“Well, not quite,” he conceded, “but I’d probably have enough that I didn’t have to spend my summers back at home with them.”
I laughed at that, inwardly wondering if I’d added too many years to my estimate of his age.“Home from college?”
Kai nodded.“Pre-med.Gotta keep the old man happy, y’know?”
Was his father a doctor?I’d never exchanged more than a “good morning” with the couple next door, so I wasn’t really in a position to say.
“Anyway, I saw you pull in and I was working on my car” - he nodded back toward the garage, where I could make out a cool glow from underneath a small and fairly old looking hatchback - “and wanted to introduce myself.Sorry again for startling you.”
“Honestly, it’s fine.I was just lost in my routine.”Then, realizing what I’d omitted, “oh, and I’m Tate.”I saw him frown.“Not short for tater-tots, it’s just Tate.My mom was English, it’s an English name.”
I shut my mouth, jaw tight.Knowing I’d been rambling.
Kai gave me a grin.“Well, it was good to meet you, Mister Tots.”He chuckled as I rolled my eyes.“I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
I flipped him a lazy salute by way of goodbye, then spent the few steps walking to the front door wincing and asking myself why I’d done something so cringeworthy.Shuddered as the door closed behind me, mentally kicking myself for being such a social klutz.
“You need to spend more time with people,” I muttered to myself, “you’re turning into a potato.”
The first glass of wine helped settle any lingering feelings of self-consciousness, though, and by the time I was headed through the sliding doors onto the deck, my mind was mainly occupied by thinking how good the water would feel.I’d already changed into the gray nylon running shorts after showering, and pulled off my t-shirt as the pool cover retracted slowly.By the time I executed a very halfhearted dive - more a controlled splashdown than anything else - all thoughts of the conversation were forgotten.
I’d braced myself for another unexpected greeting when I pulled into the driveway the following night, but my nerves were mercifully untested.It was almost a week before I saw Kai again, this time at the opposite end of the day, as I was leaving for work.
In fact it was his feet I saw, sneakers protruding from under the bumper of the battered hatchback where it had been moved out of the garage.At one point in its history it had probably been bright red.Now, it had the faded hue of a well-washed shirt.
“Morning, Kai,” I called out.I’m not saying I felt a little stab of redemption - and certainly not anything as base as vengeful victory - when I heard the bump and subsequent yelp as what I assumed was his head struck the underbody of the car.I did, though, make sure I wasn’t smirking by the time he wheeled himself out.
“Ouch,” he observed, rubbing a spot on his forehead.It left a greasy smudge.“Hey, Tate.You surprised me.”
I gave him an expression that I hoped would say “huh, you think?”
“You should be more careful,” I joked, pointing at where he was rubbing.“You’re going to knock all of that learning out of your brain before you even get to a hospital.”
Kai groaned.“Too late, it’s pretty much spilling out of my ears at this point.I’m gonna have to re-read every textbook when I go back.”
I nodded sympathetically.“They’re so demanding, expecting you to know every little detail about the human body.”
He shrugged.“Exactly.I mean, it’s basically just blood and a couple of bones and stuff in there, right?You could pick that up in an afternoon.”
I pantomimed horror.“Remind me never to come to the hospital you end up working at, okay?”
Unlocking my car, I pulled open the passenger door and dropped my bag in the footwell.Closed it, then turned to find Kai staring at me still.
“So, I couldn’t help but notice you have a pool,” he ventured.
I nodded.“That I do.”
A sly little expression worked its way onto his face.“That must be nice on these hot evenings,” he continued; his tone light, as though the thought was only just occurring to him.“Must feel really good after a long, hot day.”
I had to laugh.“You’re not wrong there,” I agreed, smiling.“Hey, just a thought, do you want to use the pool sometime?”
If the career in medicine didn’t pan out, I hoped Kai’s back-up plan wasn’t switching to acting.
“Why, Tate,” he told me, face lighting up in a broad smile that caused my own to spread wider, “that’s mighty hospitable of you.Terribly neighborly.Tremendously generous and admirably accommodating.”
I quirked an eyebrow.“Sometimes I just have these ideas, completely off the top of my head, out of nowhere,” I said, my tone dripping sarcasm.
Kai elected to ignore it.“Well, the world is the grand beneficiary of your noble sacrifice,” he exclaimed, arms raised out from his sides.
