Our Kind of Love (13 page)

Tightening his grasp, Nate kisses me on the side
of my head and says softly, “We can wait as long as you want.”

Relief floods over me. How can I stay mad at
this guy much less not fall for him? He’s a good guy, so why’s it so hard to
just love him?

Easing me out of his embrace, Nate plants
another kiss on my mouth. This time, I part my lips and invite him in,
regardless of the taste of beer on his tongue.

Then we walk out of his bedroom, hand in hand,
and he drives me home. Soon we pull up to my house and I reach over the middle
console and give him a kiss on the cheek goodnight before getting out of the
car. He takes off as soon as I open the front door and walk inside.

Later on as I lie in bed, trying to fall asleep,
I think back to what happened earlier and how Nate got over my dramatic
reaction. And oddly, my mind drifts to Micah again. I wonder what he’s doing,
if he had a good time at the bonfire, and if he and Claudia made any progress.
Not sure why, but a selfish part of me wishes they didn’t.

SEVENTEEN

Micah

I WENT OUT for a run early Monday morning but
sadly, I didn’t see Reign on the cliff walk this time. So at work, I spend my
time stealing glances at her. Reign, on the other hand, is being evasive.

It was obvious Nate wanted them to leave the
bonfire last night so that he could sleep with her. That burned me. I took off
shortly after they left. As cool as Claudia was, now that she’s toning down her
flirtation, I just couldn’t hang out somewhere that I only went in the first
place because Reign would be.

Still, in my observations, I can tell something
didn’t go right. Usually girls look happy the day after sex, that’s of course
if they enjoyed it. So if Reign did, there’d be a glow to her. She’d be
happy-go-lucky all day, except she hasn’t been smiling one bit.

In the afternoon, it gets slow so she heads out
back to take a break. I sneak out behind her, wanting to know what’s wrong, and
if that boyfriend of hers did something.

“Hey,” I say, walking over to stand beside her
with my back against the wall. “You okay? You seem kind of…off.”

She looks at me amazed. “It’s only been a week
since you started working here, how do you know when I’m off?”

I stare at her hard, probing those gorgeous
hazel eyes. Then I ask her in a deeper tone than my own natural voice, “Would
you think I’m weird if I say I’ve memorized every expression?”

She’s unable to stifle back her smile. I feel
elated knowing I’m responsible for it. “Um, yeah, that’s kind of weird,” she
manages to say.

I shrug. “I don’t mind being weird. But tell me
you don’t feel even the slightest bit impressed by the fact that I’ve noticed
things about you? I mean, what girl doesn’t like that?”

 Reign looks up at my face, intensely
searching my eyes. For a moment, there are no words passing between us, only
the sound of the ocean and sailboats in the distance.

“So, are you and Claudia like, together now?”
she asks, a speck of disappointment within her voice.

“Why? Are you jealous?” I tease.

She perks up, twisting her mouth. “
Pff
…I’m not. I could care less.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah…” She’s trying hard to appear unfazed. I
can tell it’s a front.

I take the chance to inch closer to her, wanting
to have some kind of contact. Whether it’s to touch her arm, stroke her cheek,
or even brush my lips against hers, I just want to graze her like that night
when we hung out alone by the pier. The problem is
,
will she let me?

My attempt at the railing on Saturday was a
disappointment. Even though she’s pushing us to just be friends, I can tell
she’s having trouble hiding her attraction to me. She wanted that kiss then.

I draw close enough that we’re toe to toe.
There’s a beaming light flickering in her eyes now, and her chest starts to
rise and fall deeply. I’m making her nervous.

Taking an even bigger risk, I drop my hands from
my pockets and lift one to run across her cheek. I move slowly, holding her
gaze like I’ve placed her under a spell. She doesn’t back away so I consider it
a sign she’ll actually let me get closer.

I’m almost there when the backdoor pushes open.
Aislin peeps out. “Hey, what are you two doing? I actually have a room full of
vacationers in here.”

Reign collects herself and hurries past me. I
silently fume over the interruption then shake it off and go back inside as
well.

“Micah,” Mrs. Aldridge calls out to me before I
can leave. Its closing and I was hoping to convince Reign to hang out with me
since Claudia isn’t here tonight to bug me about going to another party or
something. But it looks like her mom has other plans for me.

I look over and she gestures for me to come with
her to the office. That’s when I remember about the background check. I figure
more or less, I’m pretty much screwed. She’s definitely going to fire me. That
means I’ll have no way of being around Reign. I don’t know if we’ll even be
friends when her mom tells her I’ve been in juvie.

“Have a seat, Micah,” she says as we enter the
office.

I sit down and mentally prepare myself for her
questions. “What’s up?” I ask, trying to seem casual.

Sitting down, Mrs. Aldridge clasps her hands on
top of the desk and peers at me the same way that judge did before she gave me
her sentence.

“Micah.”
My
body tenses when she says my name. “I’m sure you know what this is about?”

I nod, accepting defeat. I’m about to be fired
for sure. “I’m sorry I lied about my name, it was only so I could get the job.”

She sighs deeply then collapses back in the
chair. “Of course, your records are sealed, Mitchel Stephens, so I have no idea
why you were in a juvenile detention center for eight months.”

I look down at my hands. My palms are starting
to sweat. Knots form in my stomach. And the horrible memory of what happened
begins to play in my head.

Somehow, I manage to snap myself out of it when
Mrs. Aldridge says, “I’m not going to judge you, Micah. I’ve worked at a center
for troubled teens before so I know there aren’t all bad apples in the bunch.”

I glance up at her, surprised.

She dips her head. “I worked in Providence a few
years ago before I married and moved down here. I guess that’s why I can tell
you’re a good kid. I’m just curious how you landed yourself in that kind of
trouble.”

Easing forward, she goes through the papers on
top of her desk. “I found a newspaper article from Haxtun. It says here that
many are baffled by what happened, as you were always helpful to your
grandmother, played on the soccer team in high school, you had good grades—”

“Please don’t go through that,” I stop her. She
looks up at me with her eyes narrowed. I can see fine wrinkles in her forehead
as she creases it. Now that I’m looking at her closely, Reign doesn’t resemble
Mrs. Aldridge all that much.

“Like I said, Micah, I’m not going to judge you.
And I’m not asking you to tell me what happened. But I do hope that this
travelling you’re doing isn’t a result of you trying to escape your past.”

That’s exactly what it is. Why is she turning
into my shrink now?

“I’m not,” I lie. “I always wanted to travel.”

She relaxes her face and lingers her gaze on me,
then gives me a tightlipped smile. Nodding, she sticks the papers back inside a
folder and slips them inside one of her drawers.

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer,” she says,
getting up.

I stand as well, a little amazed by the fact
that she’s obviously not firing me. “Thank you for not letting me go,” I say in
a low tone.

Mrs. Aldridge waves me off. “I guess I’m too
much of a softy. And you’re a good worker. This place needs you until I
decide—” she doesn’t finish.

And I don’t ask, only smile before turning to
walk out of her office. Mrs. Aldridge is a nice lady. That much Reign has taken
from her. I wonder what Mr. Aldridge is like.

When I rush outside and look down the street,
the trolley has already left. It’s a good walk from the restaurant to my house
but I don’t have a choice. I have to tread home tonight.

I make it a couple steps down the street before
headlights shine on me. She pulls over and nods for me to get in.

“I saw the trolley take off and I knew you
weren’t on it, so I waited around to give you a ride.”

“Thanks,” I say, getting in the car. I hope my
grin isn’t too much and isn’t freaking her out.

Reign drives off. I notice she doesn’t turn left
in the direction of the street where my house is.

“Oh, this is exciting,” I tease. “You’re
kidnapping me.”

She titters. “Gosh, you’re so silly. I thought
you’d be interested in checking out a live acoustic performance so I’m taking
you to the
Pure
bistro.”

You can take me anywhere, baby.

“
Pure
bistro?”
I
enthuse. “That’s an interesting name. Does it only accommodate people who are
untainted? Cause if that’s the case, I probably shouldn’t go. I might tarnish
the place. Burst out into flames, so to speak.”

Reign laughs. “Don’t worry; I’m sure they’ll
make an exception for you.”

“Based on what?”

“Based on the fact that you’re charming,” she
says, in a way that seems like she doesn’t realize she said it. My suspicion is
confirmed when she quickly follows the sentence with, “I mean
,
you’re a cool guy. I’m sure they’ll see that, too.”

I laugh. “Admit it. You think I’m hot.”

“What? No…I,” she fumbles. “I didn’t say that.”

“It’s okay. I think you’re hot too.”

Reign falls quiet. Light from passing traffic blares
on her face and I can see that her cheeks are red. She tightens her grip on the
wheel and slightly shifts on her seat. Oh yeah, I’m getting under her skin.

EIGHTEEN