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Grabbing a tile brush, she squirted some thick tile cleaner along the seams and began to scrub angrily again. For several moments, she dragged the brush over the old grout, careful not to scratch the tiles… only to hear Kyle humming a pop song off in the distance that she adored.
Larger than Lifeby the Backstreet Boys had to be one of her favorites and was a go-to on her playlist on her phone. It was funny that Kyle enjoyed the same music apparently… and Reyna began singing softly to herself, ignoring the sounds of him moving around on the ladder as she scrubbed away.
… Only to feel a tap on her shoulder.
Kyle was kneeling there behind her where she, herself, was knelt down, and looking at her… then at the flooring behind her.
“Yes?” she said candidly and knew it came out prickly, but everything was unfinished from their conversation, and she was gettinghangry.
“You said something wasn’t right in our friendship… like what?” Kyle began, looking at her.
“Are you kidding?” she scoffed, hesitating, holding up the grout brush that was covered in foam and on her fingers. “You want to talk about thisnow… when I have thirty years of debris all over my hands?”
“I don’t like us being short with each other.”
“Me neither.”
Both looked at each other almost mutinously, neither budging. Reyna sighed and went back to scrubbing the tile… only to feel Kyle grab her by the arms, pulling her to her feet.
“Kyle, I’m filthy and…”
“Nope…” he uttered.
“I hate that word,” she replied angrily and hesitated as he slipped an arm around her waist – and threw the grout brush on the floor, putting her hand in his despite the filthy foam. “What are you doing?”
“Asking you to dance…” he replied tersely, looking at her.
“You didn’t ask,” she countered, meeting his glare.
“You won’t quit snapping at me long enough.”
“Because you are frustrating – and confusing.”
“How am I confusing?” he hesitated, coming to a stop and just holding her in his arms. There was something in his eyes that seemed to deflate her momentum and she sighed heavily, looking away.
“I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I think we need to,” he countered gently.
“There’s no music,” she began, “… And I feel silly.”
“Don’t,” he replied. “It’s just me, Reyna…”
Reyna looked up at him again and stumbled, only to feel Kyle’s hand tighten around hers as his arm did the same.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, watching her. “I want to be your friend and I know I’m butchering this… but Iamtrying.”
“What would your girlfriend say if she saw you right now,” Reyna said openly, feeling a wave of sadness wash over her.
“I would hope that she would sing with me… so we could continue dancing while we are alone,” he said tenderly, his eyes searching hers. “And maybe she would let me take her to dinner tonight so we could get to know each other a little better?”
Reyna stared at him in shock as his words sank in, realizing that he was actually referring toher.
“Me…?”
“Yeah… you,” he replied in a soft voice.
“I thought you didn’t like me like that…”
