23. Chapter Twenty-Three
I’m nervous. Palms sweaty. Weak knees.
I shake my head. I need to get a grip before I’m singing about Mom’s spaghetti . Maybe I listen to too much hip-hop music… But can you really listen to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” too many times? It’s the perfect hype song in my workout playlist.
Okay, but in all honesty, I can’t say I’ve ever felt this way before a first date. Though, I suppose it’s a good sign because it shows how much I care. I want everything to go right with Kelsey.
I feel like I need to up my dating game, especially after our kiss earlier today. I’m not sure anything could beat that. Although, I’m hoping our next kiss will have a better location than a broom closet.
There’s a knock on my door right on time. I open it, smiling at Kelsey’s friend.
“Alyssa, thanks for agreeing to watch Evie tonight.”
“Anything for Kelsey,” she says, and I know she means it. Even though Kelsey may not have any family she’s close with, anybody who sees the four girls next door together can see how fiercely they love and protect each other. Anyone would be so lucky to have friends like that.
Evie comes running down the stairs, and Alyssa squats to hug her. “Plus, I get to spend time with my best girl tonight. So it’s a win-win. We’re going to have a great time.” Alyssa’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “Maybe we can even take Winston on a walk since it’s a little warmer tonight.”
My niece bounces on the balls of her feet. “When are you leaving, Uncle Ty? No boys allowed, except Winston.”
Looks like I’ve already got a little teenager on my hands, ready for her annoying uncle to leave her alone. But I’d take this excitement any day to distract her from missing her mom. I miss Tess more than I’d ever willingly admit.
“All right, I can tell when I’m no longer wanted. Have fun.” I lean down, planting a kiss on the top of Evie’s head. I wave goodbye to Alyssa before heading over to her house to pick up my date.
My hand trembles as I knock on Kelsey’s front door.
I shake my head.
Be cool, man.
The door opens, and Kelsey steps outside with a soft smile, wearing a burgundy sweater that makes her eyes pop. She’s wearing dark jeans instead of her usual leggings, but she still has her signature white tennis shoes on.
Kelsey’s brown hair falls in loose curls past her shoulders, and the lipstick she’s wearing matches her sweater perfectly. Although, I plan to mess it up later if tonight goes like I hope it will—with a repeat of earlier today. That was just a pre-date kiss, preparing us for the real thing.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Her grin grows wider. “I guess you look McDreamy tonight.”
I’m wearing the same outfit I was this morning—a black tee, jeans, and a tan jacket. I would usually dress a little nicer for a first date, but Kelsey sees me almost every day of the week in my scrubs, and I told her we needed to dress casually for what we’re doing tonight. I at least styled my hair, though.
“Is McDreamy an adjective now?” I ask with a laugh.
“It’s whatever I want it to be.” She raises onto her tiptoes and presses a kiss on my cleanly shaven jaw. When she pulls back, she laughs and wipes her thumb along my jaw, probably wiping away her lipstick, although I wouldn’t mind if she left it there, marking me as hers.
There’s no way I’d contradict her tonight. Not when she looks like that.
“We should get going.” I kiss her cheek and offer her my arm, leading her to my car.
“You’re not going to challenge the fact that I’m using a nickname as an adjective?” When I shake my head, she leans her head back and laughs. “You’ve gone soft on me, Frankenstein.”
“Maybe I’d do anything to see you smile.” I open her car door, and she rests her forearms on it, peering up at me. Her lips tilt up at the corners.
“That’s the right answer.”
I close the door and walk to the driver’s side. A dopey smile is plastered on my face as I sit beside her and turn the car on. I can’t help it. It’s just a byproduct of flirting with the girl I can’t get enough of.
I pull out of my parking spot and start driving to our destination.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she asks.
“Where’s the fun in that?” I reach over and place my palm on her thigh, testing the waters for how the night may go. I know we kissed earlier, but that may not mean she’s comfortable with physical touch tonight.
“You’re lucky I like surprises.”
She’s definitely right about one thing: I’m the luckiest man in the world because Kelsey flips my hand over, wrapping her fingers between mine, and she doesn’t pull away for the remainder of the drive into town.
When I park at the local dog shelter, Kelsey gasps. “What are we doing here?”
“I know how much you love dogs.” I hop out of the car and jog around to her door, opening it before she can. The excited look in her eyes makes me feel like I just won the lottery. “So, I couldn’t think of a better way to start our date than volunteering at the shelter.”
“You thought right.”
We head inside, and the volunteer coordinator leads us to the back. She talks through the volunteer form I filled out in advance and gives us leashes before taking us to the dogs.
Kelsey grabs my hand and squeezes tight. “They’re so cute.” It almost looks as if she might cry. I don’t have anything against dogs, but I don’t think they could ever bring me to tears. Okay, except for sad dog movies—I’m convinced you’re not human if you don’t cry during those.
The coordinator motions to the sign on the kennel in front of us. “We use a number system for our volunteers. Ones are the easier, more mild-tempered dogs, and fives are the harder ones to walk, usually reserved for the repeat volunteers. A five doesn’t necessarily mean they’re aggressive; it could just be because they’re strong and pull hard on walks.”
Once she’s given us the tour of the rest of the facility, she asks, “Any questions?” Kelsey and I shake our heads. “Wonderful. Just make sure you note on the dog’s chart once you’ve walked them and sign out at the front desk before you leave.” She waves over her shoulder. “Yell for me if you need anything.”
I leash up a level two dog that looks like a lab mix, but Kelsey walks up and down the aisles until she finds a level four dog who doesn’t have many walks noted on his list.
She kneels on the ground and pets him. “You just want a walk like all the other dogs, huh? Isn’t that right, Romeo?”
“With a name like that, he must be a little lover boy.” I lean down and pet the boxer.
Kelsey leans down and pets his face. “He is the sweetest boy. Yes, he is.” She has a real way with dogs because this “difficult” dog is like putty in her hands, wagging his tail and licking her hand.
We head outside and walk through the park area behind the shelter.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do on dates?” She shoots me a wry smile.
“Hilarious.” I clear my throat. “Why do you work so many jobs if dogs are what you’re the most passionate about?”
“How do you know they’re what I’m the most passionate about?”
“You’re good at everything I’ve seen you do, but it’s written all over your face.”
She stops walking, looking out at the falling leaves around us. “If I tell you something, do you promise not to make fun of me?”
“I can make no such promises.” I nudge her arm when her face falls. “I’m kidding. You can tell me anything.”
“My dream is to open a dog rescue.”
“Why would I make fun of you for having a dream?”
“You don’t think it’s a stupid childhood fantasy?” Kelsey looks up at me through her lashes, her vulnerable eyes searching mine.
“Stupid?” I scoff. “You want to help dogs in need. That’s incredibly selfless.” I intertwine my fingers with hers. “You’re never too old to chase your dreams. In fact, I think it’s one of the bravest things you can do. To never stop believing in your dreams, to never give up on them even when they may seem out of reach.”
Kelsey swipes at her eyes, lifting her wrist with the leash. “You think I can do it?”
I shake my head. “I know you can.” She smiles, and it’s like a straight shot of serotonin to my heart. “Is that why you’ve worked yourself to the bone? You’re saving money to open a dog rescue?”
“Yeah, and I’m close to having the funds I need now, thanks to this handsome, generous doctor who hired me to be his niece’s nanny.” Kelsey flips her hair over her shoulder.
“Is that so? He sounds like a swell guy.”
“Swell?” She nudges my side with her elbow. “What is this, the 1800s?”
“Maybe I’m just trying to be a gentleman for you.”
Kelsey steps closer, biting her bottom lip as she looks up at me. “What if I don’t want you to be a gentleman right now?”
“I already told you I’d do anything to see you smile.” I place my free hand on her waist and lean in close enough that I can feel her breath. “What would make you smile, sweetheart?”
She groans impatiently. “Kiss me, Tyler.”
All my restraint goes out the window as she says my name again. I press my lips to hers.
Our movements are more soft and tender this time than the desperate kiss we shared this morning in the closet. My lips move slowly in time against hers as we explore each other.
My hand squeezes the dip of her waist. She runs her fingers through my hair. The gentle way her nails graze my scalp makes me moan.
I pepper featherlight kisses along her neck and jaw before she tugs my mouth back to hers for one more brief, yet longing-filled kiss.
Then Romeo seems to decide he’s had enough of us ignoring him and whimpers loudly.
Kelsey pulls back, laughing. “At least that’s a better interruption than Darla almost walking in on us.”
She’s got that right.
I rest my forehead on hers, not wanting to open my eyes. Not wanting this moment to end. It’s obvious that she feels something more for me…but I’m not sure if she’s anywhere close to where I am. Because I’m falling in love with the beautiful girl in front of me, and I don’t know what I’d do if she didn’t feel the same way.
It would feel like the worst tease in the world to have had a glimpse of what a relationship with her could be like—to have felt something so perfect with her—only to have it ripped from my grasp.
“I love it when you call me Tyler.” I inhale the intoxicating lavender scent of her shampoo, barely able to hold myself back from pressing my lips to hers again.
Her eyes are hooded, making her look as love-drunk as I feel, as she peers up at me with a teasing grin. “Why?” She laughs. “It’s just your name.”
“I’ve always been Frankenstein or Doofenshmirtz or whatever other doctor name you can think of.” I shrug. “But I like how my name sounds coming from your mouth.”
Kelsey blushes. “What else do you like about me?”
“Your eyes.” I gaze into her beautiful hazel irises. “They’re pools of warm honey and caramel that I’d be happy to be stuck in forever.”
“I never took you for a romantic.” Her eyes flutter shut, and her lips part as I graze her jaw with my thumb.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, Anderson.” Her stomach growls, breaking the moment. I smirk. “You hungry?”
She laughs. “Starving.”
“Let’s get you fed, then.”
We finish walking the dogs around the park and drop them off in their kennels.
“I promise I’ll be back to visit you soon.” She places a kiss on Romeo’s head. The dog looks absolutely smitten with her. I wouldn’t be surprised if Winston had a brother soon.
We check out at the front desk, and I drive us about ten minutes down the road. I park in a city lot and open her car door again.
“Where are we eating?” she asks.
“I thought we could do an activity I knew you would love, and then I could take you to my favorite spot for dinner.”
Kelsey lets me take her hand as I lead her down the block to a curbside food truck. I gesture to it with my free hand.
“A burger truck is your favorite dinner spot?” She raises an eyebrow. “You? The man who only eats healthy snacks? Mr. Gym Bro?”
“You won’t be questioning it once you try it.” I squeeze her hand. “Everyone deserves a cheat day. Especially for the best burger and fries in the city.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
When we reach the front of the line, I look at her. “You okay if I order for us?”
She loops her arm through mine. “I trust you.”
Those three little words may not seem like much to most people. But to me, they mean everything coming from her. I can’t help but smile at her like a complete freaking idiot. The sun hits her face just right, making her look like a vision straight out of my dreams. How she went from being someone who annoyed me to no end to the girl I can’t stop thinking about wasn’t even gradual. It was hard and fast, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Sir, are you ready to order?” The cashier at the food truck speaks a little louder than normal, like he’s already tried—and failed—to get my attention.
“Yeah, sorry.” I don’t even have to look at the menu. “We’ll take two of the classic burger and fries baskets with extra house sauce on the side.”
“Any drinks?”
“Water for me, and...” I turn to Kelsey.
“A Diet Coke, please.”
The cashier rings up our total and gives me an order number after I pay. Kelsey and I grab our drinks, along with some extra napkins, and head to a picnic table nearby.
Once they call our number, I get up and grab the food.
“I hope you’re ready for the best burger of your life.” I set one of the containers in front of Kelsey.
“You’re really hyping up this burger, so it better be good.” She smirks.
I motion to her food. “Judge away.”
Kelsey picks up her burger and takes a giant bite. She closes her eyes and moans.
I smile and take a bite of my own. “Good, right?”
“Good?” She scoffs. “This is amazing. The sauce is to die for.” Kelsey pops a fry in her mouth. “Mmm, and the fries are fresh and perfectly salted. I can’t believe I’ve been missing out all these years.”
“I’m glad you approve.” I dip a few fries in their house sauce—if I’m having a cheat day, I’m doing it right. “Tell me about your family.”
“My family?”
I nod. “I know about your dreams now, but I’d like to learn about where you came from.”
She sets down her burger and wipes her mouth with a napkin. “My family isn’t like yours. I’m an only child, and my parents divorced when I was in third grade.”
I take a sip of my water. “That sucks that you had to go through that at such a young age.”
“It did.”
“Was their divorce cordial?” I take another bite of my burger.
Kelsey blows out a breath. “Not at all. Their divorce proceedings dragged on for two years because they fought over every little thing. I’m sure their lawyers were thrilled once their divorce was finalized.”
“Did they fight over custody of you?”
“Yeah, my mom won primary custody. But I think they only wanted custody of me so that the other person would have to pay them child support.”
Although she’s the one who knows her family dynamics best, I sincerely hope that’s not true. I can’t imagine a world where anyone wouldn’t want Kelsey. “That’s terrible.”
She eats a few fries. “Yeah. My middle and high school years were spent going back and forth between their homes, with them both wanting information about the other parent. It was pretty exhausting. They bought me nice gifts, trying to outdo the other, too. My mom actually got me front-row seats to a Taylor Swift concert in sixth grade. That was where I met Shayna, Mallory, and Alyssa, so at least one good thing came out of their divorce.”
“Again, that sucks, but I’m glad you got your best friends out of it.” We both finish our burgers, and I dive back into the conversation. “You said you’re an only child, but what about grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins? Did you have someone you could lean on throughout the divorce?”
She shakes her head. “My parents are both only children, too. And they waited a while to have me, so I lost all my grandparents by the time I was seven.”
My heart breaks for her and everything she experienced at a young age, let alone any age. It had to be difficult to live through her parents’ hostile divorce, but the fact that she did it alone—without any family to lean on—had to be the hardest part of all.
“What is your relationship with your parents like now?”
Her face falls. “It’s been a few years since I talked to my father. I hear from my mother occasionally, but only when she needs someone to cry to about her latest boyfriend breaking her heart or when she needs money for rent.”
I reach across the table, taking her hand and rubbing small circles on the back of it. “I hope you know that you deserve so much better than that. And while you may not have the best blood family, you do have family, Kelsey. Your friends would do anything for you.”
She smiles softly. “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
“Thanks for sharing with me. I know that can’t be easy to talk about, but I like learning about you, Anderson.”
Kelsey blushes and moves a rogue fry aimlessly around her takeout container. “Thanks for not telling me sorry, by the way.”
“What?”
“You told me that sucks rather than that you were sorry for me, and I appreciate that.”
“You’re a capable woman who came through a tough situation. While I wish your past was easier, I know it only made you stronger on the other side.”
She stares at me like I have four eyes. “Who even are you?”
“What do you mean?” I laugh.
Her eyes narrow playfully, but she also looks a little skeptical. “How do you know how to say the perfect thing?” She pulls her hand from mine and leans across the picnic table, grabbing my ear. “Are you being fed the perfect lines by one of my friends?”
“I’m not saying the perfect thing, just the truth.”
She sits back and sips her Diet Coke. “I was wrong about you, McDreamy.”
Hope rises in my chest. “As long as you’re seeing the real me now, that’s all that matters.” I lean my elbows on the wooden table with a smile. “How about some rapid-fire questions?”
Her eyes glint playfully. “Try me.”
“Favorite color?”
“Sage green,” she answers immediately.
“Morning person or night owl?”
“I’m more of a mid-day kind of girl.”
I’m not surprised by that at all. “Go-to karaoke song?”
“‘…Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears.”
I stop, my eyes wide. “Not a Taylor song?”
“If I’m singing it with my roomies, yes. They would be mad if I sang one without them.”
“Fair enough. Beach vacation or mountain getaway?”
“Mountain getaway.”
“Favorite ice cream topping?”
“Cheesecake bites.”
“Sounds like we need to go on an ice cream date next,” I say.
“In fall?”
“I didn’t think you were the type of girl who would only eat ice cream at certain times of the year.”
She smiles. “Correct, you passed the test. Next question.”
“Biggest fear?”
“Losing the people I love.”
I press my lips together, wanting to lighten the mood again. “Stay in or go out?”
“Go out.”
That’s not surprising since she’s always on the move and working incredibly hard to achieve her dream.
Kelsey grabs my hand. “I want to know your answers.”
“Blue. Morning person. ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart’ by NSYNC. Mountain getaway. Peanut butter sauce. Bats. Go out.”
“The morning person was obvious by your workout habits.” She shoots me a teasing smile but then quirks an eyebrow. “But you’re a big, strong man who’s scared of bats? That I’m surprised by.”
“I would save you from anything else—spiders, snakes, quicksand, a burning car. But bats…” I shudder. “Sorry, but you’d be on your own.”
Kelsey leans her head back and laughs. It’s the kind of sound I wouldn’t mind hearing forever, especially if I’m the cause of it.
My gaze moves to the setting sun. “We should get home so I can get Evie to bed.” I grab all of our trash and throw it out.
Walking back to the car, Kelsey leans her head against my arm, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
Though I don’t know what the future holds for us, I hope this will become our new normal.