AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was so dense!
“Of course,” she said amicably and then hesitated as he touched her uninjured elbow, causing her to look up at him again.
“Do you have plans tomorrow afternoon?”
Her heart hammered in her chest at the simple statement, realizing that maybe he was interested in her after all… and perhaps he was going to ask her out.
Oh gosh, what would that be like to date someone that literally made her so vitally aware he was close by? What would it be like to actually date him? Or kiss him? Would he be one of those guys that laughs a lot, smiles, and flirts? Or would he be the serious, somber type that didn’t let loose until they were alone?
“No,” she breathed softly, waiting.
“Good,” he nodded. “I’ll put in the toilet and fix the sink.”
“Thank you,” she said numbly, feeling like the biggest fool in the world and immediately looking away so he couldn’t see just how embarrassed she felt right now. This was so pathetic to realize that she was fawning after someone who obviously wasn’t interested.
“I really appreciate the offer to help me with the toilet and the sink.”
“Of course,” he said – and she heard the nervousness in his voice. “That’s what friends do, and we seem to get along so well that I thought you might like the help, you know?”
“I would,” she hesitated and then pointed. “There’s the electrical box.”
“What is all of this stuff?” Kyle began, and she saw he was looking around curiously. “You said someone used to live up here? You should use some of these things in the café downstairs to give it a ‘different-era’ feeling. This stuff is quite old and in good condition.”
“I might do so… why? Did you see something you wanted? I don’t mind at all if something caught your eye…” she started, and there was something in his expression that stopped her. “Where do you live?”
“Me?”
“No, the other Kyle… yes, you,” she sassed, watching him closely.
“I was going to be getting an apartment in the next week or so instead of staying on Chase’s couch, but I need to get a few things. I was going to use some of what I spent at the auction and…”
“You could stay here?” she offered – and hesitated. The words just seemed to come from nowhere, causing them both to freeze in place. Kyle looked at her strangely as she felt her face warm tremendously.
“I mean, we’d have to put in a doorway for you and…”
“There’s no real exit and you need an attic door,” Kyle countered. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think that this will work for me and…”
“It was a dumb idea, wasn’t it?” she laughed nervously.
“No, it was exceedingly kind of you,” he interrupted – and they both grew silent. “There’s no exterior doorway?”
“Not that I know of… if there is? I don’t have a key for it…” she began, and watched fascinated as Kyle began to inspect the upper apartment that was covered in a layer of dust.
If this apartment was a viable option, she would be so frustrated that no one ever told her that it was livable… because as a teenager she would have jumped at the chance, instead of taking off to live with some friends in Tyler for a few years.
Kyle walked behind a dilapidated curtain, disappearing.
“Reyna… what’s this?” he called out – and she nearly tripped over a wooden box on the floor to get to his side where he was. As she walked around the curtain, she saw he had his hand on a small door that had an iron latch on it.
“Oh, you are kidding me…” she whispered aloud as Kyle pressed on the latch, lifting it from the base in the shadows, before turning towards her.
“Shall we?”
Reyna nodded silently, wincing as the door crept open. Kyle disappeared into the darkness and then got out his cell phone before cursing softly.
“I broke my phone in the fall… do you have yours?”
She flipped on the flashlight function and handed it to him, expecting to see a boogeyman in the shadows… but never expected to see a very narrow staircase.
