CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Kael was parked in the back of the spa when I got off work the next day, his huge Bronco dripping water from its massive body. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with his company’s name printed on the front and blue jeans with frayed bottoms, as if he had worn them for years. I wanted to touch the soft, worn denim and feel the thread of the fabric against my fingertips.
“What are you doing here? How did you know when I would be off?” I was surprised to see him waiting with a freshly washed truck. Surprised, but thrilled.
“A little birdie told me,” he said, pulling his sunglasses off his eyes and opening the passenger door for me.
“Does that little birdie happen to have an adorable French accent?” I asked.
He shrugged. “That’s confidential,” he said with a straight face. I could see a little gleam in his eye. How was it possible that I missed him so much when he had stayed at my house until almost midnight, leaving right before Elodie got home? I didn’t know if I could hide Kael’s visit from her if she so much as mentioned his name. Even if I told her the minimum, that he was at the house, she would want something, a little snippet of gossip, a morsel of a taste of my personal life, but unfortunately for her, I didn’t kiss and tell. Oh, god, the kiss. It made my cheeks glow, my heart sink and float, sink and float.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Kael again. I was hesitant to climb into his truck, not knowing exactly where things stood with us.
“I came to hopefully get you to go on a date with me.”
“A date? I thought we said we weren’t going on dates, that we were just going to hang out until your discharge? We seem to keep doing the opposite of that.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and stood there, next to the open door.
“I disagree. We’re technically hanging out.” He shrugged. It was hard to argue with him when he looked this relaxed, this innocent and playful. I knew if I went with him, I’d have a great time.
“Semantics,” I argued.
“Maybe, but would you like to hang out with me tonight, since you don’t work until eleven tomorrow?”
I said yes without even pretending to have to think about it. There was no point. We both knew I would go anywhere he asked me to. He held me by my elbow as I climbed up into the seat, and he shut the door behind me. The fact that he opened doors for me was something I appreciated in a guy. The gesture wasn’t lost on me—it was an old-fashioned and small thing, but I actually really liked the thought behind it and it made me feel safe. Kael was a gentleman without even trying. As he stood there, looking so confident in himself and in me, I knew this was all temporary and had my guard up not to get used to it. I hoped there would be men out there like him. If I could find someone who was half as smart and thoughtful and opinionated and socially and emotionally aware, I’d be lucky.
“I have something planned for you. Nothing too fancy, I put together some music”—he paused, sheepishly—“and I want to take you to dinner at my favorite spot in town.”
I was getting more excited by the minute.
“You made a playlist? How cliché, but also awesome.” I couldn’t wait to hear what Kael had assembled.
I was in fake-dating bliss.
“Wait, am I dressed okay? I’m still in my scrubs. I can change if you want to stop by my house.”
Kael shook his head. “You look great. You don’t need to change. Unless you really want to?”
I didn’t really want to. Yes, I wanted to dress cute and look as pretty as I could to hang out with Kael, but at the same time I felt comfortable. Even with no makeup and wearing my favorite black scrubs, I did actually feel pretty.
“I can stay in this,” I told him, settling it.
This is what life must be like every day for people who are in love. Not that I was in love, but this was companionship that’s good for one’s heart and self-esteem. Kael thinks I’m cool enough to hang out with, and though I tried not to value myself based on other people’s opinions of me, his opinion mattered.
“I found like five bands I think you’ve never heard of. One is called Chevelle. I once knew this guy in basic training who would scream their lyrics over and over. They were from his hometown, and by the time we graduated, I knew almost all of their songs by heart. I don’t know if you’ll like them now, but if you had listened to them before you fell for Shawn Mendes, it might have been a different story.”
“Leave Shawn out of this,” I told him with a smile.
“I saw that poster in your room at your dad’s.”
Kael turned onto the highway as daylight was disappearing from the sky.
“He’s the John Mayer of our generation,” I argued.
Kael snorted. “John Mayer is the John Mayer of our generation.”
A few minutes later, he was quiet, and I was happy as we listened to music and drove down a long, curvy road that I had never been on before. I would always remember the way the sun and moon danced in the sky that night and what a sense of calm his silence had started to bring over my body.