Summary: Mayoral candidate Kenna Rys meets Raydan Lykel at a fundraiser, and they become closer.
Author’s note: This was written for Round 60 of #ChoicesCreates: Alternate Universe.
The fundraiser dinner seemed to be going well. Kenna expected that quite a bit of money would be raised for her mayoral campaign. After her mother had died in office, Marco Nevrakis had been appointed Mayor of Stormholt. He was running for re-election, and had influential political allies, particularly his father, Governor Luther Nevrakis. Kenna was determined to take over her mother’s former position and continue her policies.
Annelyse Adair, the CEO of Aurelia Enterprises, approached Kenna. A handsome man with long black hair was by her side.
“Good evening, Ms. Rys. I will be making a generous donation to your campaign.” Aurelia Enterprises was a profitable real estate company known for building luxury homes. More recently, the company had also begun building more affordable housing.
Kenna smiled. “Thank you very much, Ms. Adair. I truly appreciate your support.”
Anneylse gestured to the man beside her. “This is my assistant, Raydan Lykel.”
Kenna couldn’t help noticing how handsome he was. She offered him her hand, and felt a spark when they touched. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lykel.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Rys. It’s an honor to meet you.” He gave her a charming smile. “I’d love to talk with you about your plans for more affordable housing in Stormholt.”
“I’d be happy to.” She reached out to accept the business card that Raydan offered her.
Kenna agreed to meet Raydan at a local coffee shop. When she arrived, Raydan was holding a bouquet of flowers.
“These are for you,” he said as he handed her the bouquet.
Kenna took the flowers from him. “Thank you, Mr. Lykel.”
“Please, call me Raydan.”
“And you can call me Kenna.” She suspected that Raydan had more on his mind than discussing political issues. That was fine with her, since she found herself very attracted to him.
They ordered their drinks and sat down at a table. Kenna looked at the flowers, then smiled at Raydan. “These are beautiful.”
“They reminded me of you.” He picked up the bouquet and began pointing to the flowers. “The purple iris represents wisdom. The nasturtium represents patriotism. The white chrysanthemum represents loyalty and honesty. And the gladiolus represents strength and integrity.” He handed the flowers back to her. “Well, that’s one meaning, anyway. It also can represent infatuation. Its pointed shape sends the message ‘You pierce my heart.'”
Kenna blushed. The message seemed all too fitting. Steering the conversation in another direction, she reminded him of what he had wished to talk to her about. “You said you wanted to discuss affordable housing in Stormholt.”
Raydan nodded. “Yes. Many people struggle to pay their bills, and cannot afford to pay high rents. Some of them have to resort to living on the streets. If you’re elected, I hope you will make affordable housing a priority. And I’m not just saying that so Aurelia Enterprises can build more homes. It’s an important issue.”
“I agree. I’ll definitely keep the needs of low-income residents in mind.” Kenna took a sip of her coffee, then looked to Raydan. “You seem very passionate about this issue.”
“I am. It’s personal to me.” He frowned. “I haven’t had an easy life.”
“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” Kenna was curious, but didn’t want to push him to reveal things that he might not be ready to share with her yet.
“My family was very poor. My father walked out on us when I was young, and we never saw him again. He didn’t pay any child support, and we ended up on the streets.” He paused, and his expression darkened. “Then my mother died of a drug overdose. My sister and I were left alone. Eventually we ended up in foster care. Our first foster parents were abusive, and we ran away. We lived on the streets for a while, and were eventually picked up and sent to another foster home. That didn’t last, and my sister and I were separated. I lived in a series of foster homes, none of them very good. I ran away more than once. When I turned eighteen, my foster parents kicked me out, even though I hadn’t graduated from high school yet. I lived on the streets again, and managed to finish school. Things didn’t get better for me until I met Annelyse, and she gave me a job.”
“I’m so sorry, Raydan. No wonder affordable housing is so important to you. I promise, I’ll do everything I can if I’m elected.”
After they finished their coffee, Raydan walked Kenna to her car. “I had a wonderful time. I’d love to see you again.”
“I’d like that.” Kenna moved closer to him, and he leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and deepened the kiss. Her body tingled with excitement. Finally, he broke the kiss and pulled away.
“I need to get going. There are matters I must attend to. But would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? Blake’s Restaurant, eight o’ clock?”
“Absolutely. I’ll see you then.”
Kenna headed to her campaign headquarters. Once she was there, she filled a vase with water and put the flowers in it, arranging them in an attractive manner.
Gabriel Amarne, her campaign manager and a longtime family friend, approached her. “Where did those flowers come from?”
“Raydan Lykel gave them to me. You met him at the fundraiser dinner. Annelyse Adair’s assistant.”
Gabriel nodded. “Yes, I remember him. Are you seeing him now?”
“So what if I am?” Gabriel had always been very protective of her, and had not always approved of the men in her life. Neither he nor her mother had wanted her to get involved with Dominic Hunter, whom she had known since childhood. He had a reputation as a ladies’ man. Nevertheless, when she had turned eighteen, the two of them began dating. Gabriel and her mother had both been relieved when they had broken up. They had remained friends, but she suspected that Dom hoped that they would get back together.
“Be careful,” he warned her. “You just met him, and don’t really know much about him.”
“He seems very nice. I like him,” she told Gabriel.
Apparently her impression of Raydan was not enough to reassure Gabriel, because later in the day, he approached her, and it wasn’t her campaign that he wanted to discuss. “I’ve been looking into Raydan Lykel, and there’s something you should know.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“He has a criminal record. He’s been arrested for shoplifting several times. He’s also been charged with assault and battery. He’s spent time in prison.” He looked at her pleadingly. “Kenna, you shouldn’t be seen associating with someone like that. It could hurt your campaign.”
For the rest of the day, Kenna kept thinking about what Gabriel had told her. She knew he would want her to cancel their date. But it was only a day away, and she decided that she should give Raydan a chance to explain his side of the story. The least she could do was hear him out.
The following night, Kenna met Raydan at Blake’s Restaurant. After they were seated, Kenna looked at him hesitantly. “Raydan, I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” he asked, looking nervous. He must have sensed that an unpleasant topic was coming up.
Kenna took a deep breath. “My campaign manager told me that you’ve been convicted of shoplifting, assault, and battery, and have been in prison.”
Raydan looked down. He remained silent for a moment, then spoke quietly. “Yes, that’s true.”
“Will you tell me more about it?”
He nodded slightly, then lifted his head up and met her gaze. “I told you that I spent time living on the streets. I was poor and hungry. Sometimes I stole food from grocery stores. I was caught a few times.”
“I can understand why you did that,” Kenna said sympathetically.
“And about the other charges…I saw a man and a woman talking. She looked terrified of him. I was afraid he was going to hurt her. She was able to get in her car and drive away, but I was afraid he might go after her later. So I beat him up, and told him that he better not touch her, or hurt anyone else. He pressed charges. I claimed that my actions were justified in order to defend her, but because she had already left when it happened, the judge didn’t agree, and I was sentenced to six months in prison.” Raydan frowned. “If you don’t want to see me again, I understand.”
“Gabriel…my campaign manager…doesn’t think I should. He thinks it would be bad for my campaign.” Kenna reached for Raydan’s hand. “But I really like you. When we met, I thought you seemed like a good person. And now that I know what happened, I still think that.”
Raydan squeezed her hand and looked at her gratefully. “Thank you. I really like you too. But I don’t want to cause trouble for you. If it helps, I’m very good at sneaking around.”
“Good to know. And if we need to, we can explain things from your perspective. You’ve been through hard times, and you’ve turned your life around. That’s admirable.”
After dinner, Raydan walked Kenna to her car again. Once they reached her car, they threw their arms around each other and began to kiss passionately. Kenna pressed her body against Raydan’s, and she could feel his desire. Her hands moved down his back until she reached his behind, and she began rubbing it.
Raydan broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. “Do you want to go to my place?”
“Yes. Please.” Kenna wanted him so badly.
“Follow me.” He headed for his car, and Kenna got in hers. As soon as he pulled up in front of her, she got behind him, eagerly awaiting what the night would bring.