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Kylee glanced behind him at the sink of burnt food. She had no hope anything could be saved. Nothing good to eat was coming out of that fire.
“I came prepared.” Ron pointed to the takeout cartons sitting on the breakfast table. He must have deposited them there just before he came to her rescue.
“Really?”
“Really,” he snorted. “Don’t forget, I know you.”
Why did that statement make Kylee feel all warm and tingly inside? But not just warm, also cozy, like she wanted to curl up with Ron on the couch and watch old episodes of Saved by the Bell like when they were kids. But this time with a glass of champagne paired with takeout.
She shook herself. That was not what tonight was about. They would be catching up, and then she’d planned to work in a pitch for Thrive. There would be no cozying and no more tingling. Luckily, there would be a buffer between Ron, Kylee, and Kylee’s confusing feelings towards her old bestie.
“Molly,” Kylee called. “Dinner’s ready.”
“I’m going to April Tanner’s house down the street,” said Molly, poking her head into the kitchen but not crossing the threshold into what was still a disaster area. “She asked me over to dinner.”
“What?” said Kylee. “You didn’t tell me this?”
“You wanted me to start making friends. I made a friend. She invited me to dinner.”
“You remember the Tanners?” said Ron. “Jessie, the track star was their son. April is Jessie’s daughter. She’s a good kid.”
“See,” said Molly. But her smile was too broad, her eyes too filled with sparkles as she looked from Ron to Kylee. “I’m just down the street and I’ll be back before bedtime.”
Before Kylee could think of a protest, her little girl turned on her heel. She was out the door just as Kylee regained her wits. Kylee turned back to Ron who was moving the take-out to the living room and out of the danger zone.
“I think my kid is trying to set us up,” Kylee said trailing him.
Her back was to Ron as she spoke. She expected him to chuckle. Or to shoot down the idea. Or maybe, possibly, to confirm it might be something worth considering.
Ron said nothing.
Kylee sat in the corner of the sofa. It was the same couch from their youth. Though the television was no longer a box. Her dad had upgraded to a flat screen at some point in the last decade.
“Ron? Did you hear what I said?”
“About Molly? Yeah.”
“It’s ridiculous… isn’t it?”
Ron shrugged. “It’s actually quite common.”
What was that Mr. Hot Commodity? Was this some new conceited side of her old bestie? Or had the smoke gone to Ron’s head?
“Kids often do that with an authority figure,” he continued. “She’ll come to terms with us just being friends soon.”
He sat down in the center of the couch, which had always been his spot. Ron turned to her, offering her a smile and some chopsticks. Familiarity and duck sauce washed over the mild attraction she thought she’d been feeling.
“Thanks, Ron.”
“Anytime. That’s what friends are for.”
Chapter Ten
“Ouch.”
“You okay?” Kylee looked up from her chicken and fried rice.
“Yeah,” said Ron. “Just bit my tongue.” Again.
