Chapter 6 #2
I closed my eyes and breathed out a sigh at the sound of his decadently deep voice. When he repeated himself, I snapped out of it and felt my cheeks grow hot at my behavior. I quickly scrambled to say something before he had to say it a third time.
“Uh… hi. It’s Lauren, the girl from—”
“I remember you.” Of course he remembered me. He’d been the one to text first this morning. I was being silly.
“Right,” I croaked out awkwardly. “Of course you do…” I wondered if that came out sounding presumptuous, and then I panicked because I’d paused midsentence.
The rest of my words came out loud and rushed.
“…so anyway I was wondering if I should drop off the clothes I borrowed from you last Saturday.”
“You can keep them,” Kain replied. I wanted to know if he sounded bored because he was bored or if that was just me misinterpreting his tone. “Or throw ‘em away. It doesn’t matter.”
I paced around my pale pink bedroom, desperately searching for something else to say. I wasn’t ready for the conversation to come to an end. My words, when I finally did find them, came out meek and unconfident.
“Have you had lunch yet?” My question seemed to catch him off guard because his response was not immediate, as his previous responses had been before.
“Why do you ask?” he asked after a slight pause. If the question had thrown him off, I would’ve never been able to tell from the unbothered regularity of his voice.
“Well… I’ve been meaning to do something… You know, as a… kind of way to say thank you for Friday night. And now I guess this morning, too. I’d like to buy you lunch, Kain.”
Even though I couldn’t see him, there was a pause on his end that I interpreted as a smile.
I couldn’t even remember his smile anymore.
The patchiness of my drunken memory had completely wiped that image clear out of my mind.
Part of me was eager to see him again simply so that I could have a reliable image of him in my memories.
Kain immediately shot that hope down when he said, “I’ll text you the address to send the pizza to.” There was a vaguely amused hitch in his voice as if he knew exactly what he was doing. “Plain cheese is fine.”
A disappointed sigh came out of me before I could hold it in. I quickly tried to play it off by speaking almost as soon as it came out.
“Okay, I can do that,” I mumbled, mentally banging my head against the wall because I couldn’t even hide the disappointment in my voice.
A bolder version of me would have clarified that I didn’t just want to buy Kain lunch, but I wanted to be there, too.
I wondered if this was a misunderstanding or if he was just amusing himself at my expense.
We must’ve sat in the quiet for a good half-minute before Kain broke the silence. He cleared his throat and I assumed he was going to excuse himself out of this painfully awkward exchange. Instead, he gave me a much needed break.
“Have you had lunch yet?”
***
I might’ve overdone my outfit.
Unbeknownst to my sister, I’d snuck into her closet and picked out something to wear.
I wanted to look nice, and something about the dozens of pairs of jeans and casual shirts I owned made me feel like I wouldn’t be memorable enough if I wore them.
As I passed a window on my way into the food spot I'd picked out, I barely recognized myself.
I had on tight, high-waisted dark denim jean shorts that covered my bellybutton paired with a white midriff top, exposing some of the skin on my abdomen.
My waist-length natural hair was tied up in a high ponytail and twisted around itself to form a messy bun, keeping my long hair out of my face.
I kept my makeup light, but that was only because I didn't know how to do it that well.
However, I went with a lip color that I didn't normally wear—a deep purple which really brought out my dark complexion.
I was doing too much compared to what I usually did, but I looked amazing.
I almost looked exactly like Morgan for once.
The turning heads I'd passed all the way to the restaurant were new for me.
Usually, I did the best I could to fade in the background.
A simple ponytail, a pair of yoga pants, and a plain t-shirt—that was my usual getup, and it really did help me blend.
Today, however, I didn’t want to blend. I wanted to stop hearts and break necks.
Catfish Carol’s, the seafood place that I'd picked out was closer to Kain's house than mine. It was right on the beach with views of the water and outdoor seating. When I was in high school, Carol’s used to be the first place I’d come if I had the money.
With its Caribbean theme, walls and furniture splashed with bright neon and tropical colors, something about the place exuded happiness. It was an all-time favorite of mine.
A bell announced my entry as I stepped into the building.
In the brightly colored establishment, it wasn’t hard to find Kain whose black shirt formed a sharp contrast with the rest of the surroundings.
Even though this was only our second encounter, I felt like there were parts of me that relaxed immediately after I spotted him.
He was sitting at the far end of the restaurant with his eyes already fixated on the menu. At the sound of the door closing behind me, he raised his head from the list of options, and glanced at me briefly before looking back down at the menu.
He didn’t recognize you! Even the voice in my head was in disbelief. I wasn’t sure if his inability to tell that I was the same girl from days prior was a compliment of sorts. Maybe it was a good thing that I looked so different now.
A moment later, as a delayed response, his eyes shot back up for a curious second look. I was a little relieved to see recognition flash in his features as I walked over.
“You look different,” he said plainly when I reached the table. That's it. No ‘wow’. No ‘oh my God’. I wanted to know if he meant I looked different in a bad way or in a good way.
Instead I replied, “You look the same,” in the most uninterested tone I could fake.
Well, he did look the same. Just as ridiculously handsome as I remembered.
Something about the way I replied made him smile a little, but it was the type of smile that only made me more nervous.
Kain smiled like someone who just figured out your secret.
A knowing smile. One that made me feel like he could see straight through me. Like I was some kind of open book.
Something about this only made me talk more.
“Do I look bad different or good different?” I asked curiously as I pulled my seat out.
I knew I would someday look back on the moment when I asked this question and call myself pathetic for it.
Kain stared at me for a long time before smiling.
My lips parted a little in what I can only describe as awe before I quickly snatched up my lower lip between my teeth.
“You didn’t have to,” he gestured to me, moving his outstretched hand up and down, “do all of this for me.”
I narrowed my eyes at his words, offended he would assume such a thing so openly. That was the most arrogant thing I’d ever heard. It was true, but still really freaking arrogant for him to assume.
“I didn't do this for you,” I lied. “I always dress this way.”
Kain pressed his lips together like he was afraid he might laugh. “A’ight, if you say so,” he replied, not pushing the conversation further and looking back at his menu.
“You don't like it,” I said before I could stop myself.
“I thought you didn’t do it for me,” he reminded me of my own words without looking up from his menu.
“I didn’t,” I replied quickly to which he smirked. “I’m just saying… suppose you saw me on the street and… you didn’t know me—”
“I don’t know you,” he reminded. I sighed, deciding I’d be less likely to say anything dumb if I just stopped talking.
Shrinking in my seat, I picked up the menu in front of me only to be startled by the sound of Kain’s unexpected voice.
“Suppose I saw you on the street and I didn’t know you…
” He motioned with his hand, indicating that I should continue with what I was saying.
I said with a sigh, “Never mind.”
He looked up from his menu and met my eyes, his expression softening. He might’ve looked at me for hours. It felt like hours. Although, it was probably more like half a minute of silent observation.
“You’re cute,” he said finally. When I smiled, he quickly clarified. “And not because of what you got on. I don’t know who you tryna fool…but it’s cute.”
Even though this could be considered half a compliment at best, I still felt my cheeks grow warm at his words.
I opened my mouth, fully ready to say something sassy in response only to be cut short by the appearance of our waitress.
When she asked if we had our minds made up, I read off my order automatically, already having a personal favorite at Carol’s.
“I’ll have a cheeseburger plate,” Kain explained to our waitress. I couldn’t help but make a face at the choice. His eyebrow raised questioningly at my expression once we’d handed our menus off.
“You ordered a burger at a seafood restaurant.” I squinted judgmentally. “Who does that?”
“Someone who doesn’t fuck with seafood?” he replied with a question, his tone conveying that he thought this was the obvious answer.
“The restaurant is called Catfish Carol’s. You could’ve told me you don’t like seafood when I suggested it.”
“I got a cheeseburger, though.”
“Yeah, but I’m just saying,” I muttered. “I wanted to treat you to lunch. You should’ve at least told me you wouldn’t want anything on the menu.” I must’ve said something funny because he chuckled.
“I requested a pizza,” he reminded. “And then you hit me with the sad, ‘Okay.’”
“It was not a sad ‘okay’.”
“Okay,” he replied, his voice mockingly downtrodden as if to mimic the way I’d said it. I couldn’t keep a straight face so despite trying to hold it back, I laughed. That was exactly how I said it and I knew it. “So seafood, huh? I’ll make note.”
I smiled. “Compiling a mental list of things that I like?”
I was flirting. If my hair had been down, I could almost picture myself twirling it like a seventh grader.
Kain shook his head, the corner of his mouth twitching into an almost-smile.
“Nah… Just addin’ that to the list of reasons why this wouldn’t work.” My smile faded at the blunt delivery of his words. “Your father being who he is… That’s not your fault. But catfish? I can’t…”
I shook my head, eyes closed, and suppressed a giggle. “You’re not funny,” I told him slowly.
Mocking my enunciation, he momentarily lost his slight Southern diction when he replied, “So why are you laughing?”
Opening my eyes, I found myself strangely comfortable upon realizing his gaze was fixated on me the whole time.
His eyes were amused, subtly interested.
The ice had been broken and it dawned on me that neither of us were saying anything.
Only this time, the silence wasn’t so loud.
When I finally did say something, it wasn’t out of uneasiness from the quiet, but simple curiosity.
“So, your list of reasons…” I started. “About us not working…” I did my best to ignore the lingering tingle on my tongue at the utterance of the word us. “Is it long?”
I watched as his smile faded into a softened seriousness, golden brown eyes still warm when he said, “Surprisingly, not long enough.”