Page 12 of Cade

April ducked her head and tried to think of a response to that. That didn’t make her sound like more of an idiot.

“It’s a good thing,” Cade said. “A refreshing reminder of things.”

April didn’t speak. Cade seemed perfectly capable of carrying this conversation alone.

“I’m sorry for laughing. It’s just that you always did that and I had wondered if you still did it. And, well, then you did.” There was another chuckle.

“Happy to make your day,” April let the bitterness come out in her words.

“April, don’t be like that. I’m really not trying to be mean. It was surprising but a good way to know you’re still you. I had hoped you didn’t change too much.”

“That’s me. Still awkward as all get out with everyone. Even on pretend dates with people that don’t like me. Imagine that.” April glanced down at her wrist, only to remember that she no longer wore her smart watch for tonight. That was against the rules. “I’m sure it’s been long enough to say it was a bad date and I should be able to go.”

“Wait. We haven’t even decided what to tell her.”

“Tell who? Kayla?”

There was a pause from Cade followed by a quiet, “yes.”

“I told you. Just tell her I was boring as hell. It’s believable and gets her off my back for a while and then you can return to your regularly scheduled programming with dates that might putout for a change. I’ve got to get going.”

“You can’t,” Cade stopped her.

“Yes, I can.” April made to get up and Cade pressed a button on the table, turning the light from a soft green to a bright red.

“You just need to wait for someone to come to walk you out. I called them over.”

“Thanks,” April muttered. This date couldn’t get much worse. “Tell Kayla whatever you want. I’ll go along with whatever.”

“I didn’t mean for this to be a shitty night, April,” Cade told her.

“You never mean anything,” April bit out, standing as the server returned to the table.

It was no problem leaving the restaurant, as her eyes were now very accustomed to the soft glow. It was like a weird maze that you couldn’t touch the sides of. She managed to make it out without making a terrible mess of anyone’s dinner, though.

She did not need to speak to Kayla. Cade to say whatever he wanted and just go along with it later. April needed to get out of here, and as quickly as possible, before she managed to embarrass herself with the lights on, too.

April scanned every passing car as she rode in the back of the taxi, half expecting Cade to be right beside her at any stoplight, waiting for her to mess up again. It would just complete her night to embarrass herself again for him.

She probably should have stayed and powered through instead of letting him see how much his words affected her. There was no way she could have, even in the dark, though.

When she made it to her building and hadn’t seen Cade again, April breathed a sigh of relief. At least her embarrassment was over for now, maybe forever, with Cade. She’d just have to keep turning down invitations from Kayla where Cade might be.

Her phone rang and April debated not answering. It was Kayla, and she’d asked her to come up and see her after the date and she obviously hadn’t. Unsure if she would show up out of concern, April answered it.

“Hey, sorry. I just got home,” April answered.

“I’m sorry he was such a jerk. He told me he was some family mess going on and while it’s no excuse, I just wanted to assure you that I would never set you up with an asshole,” Kayla explained.

April let out a sad laugh. “I know you wouldn’t. It’s okay though, not going to get it perfect every single time. Sometimes people just aren’t a match.”

“I was so sure, though. You guys seemed perfect.”

“Kayla, it’s okay. I am going to shower and crawl in the bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow about it and how the restaurant experience was.”

“Thank you. I’m so sorry.”

April got off the phone and shook her head at herself. She should not get butterflies at the fact that Cade hadn’t told Kayla anything to make April look bad. That was common courtesy of telling the truth. Instead, her stomach did flips. She was an idiot.

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