I numbly nodded. “I’m great.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You can’t lie to me, Lane.”
Isn’t that the bloody truth?
“Okay, I’m not great, but I’m not in bits either – not right now anyway.”
He gestured to the sofa. “Sit down and turn on something for us to watch. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I blinked. “Where are you going?”
“To make us tea, obviously.”
I was surprised when I snorted, and even more surprised when it brought a bright smile to Kale’s face. “A cup of tea would be perfect.”
He chuckled and turned on his heel. “Three sugars and loads of milk. On it.”
I felt my jaw drop open. “You remember how I take my tea?” I asked, my shock laced throughout my tone.
He stopped by the sitting room door and, without turning around, he said, “You think I’d forget it?”
I said nothing, so Kale proceeded to walk out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen. I gazed at the space he vacated for a few moments, before sitting down on the sofa and staring ahead at the blank television screen.
He remembered how I took my tea. I didn’t know if it was just an afterthought, because he’d made me so many cups of tea during my lifetime, or if it was a bit of knowledge he held onto after I left, and it killed me because I couldn’t ask. It would have been awkward. I couldn’t ask him any kind of question that related to feelings between us. I knew how that conversation went, and it wasn’t pretty.
Besides, a conversation about our past would be on Kale’s terms; I owed him that much.
I turned the television on and scanned through the channels until I landed on The Big Bang Theory. That was safe. It was a comedy show, and there was a low probability of me bursting into tears as we watched it. A few minutes passed by before Kale re-entered the room with two cups of tea in his hands. He placed both cups on coasters on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
He settled next to me, sitting just a few inches away, with his arm thrown over the back of the sofa and his long legs parted as he watched the show. I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than how close Kale was to me. He was so close I could smell his delicious scent, and it was torturing me as it begged me to bury my face in his neck and inhale.
Rein it in, my mind warned.
I bit the insides of my cheeks, then leaned forward and picked up the cup in front of me, blew lightly and took a sip of the heated liquid. I audibly groaned as the sugary goodness slid down my throat to my empty stomach.
“Oh. My. God,” I breathed. “You still make the best cup of tea I have ever tasted.”
Kale didn’t reply, so when I looked at him, I found his eyes were focused on my mouth, and it caused my pulse to spike. After a moment or two, he lifted his gaze to mine and grinned. “I’m glad I still hold onto my title of World’s Best Cup of Tea Maker.”
I snorted, thinking back to the time when I’d given him that title. I was fourteen and had my period, and I was cramping and miserable. Kale made me my first cup of tea, and it changed everything. Every. Thing. From that moment on, whenever I was in his company, he would be on duty to make me a cup of tea.
I was glad to see it was one tradition that didn’t fade to nothing.
We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before I felt on edge. I wanted to offer my condolences for Kaden, to acknowledge his existence, but I didn’t know how to say it. I was so scared I would mess it up and not come across as completely sincere. I was also afraid it would upset Kale, and that was the last thing I wanted.
I decided it was best for me to leave before I said something that would upset one of us, most likely me.
“I think I’m going to go up to bed before I fall asleep down here.”
That was a cold-hearted lie. I was so wired being in his company, and it was freaking me out.
“Go ahead. I’ll stay down here until your parents and brothers get in.”
What did I do to deserve his generosity? I thought, then frowned when my mind sneered, Nothing.
I got to my feet and shifted from foot to foot.
“Thank you, Kale.”
He gazed up at me. “You don’t have to thank me, Laney Baby – I’ve got you.”
My heart thudded against my chest, surprisingly still working.
“Laney Baby,” I mused. “That won’t ever change, will it?”
Kale smiled, shook his head and said, “Things haven’t changed around here, kid.”
I glanced around and frowned. “Are you sure? Because from where I’m standing, everything is different.”
“I’m the same,” he replied, and licked his lips. “Mostly, anyway.”