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“I’ll be back real soon,” he said, getting up from my bedside. He didn’t tell me where he was going, but I guessed he was going to confer with the doctor. I really did not care as long as I left this place and went back to my own life.
* * *
AIDEN
I was nosing my car down the road that led to the bookstore again. I had just switched off the car's sound system because I needed silence. The songs Jean had added to the playlist at my request did not suit my mood at the moment. Jean was not with me now, unlike yesterday. I'd told him I wanted to go somewhere, and I didn't need him to drive me today. He was not surprised. I occasionally drove around without him, especially when I had something on my mind.
As I neared the bookstore, I realized that I wasn't sure what I wanted to find when I got there. I wanted her to be away from work, resting and recovering from the minor incidents she had been involved in, but there was a side of me that couldn't wait to see her again in the bookstore. I just longed to set my eyes on that pretty face again. It was amusing because I wasn't someone who grew attached to people so quickly.
In Kayla’s case, I felt my heart had connected to her the moment I stepped into the bookstore and saw her. By the time she fainted after brushing off my offer to take her to the hospital, I'd already become too fond of her for my liking. The real me would have walked away from Kayla when she first refused to allow me to take her away from the bookstore to get medical care. That was before she fainted.
Here I was, going back to check on her after taking her back home from the hospital after she'd been discharged. I hadn't even asked for her number when I took her home. That was a deliberate ploy to take her mind off any idea of me doing what I was doing now—because I liked her and wanted something more with her.
No, I would've helped anyone who was in a similar situation. Also, I hadn't gotten her number because I knew that even if I didn't see her at the bookstore—and I wanted to see her—I could quickly drive to her house because I already knew where it was.
Does that mean you're not attracted to her?
I ignored the voice in my head. I knew that I liked Kayla. I wanted to see her face and feel her sweet body against mine, but that was not the point now. The issue was to check if she was alright. Then if she was, we'd see what came next. I knew that I wanted to have Kayla near me. She was the kind of girl I liked to keep around. Of course, I'd expect her to be less clumsy, I thought ruefully, a quick smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
Just then, I saw the bookstore ahead, and I fully smiled. I wasn't sure why I felt she would be there. It was probably just how she came across—someone who would get back to work as quickly as possible. Especially since she was pronounced medically fit by the doctor yesterday after a series of physical and neurological tests.
I drove to the parking lot and cut the engine. I saw that the door of the bookstore was open, but I couldn't be sure if it was Kayla who was in there. I was sure that even a small store like this one would employ more than one salesgirl, so they'd likely do shifts there. Maybe it was some other girl who was working there today.
I alighted from the car and locked it. The intensity of the sun was nothing compared to what I had experienced the day before. The mad heat that made me irritable yesterday was not just there this afternoon. I adjusted my suit and began to walk toward the front door of the bookstore.
There was an old couple ahead of me, just a few steps away. They were also heading toward the bookstore, and I watched them keenly as I slowly walked toward my destination. They reminded me of my aunt and my uncle. That was the kind of marriage they had. One in which they would go everywhere and do everything together.
It was saddening that my dad was not the same as his brother, and all my life, I had lived in that image too—the alpha male who gave no thought about what a woman wanted or felt. Women were not people to be loved; they were creatures to be conquered. And I'd had my fair share of conquest as one would expect of a rich, well-put-together man who had the right dose of influence and power.
I suppose that was one of the things that made Kayla appeal to me. I was used to getting my orders carried out instantly. Still, Kayla seemed to have a natural inclination to disobey, to question me. She didn't seem to care about my sophisticated appearance.
The couple went into the bookstore, and I followed them a few moments later. My eyes went straight to the counter, and yes, Kayla was there. She was as beautiful as I remembered. My mind went to that brief moment when I held her in my arms when she fainted. In those moments, she had yielded in my hands, no stubbornness, no argument….
She didn't see me at first until I got closer, then she lifted her head from the counter where she was scribbling something in what looked like a ledger. Her face went cloudy when she saw me as if I was an unwelcome pest she didn't want to have around. But in the next moment, she was smiling at me. I didn't understand this girl.
“Hello, Mr. Aiden,” she said.
“Hi, Kayla.”
“I'm pleased to see you again. Thank you for your help yesterday," she said, smiling.
The way she shone those teeth made my heart lurch. She had such a beautiful smile.
"You are welcome, Kayla."
"Just a moment, sir. Let me attend to these customers," she whispered. I nodded, excusing her to do her thing. She took the books bought by the couple and went through them, ringing them up. Then she passed them the credit card swiper. The old man paid, and the couple left, leaving Kayla and I alone in the bookstore, at least till another customer would walk in through the door.
"How are you now, Kayla?" I probed. I couldn't count how many times I had asked Kayla that question or variants of it since we met each other yesterday.
"I'm fine now. All good," Kayla insisted.
I peered into her face, looking for a sign that she wasn't telling the truth, but I found none.
"Great, I thought you'd stay home and not work today and just rest. Surely, there's someone to take over if you're not here, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine," she maintained.
"Okay, okay," I said. "So, if you're fine, how about dinner with me tonight? We can go somewhere close by and just grab a quick bite if you're still not feeling 100%."
