Page 89 of We Shouldn't Be Together
He grins. “Ha, ha.”
“In all seriousness, that’s really cool. I’m glad to know you can captain this ship. With schoolwork, I get lost in all the names, dates, numbers, symbols, blah, and blah.”
“Maybe you haven’t found your subject yet?”
“Right now, I’m ready to give chemistry a shot.” He grins at me, and I add, “It was easy enough when we studied the other night via text.”
He winks. “Maybe it’ll be easier in person?”
My smile is effortless. “I’m game.”
Surprisingly, it’s a breeze getting through our work. We even order another round of drinks as we finalize our plan for our experiment in tomorrow’s lesson.
“I got it,” Kai says, pulling out his bank card once we’ve packed up our gear.
“No, we’ll go halves,” I counter.
Kai steps away from the table. “Already leaving to pay.”
I blush. “Okay, thanks.”
I might not have had a date before, but a guy is paying the bill, and that’s pretty close.
When Kai gets back to the table and picks up his backpack, he asks, “So, is someone picking you up?”
“Freddy has football practice, and Drew is still off car privileges. And I’m definitely not calling my mother.” I fix the straps of my bag over my shoulders. “Guess I’m walking.”
“I can call someone to give us a lift.”
“No, it’s cool. It’s actually not too far, despite the hills. Besides, I’m not excited about getting home too quickly.”
“Because of your mom?”
“Nailed it.”
Kai opens the door for me, and I internally squeal as I walk through the doorway.
“I can walk with you, if you like.”
“No, it’s okay. What if it’s out of the way?”
“Where do you live?”
“Bellview Crescent.”
“That’s only a few blocks from me.” He gestures to his outfit. “Besides, I’m dressed to work out. The jog home, wearing this backpack, will do me good.”
We move down the sidewalk, and I ask, “Do you always look for an excuse to exercise?”
“Not always, but running does help clear my head.”
“I wouldn’t know anything about that. I get winded in phys-ed from running three laps of the court.”
He nudges me. “You need to work out.”
“I’ve actually thought about it.”
“Do you need a running buddy?”
