sleep in now that he's on a school break. He's going to be a nightmare to wake up when the school starts again." Betty said, shaking her head as she set a plate of blueberry pancakes before her.

Zaria's mouth started salivating at the sight of them, making her realize how hungry she was, so she dug in, momentarily forgetting everything about the weird situation she had found herself in.

She moaned as she took another bite, the taste of blueberries exploding on her tongue, the sound of it quickly followed by a throat clearing. Her eyes snapped open only to almost choke on her food as she swallowed.

Kei was staring at her, his gaze dark and almost hungry as he did so, making shivers run down her back. she wanted to avert her eyes, the memory of last night weighing heavily on her mind and making her flush in embarrassment, but she couldn't. As usual, the older man had her firmly under his spell, the whole world disappearing around them, and the only ones left were the two of them.

"You'll be late if you don't get a move on." Betty chirped from her place near the stove, and finally, she could breathe again as Kei looked away, stood up, and walked out of the kitchen soon after.

"Huh, interesting..." Betty hummed as she took a seat next to Zaria.

"What... what's interesting?" Zaria asked as she cleared her suddenly parched throat, her mind still a little bit hazy.