Page 29 of More To Us

Chapter Seven

Austin

"Hey." I jump out of my truck as Kira comes out of her apartment building. "I was going to come upstairs and get you."

"That's okay. I was already on my way down." I hold the door open for her, and watch as she gets in. She's wearing white shorts with a fitted navy t-shirt and white sneakers. I love how she dresses. That sporty, athletic look. Normally, when I take a girl out, she wears a dress and a pair of high heels, which is also nice, but if I had my choice, I'd take a girl in jeans and a t-shirt over a girl who's all dressed up.

"So you said you have a roommate?" I ask as I get in the driver's side.

"Yeah. Amber. We've been best friends since we were kids. She's also a gymnast. I mean, she used to be. She's not anymore."

When Kira told me she's a gymnast, I immediately thought of all the comments Van used to make about gymnasts. He dated one a couple years ago and told Dylan and me how this girl was able to do all these different sexual positions because of her strength and flexibility. I think he made half of it up, but still, it's the first thing I thought of when Kira said she was a gymnast. I shouldn't have been thinking that, but it's where my mind went.

But then she said she went to nationals and my dirty thoughts were replaced by images of her competing in the Olympics. I know she hasn't done that, but the fact that she competed at a national level is pretty damn impressive. For some people, that might be just as good as the Olympics. I mean, shit, she was there with some of the most elite gymnasts in the country.

It's too bad she got hurt. It sounds like she really misses gymnastics. But like she said, maybe if she trains hard enough, she'll be able compete again. Maybe she could make the college team.

"So how was work?" she asks.

"Good. I painted a little kid's room."

"I thought you did construction."

"Our company does both new construction and remodeling, so we do everything from putting up walls to painting trim. We usually hire subs for the paint work, but I did this paint job myself. I'm kind of a specialist in floors and painting."

"What kind of floors?"

"I'm good at laying tile and wood floors. I can also lay carpet, but the tile and wood require more skill so I like doing that better. Same with painting. People think painting is easy, but it actually takes a lot of skill to do it right. If you just slap some paint on the wall and let it dry, you end up seeing the roller lines."

"Who taught you how to do it right? Your dad?"

"Yeah, but I mostly taught myself."

"What color did you paint the kid's room?"

"Fire engine red." I glance at her and smile. "He's only four and really into fire engines. I painted a white stripe along the bottom of the wall like they have on the side of fire trucks. You should've seen the kid when he saw his room." I chuckle. "He was jumping up and down he was so excited. Before I went over there, I stopped and got him one of those plastic fireman hats. His mom said he'll probably never take it off."

"Is she a friend of the family?"

"No. I just met her today."

"And you did all that for her kid? I mean, getting him the hat was nice but it's a little unusual, isn't it? Didn't she just hire you to paint a room?"

"She didn't hire us. We did it for free. The kid has some kind of rare illness. I don't know what it's called but he's been in and out of hospitals since he was born. We just wanted to do something special for him."

"How did you hear about him?"

"From Liza, a friend of mine who works at the hospital. Her sister, Ivy, is dating my brother, Jake. Anyway, Liza is a nurse on the pediatric floor so she was telling me about this kid and that's when I offered to paint his room."

"Do you guys always do stuff like that?"

"We do whenever we can. We're a local company and we like to give back to the community. It's not all about making money, you know?"

"Yeah, but a lot of people don't feel that way. That's really nice of you to do that." We're at a stop light and I look over and see her smiling at me. "What else have you done?"

"All kinds of stuff. Last month we repaired a roof for an elderly woman who couldn't afford to get it fixed. Back in June, we replaced the siding on some churches. We try to do at least a couple projects a month."

"And you organized a benefit concert to help pay for some guy's medical bills?"

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