Page 27 of Waiting on Life
“Thank you for taking that into consideration. I mainly eat vegan because that’s what Pete makes, but I’m not vegan. I guess you could say I’m more vegetarian than anything else.”
He gave me a smile that had my stomach fluttering. Whatever it was that Kyle was making me feel was so far out of my comfort zone. I’d never met another person like him before.
“Looks like you got enough for an army. Why don’t you stay and eat with us?”
“I have to go feed Waldo. If he had opposable thumbs, he’d have murdered me in my sleep after this past couple of weeks. You guys enjoy. I’ll talk to you later.”
I handed the bags to Pete, then turned to leave, but Kyle stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Stay, please? Pete, make him stay.”
“Me?” Pete squeaked. “Dude, he’s got way more muscles than I do. I don’t think I canmakehim do anything.”
No, he couldn’t, but the tenderness in Kyle’s brown eyes? He could ask me for anything and I would do my best to give it to him. When I got home, I was going to have to talk to Tammy, because my head was so messed up.
“How about I take something with me?” I asked. “I really do need to get home. Never finished the laundry, you know.”
I should have left. I didn’t need to delay, but a moment later, and I found myself with two arms full of shirtless Kyle. I stiffened, but when he put his head against my chest, I melted and embraced him. His hair smelled sweet, like a floral shampoo, and his skin was so soft and warm.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done,” he whispered. “I can’t tell you what it means to me.”
Probably no more than it meant to me.
When he stopped hugging and made to step back, I wanted to protest. Hell, I wanted to beg him to let me hug him a little longer. Instead, I reached into the bag and pulled out one of the to-go boxes.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I wanted to stay. I wanted to sit and have a meal with Kyle. Well, Pete too, I guess. There were so many things I wanted to know about Kyle. What made him laugh? Were there any movies that made him tear up? What kind of books did he like? What was he like as a child? What were his hopes and dreams?
There was sadness and pain in Kyle’s eyes, and it hurt me physically to think I was the cause of it.
“Hey, how about you come over in the morning for breakfast?” I held up the box. “I’ll save this so I have something to feed you since I haven’t gone shopping yet.”
Kyle’s lower lip jutted out slightly, and I had to resist the urge to run my thumb over it. This man was turning me inside out, and I couldn’t figure out why for the life of me. I needed to get away from him, have a minute to clear my head.
“Breakfast?” I asked. “It’ll have to be early, because I’m opening tomorrow. Will that be okay?”
He nodded, then pointed to the box I was holding. “But you eat that. I’ll cook you something.” He gave a sad smile. “I like to cook.”
“You suck at it,” Pete said.
“Shut up,” Kyle tossed back. “Just because you can cook gourmet.” His cheeks pinked. “I do okay on the basic things.”
Pete’s eyes softened. “He does. He’s not bad in the kitchen.”
“You can come too, Pete,” I offered, even though I hoped he’d say no.
“Nah, I work early tomorrow. Thank you for the invite, though.”
“Maybe next time.” I turned to Kyle. “Can we make it for six? I won’t have a lot of time, but we should be able to sit down and talk for a bit.”
“Sure, six sounds good.”
He stood there, his hands at his side, looking like he wanted something but didn’t know what he should do about it.
“Okay, I’ll see you later, then.”
I put a hand on the door but still didn’t want to go. I had to tear myself away and ensure I didn’t catch his gaze again.
As I crossed to my apartment, I finally realized the problem. I was screwed.
