Chapter 44: Chapter 44

“Thank you, so much,” Kyle said, his face sincere. “I think you’ve really calmed her down.”

“Really, it’s no problem,” Ru said, happy to finally be alone with the handsome stranger, even if it was just for a few minutes.

“I could tell she was nervous when she ate the whole pint of ice cream in one sitting. She never does that.” Kyle laughed, his eyes crinkling around the edges.

“You’re kidding?” Ru said. “Who does that? I still have most of mine in the freezer!” She hoped she made it clear she was being silly, and when he laughed even more, she joined in.

“Well, anyway, thank you. It’s really hard being out here all alone. She had a lot of friends back home, and she almost didn’t take the job because she was afraid she’d miss them too much. It’s great that she’s already met someone so nice. I honestly can’t tell you how amazing you are to go to all this trouble.”

“It’s really no trouble at all.” Ru smiled but was struggling to hold his gaze. Once again, she could feel the color creeping into her face. She almost wished Jess would come back from the restroom before she said something silly. As far as she could tell, Kyle was just being nice and wasn’t interested in anything more from her than a friendship. Ru was finding it difficult notto stare at his bottom lip, thinking about leaning across the table and biting it. Hard. She shook her head and refocused her attention to her hands in her lap.

“I was thinking, if you’re not busy Friday evening, would you like to go catch a movie or something?”

Ru raised her eyes, almost wanting to ask if he was serious. She gazed into those deep hazel orbs and realized she didn’t need to ask. He was. “Uh, yeah. Of course. That sounds great.” The urge to explain to him that there was no movie theater in Reaper’s Hollow and they’d have to go out of town was suppressed as his smile widened. He probably already knew that or would figure it out. She’d still go. Gotta travel to the moon to see a flick with you? No problem. I’m there.

For some reason, Kyle looked relieved, as if there had been a chance she would turn him down. “Great,” he said. “I’ll call you later this week, and we can work out the details.”

Nodding, Ru said, “That sounds… great.” She realized as soon as the word came out of her mouth that he had just used the same word, and she probably sounded like a moron. But looking into his eyes, she couldn’t think of anything else to say to make it any better.

“Ahem.” They both looked up to see Jess standing next to Kyle’s side of the booth, a knowing smile on her face. “Sorry to interrupt, but can you at least scoot over so I can sit down?”

“Sorry,” Kyle said, looking at her sheepishly as he slid over next to the window so she could have his seat.

Jess didn’t say anything, just smiled as she leaned across him to grab her glass and took a drink.

“Well, I should probably be going anyway,” Ru said, looking around to see where Mendy might be so she could get the bill. She caught the waitress’s eye, and the woman headed in her direction.

“Thank you again, so much, for everything,” Jess said, her expression nothing but sincere.

“It really is no problem.”

“You guys all set? Need any boxes or drinks to go?” Mendy asked, and even though she was addressing all of them, her eyes had settled on Kyle.

“I think we just need the check,” he said, smiling at her, but Ru saw it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Okay, then.” She took the bill out of her apron and handed it to him, perhaps lingering a bit too long when their fingers accidentally touched. Eventually, she backed away.

“How much do I owe?” Ru asked, grabbing her wallet out of her purse on the seat next to her.

“Are you serious?” he asked, staring at her as he pulled his billfold out of his back pocket. “You gave my little sister invaluable advice. The least we can do is buy you lunch.”

Ru opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, Jess said, “Yes, we can definitely afford the cost of a chicken sandwich in exchange for your wisdom.”

Seeing as there was no point in arguing, Ru simply said, “Then, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“We appreciate you. I appreciate you,” Jess said, glancing at her brother for a second and then giggling before returning her eyes to Ru, “more than you’ll ever know.”

Feeling a blush coming on again, Ru averted her eyes. She really didn’t think she’d done that much, but it was nice to be appreciated. “Well, like I said, call me if you need anything.” She decided she should probably walk out before they did. Otherwise, the awkward goodbye would be repeated in the parking lot. She gathered up her belongings.

“I definitely will,” Jess nodded.

“Good luck tomorrow. It’ll be great. Just make sure you wear comfortable shoes.” That was the best advice she’d ever gotten when she was a new teacher.

“I will.” Jess looked a lot more confident now than she had when Ru walked in an hour or so ago.

She slid out of the booth and stood there for a moment, not sure what to say. Kyle passed the check to his sister who set it at the end of the table along with the money to cover it. “I’ll call you in a few days,” he said, catching Ru’s eyes.

Nodding, she tried to think of something clever to say and realized any response would sound ridiculous, so she just waved and said, “See you soon,” to both of them and then turned to head out the door. Perhaps she should’ve thanked him again, or shook his hand, or said something sexy, but all she could think about was not looking idiotic, so she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. An older gentleman held the door open for her, and she realized the church crowd would be coming in now. If she was going to run into any of her students, at least it would be in the parking lot.

She fumbled for her keys and remotely started her car. Once she was inside, she took a few deep breaths before gently turning the key and buckling her seatbelt. Part of her wanted to stay to watch Kyle exit the restaurant, just to see him again, but that seemed like it would be a little stalkerish. Instead, she shifted into reverse and headed out of the parking lot, wondering what she was getting herself into. The last time she’d agreed to go out on a date with an extremely attractive guy, she’d ended up in a creepy old house learning about the supernatural. At least with Kyle, I Won’t have to worry about any of that, she thought to herself as she headed home. He seemed pretty human to her.