The Realest Ever - By Keith Thomas Walker Page 0,54
it?”
Wow. Kyra couldn’t believe he totally misread her signals. She needed to work on her womanly vibes. “There’s nobody,” she said. “The only person who has asked me out since I been here is the UPS guy who comes to my school.”
Donovan’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Oh shit! There is someone!
“Did, did you get his number?” he muttered.
“Um…” Kyra’s heart thudded. Did he really want to talk about this, like they were just friends? Were they just friends?
“Come on,” Donovan said. He felt sweat on his forehead, but he was too embarrassed to wipe it away. “Obviously you did, Kyra. Why don’t you want to tell me? We can talk about anything, right?”
She nodded. “Yes, of course we can. I took his number. But I wasn’t going to go out with him, though.”
“Why not?”
“Because, I…” Kyra realized she didn’t have a reason. Roland, the UPS guy, was handsome and polite. Everyone in the office thought he was a dreamboat. Kyra was flattered when he asked her out. She told him she’d think about it. He insisted she take his number, just in case. The only reason Kyra had to reject Roland was Donovan. “I don’t know,” she said.
“I think you should go out with him,” Donovan said. He swallowed. His throat was bone dry. He tried to clear it. “You should get out and have some fun. You deserve to have fun, and be happy.”
Donovan didn’t notice Kyra’s smile crack and fade.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why? Is there something wrong with him?”
Again Kyra had to shake her head.
“Then go, Kyra. You deserve to have a good time. When do you get to enjoy yourself – outside of when you’re with me?”
“I guess I don’t.” She sighed. “Okay. I’ll go out with him. I mean, if you give your approval.”
Donovan felt like he got kicked in the stomach. “Kyra, you don’t need my approval for something like that.”
“But I value your opinion,” she stressed. “I wouldn’t go out with anyone, if you don’t think I should…”
Donovan didn’t understand why she wanted him to make the decision. He couldn’t have been more biased. But he loved her too much to interfere with her happiness. He fought to keep his voice steady as he said, “Go ahead. Seriously.”
Well. Kyra’s shoulders slumped. I guess that settles that.
“Hey,” Donovan said, eager to change the subject. “Do you remember the time we were at the park, and that naked man was hiding in the tree?”
Damn you, Donovan! Kyra almost screamed at him: Hey, do you remember the time we were at your mother’s house, and I told you I liked you, and you said you liked me, too. And we kissed. You kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before, and your hand was under my shirt, and my heart was beating so fast, and I was in love with you. Do you remember that, Donovan? ’Cause it’s fun to remember all of these other stories, but when are you going to ask me if I remember when we kissed? When are we going to talk about that??
Kyra forced a smile. “Yeah, I remember that. That, that guy was wild.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
ROLAND
Donovan dropped Kyra off at 9:45, like a proper gentleman. When she walked through the door, Aunt Ruth checked the clock and told her she would charge $10 per hour for babysitting when Kyra went out with Donovan or anyone else she might meet. Ruth said she’d only charge $150 a week for babysitting Kat while Kyra was at work, rather than use the hourly rate. After talking with Donovan, Kyra thought that sounded reasonable enough. She surprised her aunt by saying, “Okay,” before retreating to her room to change into something comfortable.
By ten-fifteen Kyra was nearly bored out of her mind. She wished Donovan would’ve taken her to the movies after dinner or even to his house. It was clear they weren’t going to get anything freaky going on, but she would’ve liked to spend more time with him. She wanted to call him now, but Kyra was a little upset about their conversation at the restaurant.
Why would Donovan tell her to go out with the UPS guy? Kyra found it hard to believe Donovan didn’t have any feelings for her at all. Their one kiss was a long time ago, but it meant a lot to Kyra. She would’ve sworn it meant something to Donovan, too.
Guess not.
Kyra lounged on her aunt’s sofa with her cellphone in hand. She could hear Quinell