To give credit where credit was due, his mom had helped him with a ton of the décor. It was what she knew, having lived in Japan for much of her life. When she’d finally moved to the states with her parents, they’d brought their culture with them.
If Kai had been wearing shoes, he would have toed them off in his mini foyer. He wasn’t, though, as he was still dressed in his dobok, so he took the one step up into his apartment and strode into his kitchen.
Just a pitstop to fire up his tea kettle. While waiting for the water to heat, he headed to his music system on a nearby shelving unit. Pulling out his phone, he flipped through his playlists, quickly made a selection, then slid it into the dock.
Cage the Elephant.
As the garage-punk band’s bluesy tunes rose to life, Kai headed into his living room. To his right, evening light spilled in through tall windows, the wall faced with the same attractive brick as the studio below. To his left, more light filtered in through a stretch of shoji doors.
He stopped and slid them apart, creating a ten-foot-wide opening, then smiled at the very best part of his 3000 square-foot pad. The glass-enclosed sunroom that spanned nearly his entire apartment, housing within it his very own meditative garden. Bamboo and Japanese maples lined the perimeter. Large hostas, rocks, and bonsai trees adorned the ground.
And then there was the picturesque, little brook. The one his mom had insisted he incorporate. Its shallow bed lined with river stones as it weaved through the garden.
Kai stepped inside and sank to his haunches, dipping his fingers in the water, the rivulet’s gentle trickling like a calming breath. He’d always planned to make the garden exclusively rock, but this was so much better.
He smiled warmly.
Mom. Always right.
Speaking of water…
He stood back up and peered over at the kettle. A steady flow of steam rushed from its spout. He strode to the kitchen, cut off the stove, and grabbed his tetsubin tea pot, then got busy filling it with Sencha leaves. The same green tea he’d been drinking since he was a child.
When he’d filled the infuser, he poured in hot water, replaced the lid, then headed back out as he waited for it to steep. He was teaching at the gym tonight, covering a kick-boxing class for his friend, Scott, so he needed to grab a quick shower and start getting ready.
Striding to the far end of his flat, he mounted three steps that led to more shoji doors. Sliding the partitions open, he rounded his platform bed and headed for the bathroom. Minutes later, he was showered and toweling off. Another five and he was chilling on a floor cushion with his tea, his gaze on his garden and his thoughts wandering until it was time to leave.
Tranquility. Yeah, life was good.
His dark eyes slid to the empty spot beside him. A small frown formed.
Life was good, but it used to be better. Years ago. When he’d thought the man he loved had loved him, too.
Exhaling, he forced his gaze back to the garden.
He’d been lucky to have dodged that bullet.
He’d never date a man like Ryan again.
He was happier now. He was.
Not a care in the world.
Thing was, if life was happier… why wasn’t he smiling?
* * * *
“Dude. I need a solid.”
Breck grinned and shook his head, his phone clutched to his ear. “What’s the emergency now? Another frozen pea stuck up your nose?”
“Ha. No.” Ned snorted through the line. “I learned my lesson with those and you know it. That ER bitch was mean.”
“Then what?” Breck laughed, remembering the hilarious night they’d spent together just days before. Ned and Jay had been wasted and came up with the brilliant idea of seeing who could shoot peas the farthest via their nostrils. Of course, Ned’s had promptly gotten lodged in his sinus cavity. When he couldn’t power it out after a couple of feverish blows, he’d panicked and tried to hose it out. With beer.
That hadn’t gone well either, but it’d sure as shit been funny.
“I drew the short straw. Have to set up the parkour obstacle course, and there’s a lot of mammoth shit, dude. I need your help.”
“When?”
“Heading there now. Tournament’s at seven, so I’ve got less than an hour.”
Breck winced as he ambled down the sidewalk with Charlie and Jegs. “Shit, G, I can’t. On my way to Taekwondo. What about Goldie Locks?” Aka Jay. “Or maybe Mitchel?”
“Damniiiiiiit,” Ned groused. “Jay’s at swim meet. Tad’s got class. When the fuck’d you start takin’ martial arts?”
“Man, where’s your brain? I just told you guys last night while we were workin’ out, remember? Jegs roped me into it?”
Jegs beamed beside him proudly.
Charlie smirked and shook his head.