“Three. I don’t remember her.” His face looked like the subject was a closed and I briefly wondered why he had brought it up if he was not going to discuss it further.
I was desperate to change the subject and keep him from leaving. “So are we going to try and be friends now?” I asked nervously, outstretching my hand to him. I only wanted to know the answer if it was good news. I couldn’t take any more bad.
Kyle shook his head, smiling softly. “Yeah princess, we can try…” He took my hand and shook it, before pulling me closer. “But if this goes wrong, just remember I warned you. I tried to protect you.”
He released my hand and my head was swimming. What did that mean? He tried to protect me? I asked him about something else that he had said, that was still bugging me. “You said earlier I was different from other girls? How am I different?” I needed to know.
It really bothered me that he didn’t think I was a normal girl. It was obvious he found it easy to ignore me, but I was most definitely still aware of his maleness.
He sighed and turned to face me. Pulling one leg up on the couch and let the other hanging on the floor. Smiling, he chuckled. “Do we really need to have this conversation?” His smile was infectious and I felt myself mirroring him. I was so happy we were off the topic of dead mothers.
“We most definitely do, my female pride is wounded,” I replied, “Don’t try and dodge the question sir,” I joked.
“Sir?” He laughed and sat up straighter, resting one arm over his bent knee. His eyes were a tranquil blue.
“That’s what everyone at work calls you.” The girls at work called Kyle Carter worse names than sir; sexually predatory names that were too vulgar to contemplate saying out loud. “And since we’re on the subject of work, what’s with you ordering strawberry milkshakes? What are you nine?”
He gaped at me and I sniggered. “Twenty-two and I’ll have you know milkshakes are a great source of calcium. Maybe you should try one sometime, short-ass.”
I leaned over and tugged at his sweater playfully. “Okay, I think we both know by now that I’m vertically challenged so quit dodging and answer my question.”
Kyle reached up and pulled my hand into his lap and played with my fingers. I didn’t think he even realized he was doing it, but it felt right when he touched me. I always wanted to be touching him. “When I say you’re different princess, it’s because you are, plain and simple.”
“Gee thanks Kyle. So I’m plain, simple and a short-ass.” I pulled my hand back, but he was too quick for me.
“Hey, now don’t get cranky. I meant that as a complement.” He looked down at our joined hands and then back at me. He was smiling. “You’re not like any other woman I have ever met. You are honest and kind. You are probably the only girl in the whole damn world who I can say that about,” he sighed and puckered his brow. “Lee, what you represent for me is the opposite of everything I hate in women. Being around you is as easy as breathing, it’s addictive.” He exhaled deeply and smiled his half-moon smile, “Satisfied?”
Was I satisfied with that? I wasn’t sure, but I was confused. He never stayed around me long enough to test his theory. I nodded slowly, accepting his answer as the best explanation I was going to get. If I was the exact opposite of what he hated, then did that mean he…No, I wasn’t going to get my hopes up. I knew enough to know that Kyle Carter had an incredible talent for pulling the rug out from under my feet.
He squeezed my fingers and I lifted my eyes to his. “What?” I asked.
“You looked lost in thought,” he said.
I nodded. “I guess I’m trying to figure you out. You are a mystery Kyle Carter. Every time I think I’ve figured you out, you reveal another layer.”
He snorted and laced our fingers together once again. “Well, when you figure me out, could you tell me, because I’d love to know?” he asked quietly. I thought he was joking, but his face was serious. I just smiled in response. I had no reply for that.
“Since we’re on the topic of sharing, you wanna tell me why you’re not in for college? You’re eighteen. You should be starting your freshman year, not bussing tables and cleaning toilets for minimum wage.” Whoa, where did that come from?
“There is no law against not going to school Kyle.” I did not want to go into this.
I felt inferior enough as it stood without Kyle, especially since I learned he was my boss as well as my landlord. I was so far down the ladder from him, I was invisible.
Sensing my mood, he changed the subject. “When’s your birthday?”