Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Zara
My days are usually very boring. I wake up, brush my teeth, take a shower, get dressed and come to work. I sometimes stop at the diner by the fire station to grab breakfast, which I usually eat at my desk. Since I am always early, all traces of it are gone by the time my coworkers come in.
Today, though… I have no words to explain how bad today was.
I should’ve never agreed to Kyle’s invitation to have breakfast this morning. That automatically messed with my daily routine. On top of that, he showed up late.
The emotions swirling inside of me while I sat at that table by myself, waiting on my date to arrive, caused me to realize that maybe I liked Kyle a bit too much.
I actually got teary eyed as I waited. That was just as terrible as it sounded.
I have never in my life cried over a guy, and I couldn’t believe that I was crying over a guy I had just met the night before.
Then, he met my brother. Talk about an awkward encounter. I almost cried in relief later in the day when Owen had to cancel our lunch date because he was still out on a call.
And finally, the cherry on top. Kyle drove me to work and walked me inside the building. The gossip mill has never been as active as today.
Now, it is five minutes to five, and my leg is bouncing under my desk as I wonder whether Kyle will actually show up on time, or not show up at all.
“Knock, knock!” Mitzi, the gossiper in chief is way too cheery. “Honey, your boyfriend is here to pick you up.” Her eyes are literally glowing when she speaks. “We had a pool going, and I won. Again!” She claps her hands gleefully. “You are my little goldmine!”
I get an instant headache. “What kind of a pool?”
“Well, we have a couple of pools going at the same time,” Mitzi informs me. “But you are at the center of our attention. You are actually part of a couple of other ones, and you lost me some money.”
I stare at her, unsure of how to react. I had no idea that all this was happening around me at the office.
Everyone’s always been very nice to me, albeit polite, but I always appreciated them giving me my space.
However, it looks like that was just a front.
They were all talking about me behind my back.
“Mitzi, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, honey.” She pats me on the shoulder. “I’m just happy that this boy is as predictable as I was hoping. So, wrap it up in here and go, because he’s waiting for you.”
I turn away from her and stare at my computer, not ready for the day to end despite the fact that only minutes ago, I couldn’t wait to get out of here.
Knowing that Kyle is out there, most likely surrounded by my nosy coworkers, makes me want to find an alternate route to get out of the building.
The fire escape doesn’t sound so bad right now.
Knowing that I don’t have a choice, I close everything on my computer and lock it, then grab my bag and stand up. I sigh and brace myself for the worst.
When I walk out to the lobby, everything is as I had expected. Just about everyone in my office is here, smiling while listening to Kyle, who is talking up a storm.
He looks different from before. He’s wearing a pair of dark washed jeans with a pressed shirt, and his hair is smoothed back, not a strand out of place. To be honest, that’s a bit disappointing. I think I like him better with his hair messy.
But, my favorite part… He is wearing glasses again. They make him look like the hottest nerd I’ve ever seen in my life. It speaks to my heart.
“There’s my girl!”
His eyes light up as soon as he notices me.
Meanwhile, I just want to die on the spot because I can’t look away.
I am completely taken with everything that is him.
There is no way I’ll be able to show my face in here tomorrow.
Like I didn’t have enough problems, now I have to search for a job as well.
I can’t move or speak. The only part of me that still works would be my eyes. They widen more with each step that Kyle takes as he comes to me. He puts his hands on each side of my face and pulls me in for a kiss.
The instant his lips touch mine, I am a goner. My mouth opens, eager to receive his tongue as he dips it in once, then for a second time, my lips following him when it looks like he wants to pull back.
“I hope you had an amazing day, baby,” he whispers, a mischievous glint in his eye.
“What are you doing?”
I’m not even sure whether the words came out because I can’t hear my own voice over the loud noise in my head.
“I’m picking you up. As promised.” Apparently, he can read lips.
He grabs my hand and pulls me with him as he walks toward the exit. When he is in front of Mitzi, he winks at her, and I swear she’s having heart palpitations.
“Have a good night, everyone,” he calls out. “Don’t call, we’ll be busy.”
The implication in his words about stop my heart from beating in my chest. I don’t look back because I am mortified by what’s happening to me in such a public setting. So, I follow Kyle to his truck, then wait patiently as he opens the door for me. With the gentlest touch, he helps me up.
Just as I am about to sit, his hand skims over my buttock, and I jerk forward, on instinct. When I drop in the seat, his hand is right there.
“Easy there,” he chuckles.
He pulls his hand out, and I swear he does it ever so slowly, to the point where a small whimper escapes my mouth.
With a much quicker squeeze, he finally frees his hand from under me, then slams the door closed. I remain in my seat, scared to even breathe, and mostly scared that none of this is real.
“I was thinking we could go out to eat,” he tells me when he’s in the driver’s seat.
“I…” My mouth open and closes, words refusing to form. “I don’t go out on week nights.”
His eyebrows go up, way above the frame of his glasses. “Ever?”
“Uh, well…” I lick my bottom lip nervously. “Obviously not. I did go out with you last night. But I don’t remember the last time I did for fun.”
Kyle’s face stretches into a grin. “How about you make an exception tonight?”
“I…” Looking away, I scratch at my forehead, unsure of how to respond. “Tomorrow is Thursday,” I explain. “And I already ate out this week when I met you for dinner. Then I had breakfast this morning. I also ate a donut at work. That’s a lot of eating out, and…”
“We’ll order something healthy. To go.”
I frown as I continue massaging at my forehead. “Healthy is good,” I agree. “But where would eat if it’s to go?”
“Well…” Kyle drags the word out. “Since I’m taking you home, how about we eat there?”
I start shaking my head before he even finishes his sentence.
“Oh no,” I tell him. “My brother left me a message. He said he might stop by after his shift is over.”
“So?” Kyle shrugs. “He seemed like a decent guy when I met him earlier. I wouldn’t mind talking to him again.”
“Well, I would,” I snap at him. “I don’t know how you managed to turn my life upside down in such a short period of time, but this is more than I can handle. This was not supposed to happen, Kyle!”
He leans against the door of the truck, a hand resting lazily on the steering wheel. The more he stares at me through those damn glasses, I feel like I am being hypnotized.
I jump when he brings his cell phone up and starts messing with something, his fingers flying over the screen.
“Okay.” He moves in his seat and turns the engine on. “We’re going to eat at my house. I ordered healthy food.”
“Your house?” I gasp, both hands pressed to my chest. “But…”
My eyes widen in shock when I realize that the truck is actually moving. I don’t know if I should try to jump out, or roll my window down and scream for help, or, better yet, fish my cell phone from out of my bag and call nine-one-one.
“What about my car?” I realize with a start that it’s been sitting at the diner next to my brother’s fire station. “I need my car.”
Kyle waves my worries away. “I’ll bring you back to your car. No one will steal it from there.”
A ding comes out of nowhere, and I jump in my seat.
“Better put that seatbelt on, baby,” Kyle instructs. “We want to follow the law.”
I blindly follow his instructions and pull on the seatbelt, clicking it into place. The buildings fly by as Kyle picks up more speed. I want to pay attention and see where he’s taking me, but I am too wound up. After the third time he takes a left, I don’t recognize where we are.
“I really hope you’re not kidnapping me.” I stare at the side of his head, once again mesmerized by how different he looks with the glasses on since he didn’t wear them in the morning.
As if he can sense my attention on him, he takes his eyes off the road for long enough to wink at me, much in the same way that he did to Mitzi earlier. I understand why she hyperventilated when he gave her his attention.
“I will not kidnap you against your will.”
Laughter bubbles in my chest. “Then it wouldn’t be kidnapping, would it?”
“There ya go then.” He takes my hand and puts in on his leg. “No kidnapping involved.”
There’s this easy banter that I love. I’ve never had this with anyone. It’s a bit unsettling.
“Where’s the restaurant?” I finally think to ask.
“They’ll deliver to my house. We’re almost there.”
My chest hurts with the pressure I feel, but I can’t tell if it’s because I’m scared or just overly stimulated. Before long, Kyle pulls into a driveway, and I can only assume we have reached our destination.
“Is this your house?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything.
“Yeah…” He lets out a quick smirk. “I wouldn’t kidnap you and bring you to some else’s house.”
I automatically lick my lips. They feel dry. I would kill for some water.
“I thought this was no kidnapping.”
Kyle stares at me for the longest time. I wish I had taken my cell phone out earlier, because I am getting a little worried. There’s a good possibility that I made a mistake when I allowed him to bring me here.
“Zara…” Kyle lets out a heavy sigh. “We have a problem.”
“W-what problem?” From where I’m standing, or rather sitting, I’m the only one with the problem seeing that I don’t know where I am, nor do I have my own transportation.
“I brought you here under false pretenses,” he tells me. And there it is. He finally admits that he is not a good person. How could I have been so stupid? What will my mother say when she finds out how I died?
I do have to take responsibility though and say that I am too na?ve when it comes to guys. In fact, if I come out of this situation alive, I will try to date more, maybe meet someone who would like to have a relationship with me.
“Please don’t hurt me,” I beg. My voice is barely above a whisper when I say that. I am seriously worried.
Kyle’s eyes widen in surprise. “I think you’re misunderstanding what I’m trying to tell you, Zara.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible.” My voice comes out a bit stronger this time. “You’re telling me you brought me here under false pretenses. What do you want me to think?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t mean that I brought you here to hurt you. What is this, Silence of the Lambs ?”
“I have no idea what that means,” I confess.
“It’s a book,” Kyle explains. “And they made a movie out of it.”
Nothing of what he tells me makes any sense to me. What book? What movie?
“Why did you bring me here, Kyle?” I ask. “There is no food, is there?”
I can’t believe I fell for that. It’s like the equivalent of offering candy to a small child, only to lure them to your white van.
“There’s food.” Kyle surprises me when he says it. “But I didn’t bring you all the way here only to feed you.”
My eyes widen a bit more. “You didn’t?”
“No.”
I just now realize that my hand is still resting on his leg, exactly where he put it earlier. I want to snatch it away, but Kyle can read my mind, and he presses his own hand over it to prevent me from doing that.
“I felt this instant attraction to you the second I walked into that restaurant and met you for the first time.”
What he tells me matches word for word how I felt when he sat down at my table and introduced himself. I was instantly attracted to how handsome he was, but his personality made him irresistible to me.
“And then,” he continues. “We kissed…”
He presses my hand harder against his leg, and my fingers automatically flex around his thigh.
“I came home after that…” He moves my hand higher up. “And I couldn’t get you out of my mind.” My pinkie is now brushing what I am assuming is his erection. Either that, or he stuffed something in his pants to form the bulge I am currently witnessing.
“Your face…” He is so close to pressing the entire palm of my hand against the zipper of his jeans. “Yours eyes…” And closer yet. “Your mouth…”
His head drops against the back of the seat, and he lets out a low growl. I suddenly feel uncomfortable in my own clothes. I have this visceral need to beg him to undress me, and help me with this painful pressure I feel in between my legs.
“Did you bring me here to have sex with me?” I whimper.
He presses my hand harder against his erection while his eyes widen, looking impossibly big through the lenses of his glasses. Or maybe everything is amplified in my head.
“Only if you want to,” he responds.
The ball is in my court. The only problem is that I don’t know how to play.