Page 86 of Resorting to Romance

~ Unknown

The back door opens. My cell rings immediately. I’ve pulled out a cardboard box full of surplus bags of rice to give me something solid to lean against. I click the screen to answer Kai’s call.

“Hey,” Kai’s resonant voice is low, whisper-quiet. “I just want you to know it’s me. I just came in the back door. Are you still in therapy?”

For a minute I don’t know what he’s talking about, and then I chuckle. “Yeah. I’m in the pantry. I stopped eating cookies. I only had two. I’m saving the rest.”

“For ice cream?”

“Obviously.”

He laughs. It comes out in a loud burst and then he subdues the noise. “Stay put. I’m grabbing ice cream and coming in.”

I feel like a kid, sneaking around with Kai. Knowing he’s heresettles me. I’m lighter, cocooned in the safety of our friendship—and him. Just him.

Not even a minute later I hear the opening and shutting of kitchen cabinets, the soft tinkling of spoons on ceramic, and then Kai is standing in the pantry doorway, holding two bowls, smiling down at me like the superhero my son claims he is.

“May I join you?”

“I should hope so. I’m frazzled, but not two-bowls-to-myself frazzled.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you’re at one-bowl status. We can work with that.”

Kai walks into the pantry. It’s larger than most storage closets, but not huge. And somehow, the space seems to shrink in his presence.

He looks around. “Got room for me there?”

I scoot over, making a space for Kai. He sits down. Our sides touch completely. There’s no way for us not to be touching in here, not if we’re going to share the comfort of the box at our back.

“This is cozy.” He smiles over at me.

Then he dips his spoon into his ice cream and takes a bite. And I watch him. I’m mesmerized, and fully staring at his mouth when his tongue peeks out so he can lick a stray swipe of vanilla off his bottom lip.

“That’s so good. I haven’t had ice cream in ages.”

“You what? Why?”

“I don’t know. I don’t usually eat sweets. Unless I’m here.” He takes another bite.

“So you’re saying I’m a bad influence on you?”

I take a bite of my ice cream and moan around the spoon. It’s so good—just what I needed after a day like today. Cookies were good, but ice cream is the ticket right now.

“You’re the worst.” Kai winks back at me. “Now hand me a cookie so you can fully corrupt me.”

I giggle. Like a schoolgirl. And then I hand him the whole tupperware so he can take as many as he likes. He takes one.

“Thanks,” I say.

“For what?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

I look over at Kai, and the way he looks down at me only serves to intensify my awareness of every single place our bodies are touching. My shoulder to his upper arm. Our arms. Our hips. Our legs. Our knees. Our calves. Even the sides of our feet are aligned.

“Thanks for this. For coming out in the middle of the night to bring me ice cream. For being there to prop me up today. For checking in on me.”

“Anytime. You know that.”

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