The Realest Ever - By Keith Thomas Walker Page 0,60

you feel pressured, you need to make sure he knows where you draw the line. If he can’t accept that, then he has to go.”

“That’s great advice,” Kyra said.

Donovan thought so, too. But he wasn’t sure how he came up with it under the current circumstances. He felt like he was having a stroke. He wanted to destroy something. A UPS truck would be a great start.

“Finish your run,” Kyra said. “I’ll call you later and tell you more about him.”

Oh happy days! “Alright.”

“Don’t run too hard.”

“I won’t,” Donovan said, but he was so wound up, he felt like he could run all the way to the freaking moon! “Talk to you later.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE OCTOPUS

Kyra talked to Roland a few more times throughout the following week. And of course she saw him each day when he delivered parcels to J.T. Elder. Kyra didn’t feel good about that, not at first. She was the new girl in the office, and she was also the youngest. So far everyone liked her. She didn’t want them to know she was already dating the UPS guy after only three weeks on the job.

She told Roland how she felt, and he promised not to show her any special attention at work. He kept his word. So far none of Kyra’s co-workers had caught on, even though Kyra’s arms broke out in goose bumps at exactly 10:45 every morning, around the time Roland was expected to grace their presence.

Kyra didn’t sign for his packages every time, but whenever she did Roland would smirk at her while she scribbled on his digital signature pad. Kyra would smirk at him, too, and then she’d return to her desk and carry on as usual.

Roland was a totally different animal when they talked on the phone. He kept Kyra smiling with his humor and his constant flattery. He kept her astonished with the long hours he put in at UPS, sometimes up to 16 hours in one shift. He kept her heart racing with his smooth talk and eagerness to see her again.

Kyra was nowhere near ready to have sexual relations with him, but Roland made it clear that he would worship her body and satisfy every single inch of it to the best of his abilities. He didn’t tell her this directly, but there were innuendos aplenty.

Kyra didn’t tell her best friend everything, even though Donovan wanted to know as much about Roland as possible. Kyra didn’t know what to make of it. Donovan even offered to babysit for her when Kyra told him she was seeing Roland again on Saturday night.

“That would be great,” Kyra said. “But why would you want to do that?”

“I’m not doing anything this Saturday,” Donovan told her. “It’ll save you some money on babysitting. How much do you owe your aunt by now? A few hundred?”

“A lot,” Kyra said. “One-fifty a week when I’m at work.”

“See, you don’t need to keep adding to that bill. And I want to see Q anyway. He asked if he could get online on my Xbox.”

“What about Kat,” Kyra said.

“I love Kat!” Donovan replied. “She likes me, too – she just doesn’t know it yet. The best way to make her comfortable around me is to leave her here, and let me take care of her. She’s potty-trained, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m good,” Donovan said. “I’ve never seen her crying.”

“She doesn’t cry much,” Kyra confirmed. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. It’s you I’m worried about. No man has ever volunteered to watch my kids before. I’m worried you won’t like it.”

“I’m not just any man,” Donovan said with a chuckle. “Didn’t you say you wanted me to be their godfather?”

“Yes.” Kyra’s heart swelled. She threw that at him during one of their late night phone calls. She didn’t think he was actually interested.

“Then bring my godchildren over here when you go out on your–” Donovan had to clear his throat. It was trying to close up on him. “– date. Your date.”

“Alright,” Kyra said. “I’ll call Roland and tell him I’ll meet him at the restaurant, so I can drop the kids off on my way.”

“Okay,” Donovan said. “I’ll be here.”

“You’re the best,” Kyra said. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Donovan disconnected, and then he hung his head in shame. “I’m a fool,” he said with a slump of his massive shoulders. There was no one in the house to argue against that.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Four hours later Donovan’s home was filled with something he’d never heard there before: The pitter patter of children’s feet.