My heart flipped over and tumbled dangerously.
I smiled. I couldn’t help it.
Biting on my lip, I quickly typed out a reply.
Time and place?
“Who was that?” Kyle tried to peer at my phone and I quickly shoved it back into my pocket before seeing Mason’s reply.
“Jeesh, you’re being nosy today,” I said with a laugh, reining in my annoyance.
“Is it a guy? Are you dating someone?” Kyle asked, turning back to his pudding. He wouldn’t quite look at me.
We had entered awkward territory. Kyle and I weren’t traditional friends who talked about personal lives. His asking me such an invasive question was out of character and more than a little off-putting.
I wanted to tell him to mind his own business. I didn’t want to share Mason. Not with anyone.
He’s mine…
“It’s cool if you are,” Kyle went on, scooping pudding up with his fingers and shoving it in his mouth. I felt ill watching him eat.
“Why does it matter?” I asked, mildly annoyed. My phone dinged in my pocket, but as eager as I was to see Mason’s response, I didn’t look. Not with Kyle being a little too interested.
Kyle wiped his hands on a napkin and balled it in his fist. “Because it’s nice to know things about your friends. We’re friends, right, Hannah?”
“Sure we are,” I placated. “Yes. It’s a man I’m dating.” It felt weird to admit something personal to Kyle. But what could it hurt?
“What’s he like?” Kyle asked, his voice off.
I peered at the younger guy and wondered what was bothering him. Was he jealous? I had never gotten the impression that he liked me…but maybe I was wrong.
“He’s an FBI agent, actually.” I grudgingly gave him some information. Why was I feeling so possessive?
“An FBI agent, huh?” Kyle muttered. Was he pouting?
“Yeah, pretty cool, right?”
Kyle seemed to get over whatever was bugging him. He relaxed and grinned. “Yeah, that is pretty cool. Just don’t let slip about your awesome friend Kyle and his work high jinks.”
I laughed, glad he was acting normal again. Kyle didn’t think of me like that. We were buddies. That was it.
“I think Mason’s got bigger things to worry about than an IT dude who likes to mess with his coworkers’ email.”
Kyle raised his eyebrows. “ ‘Mason,’ huh? That’s a very masculine name.”
“About as masculine as ‘Kyle.’ ”
Kyle puffed out his nonexistent chest. “That’s me, super macho.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Okay, well, I better get back to work.”
We both got to our feet and Kyle threw away his trash. “Don’t forget to keep me in the loop about our hacker friend,” he whispered as we made our way back into the building.
“Just don’t go around talking about it. It’s on the hush-hush.” I gave him a pointed look.
Kyle pretended to zip his lips and I wagged my finger at him in warning.
I quickly pulled out my phone to see Mason’s message. It had been burning a hole in my pocket.
