I laughed as I grabbed her hand. I knew she was able. Willing, now that was another story. Smiling, I indicated the building where her class was. “Come on.”
She looked up at me, curious. “And where are you going?”
I laughed as I looked down at her. “I’m walking you to class…obviously.”
Like she felt I was being unreasonable, she rolled her eyes; the gesture was clearly from embarrassment though, not irritation. “You don’t have to. I can manage.”
“Maybe I want to,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze. We approached the building and I opened the door and held it for her. As she walked through, I added, “It’s not like my mornings are earth-shatteringly busy or anything. I’d probably just be napping.” Or thinking of you.
She laughed as she looked back at me. “Why do you get up so early then?”
I let out a wry laugh as I walked beside her down the hall. “It’s not by choice…trust me.” No, my dad had ingrained my sleep patterns in me long ago. Now, I usually woke up around the same time every day, and if I didn’t, if I slept in for some reason, more often than not, I woke up in a panic, half expecting to see him at the foot of my bed. Even though he was long gone, the irrational fear remained. “I would rather sleep in than function on four or five hours a night.”
She told me I should nap and I told her I would. And I might, actually. I could use the refresher, and it would make the time fly by. We’d reached her classroom, and I held this door open for her as well. She gave me an odd, calculating expression, and I wondered if she thought I was going to walk her to her seat. I hadn’t planned on it…but I would if she wanted me to. “Would you like me to walk you in?” I asked, only half teasing.
She released my hand and pushed me back. “No,” she playfully responded. She stared at me for a moment, her expression turning serious and adoring. I loved seeing that look on her. “Thank you, Kellan.” Leaning over, she gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. I loved that too. It made that warmth I felt whenever she was near grow stronger.
I looked down, then peeked up at her. “You’re welcome.” I’d do anything for you. “I’ll pick you up later.” She started to protest, but I quickly cut her off with a look. After she consented to me giving her a ride home, I checked out her classroom full of studious, young eager beavers. Telling her to have fun, I turned and headed out. Curious, I looked back to see if she was watching me leave. She was. That made my chest squirm, but in a good way. I held my hand up in a wave. Being at school with her wasn’t so bad…I could get used to this.
I ended up taking her to school every day that week. By Friday, I was thoroughly enjoying our new routine, and while I missed her during the day, seeing the gratitude on her face when I walked her to class in the morning and the excitement in her eyes when I picked her up in the afternoon made the time apart worth it. For a minute, I could pretend that I meant everything to her, because she was certainly starting to mean everything to me. And if you pretend something long enough, it eventually becomes real. Right?
Chapter 9
Cure for Heartache
I closed up my guitar case, eager to go home. It was Sunday, still pretty early in the evening, and Kiera wasn’t working tonight. Now that rehearsal was over, we could have the entire night together. If I hurried, I could possibly make it home before she had dinner and we could eat together. Maybe I’d attempt to make something for her tonight. Spaghetti? I wasn’t the greatest cook, but boiling water was something I could do.
I glanced up at Evan and Matt. “See you tomorrow.” I have a date. Well, not a date, but I have somewhere to be.
Evan gave me such an odd look that I froze. Either he suspected something…or I was forgetting something. “What?” I asked, slowly.
Evan didn’t say anything, he just tilted his head at Matt and raised his eyebrows. That was when it hit me. “Fuck. Matt. It’s your birthday. I’m sorry, man, I totally forgot.”
Matt’s cheeks turned red as he scratched his head. “Don’t worry about it, Kell. It’s no big deal.” He gave Evan a pointed glance. “We don’t have to do anything special. Just playing with you guys was enough.”
Griffin was sitting on the back of the couch. He made a disgusted noise at Matt’s comment. “Screw that. We’re partying. No birthday is complete until you’ve upchucked your dinner.” He scrunched his brow in concentration. “Have we eaten yet?”
Evan smiled at Matt. “Nope, not yet. Where you wanna go, birthday boy?”