Page 14 of Keep Me Safe

“Hey, Kira,” Jared says with his mouth still half full of food. “Jake is having a party tonight. Do you wanna come with me?”

She hesitates for a moment, “Um, I don’t know. I’m tired from the move, and I would kind of just like to relax tonight.” Her eyes shift downward, and I can’t help but feel like there’s something else to that.

“Please?” Jared begs.

“Jared, she said she didn’t want to go,” I catch myself saying.

“Fine,” he whines as he eats another bite of his steak.

“I’m sorry, Jared, maybe another time,” she assures with a small smile.

She has been through a lot this past week and deserves time to rest. If I were Jared, I wouldn’t even go to the party, let alone try to get Kira to go.

When everyone finishes their food, I grab the dishes to bring them to the sink, but Kira slaps my hand away.

“No, you cooked everything. I can handle the dishes.”

“You don’t have to do that. You did a lot today. Go sit down,” I say.

“No, I want to help, especially because I know Jared won’t,” she demands. I hadn’t even noticed that he had already left the room.

“Okay, you win this time. Let me at least help you carry everything to the sink?”I suggest.

“Deal,” she says as she nods.

Setting the dishes in the sink, I grab the sponge, scrubbing the first plate before she sees me.

“No!” she screams. “Unhand that dish!” She runs up to me and tries to wrestle the sponge out of my hand. I’ll give her credit. She’s putting in a great effort, but she’s no match for my strength or height. I dangle it in the air above her head, and she tries to reach it.

Looking down at her, I notice a smear of bubbles on her cheek from the sponge, and I laugh.

“What?” she asks.

“You’ve got something right…” moving my hand toward her face, I add, “...here,” wiping the suds off with my thumb. Hergaze lingers on mine for a moment. Without warning, she takes advantage of my distraction and snags the sponge, hiding it behind her back.

“I’m doing the dishes. Go sit down,” she orders.

I raise my hands in the air, “Alright, I surrender.”

“Good.” She stares at me, probably making sure I won’t try anything else, as she scrubs the next plate and loads it into the dishwasher.

Pouring myself some lemonade, I take a sip.

“Do you like it?” she asks quietly.

“I do, actually, it’s delicious.”

She beams at me before turning back to the dishes. She is so gorgeous without even trying. I don’t understand why Jared hasn’t ever made a move on her. They’ve been close for years. I’m honestly surprised that they’ve never dated.

Speaking of the devil, Jared emerges from the hallway.

“You sure you don’t want to come, Kira? It’s gonna be a lot of fun!” Jared asks.

“I think I’m good. Thank you, though,” she answers with a forced smile.

“Alright, I’m gonna head out then.”

“Drive safe!” she calls.

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