chapter eleven ; dance with me

Tao was lying next to you in the tree as you both often did when Suho called up to you. "Ari~"

You looked down and blinked at the milky-skinned boy with a small smile. "Morning Suho oppa. Do you want me to work today?" Suho smiled softly and shook his head. "All the invitations have been sent out, so there isn't much to do around the office anymore. However, I have a summoning for you." He held out a white envelope.

"Fancy," you commented, hooking your legs around a branch and swinging yourself down in front of him. Suho blinked, seemingly astounded. *She's such a tomboy.* He smiled and gave it to you. "I believe it's from the White Palace. Perhaps from the king?"

"Most likely," you agreed, opening the envelope to find a heavy stock card with a gold design. You read it over and sighed. "Kai wants me to join him for tea." You looked up at the tree. "You want to come, Tao?"

"Hm..." He slunk beside you lazily and wrapped an arm around your waist, setting his chin on your shoulder, causing you to tense and take a sharp breath at the intimate contact. He read over the note. "Why not? I'm up for tea." *And to him from putting his moves on you.*

You smiled at Suho, almost forgetting that he was there. "Thank you oppa." You kissed his cheek lightly, making him smile warmly. He was like an older brother to you, after all. He nodded and patted your cheek affectionately. "Of course Ari. Have fun with the White King. See you later. Bye, Tao." He smiled, bowed, and went back to his house down the path.

"Well then," said Tao, grabbing your hand. "Shall we go?" You nodded and laced your fingers with Tao on habit. "Yeah. Let's go."

The both of you reached the White Palace and went right inside, since everyone knew that Kai was expecting you. And since Kai was expecting, he figured that Tao would come along with you.

But Kai did sigh when he saw Tao tagging right beside you, his hand in yours. *She's too close to him. She has to choose me when both Kris hyung and I name her our queen on the night of the ball.* He sighed again, plastering a smile on to greet you and Tao. "Morning, Ari. Morning, Tao."

"Morning Kai," you replied happily while Tao just smirked a little and nodded. Kai smiled and held his arm out for you to take like a gentleman. You took it, and Kai didn't fail to notice the glare Tao sent him. He sent Tao a small smirk before facing you with a sweet smile. "What kind of tea do you want?" he asked, making small talk.

You smiled and talked to Kai, leaving Tao to trail behind the two of you, glaring at Kai's lean figure. He scoffed mentally. *I have a better body shape. And I'm probably stronger. Plus I can protect her better. Tch, Ari, look at me. Obviously I'm the best choice.* But worry ate him away anyway.

You weren't paying attention to Kai's hand as you drank tea with him, laughing when he told you a story of him, Sehun, and Luhan when he was younger, so you didn't notice when he grabbed your hand under the table, lacing your fingers together. Tao would've been holding your hand if he were sitting on the side that Kai were on. He'd hold your other hand, but you were holding your teacup with that hand.

Kai smiled at you, his lips against his teacup. He nodded as you told him about your visit with the twins, listening intently and playing with your fingers. You still hadn't noticed, or if you had noticed, you didn't care. Kai smiled wider, his lips to his teacup. *Is she finally starting to warm up to me as a man instead of as a king? God I hope so.*

Tao growled softly and stood up. "I'm going to take a walk," he whispered in your ear. You shivered and closed your eyes for a moment, nodding. "Okay. See you in a bit then." He hummed and nodded, your jaw lightly before pulling away. "Yeah. I'll be back in a bit. Have fun." You nodded at him, casting a worried glance to which he responded with a smile. You sighed slightly and turned back to face Kai as Tao disappeared in his habit.

Kai tilted his head, lacing his fingers with yours. "Where's he going?" You looked down at your hand in his, gulping slightly. "He went..." You blinked, suddenly forgetting your train of thought as he rubbed his thumb on the back of your hand. Letting out a breath, you finished. "...on a walk."

"I see," he murmured, bringing your hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. "Then would you like to dance with me? Practice for the ball, even if you're not going to mine? You'll have to dance either way."

You blinked, blushing lightly when he kissed the back of your hand, and nodded. "Yeah...I'd like that. You're quite the dancer, Kai."

He chuckled and lifted you from your chair, keeping his hold on your hand, placing his other hand on your waist. Music appeared from nowhere, and you placed your free hand on Kai's shoulder as he moved the both of you, leading. Kai really was an excellent dancer. He smiled down at you. "You're getting better at dancing. Have you been practicing?"

"Nope," you answered with a light chuckle, letting him twirl you around.

Tao watched from afar with a sigh. *Maybe I can convince her not to go to either ball. And we'll just dance all night by ourselves.*

AUTHOR'S NOTES; What do you guys think of it so far? ^^ Sorry for not being around as much~ I'm studying in Japan right now~

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