Page 44 of Follow My Voice
I glance up at him and the look on his face almost makes me choke on the square of white chocolate. Kang is staring at me so intently that I forget to chew. “What?”
“You smiled.”
I swallow. “And that’s noteworthy?”
He shakes his head. “No, I just… I hadn’t seen you smile before. It’s…” He furrows his brow. “Nothing. I guess you’re starting to trust the serial killer.”
“I guess white chocolate is the way to my heart.” I smile again.
He looks away and clears his throat. “Well…” He reaches into his backpack. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Don’t tell me you have drinks in there, too? What kind of backpack is that?”
“I just have a Coke and a Sprite, so fewer choices than with the food.”
“Do you come to campus to study, too, or just eat?”
“I told you already, I got all this for free. Besides, who says I can’t do both?”
“You don’t look like the kind of guy who sits around eating and studying all day.”
Kang turns to face me, a twinkle in his eye. “What kind of guy do I look like?”
“Ummm…”Think, Klara, keep the banter going. “You look… very…”Handsome, hot, ripped, sexy. “Uh… healthy.”
A mischievous grin forms on his lips. “Healthy?”
I nod.
“That’s a new one.”
“You know me, very innovative.”Shut up, Klara, shut up.
“I’ll take healthy,” he says. Then he raises a hand to my hood and the movement is so sudden that I don’t have time to pull away. Kang pushes it back to reveal my fake black hair. His fingers lightlybrush my cheek as he lowers his hand. “You don’t have to hide, Klara—you’re very… hot.”
I stop breathing and I feel heat rise in my face. I must be bright red. “Thank you,” I whisper, looking away. Is he… flirting with me?No, Klara, you’re imagining things. You’ve only just met.I’m hyperaware of his presence so close beside me, and I can’t help but chance a glance at him. His hair looks so soft as it gently falls over his forehead; his eyes are the deepest black; his lower lip is so full, and those dimples… God, those dimples when he laughs!
Silence falls between us. I can feel his eyes on me, so I keep my gaze fixed on the doors at the end of the hallway, where rain is sliding down the glass.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” says Kang, seeming to read my mind.
I say nothing and continue to watch the rain fall.
Kang sighs loudly. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to get out of here today.”
“Caught in a storm—sounds like the premise of some bad romance movie.”
“Romance, huh?”
I cough and clear my throat. “Well, yeah, because… you know… I just meant… Not because of you and me… I mean, well, nobody can leave… a bunch of college kids, stranded, and, you know, the hormones…”—Shut up, Klara—“stuck here all together, it’s…”
Kang sounds amused. “I understood you, Klara.”
We look at each other for a second before we both burst out laughing. This isn’t so bad; I feel much more comfortable than I expected. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve talked on the phone so many times before.
“There you are,” Erick says, turning the corner and stopping in front of us.
I’m surprised I don’t immediately retreat back into hiding behind my hoodie, or avoiding Erick’s gaze, and I conclude it has todo with the fact that I have Kang sitting next me and how safe he makes me feel.
