“Okay, why don’t you show me inside…and where you curl up and talk to me?”
It’s so forward, I whip my head around to stare at him. “Yes, sir.”
He jumps off the swing, turns toward me, grabs my hand, and pulls me to my feet. “Now, we’re getting somewhere.” He laughs as he tugs me to the door.
I give him the grand tour. Quietly, I point to a door. “This is my room.”
He gestures with his hands. “Then let’s see it.”
I open the door excruciatingly slow, and he crosses his arms, tapping his toe. “I’m waiting.”
When it’s completely open, he walks to the bed. With his large hands, he pushes on the mattress. He says, “Seems comfortable.”
Lia comes barging into the room. “Oh, you have company.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head at her. “Yes, Lia, this is Kai Hastings.” There was no need to elaborate; she’s well aware of everything Kai Hastings.
She walks up to him with her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Kai Hastings.”
“Nice to meet you, Lia. Thank you for keeping our girl company.”
Did he say, our girl?
The electricity shoots through my body, and I must have jolted because Lia’s wide eyes are staring back at me. Or it’s because she heard it too.
“As always.” She flashes a smile at him. “I’ll let you two do whatever you’re doing.” And she walks out of the room as fast as she ran in.
“You two must have fun together,” he says as he walks over to me. “Do we have time for a movie and popcorn, I mean, if you have some?”
We both look at the clock. It’s a bit later than I like to stay up, knowing tomorrow will be as hectic, except I’ll have these memories to keep me going. “Yeah, I love movies and popcorn.”
There isn’t a TV in my bedroom, so we stroll out to the living room and I hand him the remote. “Can you find us something funny to watch so we can laugh our asses off?”
I rummage through the cabinets. I’m pretty sure we at least have some microwaveable popcorn. And bingo, I found some. Opening the microwave, I pop the bag inside and push the popcorn button. Digging out a bowl to dump it into, I yell over my shoulder, “Do you want something to drink?”
“Water is fine. Do you need me to help with the drinks?” He stands up before I can answer and is right next to me. He takes the glasses from my hands and fills them with water. “Unless you want something else?”
“Ah, nope, nope. Water works for me.” My eyes are trained on him holding the waters. He walks by me and puts them on the coffee table, on top of the coasters that are already there. I dump out the bag into a bowl and walk to sit next to him on the couch.
And like it’s any other night that we sit together, he puts his arm around my shoulder, resting his hand. When his fingers drag up and down, all of my senses kick up, and I can’t form a sentence. Instead, I cram popcorn into my mouth and mumble about the movie, totally unfazed by the fact that I’m talking through half-chewed kernels. Honestly, it’s better than blurting out how much I want him to kiss me.
The movie starts, and I laugh when I see who’s on the TV. Finally, I can piece words together. “Can’t ever go wrong with Adam Sandler.”
“That’s a fact.” He scoops a bunch of popcorn into his hand, his massive palm holding popcorn like it’s a bowl of his own.
The movie plays, and we laugh the entire way through. Then his phone timer goes off, and my heart sinks to the depths of my stomach. We were settling in for a great night, and now he has to leave. I remind myself that we’ve become friends—yeah, good friends.That’sit, right?
He taps his phone to shut off the alarm and clicks a few more times to order his Uber to head back to the airport.
This night has been one of the best nights I’ve had, maybe ever. His body turns. I automatically fall into his arms and onto his chest. With his hands rubbing my back, there’s prickling in my eyes. I brush it off as he reminds me of Saxville and my sister. But I’m lying to myself. It’s that I don’t want him to go.
He stands up with me attached to him, hugging tightly. “The rest of your time here will be exceptional. You wait and see.”
His encouragement only makes the prickles in my eyes even more intense now. I wipe them with the back of my hand. “Wait, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course I am.” More lies spew out of my mouth as my stomach knots up.
He stares at me with suspicion. When he steps closer, I want to be seen by him. I want him to see all of me.
