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“Sounds good,” I say. What I don’t say is that I’d do anything she’d want. Go anywhere she wanted to. All I care about is being around her.
I drive us over to Main Street. After we get out of the car, I slip my hand into Kaci’s. She smiles at me, then leans in and whispers, “If we run into someone I know, how should I introduce you?”
I think about it for a second. “Your out-of-town boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend, huh?”
“Well, last I checked, friends don’t generally hold hands.”
“Good point.”
“And they don’t kiss each other, either,” I say, leaning in and catching her lips. She smiles against our kiss, but I can tell it flusters her, too.
“Should I not do that?” I ask.
“No, it’s nice,” she says, biting back a smile. “I’m just not used to being affectionate with someone out in public. But I like it.”
We walk down the street hand in hand, slowly making our way down the row of small, locally-owned shops. This town feels so tiny, especially after living in LA for so many years. But I can see myself living here. I don’t need the high-end restaurants, the endless shops, the glitter and glam of LA. In fact, I think living there might have slowly eaten away at my creativity over the years. Because the stuff I’ve been writing ever since I moved up here and shut myself away in that little apartment has felt truer to my soul than anything has in a long time.
But I do miss the band. I miss our jam sessions, and collaborating with them. We may have had our differences, and fought and yelled at each other too many times in the end. But they’ll always be my brothers. Even if we never play together again.
I focus on the businesses we’re walking by. We’re coming up on a cute little general store. The windows are decorated with spring-themed things. I nod toward it and suggest to Kaci that we should go inside.
A bell dings above us as we walk through the front door. The woman at the counter smiles at us and says hello. Her gaze lingers on me for a second, curiosity in her eyes, but then she goes back to her business. I’m hoping she’s just curious about me because I’m not a local, not because she suspects who I really am. I’d hate for this date with Kaci to be ruined by something like that.
What I wouldn’t give right now to be a regular person.
We walk up and down the shop aisles, and my eye catches a certain area. Maybe my subconscious led us in here after all. I stop us in front of the personal health section and take a box of condoms off the shelf.
“One box? Two?” I ask, my eyes sliding over to Kaci.
She blushes and laughs. “I mean…it’s always good to be prepared.”
“Mmm. Smart girl. Let’s make it two.”
The sound of some other voices pulls Kaci’s attention to a nearby aisle. I watch her expression as it changes.
“Those are my friends,” she says.
“You should go say hi,” I say. I understand the unspoken thing between us right now: she’s nervous about introducing me and having to pretend I’m someone else.
“No, it’s okay. I see them all the time.”
“Go,” I urge her. “I’ll meet you outside.”
She squeezes my hand, then steps away to talk to her friends. I grab a third box of condoms and head in the other direction to check out. On the way, I see a display of small stuffed toys, and after considering all of the different options, I pick out a cute stuffed bear.
If the woman at the register thinks it’s twisted that I’m buying three boxes of condoms and a stuffed bear, she doesn’t let it show on her face. She just politely smiles at me, rings up the items, and drops them into a bag.
I pay and then slip out of the store. I lean against the brick siding as I wait for Kaci. She comes out a few minutes later, waves goodbye to her friends, and then spots me and comes over.
“Hey,” she says. “There you are.”
I push up off the wall and smile at her. “How are your friends?”
“They’re good.” A wistful look comes over her face. “I wish I could have introduced you.”
“Maybe another time.”
