What was going on?
I stepped backward so quickly I tripped over my feet, almost falling over. Kyle’s cheeks flamed bright red, his eyes flashing at my obvious rejection. The vibe between Kyle and me had changed and it now teetered on horribly awkward.
“Uh, Kyle, I think you should go.” I didn’t mean to sound rude, but Kyle had just tried to kiss me. I didn’t know what to do with that.
Kyle had always acted like a slightly obnoxious younger brother. I had never gotten the impression he wanted more than friendship from me.
But now, in my home, out of our usual comfort zone, things felt very different.
And my friend Kyle wasn’t acting like himself at all.
“I’m sorry. I guess I should have called before showing up unannounced,” he stated stiffly. He was clearly upset. But he also seemed angry. And it was the anger that worried me.
I needed him to leave. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I also couldn’t deal with any of this right now. Not with Mason coming over. Not with the exploit looming.
Kyle and his unrequited feelings couldn’t be a factor in anything.
“About that…I don’t remember giving you my address.”
“You didn’t. I hacked into the HR system and found it.” He was so blasé. As if he cracked security systems every day.
Kyle had always been amateur at best. When had he acquired the knowledge needed to hack the HR system without my help?
“Since when can you do something like that?” I sounded belligerent. I didn’t care.
“You’re not the only one with secrets, Hannah,” Kyle snapped.
“I don’t have secrets. Why are you acting like this? It’s weird, Kyle.”
“I’m not acting like anything. Maybe you’re the one who’s being weird. Did you ever think about that? Ever since you got with this guy you’re with—”
“We’re friends, Kyle. That’s all we’ll ever be. You get that, right?” I didn’t mean to be hateful, but I wanted him to understand that very important point.
“Yeah. We’re friends,” he said darkly.
“And hacking the HR system to look up my address sounds a lot like stalking. So stop doing stuff like that, or I’ll have to bust some kneecaps.” I tried to smile. To lighten my tone. I failed.
Kyle and I stared at each other for a moment before Kyle winced, seeming contrite. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that. Please don’t bust my kneecaps.”
“Ask the next time you want some information. I may give it to you.” I put my hand on his arm and began to steer him toward the hallway. Then I pulled away. I didn’t want him to get any ideas. I would have to be very careful about not leading him on. The last thing I needed was for Kyle to think he had a shot.
“Maybe when you’re feeling better we could hang out. I could show you some stuff I’ve learned.” Kyle seemed so eager. But after his almost kiss, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to spend any alone time with him.
“I’ll be back at work tomorrow. You can show me then.” I opened the door, a blast of chilly April air hitting me in the face.
“Oh, okay. Sure.” Kyle hesitated before walking outside. “Sorry for showing up like this. I just wanted to see you…to make sure you were all right.”
I patted his shoulder. “I’m fine, Kyle. I appreciate the thought. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Kyle continued to stand on my front stoop as if there was more he wanted to say. I didn’t particularly want to hear it.
“Bye,” I said brightly, all but shooing him away.
“Bye, Hannah.” I ignored the way he lingered on my name.
I was relieved when he turned to walk down the path toward his car. I quickly closed the door, tempted to lock it behind me.
My email pinged a few minutes later. The encrypted account.
