With These Words

Kyle didn’t call me that night. Needless to say, there were no texts either.

I knew that he had all the right in the world to be mad, but at that point, sitting alone on my beat up futon staring at my phone, I wished he would just call. I’d even take an e-mail. A Facebook message!

For now though, I would just have to wait.

Haley came by an hour or so ago, and after grilling her about anything she could have heard from Austin, she told me she heard Kyle was staying home having some sort of “guys’ night” with Marc.

I popped in a sappy romance movie and turned my phone on full volume and vibration. As the opening credits rolled, I ran my finger over the smooth glass of the cell phone screen. It reminded of the first time I’d met Kyle. Yeah, hitting me with the bakery door and breaking my phone might not have been the smoothest move, but I was happy it happened.

Now if only I wouldn’t have gone and messed everything up.

Sure, Caleb was pretty ignorant not to catch on to what was going on between Kyle and I, but I wasn’t I just as oblivious to all his flirting games?

I set my phone aside and tried to focus on the movie I was attempting to watch.

::;::

I was woken up to the sound of my phone buzzing in my ear. Sometime between the “moving from friends to more-than-friends” montage and the end of the movie, I had fallen asleep.

“Kyle?” I mumbled into the darkness of my apartment. I fiddled with the phone, trying to pick up. “Hello?” my vision finally cleared and I pressed the right button.

“Georgia, it’s me,” Kyle sighed into the phone.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes and looked at the small clock on the microwave. It was only ten o’clock. Clearly all this drama was taking a toll on me if I had dozed off this early.

“I know,” I knew my voice sounded groggy. “I have caller ID.”

He didn’t laugh. “I um, I’m deejaying again at that club I took you to. I was wondering if you wanted to come with?”

I could picture him pulling his mouth up to one side as he waited for my response.

“Um, yeah,” I sat up fully. “Definitely.” I would have done anything at this point. While clubbing wasn’t my favorite, the two hour car ride to the club would be the perfect opportunity to talk to him.

“I’ll pick you up in like five, ok?”

“Ok,” I nodded to myself and listened to the dial tone that followed. With no time to analyze the phone call, I hurried to my room to find something a little more appropriate than a Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt and a pair of plaid flannel pants.

By the time Kyle texted me to let me know he was here, I was ready to go. I’d put on the off-the-shoulder top Haley had convinced to me to buy a few weeks ago, and tamed my hair into a loose braid.

Clicking down the small concrete landing of the building in a pair of heels I’d borrowed from Haley, I saw Kyle’s jeep waiting.

He unlocked the door and I slid into the passenger seat. The music was energetic and loud.

“Hey,” he nodded to me while putting the jeep into reverse and backing out of the parking lot.

“Hi,” I ran my hands over my jean covered thighs. He looked the same, loose camo shorts and a sweatshirt. The hood was up, hiding his messy hair.

“So,” with one hand he guided the steering wheel and with the other he held his phone up, tapping it to his bottom lip.

“So,” I echoed him.

There was bit of silence. There was never silence. Kyle always did enough talking for the both of us.

“I know you’re mad,” I dove right in, not being able to bear anymore of the awkwardness. “And I want you to know that---”

“I’m not really mad…” he said slowly, cutting me off.

I looked at him and he reached to turn down his music.

“Don’t get me wrong, I totally was mad at first,” he shook his head, his eyes never leaving the road. “I was really mad. At you and Caleb. I felt like you guys like went behind my back or something and were like…I don’t know, making out in my basement all the time.”

“But it wasn’t like that!” I jumped to my defense. “Not at all.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Which is why I don’t get why you didn’t just tell me when it happened. Why didn’t you just come to me and explain that Caleb obviously lost him mind and made a wildly inappropriate move on you?”

“I thought you would kill him,” I shrugged slowly. “Or hate me. I don’t know.”

He sighed through his nose and set his phone down in the cup holder between us. “I know Caleb. We spent the whole spring living on a tour bus together. You think I don’t know how he can be around girls? Granted it was never my girl he had decided was the next conquest…”

I couldn’t deny the slight twinge I felt when he referred to me as “his girl”.

“I know that he can be a little friendly with his lips,” he continued. “He’s a total idiot for pulling that crap on you, but you should have just told me.” He gripped the steering wheel tight. “That’s what makes me angry, Georgia,” he looked at me for the first time since we started this trek to the club. “You should have just told me.”

My eyes left Kyle’s face and landed on the floor of the jeep. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I mean, you’re completely right. I guess I was just scared that if you found out, you’d murder Caleb and dump me all in a heartbeat.” My voice sped up. “And I didn’t want you to hate me or for me to have to aid you in hiding Caleb’s body because I totally wouldn’t let you go to prison for manslaughter and I know that if you had to hide the body by yourself you probably wouldn’t think it through completely because you’d be so hyped up on adrenaline you wouldn’t be thinking clearly and then Austin would probably find his body and who knows, maybe he’d kill you and then what, I’d have to help him hide both of your bodies? Because that’s downright ridiculous,” I took a breath.

“What?” his brows furrowed together.

“Well I mean there’s no way Austin and I could find a garbage bag big enough to fit you,” I tried to explain. “You’re too tall.”

He laughed lightly, relieving at least some of my pent-up nerves. “If the kiss honestly meant nothing, you should have just told me.”

“It did mean nothing,” I leaned back into my seat as the car rolled to stop at a red light. “And I know that I should have just said something instead of being scared and embarrassed or whatever…I really am sorry, Kyle,” I leaned over and reached for one of his hands that were firmly holding the steering wheel. He let my take one and hold it in mine.

He sighed again and followed the car in front of us back into traffic. “And I didn’t beat Caleb up,” he glance at me. “That much,” he added with a grin.

I squeezed his calloused hand, letting this feeling wash over me.

“I mean, he’ll totally have a bruise,” he smirked. “But it wasn’t that bad.”