Chapter 3 #2
"It doesn't look much different in the daytime," she explained. "Greener, but that's about it. I put some plants outside when I moved here but something, probably dogs in the area, spilled everything out of the pots and that's the last time I did that."
She gestured to the couch. "Go ahead and sit down. I'll get some bottled water."
He nodded. "Thanks."
He made his way to the couch and sat down. The cushions on it were overstuffed, but that made it comfortable and gave him a feeling of being a kid again.
Lexie dropped down onto the cushions beside him with two bottles of water and set them on the coffee table.
The way she'd dropped down had made a wave of sorts in the cushions, but he wasn't going to say a word about it.
He knew it wasn't because of a weight thing.
Physics was a thing, and he wasn't going to make her feel uncomfortable in her own apartment if he made a comment that might come off as a dig or joke at her expense. He knew the damage words could do.
"So," she sat back against the cushions, "what listings are you looking at?"
Oh, yeah.
The apartment listings.
Kaleo took out his phone and was happy to have a reason to look down at the screen on his phone.
It's not a date, he told himself.
It's not.
But... He snuck a look at her from the corner of his vision. Maybe?
He found the website where he'd been searching and handed it over into Lexie's hands.
"Hmm..." She murmured to herself. "I wish I'd known about this when I was looking for an apartment. There's a lot of good information on here."
She scrolled a little and then looked over at him. "I see that they're all pretty much in the same range. Can I assume that's what you're shooting for as rent?"
He nodded. "Basically. I was kind of surprised at what the offerings were for my price range. The rent here in Center City goes a lot farther than in Hawaii."
She gave him a smile that he could only describe in his head as 'impish.' "I bet!"
"Which house are you working at? Have you been assigned a house?"
He opened his mouth to answer.
"I probably should have asked that first, right?"
She was still looking at the screen on his phone and so she probably didn't see him breathe in to answer.
"Oh, and I should ask if you're going to have a car.
That's going to make a big difference when it comes to where you live.
" She leaned in closer, pointing at something on his phone screen.
"I noticed you didn't have parking spaces selected on your search criteria.
In a big city, it's going to be a concern. "
Kaleo was trying to look without craning his neck, but even as good as his eyes were, the lights in the room warmed the space but weren't exactly the kinds of lights that made it easy to see a phone screen, even one where it was as bright as the setting could be.
The room was quiet for a moment before he looked over at her to see that she was looking at him with more than a hint of humor in her gaze.
"I know I've been yammering at you more than I should, but I don't bite."
He knew he was staring at her, but for a moment his eyes widened at her. "What?"
Her shoulders relaxed into an almost shrug before she took her right hand off of the phone and gave the cushion beside her. "It's easier to see if you're not looking over from a foot and a half away."
He didn't comment back or even try to wave off her suggestion.
He just moved over and saw her lift up a few inches as his weight moved the cushions.
She smiled at him, and he took a stab at a joke. "Big waves in the ocean."
She snorted a soft laugh in reaction. "I was worried I'd launch you off the couch when I sat down."
"Hardly," he shook his head. "I doubt you'd be able to make a wave bigger than I did."
They laughed, leaning into each other and when their laughter subsided, he felt her shoulder against his.
While he was looking at her, she looked up at him.
And suddenly they were just a few inches away from each other.
Her eyes.
Green eyes.
Definitely a color he'd never seen before.
Brown was the basic in Hawaii. There were too many ethnicities in the state to have many other colors.
Lexie's green eyes? He was going to be thinking about them.
A lot.
Maybe, he wondered, maybe it was the long day he'd had. Or maybe it was the jet lag.
But he had a feeling he'd still be this fixated on her eyes no matter how 'awake' he was.
They were just like her.
Unforgettable.
He hadn't planned to do it, but he lifted his arm that had settled behind her.
His hand brushed her back, and the sudden contact was like a jolt of energy that went through both of them.
Both of their eyes widened and started to apologize when she stammered, "H-house."
"W-what?"
She cleared her throat and lowered her chin for a moment.
He saw her tongue flick over her bottom lip before she opened her mouth and looked up at him.
"House. What house are you assigned to?"
Oh.
Yeah.
"Station House Twenty-nine."
"Oh!" She smiled at him and all of the awkwardness of the moment before bled away. "I know where that is. It's just a couple of blocks away from Cole Medical, the hospital I'm going to be working at after my last exam," she explained. "Well," she sighed, "if I pass my exam."
"When," he dropped his chin in a nod, "you pass it."
She tilted her head to the side. Her unspoken thought was likely wondering how he thought he knew.
"It doesn't take long to know that you're smart. You don't seem like the kind of person who'd fool around with something like this. I can tell that you want this. So I'd bet you've been studying. A lot. You're going to pass it."
Her smile brightened her face and made his heart swell in his chest. "Thanks. It's nice to know I have people who believe in me."
He nodded. "Yeah." He couldn't help but smile at her. "I believe in you."
There was a moment there.
A moment when he felt that he could probably lean in and kiss her and she'd kiss him back, but he didn't want to try it.
Not yet.
He wanted to kiss her, but this was definitely not the time.
She seemed to realize it, too.
Her eyes blinked and her breaths came a little quicker and they both seemed to come out of the daze they were in at about the same time.
Wow.
She looked amazing.
"And... uh... car?"
Kaleo narrowed his gaze at her for a moment.
She cleared her throat, covering her mouth with the back of her hand like she might be hiding her expression a little. "Are you planning on getting a car?"
"Oh." He'd forgotten about that question. "I'd rather not unless I have to. If I can make do with the bus and walking. I think I'd like to do that. Save on some money."
She nodded thoughtfully. "That's what I'm doing for now. Oh, and I use the train, too. We have commuter trains in the city. I... I wasn't sure if you knew about those beyond the line you took to come into town."
"Not really," he admitted. "The only trains we have on the island of Oahu are the one at the Railway museum, the one between the two buildings at Pearlridge Mall, and the Rail they've been building forever into town. Nothing on the scale I've seen in Center City."
"It's pretty cool. Later, when you have a better idea of where you'd like to live, I can show you the best ways to get around."
He nodded, smiling at her. "I'm so lucky I met you when I came to Center City."
"I think it was my lucky day, too."
She smiled and his whole world seemed to tip on its axis.
"Now," she leaned in closer against his side, "here's where I think you should start looking first..."