Keep on Going

Kacey woke up the next morning to someone knocking on the front door. She groaned and rolled over, burying her head under her pillow. Waking up early on any day was never something she enjoyed doing. The pounding on the door didn’t let up as she continued to bury her head into her bed. She hoped whoever was on the other side of the door would catch the hint that no one was getting up to answer the door. That’s when Kacey’s phone began ringing.

With a groan, she threw her arm across her body as she reached for her phone to answer it. She didn’t even look to see who was calling when she swiped her finger across the screen to answer. “Hello?” she groaned, trying to eliminate as much venom from her voice as she could.

“Is that anyway to treat your favorite guy?” Kennedy chuckled.

“Ugh, what do you want Ken? It’s,” she took her phone off her ear to check the time, “not even 7am. God, you really are as bad as Abby.”

“Well, you wanted to hang out today right?”

“Yeah...but does that mean waking me up at such an ungodly hour to do so? I thought you weren’t coming until noon,” she groaned.

“Change of plans. If you wanna see the best part of this, you have to get up early. Now get your ass outta bed and answer the damn door!” he laughed.

“Fine, be right there,” she groaned. She hung up her phone and threw it down on her bed. She looked down and saw she was only wearing a giant sweatshirt so she trudged over to her dresser. She pulled out a pair of short cloth shorts as she made her way to the front door. With a sigh, she opened the door to an over-eager Kennedy standing on the other side of her door.

As soon as his eyes landed on her, his heart raced slightly. She was wearing a baggy sweatshirt that was falling off one of her shoulders. Her shorts could barely be seen below the bottom of her sweatshirt; showcasing her model-length legs. He tried to avert his stare from them as he took in her face. She wasn’t wearing makeup and her hair was thrown into a messy bun. Much like the day he saw her in the coffee shop the first time, she looked so real to him. He much prefered this dressed down side of her. He cleared his throat and swallowed as he tried to compensate for his staring.

“Well good morning Princess!” he greeted with a cheesy grin.

Her glare only hardened as she stood there. She opened the door more so he could come in before shutting the door behind him.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’m gonna start some coffee and go get ready. What do I need to dress for?”

“Hmm, I’d say what you wore the first time we met,” he said with a wink.

The color drained from her face as she suddenly became more alert. “Kennedy Brock you better not be taking me hiking again.”

He chuckled, “Just get ready Kace. I’ll be out here. How do you take your coffee? I’ll even have it ready for you by the time you finish getting ready.”

She stood there, arms crossed as she contemplated his offer. She wanted to spend the day with Kennedy, however not at the cost of continuing to embarrass herself in front of him. She sighed before replying, “Black with a little creamer and two sugars. Supplies are in the basket by the coffee pot. I’ve got milk in the fridge if you don’t want powdered creamer.” She then left him in the living room as she made her way to her room to ready herself.

Her door closed, and she leaned against the back of it as she looked around her room. “Ok Kace, take a deep breath. It’s just Ken,” she reasoned with herself. “Who am I kidding, it’s because it’s Ken...god I’m pathetic,” she murmured.

There was a slight knock on her door. “Ugh, Kacey? Are you alright? I heard you talking...did you need me?”

Her face turned red as she realized Kennedy heard her talking to herself. “Um, no. Sorry. Just uh, talking to m-m-myself,” she muttered.

She could hear his hearty chuckle from the other side of the door. “Alright, so long as you don’t answer those voices you should be ok,” he teased. “I’ll be out here if you need me. Hurry up, we’re wasting daylight.”

She smiled slightly as she moved from the door. Fearing she would become unbearably hot and sweaty today, she decided on holding off on her shower until she got back that night. She hated showering more than once a day. She walked to her dresser and pulled out the dreaded pair of cuffed khakis that she had been wearing the day she met Kennedy. She opted for a different tank top; not wanting a completely identical situation. She grabbed a pair of socks and pulled them on before making her way across the hall to the bathroom. She turned on the light and flinched at her reflection.

“God, he saw me like this?” she mumbled. She shook her head as she carefully retracted the hair tie from her hair as she began to brush through the tangled mess. No matter what she did though, her hair refused to cooperate. She grabbed one of Abby’s giant clips off the sink and used it to pull her hair back, accepting defeat. Next she pulled her makeup bag from under the sink and began applying her foundation. She didn’t plan on wearing much makeup, but she wanted to have at least something on. She then grabbed her eyeliner and lined only her top lashes before applying a layer of mascara. With a sigh, she replaced her makeup in her bag and put it away. She shut off the light and went to join Kennedy.

She stopped momentarily when she saw him sitting hunched over the kitchen table, hands cupped around his mug. She couldn’t get over how adorable she thought he looked as he would run his hand through his hair as he sipped his coffee. She lived for small moments like these. She bit back her smile as she continued to observe him. Luckily for her, his back was to her, so he had no idea she was standing behind him. She quietly walked over to stand behind his chair. Carefully, she took her hands and put them around his face to cover his eyes.

Kennedy jumped a couple feet in the air when he felt her hands cover his eyes. His hands instinctively went to grab her wrists in attempts to pull her hands away. “Shit Kace, you scared me,” he muttered as he pulled her hands away. Keeping her wrists in his hands, he guided her to sit in the chair next to him.

She giggled as she sat down and moved to take a sip of her coffee. “Not bad Brock. I can actually drink this,” she giggled over her mug as she took another sip.

He rolled his eyes. “Ya know, you should give more credit than that. Contrary to what you may have been told, I’m good for far more than saving pretty girls from the cliffs,” he winked as he took a sip of his coffee.

Kacey’s face turned red as she buried her face in her mug. She didn’t want him to see how easily he flustered her. “So, are you hungry? I can make something…” she mused as she began to flicker her eyes around the kitchen to take inventory of what they had.

Kennedy could tell that she was trying to distract herself; most likely from the blush she was trying so hard to hide. He couldn’t deny the slight lurch in his heart that he felt whenever he knew he was the cause of the slight crimson adorning her cheeks. It only made him want to keep it permanently there.

Kacey got up and began wandering around the kitchen, looking through the various cabinets in attempts to find something she could make them for breakfast.

Kennedy sat at the table and as he watched Kacey flitter around the kitchen. He called her name out a few times, but she didn’t seem to hear him. He kept calling her name but she only continued to look around the kitchen. With a chuckle, he got up from the table and made his way to where Kacey was currently looking. He placed one of his hands gently on top of her hand that was resting on the counter as she scoured the cabinets. “Kace,” he said gently.

Kacey’s heart sped up and she turned her head to face Kennedy. She thought she would stop breathing when she realized how close their faces were. She swallowed thickly, eyes wide, as she tried to mentally digest what was happening.

Kennedy froze when she turned around. Her face was only a few inches from his and there wasn’t much of a gap to close between them. He felt his hands go clammy as he took a deep breath.

His breath blew gently across her face and Kacey froze. She was able to smell the slight stench of coffee coming from his breath. She couldn’t move now if she wanted to. His touch was keeping her stuck where she stood and she only wished for time to stand still. If only he would make the move to close the distance between the two of them. The tension radiating between them was intensifying the longer the two stood there motionless. Kacey was honestly beginning to believe that time had stopped until Kennedy finally cleared his throat.

“Um, I’ve g-got stuff in the c-car for us. We s-should uh, prob-probably get g-going,” he stuttered as he tried his best to avert his gaze from her.

Kacey barely nodded, unable to do much more than that as she stared into his vibrant hazel eyes.

Kennedy gave her a tight-lipped smile before removing his hand from hers and backing away. He moved to sit back at the table to finish his coffee.

Kacey braced herself against the counter as she faced the wall, away from Kennedy. Her eyes went wide as her mind raced over what had just happened; or rather what almost happened. She couldn’t keep putting herself through this. She had Ben now, though she wasn’t exactly sure what they were. He was what she needed. He was everything she had always wanted. He was a perfect gentleman, loved his community and elders, and loved volunteering. It didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes as well. He was a packaged deal. She kept reminding herself of that before she moved away from the counter. “I’m uh, gonna grab my shoes and then we can head out,” she muttered.

Kennedy barely acknowledged her; too consumed in his own thoughts over what almost happened. He couldn’t believe he found himself getting so worked up over a girl. He was acting just like he promised himself he never would. He didn’t do relationships or love. Not that he found it juvenile, but he refused to settle. There wasn’t a purpose to it he thought. He would much rather continue to live in his bachelorhood and do whatever he pleased whenever he pleased. The last thing he needed was for a nagging girlfriend constantly demanding his time and attention. He refused to become that guy. Unfortunately for him, Kacey was making him turn into the guy he never wanted to become. He didn’t understand why this girl, so like many of the girls he’d met in the past, was turning him into this sappy guy. He got up from the table and put his mug in the sink when Kacey reappeared in the kitchen.

“Are you ready to go?” Kennedy nervously stated.

Kacey nodded her head.

Kennedy once again offered his arm so he could lead Kacey out to his car. She took his arm and followed him out to the car. She wasn’t sure what exactly Kennedy had in mind for the day, but for the first time, she was nervous to be around him.

Kennedy opened her door as he helped guide her in before making his way to the driver’s side. He didn’t know where this chivalrous side was coming from. He usually only charmed girls long enough to have a short fling and that would be it. Never did he constantly choose or unconsciously try to charm one girl. He was mentally kicking himself for how he was slowly finding himself start to settle and tried to work against it as he started the car and made his way to their destination.