Nickels

by Karen Baney

  Despite her earlier resolution to drive separately, she nodded.

  “Good, Kyle can ride with us, too, since he’s not supposed to be riding the bike, yet.”

  Kyle grunted.

  Niki wanted to groan, but held it back.

  “Give me ten minutes to change, ‘kay. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone,” she said already walking back towards her room. “Oh, and Niki, you look fabulous! I told you that was a good color for you.”

  “She’s right, you know,” Kyle said, all evidence of anger evaporated. “That is a good color for you—especially when you wear it the right way.”

  Niki narrowed her eyes and turned up one lip in a mock snarl. She finished off her diet soda and tossed both empty cans in the recycle bin.

  “Bike, huh?”

  “Harley. Couldn’t part with it.”

  “I hope you have a second vehicle. You won’t want to ride that in the heat.”

  She didn’t wait for him to answer. She picked up her purse from the counter and tossed her phone inside. She walked down the hall and talked to Marcy through her closed door to get more information about where they were going.

  Marcy stepped from her room, looking stunning as usual. How could she do that in ten minutes? It took Niki forever to achieve a similar affect.

  The three of them piled into Niki’s car with Marcy taking the back seat. Once at the restaurant they found Chad already seated.

  “Sorry, we’re late,” Marcy said as she kissed his cheek. She scooted next to him in the booth.

  “It was worth the wait.”

  Niki thought she was going to be sick. Hoping to sit on the end, she waited for Kyle to slide into the booth. She wanted to keep a quick escape in sight—just in case. Kyle held out his arm, motioning for her to sit.

  Marcy caught the gesture. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to tell Chad to get a table instead.”

  Kyle frowned. “This is fine.”

  “It’s no problem. We can move if it makes you more comfortable,” Chad offered. Before anyone could say otherwise, he motioned to the server and they were quickly reseated at a table instead of a booth.

  Niki shot Marcy a confused look. She dug her phone from her purse and shot Marcy a quick text message to ask what that was about. Marcy texted, “back problem”.

  Both Kyle and Chad were looking at them.

  “Is this the new version of passing notes in class?” Kyle asked.

  Marcy snapped her phone shut as she blushed. Niki set her phone on the table.

  Breaking the awkward silence, Kyle asked, “So, Chad, how did you meet my sister?”

  Marcy’s eyes lit up. “Ooo, let me tell it.” At Chad’s nod, she continued, “He dated Niki.”

  Kyle raised an eyebrow and looked to his right where Niki sat.

  “Don’t dramatize this,” Niki said. “It was dinner. One meal that I took home and ate by myself.”

  “Anyway, I fixed Niki up on this blind date with Chad—only he and I talked for, like, two hours on the phone to set up the date. He thought I was her. Then when Niki showed up—”

  Trying to keep this from getting out of control, Niki interrupted, “I realized he would be perfect for your sister so, I gave him Marcy’s number and suggested he call.”

  Chad nodded. “I did. And, I asked her out the next night.”

  “We really hit it off,” Marcy said with a dreamy glance at her boyfriend.

  Chad grinned back.

  “Why were you setting Niki up on a date?” Kyle asked. “She doesn’t look like she would have any trouble attracting attention.”

  “Oh, she doesn’t date,” Marcy said.

  “I’m right here.” Niki waved her hand in the air.

  “She doesn’t date. Not coworkers. Not clients. She’s always working.”

  “Marcy!” Niki exclaimed, embarrassed by her tell-all rant.

  “Well, it’s true. The only way she is going to find a man is if God drops one out of heaven directly in her path.”

  Chad and Marcy laughed, while Kyle gave a strained smile. Niki frowned.

  “Lighten up.” Marcy touched Niki’s arm.

  “Did you invite me here to make fun of me?” she snapped, jerking her arm away.

  “Geez, Niki, I’m just teasing.”

  “Unless you want to chauffeur your brother around, I suggest you drop it. I’ve got a perfectly good p—” She was going to say pile of work waiting at home, but that would be proving Marcy’s point. “Plans for the evening.”

  “Like what? The only thing you do is work. You work all the time. It wouldn’t hurt you to get out. Meet some people. Find a boyfriend. Fall in love. Have fun in life.”

  Niki frowned as her anger bubbled up. She was done with this conversation. What was Marcy trying to do anyway?

  Flexing her hand open and shut, she contemplated her next move. When the server arrived, she grabbed her phone and purse and jumped up, confident that she could make a clean break during the distraction. Marcy had gone too far.

  “Niki!” She heard Marcy’s voice fade behind her. Then she thought she heard Kyle scold his sister.

  Whatever. She would pick up some fast food and have a pleasant night all on her own. With her work.

  By the time she shoved the restaurant door open, the tears spilled down her cheeks. She felt betrayed by her best friend, even if what she said was true. And that’s the part that hurt. It was all true. She lived to work. She would never find a man. She had never wanted to. Had she?

  Swiping at the tears, she disarmed her car and yanked the door open. Sliding behind the driver’s wheel, she slammed the door shut as loneliness washed over her.

  Her phone beeped telling her there was a text message.

  Am sorry. Pls forgive me. M.

  She melted onto the steering wheel and sobbed. Everything Marcy said was true and it kept stabbing her heart over and over.

  A soft knock on the passenger window caused her to look over as the door opened. Kyle slid into the passenger seat. Niki wanted slide down under the car. Her embarrassment was complete. Instead, she stiffened straight in the seat, placing both hands on the wheel.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you apologizing for? It was Marcy’s fault.”

  Kyle angled towards her, wincing slightly until he leaned his shoulder against the seat back. “What she did was wrong. She knows that.”

  “She’s right, you know. About all of it. All I do is work. It’s the only thing I know how to do.”

  She ran her hands up and down the steering wheel of her parked car. She turned her face toward him. “Do you know what I did when my boss told me to take a couple of days off? I worked. I painted my room. Then I did research and prep work for the Helitronics project. That’s how I spent my four days off.”

  The silence stretched and Niki’s tears subsided. The deep emotion pent up for years pressed against the surface.

  “You know, I wish I was her.”

  “Why?”

  Niki stared at a couple as they tried to find their car in the parking lot with two children in tow. The scene started a small splintering crack in the cap she placed over her deep well of pain. Something stirred in her. She wanted that. But, if she pursued that—a husband, a family—it would only end in pain. She had her fill. She could not take any more. Not one tiny drop more.

  “Why do you wish you were Marcy?” Kyle reminded her of her statement.

  “She has everything—parents, a brother…”

  Why was she talking to him about all of this?

  Stiffening her posture, she sighed and put her key in the ignition. She was done spilling her guts to him. The last thing she needed was for a client to learn about all her baggage. Even though he was Marcy’s brother, he was still her client.

  “Here.” Kyle put his hand on the steering wheel to stop her. “Trade me sides. I’ll drive.”

  She hesitated. He opened the passenger door, stepped out, and walked around to the driver’s side
. When he opened her door, she eased out of the seat. He got behind the wheel as she shrank into the passenger’s seat.

  Niki didn’t pay attention to where he was driving until he pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Teaching you how to have fun.”

  Chapter 11

  Kyle smiled to himself. It was a brilliant idea that formed as he spoke the words. Niki needed to learn how to have fun. Appointing himself as her teacher would guarantee him a few opportunities to spend time with her outside of work.

  “I don’t know,” Niki said as he stood holding her car door open.

  “It’s just a movie. It’ll be fun. I’ll even buy you a bucket o’ popcorn for dinner.”

  She pulled down the visor on the passenger side and checked her face. He reached over and pushed the visor up.

  “You look lovely. Come on.”

  He held out his hand. When she placed her hand in his, she sat still in the car. He gave a gentle tug and she finally stood.

  As she stood in front of him, he caught a whiff of her perfume. His heart raced in double time. She looked lovely even in the dim light of the parking lot lamp as it highlighted the features of her face.

  His gaze dropped to her lips. He immediately regretted it because now the only thing he could think of was kissing her.

  She cleared her throat and stepped away from the car. The movement jarred his brain back to reality. He knew enough about women to understand that she was far from being ready for him to make that sort of move.

  Who am I kidding? He wasn’t ready either. He still had too many things to fix in his own life before he could think about a relationship with her. This intense desire to be close to her was nothing more than remnants of his infatuation from high school.

  He kept a light hold on her hand as he led her through the parking lot and to the ticket counter.

  “Anything look good?” He dropped his head back to gaze up at the digital board of movie titles.

  She shrugged her shoulders.

  He led her to the ticket window, still not sure what movie they would see. He slid his arm around her shoulders and asked the ticket clerk, “Can you recommend a movie that will earn me points with her?”

  She stiffened under his hold. He squeezed her closer for a second, before releasing her. Immediately he wished he hadn’t. He liked holding her close.

  The clerk suggested a romantic comedy. Of course. He should have thought of that.

  Niki watched as Kyle paid for the tickets. She wasn’t sure this was such a good idea. So far, it didn’t seem like much fun—whatever that was.

  And the way he looked at her as she stepped from the car… Her stomach fluttered at the thought. He had her senses all turned upside down. At least he dropped his arm from its resting place on her shoulders. She wasn’t sure she could take much more of his touchy-feely behavior right now.

  After handing over the tickets to the dude who takes tickets—she wondered what he was called—Kyle led her to the concession stand.

  “Bucket o’ popcorn and two diet sodas, please.” Turning toward her, he confirmed, “Diet, right?”

  She nodded.

  “You go ahead and save us some seats. I’ll get all this.”

  Niki walked down to theater number eight through the propped open door. When she turned the corner to look at the seats, the place looked pretty full. The only seats she found were way in the back at the top of the stadium seating. She sighed and climbed the stairs, disappointed she wouldn’t be able to leave an empty seat between her and Kyle.

  A few minutes later, Kyle climbed the stairs slowly, struggling with the two sodas and giant bucket of popcorn. She felt bad as she watched him keep his left leg mostly straight, inching up one step at a time. He leaned his elbow against the railing and took a brief respite. When she stood to go help him, he shook his head.

  By now, his posture and slowness drew the attention of others. A young kid bounded over towards him. “Hey, mister, can I carry your popcorn?”

  Niki held her breath. Kyle looked at the boy and then over at his parents who were oblivious to the whole scene.

  “I promise I won’t drop it.”

  “Sure.”

  The young boy eased the popcorn from Kyle’s arm, careful not to spill any or bump the sodas. Then he matched each of Kyle’s labored steps until they reached the last row at the top. Niki scooted over so he could sit on the end. Once the sodas were in the cup holders, he sat down and the boy handed him the popcorn.

  “Thanks,” Kyle said.

  “Daddy said you’re one of those veterans. Saw your picture in the news last fall. He says you saved a bunch of people’s lives and that we should always help the veterans.”

  Her breath caught as Kyle swallowed hard.

  “That’s right. What’s your name?”

  “Jack.”

  The air whooshed from her lungs at the eerie coincidence.

  “Well, thank you very much, Jack. My name is Kyle, and this is Niki.”

  The boy waved. “You let me know if you need any more help, Mr. Kyle. I’ll be right down there,” he said pointing to where his parents sat, craning their necks up at them. They both smiled as their little Jack bounded down the stairs.

  Kyle sat completely still for a good minute. His jaw twitched and his eyes remained focused straight ahead. Then he rubbed his hand over his face as if it would help wipe away the pain she saw there. He sighed, followed by a nervous laugh.

  Just as she took a big gulp of her soda, he asked, “Make out section, huh?”

  Niki choked on her soda, some of it threatening to come out her nose. She managed to keep it all contained and swallowed it. Then a coughing fit overtook her.

  He patted her on the back. “See, now isn’t this fun?”

  She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

  “So you mean you didn’t want to make out?” He flashed her that insanely charming smile, melting her heart this time.

  “No,” she whispered. For the first time she noticed the charming smile hid the sadness in his eyes. For several seconds, she had a hard time tearing her gaze away.

  Snapping out of it, she reached for the popcorn. “I thought that was my bucket o’ popcorn. Where’s yours?”

  Kyle chuckled, a deep sound that warmed her all the way to her toes. “I thought you might be willing to share.”

  She eyed him skeptically and took the bucket from his reluctant grasp. She held it up, acting like she was inspecting it. She sniffed at it. She even held it up to her ear pretending to listen for some hidden sound.

  “Niki Turner. You don’t trust me?” He put a hand over his heart, feigning a wound.

  “I don’t trust the Kyle Jacobs that I went to high school with.”

  “Will it ease your mind if I eat some first?” He reached for the bucket to pull it back to his side.

  “No.” She swatted his hand away.

  She took a few bites, protecting the bucket from him. He drummed his fingers on the arm rest between them. Then he sipped his soda. Then he turned and gave her the cutest puppy dog look.

  “Fine.” She handed it back.

  He smiled and settled the bucket on the arm rest between them just as the movie previews lit up the big screen. She smiled as she shifted in the chair to get more comfortable.

  By the end of the movie, Niki had completely forgotten the dramatic dinner attempt earlier in the evening. When she started to rise as the credits rolled, Kyle placed his hand on her arm.

  “Can we wait for it to clear out a bit?”

  She nodded, smiling. Was she having… Fun?

  When the theater was almost empty, he stood stiffly. He moved over and rested his weight heavily against the hand rail. She matched his pace. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, the cleaning crew had half of the theater tidied.

  Stepping into the brighter light of the hallway, she glanced up at Kyle. His face looked pale and per
spiration dotted his forehead. He stopped for a moment, looking desperate for a break. She pretended to need to use the restroom so he could have a minute.

  As she stood in line inside the restroom she was certain he must have been discharged for medical reasons. The pain on his face looked pretty intense even though he tried to hide it. Then the kid said his dad had seen Kyle’s picture in the news. She didn’t recall anything, but she didn’t stay up on current events.

  Slowly the line inched forward. After ten minutes of standing in line, she turned around and walked out. She quickly spotted Kyle on a bench. His color looked better and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Ready?”

  He nodded, smiling. He held out his hands for her. Then he pulled himself up from the bench, keeping hold of one of her hands.

  As they walked back to her car, he asked, “So, how was our first lesson?”

  “First lesson?”

  “In learning how to have fun? Did you have fun?”

  She smiled. “I would say you are a good teacher. And yes, I had fun.”

  She dug in her purse for her keys. Her smile faded. “Where—”

  “I drove last, remember?”

  Kyle took her hand and placed the keys in them. His fingers lingered against the palm of her hand. Tingles traveled up her arm, matching the strange fluttering in her stomach again.

  “Um… Yes, that’s right.” When he moved his hand back to his side, she almost dropped the keys from nervousness. She managed to keep a hold of them and disarm the car.

  The ride back to her house took only a few minutes. She pulled the car into the garage, not able to stop her smiling. When they entered the house they were greeted by an upset Marcy.

  “Where have you two been?” she said with hands on her hips.

  “Having fun,” Niki answered.

  “I’ve been texting. I even left you a voicemail.” Then Marcy turned on Kyle. “When you didn’t come back, I got worried. I thought something bad happened. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

  “I was busy with my pupil. I thought instead of cutting Niki down, I would help her learn to have fun.”

  Marcy blinked and her mouth hung open.