Page 28 of Kyle

“Not until just a while ago. They came by and dropped the bomb on me.” He returns his phone to his pocket.

I giggle. “They did it as a joke, right? Did you tell them to take it down?”

He doesn’t answer immediately, just crosses his arms and stares at his boots. He huffs a laugh. “It’s too late for that. They already set a date.”

I straighten, and something like panic flashes through me. “Oh. I see. Are you going?”

“Kind of have to. I’m supposed to meet this girl at a restaurant tomorrow night.”

I feel like all the air sucks out of the trailer. “Did they…” I pause and swallow. “Did they show you a picture of her?”

He digs his phone out again, scrolls, and turns the screen toward me.

My eyes shift to his face. “She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.” But he doesn’t sound excited.

“Does she know you’re in the club?”

He laughs. “I doubt it.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

I suddenly have this forlorn feeling, like I’m losing my best friend. “I, um, wow. Well, good luck, I guess.” I sound like a bumbling moron.

“You ever been on a blind date?” he asks.

“No.”

“Me neither.”

“You’re a very good-looking man. Surely, you’re not nervous about it.”

“Nah. Just not sure how this is done.”

“I’m sure it will be fine.” Our eyes lock.

“I guess.”

“Which restaurant?”

“Sully’s on Second and Main.”

“Oh.”

Someone comes to the window, and Kyle steps over to take their order. It’s Sara, Green’s ol’ lady. She has a little girl on her hip.

“Hey, Kyle. I was wondering if you had any apple juice or something for the kids.”

He holds up his finger. “Give me one second.”

He moves to the small freezer and appears with a popsicle. He peels it open, revealing the cherry red ice pop.

“Here you go, honey,” he says, holding it out for the little girl. “Cherry’s your favorite, right?”

She nods, grinning.

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