Note: This series explores Kai and Damien’s relationship in the 4 years prior to the event of Perfect Match and then continues and is woven in with canon events. As always, feedback is much appreciated.
It had only been 3 weeks since the initial meeting with Damien, and the trial date for Nadia’s stalker was already here. Damien had been right that catching the stalker would be no problem. They met on a Saturday, and by Wednesday Nadia was called to the police station to identify her stalker. Kai went to support Nadia, but she wasn’t disappointed to see Damien standing at the front desk when they arrived. They stood outside and made small talk while Nadia went to view the lineup.
Sadly, that was the last time Kai had seen or spoken with Damien. She didn’t know why this bothered her. Damien’s job was done, and she was in a relationship that was getting pretty serious. However, she knew there was undeniable chemistry between them, and Damien didn’t know she was spoken for. It was probably unfair of her to feel this way, but she wished he had at least asked for her phone number.
Kai felt a nervous anticipation as she got dressed and ready for the trial. Yes, she was anxious about Nadia having to testify and face her stalker in court, but she knew Damien would be there to testify as well. This might be her last chance to see him.
“Come on Kai, we don’t want to be late!” Nadia yelled from the living room of her and Kai’s shared 2 bedroom flat.
“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” Kai said as she emerged from the bathroom.
“Wow, do you and Kyle have a hot date after court?” Nadia inquired.
“What do you mean? I wear this dress to work, so it should be perfectly acceptable for the courtroom.” Kai was wearing her favorite go-to little black dress. It was nothing fancy, and the cut was conservative enough, but it accentuated her curves in all the right places. Okay, maybe she spent an hour on her hair and makeup, but it’s not like she was dressed in clubbing attire.
“It’s just…you are always put together and naturally gorgeous of course, but I usually only see you put in this much effort when you are trying to impress someone.”
“Nadia, this is a big day for you! I just want to project a good image for your sake.”
“Uh-huh. So this has nothing to do with the fact that Damien will be there?” Nadia smirked.
Kai rolled her eyes, but had nothing to say in response because Nadia was right. “Let’s just go, we don’t want to be late!”
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Kai spotted Damien and Nadia’s lawyer William standing outside the courtroom doors. William turned to greet them. “Well ladies, now that you are here, are you ready to go home?”
“What do you mean?” Nadia said with a concerned look on her face. “Please don’t tell me the trial was pushed back.”
“No, no, much better than that. The defendant accepted the plea deal we proposed. 3 years in prison and a no contact order for life.”
“What?! That’s incredible! I was ready to testify, but I’m so happy I don’t have to. You cannot believe the relief I feel right now.” Nadia hugged William and then Kai.
Kai was overcome with a mix of emotions herself, and before she knew what happening, she got swept up in the excitement and wrapped her arms around Damien.
A surprised “Oh!” escaped from Damien’s lips, and he tentatively hugged Kai back before quickly letting go and taking a step back.
“I’m sorry Damien, everyone else was hugging, and there you were. I have problems with personal space sometimes.” Shut up Kai, you are just making it weirder, she thought to herself. But he smells amazing. It was almost worth embarrassing yourself just to find that out.
“Don’t worry. It was just a bit of a surprise. I’m not much of a hugger,” Damien replied with a hint of a smile on his face, indicating that he wasn’t as horrified as Kai thought he might be. This was just enough to keep Kai from running out of the courthouse right at that very moment and never looking back.
“Well I don’t know about all of you, but I’m ready to celebrate!” Nadia exclaimed. “How about a party tomorrow night at our place? What do you say William? I know Kyle will be excited to hang out with his college buddy.”
William checked his calendar before responding. “I think I should be able to stop by for a bit.”
“Great!” And what about you Damien? We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you.”
Kai didn’t know if she wanted to thank Nadia or smack her for inviting Damien. She was both worried he would say no, and terrified he would say yes. It seemed like minutes passed before he replied.
“I don’t know. I don’t normally mix business with pleasure…” Hearing Damien say the word pleasure made Kai’s heart beat even faster. She noticed Damien glance her way. “But I guess since the trial is over, you technically aren’t my client anymore. Why not?”
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Damien checked the address in text from Nadia one more time. He hesitated a moment before knocking on the apartment door. He wasn’t one for big social gatherings, especially when he wouldn’t know most of the people there. And if he was willing to admit it to himself, which he wasn’t, he was nervous about seeing Kai again. She definitely wasn’t the reason he changed his outfit 3 times before settling on a fitted gray sweater and dark jeans. Okay, maybe that was part of it.
Nadia opened the door with a huge smile on her face. “Damien, I’m so glad you made it!” He handed her the bottle of Prosecco he brought, and she excused herself to the kitchen to put it on ice.
Damien scanned the room until he found her. Kai stood on the other side of the room talking to a tall man with sandy blond hair. He was kind of good looking, if you were into pretentious looking types. He was probably just a friend anyway. Kai had never mentioned a boyfriend. Kai was wearing a short floral dress and looked as gorgeous as ever.
Kai noticed Damien and instantly waved him over. “Kyle, this is Damien, Nadia’s private investigator and the reason we are here celebrating tonight.”
Kyle shook Damien’s hand with a crushing grip, as if to prove his masculinity. “So this is the man of the hour. Nice to meet you Damien, I’m Kai’s boyfriend.”
Damien’s heart sunk in his chest. If he was able to pretend on some level that he wasn’t interested in Kai before, that was over now. He just hoped the fake smile on his face didn’t give anything away. “Oh, so this is the Kyle who is also William’s friend from college? Are you a lawyer as well?”
“Yes, but I do corporate law. That’s why I referred Nadia to William instead of taking the case myself.” Of course, corporate law. That explained the pretentiousness and dry personality. Damien worked alongside many types of lawyers in his job, and he had opinions on all of them. Maybe Damien was being a bit harsh by making these assumptions before getting to know Kyle, but he was familiar with his type. Being intuitive and a good judge of character is what made Damien excel at his job. If that is the kind of guy Kai was into too, Damien would never be her type.
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It was a bit awkward at first having her boyfriend and the man she had a massive crush on in the same place, but after a few drinks, everyone was more relaxed. Kai was relieved when Nadia suggested Thumper for a drinking game, since it required no talking. She was fearful of what might have come out of her mouth had something like Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever been chosen.
As the evening wore on, however, Kyle reverted to his frat boy days and got completely wasted. This shouldn’t have surprised Kai, since it happened quite frequently. Still, she was hoping he would have grown out of it by now. He was 28 after all. Maybe by the time he’s 30….
“Kyle, why don’t I take you to my room to lie down? I think the party is over for you.” Kai led Kyle to her room and struggled to keep them both from toppling over. She removed his shoes but left him on top of the covers with his clothes on. He was already passed out and snoring. Kai would be sleeping on the couch tonight for sure.
Kai returned to the living room as the last of the remaining guests were heading out.
“Thanks for coming Damien, but I don’t think I can stay up for one more minute. Hopefully we can all hang out again,” Nadia said as she turned to head to her room. “Feel free to stay and hang out with Kai. You two behave!”
Kai glared at Nadia. It could have been the drinks, but Kai swore she saw Damien’s cheeks redden. But none of it mattered. Kai was in a serious relationship with Kyle. He was smart, stable, and driven. She could ignore some of his faults because he could give her the life she always pictured. She should be happy.
“I’m sorry about that. She can be quite the comedian when she drinks.”
“No worries. This party was actually fun. I typically spend my Saturday evenings alone binge watching shows on Netflix. It was nice to be social for once.”
“Nadia was right about one thing though. We should hang out again. I know Nadia has your number but I’ll give you mine as well.” Kai grabbed Damien’s phone and put her number in before texting herself. “There, now I have your number too.”
“Well I should probably head home before I misbehave.”
Kai couldn’t tell if Damien was joking or serious, but either way, it made her feel things she shouldn’t. She resisted the urge to give him a hug goodbye, because she didn’t know if she could control what happened after that. “Goodnight Damien, hopefully I’ll see you again soon.”