Page 37 of Fast Lane

Things with Kosi have been going great but I almost feel like I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s hard sometimes to digest the fact that I’m in this situation. One of the things that I always promised myself was no relationships. I saw how broken my dad was after my mom passed away. Seeing that first hand left me scared of relationships. Despite all of my reservations, I can’t seem to find a good enough reason to stay away from her. The way she makes me feel is terrifying and I jump out of a plane for a living. Being with her is literally a free fall.

Kosi is working tonight at Rowdy’s which works out kind of perfectly since I have family dinner at my dad’s. Every Sunday night I go to my childhood home and have dinner with my father and Riverlyn. It’s been a tradition since I moved out of the house years ago. As I pull up to the house I notice Kosi’s car parked along the sidewalk a few spaces up. My eyebrows pull together in confusion. I pull in behind my dad’s beat up Ford truck. Kosi is stepping off the steps of the small porch, her head whipping in both directions. She darts off the steps and hustles towards her car. I hop out of the car and call, “Kosi.” She stops but trips and ends up falling to her knees, thankfully she’s in the grass so that helps break some of the fall. I rush towards her. “Are you okay?” I ask as I help her up. Kosi limps a little on her ankle. I feel horrible. I didn’t mean for her to fall.

“Roscoe, what are you doing here?” She looks up at me, her cheeks flushed. Kosi looks nervous.

I chuckle. “Well, that seems like it should be my question.”

A look of confusion crosses over her face. I’m about to explain when she catches on. “Oh, right. It’s your house.”

“Well, not anymore but once upon a time.” The front door opens and my dad gives us a curious look. He looks down at the silver and white striped box sitting on the porch. A huge silver bow sits on top of it.

My dad looks over his shoulder. “Riverlyn, you’ve got a package. Roscoe bring Kosi in here. You know there’s more than enough. I’ll set her a place real quick.

Kosi shakes her head. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I didn’t want her to know,” she says quietly.

My eyes dart to the porch where Riverlyn is kneeling down and opening the box. She drops the lid, jumps about ten feet away and squeals in excitement. “What the hell?” I mumble.

Before I can even look back up, Riverlyn is racing towards Kosi. Riverlyn hits her pretty hard so I’m thankful I’m helping hold Kosi up. “You shouldn’t have. You didn’t have to but I love it so much! I can’t thank you enough!” Riverlyn goes on and on. Kosi awkwardly pats Riverlyn. “You’re the absolute best,” Riverlyn mumbles into Kosi’s back. Kosi looks uncomfortable, so I do the only thing I can do. I pat my sister and motion for her to go ahead and go back to the house.

Once Riverlyn and the mystery box are inside I turn to Kosi. “What’s going on?”

She fidgets with her hands for a moment. Her blonde hair is lying in curls down her back. “Well, your sister called me last week and told me she got asked to prom and she wanted to know if I could take her dress shopping. She didn’t want you or your father to have to pay for the dress so I agreed. Riverlyn asked me not to tell you so I didn’t. We went to a bunch of thrift stores but didn’t find much. She did buy one from Finder’s Keeper’s but the one in the box on your porch was in the window of one of the wedding boutiques. She loved it, we all did. It was so Riverlyn when we saw it, but she just walked away from it. It’s bugged me all week so I decided to go to the store and get it for her but I wanted it to be a surprise, but then you showed up and I fell… the rest is history.”

I’m processing all the information that was just thrown at me. My heart beats at a different pace. Kosi looks a million times more beautiful than she did even before. The fact that she spent a day off taking my sister around to dress shop for prom means more than she knows. Kosi buying my sister’s dream dress when she doesn’t really have the money for it either… well it’s an overwhelming feeling that I don’t exactly have words for right now. “So, you didn’t work tonight?”

Kosi looks up at me. “I do, just half a shift. I’m going there in a bit.”

“I’m sorry I ruined the surprise,” I tell her. I really do feel bad for ruining the surprise she had planned.

She shrugs her shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m sure she would have guessed it was me or Baylor. We were the only two that knew about the dress.”

Without a thought I step into her and wrap my arms around her waist. Her scent, which is now comforting and familiar, wraps around me like an old friend. Kosi’s head rests against my chest. It’s a feeling I’ve become all too used to these days. I look forward to these moments. “I’m going to pay you back for the dress. Just let me know how much it cost.”

Kosi steps back so quick I’m surprised I’m not flat on my ass from the motion. “No, you will not.”

“Riverlyn is my little sister. It’s mine or my dad’s responsibility to get the dress and we would have if we had known. Plus…” My words die out.

Her eyebrows pull together and eyes close to a glare as her arms cross over her chest. Once again, she’s completely closed off. “Plus, what?”

I sigh, pinch the bridge of my nose, and stare up at the sky that is currently the host of the setting sun. “Plus, you work your ass off for your money. I know things aren’t as easy as they once were for you so let me pay you back.”

“I can afford the dress. If I couldn’t then I wouldn’t have done it. Everyone thinks I’m some huge failure that can barely make ends meet now. That’s not true. I have a savings account. I work just like everyone else but I work so much to keep from touching that savings. I’m not accepting money for the dress.”

Kosi doesn’t think she’s a failure, does she? I certainly don’t see that when I look at her. I had to misunderstand that comment. “I never said you were a failure. I never even thought that.”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Sure, you don’t. Everyone else does so don’t tell me you don’t think that too. Hell, you probably threw a party when I got laid off from my job considering how we used to be towards one another.”

“Kosi! I would never be happy about someone getting laid off no matter where I stand with them. After all this I thought you knew me better than that.” Disappointment and a little hurt tumbles through my body. It sucks. I’ve never been with anyone long enough to argue with them. It really freaking sucks.

“Go have dinner. I have to take my failing self to work now to make money that apparently I desperately need.” Her tone is sarcastic. I want to chase after her but I don’t. My feet are rooted to the ground. I have a feeling that if I go after her it will only make it worse because we’re both too hurt right now. Against my better judgment I turn around and watch as Kosi gets into the car and drives away. She doesn’t turn around to give me another look and somehow that just makes it all hurt even more.

Thirty-Three

Kosi

Sleep was not my friend last night. I kept making simple mistakes at work. Proving to myself that I’m just as much a failure as everyone already thinks. I can’t even waitress properly. Yesterday was horrible from beginning to end. It started with brunch. My mom had called and asked me to meet her and my dad for brunch so I did. I’d been avoiding seeing them for a while so it was time. However, seeing them is never a fun time. Well, my mom is but not my dad. He just likes to remind me how I failed him. It’s hard to deal with sometimes, especially when I can’t even get an interview for one of the hundreds of applications I’ve put in since I got laid off. My dad acts like I enjoy working at Rowdy’s.

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