Page 17 of Faithful

Okay then.

I guess he’s not good with words at this very moment either.

I almost run a red light on the way home because my heart is being overly loud and insolent in my chest and my hands are shaking. Strangely, it’s not something I can control, and I don’t really get why until I’m finally back at my new place, pacing the living room with my phone still in my hand after I’ve placed a delivery order.

Adrenaline.

That’s what it is.

The food arrives at quarter to seven and I stuff the boxes in the fridge, then take a shower.

Five past eight, my phone dings with a text message alert.

K: looking for parking

That’s when I remember that Leigh and Paul took her car when they left and it’s now at the long-term parking at the airport.

Don’t

we have a spot inside

I’ll come and get you right now

I rush out of the apartment like my feet are on fire, hopping across the courtyard and darting toward the main entrance.

The street is quiet and filled with the soft glow of the pole lights that line the sidewalk.

A familiar Dodge Caravan crawls from around the corner and comes to a halt next to the curb where I’m standing.

The passenger-side window rolls down.

Kai is behind the wheel with a cigarette sticking out from the corner of his mouth. A beanie is pulled over his forehead.

“Robbing a bank tonight?” I ask, leaning into the window.

“Maybe.” He turns to meet my gaze and gives a small nod. “Wanna tag along?” His eyes seem bigger somehow, and it takes me a second to figure out the reason. The shadows beneath them are more pronounced.

“Like this?” I motion at my shirt and jeans, choosing to keep up the game. I spent an inappropriate number of minutes making sure the two look good together, but I’m still nowhere near Kai’s level of creativity when it comes to clothes. Or style in general.

“No.” He pulls his cigarette from between his lips and shakes his head once. “You’ll definitely get caught in those colors.”

“What’s wrong with my colors?” They are muted blues. They are fine.

He ignores my question and instead asks, “Where’s the parking?”

Without waiting for his permission, I jump into the vehicle and guide him around the corner and then open the garage gate with the phone app as we approach the entrance.

Kai steers his minivan into the spot next to my car and finishes smoking, then we quietly walk to the apartment that I didn’t bother to lock.

As we maneuver around the trimmed shrubs, I blame the sudden silence between us on the fact that Kai doesn’t want to attract any attention since he can now be easily recognized, especially here in his hometown. Ironically, the lighter incident turned him into a superstar.

As soon as we step inside and I shut the door, he pulls off his beanie and rakes his fingers through his hair. His gaze slides slowly across the living room, evaluating and memorizing each and every object.

While he’s preoccupied with studying the interior of my new place, I’m preoccupied with thinking that him being here is way too surreal.

I’m also freaking out a little.

“So… it’s just you and your friend?” Kai asks, moving farther into the apartment. He casually runs his hand over the back of the corner sofa, touches a ceramic vase Leigh filled with dried flowers, and stares at the framed black-and-white photo of the Pacific I gave her on her twentieth birthday.

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