Page 57 of Chasing Xander
She laughed, which seemed wrong considering she should be grieving. “No, it’s my house. As in, I own it.”
He whipped his head to the side and stared at her wide-eyed. “You own a house? But you don’t have a car?”
“It was my grandmother’s house. She signed the deed over to me six months before I left for college. She wanted to make sure I always had a place to go.” Kylie remembered that day like it was yesterday. She’d fought with Nammy Joyce, insisting she didn’t need to sign her house over, but her grandmother was a stubborn old woman.
“That was very kind of her.”
“She is—was—a very kind woman. Tough, but caring. She didn’t take shit from anyone, and she would fight for those she loved.” Kylie fiddled with the hem of her shirt, her eyes unfocused. “She was the only person to ever fight for me,” she whispered.
Xander reached over and took her hand, lacing their fingers. “She’s not the only person, Ky.” He squeezed her hand, then released it.
He was wrong. No one had ever loved her like Nammy Joyce did. Kylie rested her head on the window and yawned. Her temples throbbed with an impending headache, no doubt a result of all the crying and the lack of food. In fact, now that she thought about it, she hadn’t eaten anything all day.
“I’m pretty sure my grandmother left me some money. It’s probably not much, but I’ll pay you back for this,” she said.
“No way.” He shook his head. “I don’t want you to repay me, and if you try, I won’t take it.”
She sat up and frowned. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“You’re not. I offered to do this. One friend helping another.”
Her frown deepened, and her brows furrowed. Friends? Weren’t they more than that? Or at the very least, headed toward more, even if they were moving at a snail’s pace? “Right. Of course. How silly of me to forget thatfriendsdo things for each other.”
He muttered something under his breath that she didn’t understand. And honestly, she really didn’t care. Right now, she wanted to sleep, to close her eyes and shut out the pain tearing her apart from the inside. Pain over losing her Nammy Joyce. Pain over knowing she would have to face her father tomorrow. Pain over Xander’s rejection.
“Look, we’re going to be in this car together for a long time. I don’t want to argue with you, so can we please talk and get to know each other a little better?” he asked.
She sighed. “On one condition.”
He sliced a look in her direction and grinned. “What’s that?”
The sight of his smile lifted her mood, made her want to forget, for a little while, why they were making this trip and have fun with him like they did the first night they’d gone out. “You have to stop for food. I’m starving.”
“Shit. I suck.” He frowned. “I was in such a rush to check on you, I completely forgot to bring you lunch, didn’t I?”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I’ll stop at the first drive-through I find.”
“Thank you.” She combed her fingers through her hair and pulled her locks up into a ponytail. “Even though I don’t have a car, I do have a license, so if you want me to take a turn driving, I will.”
“I’m going to take you up on that offer.” He merged onto the highway and then switched lanes.
“Oh yeah?” There was a playfulness to her tone that she didn’t expect to hear. “Well then, what else can I offer that you’ll take me up on?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?” He lifted a brow, that faint smile still on his lips.
Part of her did want him to answer, but a bigger part of her didn’t. She couldn’t bear to hear him say they were just friends. She toed off her shoes, put her head on the window again, and closed her eyes. Maybe she could get some sleep before they stopped for food.
…
Kylie groaned and straightened in her seat. Yawning, she stretched her arms as best she could in the small car. It was dark out, and the clock on the dash read: 10:18 p.m. Whoa. “How long have I been sleeping?”
“About nine hours.”
“Shut up.” She laughed. “I have not.”
“Yes, you have.” He glanced at her and grinned. “We left campus just after one. It’s now a little after ten.”
