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“I love a good cause.” Mom smiles and looks around with pride in her brown eyes. Her blond hair is swept up and held with a diamond clip this evening, looking freshly highlighted. “Kyle! Look who arrived!”
My father shakes someone’s hand and walks over to us, looking at Laina curiously. “Hello, son. It’s good to see you here. Who might this be?”
“This is Laina. She’s the neighbor girl from Boston,” Mom murmurs to him as they share a long look. He shakes my hand while putting his other arm around my shoulder and greets Laina as she smiles.
“It’s good to see you again, Laina. I understand you just joined the team at C&K,” Dad offers as she nods.
“I love everything about the job. My team is excellent, and Kyle is doing an incredible job at the helm.” I take her hand and squeeze it to show her she’s doing a great job.
“Good to hear.” Dad looks to the right as someone calls his name, making me do the same. “Excuse me. I have a golf game to set up.”
“I must check on something myself. Your table is near the front, Kyle. I’ll be there when I can.” Mom gives Laina one more look before moving away.
“Well, we can find the table if you’d like. We can also get a drink and check out the silent auction. It’s bigger this year.” I’m overwhelmed by the stress I feel for Laina as she smiles. “I think dinner should be in about an hour.”
“Drinks then auction?” Laina asks, and I lead the way across the room. I talk to several people along the way, but Remy and Peter are at the bar where we stop and they draw Laina into a conversation as she sips her drink, laughing at their stories about their kids. I feel good that she has someone that can watch out for her while I mingle for a few minutes, though I keep a close eye on the three.
My friends are charming, and I don’t want them stealing my date from under my nose.
I prepared for the auction by buying several tickets in advance from Mom and Laina squeals when she sees some items. There is a wide variety and at my urging, she slips tickets into the collection jars surrounding the prizes like a little kid at Christmas. I know from past events that with the number of tickets I bought, there’s a good chance she’ll end up with something.
Anything for a good cause.
I forgot how fun it is to have someone I enjoy spending time with at my side. I introduce her to everyone I can, and she talks over the meal, showing how warm and intelligent she is. When that’s over, I suggest a dance to break things up and to get her away from a man that seems a little too interested in Laina for my comfort.
Laina is a talented dancer, and we move to some faster songs on the floor as she smiles with joy.
“I miss dancing, this is so fun!” She exclaims, shaking her hips to a current hit on the radio. She looks good doing it and I swallow the lump in my throat as I watch her, looking down at the floor for a moment.
The next song is a ballad, and I look into her eyes as Laina stops dancing.
“Shall we?” I ask, and she nods as I slide my arms around her waist, drawing that scent closer to me as a form of torture. Laina slips her arms around my neck, moving easily against me to match the slow rhythm of the song as I look into her eyes.
She feels good like this, and I try to remember the last time I wanted a woman this close to me. Even with the dates with what others would call beautiful women, this is never something I felt.
What is happening?
We dance until a few speakers come on the stage, including my mom, as she smiles at the applause from everyone in the room for organizing the event. By now, Laina has friends at the table and she’s in her element as she talks and laughs with them.
Mom pulls me away from the table for a moment, and I see Laina turn her head to look at us.
“Laina is a lovely young woman and I’m sure she’s fun.” Mom looked at the table where my date threw her head back in laughter and arched her brow. “She’s not marriage material for you or this family, Kyle. When would you like to get back to meeting the proper women?”
“I like Laina, Mom. She’s great, and you’d see that if you give her a chance. I think I’ll stick to fun for a while.” I smile as Mom narrows her eyes at me.
“You work with her. It’s highly inappropriate.” Mom reminds me as I see Dad watching us from across the room.
“I don’t even deal with her in person at work, Mom. She’s got supervisors that love her and Laina does a great job. It’s not even an issue.”
“You’ll get bored, eventually. I’ll be waiting.” Mom walks away towards Dad, and I blink, feeling a sense of relief and dread combine in my stomach.
Game on.
9
Just for Practice
Laina
