Page 48 of Just for Fun
FIFTEEN
Zara
“Keep walking,”I whisper yell at Kyle when he turns his body halfway around to look back.
“How far is your office from here?” he asks.
I am focused on putting distance between us and my brother and his friends, nothing else matters in my head.
“Two miles,” I tell Kyle. “Give or take.”
“Give or take what?” His tone goes up an octave when he asks, and I almost laugh.
“Give or take another two miles.”
I am yanked back when he stops abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Girl,” he snorts out loud. “You will get the worst shin splints if you walk for the next four miles in those shoes.”
I hate that he makes sense. My shoes are not made for long walks despite the low heel on them. They are supposed to becomfortable in a professional office setting and not as I power walk through the streets.
Kyle pulls on my arm, stopping me from throwing myself into traffic, all because I don’t want to talk to my brother about the current situation.
“Why are you acting crazy?”
I drop my face in my hands, completely mortified by my behavior. I’m not even sure what I hate more, the fact that now my mom and brother are aware of Kyle’s existence, or that I am showing a side of me to Kyle that I didn’t even know I possessed.
“That call with my mom last night,” I try to explain. “She now thinks that you are someone who is important to me…”
Kyle squeezes both my shoulders in encouragement. “Your mom was very cool. I loved chatting with her.”
“She enjoyed it as well. A bit too much. Now she can’t wait to meet you.”
He pulls me into a hug, and I land with my face against his chest.
“I will be on my very best behavior,” he says. “I promise. I’ve never met a mom in this setting since I was in high school.” My face moves with his chest when he lets out a laugh. “But I’ll practice on how to behave on my friend’s stepmom. She’s a straight shooter, so I’m sure she’ll let me know if I act goofy.”
My eyes fill with tears as I listen to him make plans for when he meets my mother in person. Not to mention, he’s already met my brother.
“This is a disaster, Kyle,” I mumble against his chest. “How am I going to live this down?”
When he takes a step back so he can see my face, I notice that the front of his sweatshirt is damp from my tears.
“Zara, baby…” His tone is gentle, as if he were speaking to a small child. “This is no big deal at all. You’re making it big in your head,” he chuckles. “But it’s really not. We all meetnew people every day. Some get introduced to our families and friends, some don’t. Besides…” He pauses for dramatic effect. “They were bound to meet me in person anyway, right?”
I stare at him, dazed and confused.
“At the party you were taking me to,” he clarifies. “For the Fourth.”
This is the point where I reach a new level of despair.
“You were supposed to only meet my brother and his friends,” I wail. “Briefly,” I make sure to emphasize. “Now my mother is involved. How is this possible?”
Kyle is at a loss for words. I guess he can’t think of how to spin this one, even though, he seems to be pretty good with words in general, and he finds a good explanation for everything.
“So I won’t meet your mother,” he shrugs. “It’s not mandatory.”
I spin around, turning my back on him. I can’t think when he is so sweet. It’s bizarre how we only just met, and he’s already turned my life upside down.
