“Thanks,” I reply.
Reaching Kao’s car, I wait as he opens the passenger door for me, then I climb inside. My gaze follows him when he walks around the front of the car, and then I put on my seatbelt as he slides behind the steering wheel.
We steal a moment to smile at each other before he steers the vehicle off the campus.
This is it. Finally.
“If you take highway thirty-three and then turn off on Fairview, it should get us there faster,” I say.
Kao lets out a chuckle. “Yes, ma’am.”
It’s silent in the car for a moment, then I ask, “What made you ask me today?”
Kao glances at me. “On a date?”
I nod. “Yeah, why didn’t you ask sooner?”
“Like I said earlier, I want to take things slow. I want to enjoy every moment.” His gaze meets mine for a second before it returns to the road. “People are quick to rush into things, and then they miss the good part.”
“The good part?” I ask.
“The falling in love part. The butterflies in your stomach. The build-up to the first kiss. You know, all the romantic things girls like.”
My mouth curves up. “Could you be any more perfect?”
He lets out a chuckle. “Only in your eyes.”
His answer has me asking, “Do you believe in soul mates?”
Kao thinks for a moment, then murmurs, “Two halves of one soul?”
I nod, my eyes never leaving his face.
Then he smiles at me. “Yes.”Chapter 2FALLONIt’s a nice night out, and the excitement keeps building in me as we drive to the restaurant.
My mind begins to drift, wondering if we’ll have our first real kiss tonight.
God, I’m not ordering anything with garlic. Just in case.
My gaze keeps drifting to Kao’s face. He’s easily the most attractive man I’ve ever laid eyes on. His features are flawless. And his eyes – the clearest blue. They look like the heavens after it’s rained, and the air is clear.
The corner of his mouth begins to lift, and his gaze darts to me. “Why do you keep staring at me?”
“It’s actually unfair how attractive you are,” I mutter.
Chuckling, he asks, “Why?”
“You just climb out of the shower, slap on some clothes, and you’re good to go. I have to put on makeup before I dare set foot out of my bedroom, or you’ll all have heart attacks.” I remember the incident with the curling iron earlier and add, “I almost burned my face with the curling iron.” I let out a relieved chuckle.
Kao’s gaze darts to me, and it has me saying, “Luckily, I didn’t burn my face off. Can you imagine that?” I roll my eyes. “Then, we’ll be known as beauty and the beast.” I grin at him. “With you being the beauty, of course.”
“Never,” he shakes his head. “You’ll always be beautiful to me.”
I let out a playful huff. “Even when I’m old and wrinkly?”
Kao’s eyes meet mine for a moment, and before he can answer, screeching tires grab our attention.
Kao slams on the breaks, jerking the car to the right. “Shit.” His right arm collides hard with my chest just before the noise of crushing metal fills my ears. It’s followed by a loud bang and then something that sounds like rumbling thunder and lightning striking.
Pins and needles spread over my face from shock. “Kao!” I manage to let out a cry as the breath is knocked from my lungs. My body jerks forward, then to the side as our vehicle rolls before landing back on its tires. I’m slammed into the seat and then against the door. A burning pain spreads up my neck and face, and for a moment, everything blacks out.
‘Starting 9-1-1 call. To cancel, press the 9-1-1 button on the mirror.’
The smell of burning rubber and oil fills my nose. Opening my eyes, I struggle to make sense of what’s going on.
‘Calling 9-1-1.’
Turning my head to the left, I let out a painful groan from the ache in my neck and head. I suck in a breath of air, and then my eyes focus on the driver's side.
I hear a dialing tone.
Shit.
It takes another couple of seconds before it begins to sink in that we were in an accident. “Kao,” I croak, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears. My body begins to shiver uncontrollably.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” I hear an operator answer.
“A-accident,” I struggle to say through the shock dazing me.
“Okay, we have your GPS coordinates. Emergency services have been dispatched. Are you hurt?”
My eyes are still widely glued to Kao. He doesn’t move, and it makes panic flare through me like hot streaks of lava. “Kao!” When there’s still no movement from him, I struggle with numb fingers to unclip my seatbelt. Once I’m free, I turn my body toward him and lean forward.
“Ma’am, are you hurt?”
My lips part and searing worry scorches my heart. “There’s blood on the left side of his head.”