“Okay, can I have your key?” he asked, handing Stella to me as I gave him my keys. “Go ahead and sit back down over there, and I’ll see if I can get this started for you.” He turned from me and started walking to the trunk of his car.
“Kyle, I can help,” I huffed. I was a little annoyed that he was acting like I was helpless.
He stopped and turned to look at me, gently placing his hand on my shoulder. “I know you can, but you don’t need to. Letting me do this for you doesn’t make you less capable. It just means you are accepting help. That isn’t a bad thing.” Then he turned and opened his trunk.
Wow, I thought, humbled. I often felt inadequate because it seemed like I was always turning to others for help. Kyle’s words made me feel a little less guilty for accepting what others offered.
I sat back down with Stella and we watched Kyle work. He took a moment to roll his sleeves up, revealing his muscular forearms, before pulling the jumper cables out. What was it about a man’s forearms that could drive a girl crazy? He opened his driver’s side door and pulled the latch to pop open his hood, and then did the same on my car. My eyes followed every movement as he attached the cables to both batteries and then started his car. He waited a few minutes and then attempted to start my car. It sounded like it wanted to turn over but still wouldn’t start. He waited a couple more minutes, tried again, and this time it started without a problem. He got out of my car and removed the cables. Once they were put back in his trunk and both hoods were closed, he walked over to us.
“Any idea when the battery was last replaced?”
I shook my head. “I sorta left the car stuff to Brad since he was a mechanic. I don’t know if he ever did anything to my car,” I replied.
I saw him roll his eyes and it made me chuckle. His dislike for my ex was not something he was able to conceal. “Well, I think you need to get a new one. I’d be happy to switch it out for you.” His offer was very sweet, but I couldn’t accept, despite his little lecture earlier. He was already handling my divorce pro bono.
“I’ll take care of it. Thanks though for helping me today,” I said, standing up with Stella in my arms. “Can you tell Kyle thank you for helping us?” I gently encouraged my daughter.
“Thanks, Ky,” she said with her head lying on my shoulder. It was past her naptime and I knew I needed to get her home before we had to deal with a toddler tantrum.
“No problem, sweetie,” he answered her. He touched her face then squeezed her shoulder softly.
I walked to my car and placed Stella in her car seat and buckled her up again. As soon as the car had started the AC came on so it was already cooling off inside. I closed her door and faced Kyle, who was standing right behind me. “So what have the two of you been up to today?” he asked. “Stella mentioned being a good girl.”
“I registered for two college courses today,” I answered, grinning up at him. “One’s online so I can do that when I’m home with Stella. The other is two days a week. I’m hoping to arrange my schedule so I can go to school then directly to work. That should help with Marla watching Stella.” I was rambling, but I was anxious to share the news with someone.
“Wow, that’s fantastic, Simone,” he said with a smile. He held my car door open for me. “I think it’s great you were able to make that work.”
“I’m really excited. It’s going to take me a long time to finish, but I need to start somewhere,” I said. “When we talked about my future I realized just how much I wanted to go back to school. I guess I have you to thank for reminding me that I can do what I want now,” I said sincerely.
“You are going to do great, Simone. If I can help in any way, let me know. I mean it,” he said firmly. He reached out, tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind my left ear. His fingertips grazed along my jaw, making me shiver. It was something he did often, although I didn’t think he was aware of it.
I was holding my breath and couldn’t exhale until he wasn’t touching me anymore. “Um, thanks again, Kyle,” I said, my voice a little husky. “Once again, saving the day for me and Stella.”
He nodded, his expression soft, quiet. “Text me when you get home so I know you didn’t have any more car troubles,” he ordered gently, pulling me in for another hug. It was almost torturous, this constant contact. I tried not to read into any of it because Kyle was a friendly guy. It was just his way of showing kindness, and I loved that about him. He wasn’t afraid to show his emotions or affections.
“I will, I promise,” I said, reluctantly pulling myself out of his arms. He really did give amazing hugs.
He continued to hold my door open and waited ‘til I was settled into the front seat before he closed it. I rolled down my window and said, “Bye.”
“Bye, Simone,” he said, and walked over to get into his car.
I pulled out of my space and he pulled out right behind me. I drove out of the parking lot with a huge smile on my face. What was this man doing to me?
*****
It was Stella’s second birthday and we were at Jim and Marla’s house getting ready to drive up to Anaheim so we could take Stella to Disneyland for the first time. I was just as excited for the trip as my daughter was. It was about a two-hour drive, so I had spent the night at their house so we could get up early and get on the road. Since we were going to be out late tonight we had done the whole cake and gift thing last night. That’s when we surprised Stella with the trip.
Everyone had such a nice time celebrating that I was almost able to ignore the fact that her father had decided not to show up. I hadn’t seen or heard from Brad since our meeting two months ago. I had come to accept the fact that he wasn’t going to have a relationship with his daughter. While it infuriated me that he would toss her aside so easily, I made sure she spent plenty of time with Jim and Trent, the two men in her life who loved her unconditionally. I wasn’t sure if his parents were in contact with him, but from the sound of it, Brad had cut off all ties with his entire family. I felt especially bad for Marla and Jim. Trent, I knew, was fine with it, since he didn’t get along with his younger brother.
Marla told me last night that she invited Trent to join us today and that Kyle and Addie were coming as well. I knew Stella would be happy to have her Uncle Trent there and I was excited Addie was going. I really liked Addie and was so happy we had developed a friendship. In fact, I would say she was quickly becoming my closest friend besides Kayla. It may have been an unlikely friendship, but I was so grateful to have her as part of my life.
My anxiety came from knowing Kyle was coming with us. I knew Stella would love it, but I wasn’t sure I could spend an entire day hanging out with him casually without thinking of the way he made me feel. I knew it would never be reciprocated so it was silly of me to even entertain the lustful thoughts I’d been having of him.
Changing my focus to the fun day ahead, I finished packing my backpack with some snacks, sunscreen, diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes for Stella. It was the middle of August so I’d put Stella in a pair of red shorts and a white shirt with red polka dots. I was wearing a pair of dark denim shorts and an olive green tank top.
I brought our bag down and placed it by the front door. I could hear my little one chattering with her grandparents in the kitchen. Knowing they were ready to go, I put on my shoes and joined them at the counter.
“Good morning,” I said as I poured myself a cup of coffee. I wasn’t much of a breakfast eater, but I needed my coffee in the morning to feel human.
“Morning,” they all said in return. I took a few more sips of my coffee, already feeling more awake.
“Trent texted a couple minutes ago, Kyle and Addie just picked him up. They should be here in about ten minutes,” Jim informed us.
I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach at the mention of Kyle. I really needed to stop with this infatuation. All I was going to do was embarrass myself. A few minutes later we heard the front door open.
“Where’s the birthday girl?”
I heard Trent shout from the entryway. Stella immediately hopped off the chair and went running to the living room.
“I’m here, Unky Trent!” she yelled, and giggled all the way to him. She was capable of saying the word ‘uncle’ just fine now, but she refused to call Trent anything except Unky. It was pretty cute and I had a feeling it would always be her thing with him.
I walked around the corner just in time to see him scoop her up in his arms and twirl her around twice. “Hey there, Simone,” he said as he set Stella down.
“Hi, guys,” I responded as we all moved around to greet each other with hugs. When Kyle hugged me, my imagination must have been playing tricks on me because it felt a little tighter and lasted a little bit longer than the others.
“Are we ready to go?” Marla asked, coming back into the room with her own backpack ready.
“Yes,” we all answered as I pulled away from Kyle. It appeared everyone was looking forward to the day at the amusement park.
Jim and Marla were taking their minivan and Stella and I were going to ride with them. I assumed the others would ride together in Kyle’s car.
“Can I ride with you guys?” Addie asked while looping her arm through mine as we walked out the front door. “I would much rather talk to you than listen to the two of them talk about baseball and chicks the whole way there,” she teased while eyeing her brother.
The thought of Kyle talking to Trent about other women had me feeling a pang of jealousy deep inside my chest. That was a new feeling for me. I had never felt that way about a man before. Not even Brad. I didn’t have time to analyze that thought, so I answered, “Sounds good to me.” It would be nice to have another person to chat with on the way up.
We loaded everything up into the two vehicles and headed out on the freeway for the drive there. I chatted with Addie about the classes I was enrolled in and she responded the same way her brother had—full of pride and encouragement. I felt lucky to have all these people who actually cared about me in my life. It wasn’t something I was used to, and it felt good.
The drive went by quickly, and before I knew it we were pulling into the parking garage. We had timed our trip well and it looked like we would be at the gates when they opened. We walked out of the parking structure to the trams that would drop us off at the front of the park.
“I want to sit by Unky Trent,” Stella called out as we walked off the escalator.
I had a feeling Stella would be making a lot of demands of who she would be sitting next to throughout the day.
We walked up to the entrance just as they started letting the guests in. As soon as we passed through the turnstile, Stella spotted her favorite princess. Of course, we had to stand in line to make sure she was able to meet her, and each of us must have taken a dozen pictures. I had to chuckle when I saw six cell phones all snapping photos of one little girl. Seeing the pure happiness on my daughter’s face filled my heart.
As we walked further into the park, Stella grabbed both Trent and Kyle’s hands while walking between them so they could lift her up and swing her. She was giggling and having the time of her life. Watching Kyle with her made me yearn to find a man that would love my daughter like that. In my dreams Kyle would be that man, but I knew that would never be a reality. He seemed quite content with his bachelor lifestyle and I was nothing like the women he dated.
The rest of the day was filled with rides, pictures with characters, lots of junk food, and endless smiles for all of us. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d had more fun. This was exactly the type of childhood I wanted to provide Stella with. Memories filled with people who loved her more than anything.
After dinner, we sat on Main Street and watched a parade. The park was open until midnight, but it became clear that Stella wasn’t going to be able to stay awake much longer. By the end of the parade she had fallen asleep in Trent’s lap. That was our signal to call it a night.
“Obviously, Stella is done for the night,” Jim said as he hefted her up on his shoulder. “We’re going to head home, but why don’t all of you stay?” he suggested.
I started to hug everyone goodbye when Jim interrupted me. “I meant you as well, Simone. We can take Stella home and you can pick her up in the morning.”
“I can’t leave her on her birthday,” I argued.
“She’s asleep and I don’t think she’s going to wake up ‘til tomorrow. You should definitely stay with us,” I heard Kyle say from behind me. “We’ll have a good time.”
“We’ve still got five hours before the park closes,” Addie chimed in.
After a couple more minutes of debate, I relented. It really did sound like fun and I enjoyed spending time with the three of them. It felt nice that they wanted to include me.
We had skipped some rides earlier because Stella wasn’t tall enough or they were a little too scary for her so those were the ones we hit up first. My first choice was Space Mountain; I had always wanted to ride it. As we approached the front of the line, Trent started complaining to Kyle about the two of them not having enough legroom if they rode next to each other.
“Simone, care to join me in my row?” Trent asked formally, with a smile on his lips. I had to laugh.
“I would love to,” I answered with the same level of formality.
When I looked back at Kyle he was glaring at his best friend. When I looked at Addie she looked away from her brother and winked at me. I didn’t know what was going on, so instead, I focused on enjoying my evening.
After a couple more rides, we decided to catch the fireworks show. It was extremely crowded so Kyle standing right up against my back didn’t surprise me. He placed his hands on my hips and I shivered.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
I shook my head even as I shivered again, feeling his breath against my cheek. “I forgot to bring a sweatshirt, but I’m good,” I answered, trying to keep my voice even. The warmth of his hands on me was distracting.
“You have goosebumps, Simone. Here, you can wear mine,” he said as he pulled it off.
I immediately felt the loss of his hands on me but then he placed his sweatshirt over my head. Once I had it on, he put his hands back where they had been. I couldn’t help it; I leaned back and rested my head against his chest. We watched the entire show like that, neither of us moving away from each other.
I felt a huge pang of disappointment when the show was over, but it quickly went away when Kyle grabbed my hand as we tried to move through the crowd. Of course, once we were clear of others he let my hand go. While all these little gestures had made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, I had to remind myself that he was only acting as a friend. We were just comfortable with each other and it was nothing more than that. However, I wasn’t sure how to deal with my feelings for Kyle, which continued to intensify whenever he was around. It was both confusing and exciting.
The rest of the night was spent full of laughs, the four of us running around the park like a bunch of overgrown kids. We had a blast. When it was finally time for us to leave, we were all a little bummed. We spent the drive home talking about all sorts of things; the fun we’d had, how work at the law firm was going, baseball, and anything else we could think of. When we hit the San Diego city limits it was decided that we would drop off Trent first, then Addie, and I would be last. My apartment was the furthest away from the freeway so it made the most sense.
Once it was just Kyle and me in the car, I felt the atmosphere turn a little awkward again. I was so attracted to him and it made me nervous.
“I hope you had a good time tonight,” he said as he turned into my apartment complex.
“It was the most fun I can remember ever having,” I told him truthfully. My answer seemed to make him happy if I was judging by the huge smile on his face.
I expected him to pull up behind my car to let me out. Instead, he parked in one of the visitor spots. Once he put the car in park, he hopped out before I could say anything. He walked over to my door and opened it for me.
It was a gesture I had been on the receiving end from him before and each time it warmed my heart a little bit. I never had anyone do that for me before.
“Such the gentleman,” I teased. “Always opening the door.”
He smiled. “Yeah, you can blame Jim for that one,” he explained. “When Trent and I were teenagers, he constantly lectured us on the proper way to treat a lady.”
“Well, it’s very sweet. Thank you,” I said as I went in for a hug.
Kyle put his hands out in front of him to stop me. I was confused for a moment because we always hugged goodbye. Then he said, “He also taught me to walk a lady to her door to make sure she made it home safely, especially at night.”
“All right then, let’s head up,” I suggested and started to lead the way to my apartment.
I unlocked my door and opened it. Once Kyle was convinced everything was safe, he leaned in and hugged me. When he started to pull away, he didn’t remove his arms from my body. Instead, he moved his hand up and gently cupped my cheek. I stared into his eyes and for the first time I saw the same attraction I felt reflected back at me.
Just a second later I felt his lips come down on mine. I was so caught off guard it took me a minute to realize what was happening. His kiss was soft at first, but as soon as I kissed him back, he pushed against me harder. He traced my lips with the tip of his tongue and when I opened for him, it was like he couldn’t contain himself.
I had never been kissed like this before. It was filled with lust and passion and I couldn’t get enough. But then he pulled away.
When I finally opened my eyes, I looked up at him only to find him staring at me in disbelief.
“Oh, my God, Simone, I’m so sorry,” he said as he reached up ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know why I did that.”
Falling for the Unexpected (Life Unexpected Book 1) Page 15
