“You don’t agree? Then fine, you will remain here in the suite that you say you are so desperate to leave.” She shrugged.
“Fine” I said then hurried back to my room to tell Kia.
NevadaD23: You still here?
KBeauty: Yep, you good?
NevadaD23: I’m good. We can meet up. St. Agnes Library. In an hour. Will that work?
KBeauty: On Amsterdam?
NevadaD23: That’s the one.
KBeauty: See you in an hour.
As I got dressed to go meet up with Kia, something dawned on me. My mom wanted to know about me completing my summer assignments. If she was going to move me to California, then why did she care if I finished assignments for a school I wouldn’t be returning to? I almost went back into the living room to ask her about it, but I decided not to jinx it. I was in a good mood at the moment and wanted to stay that way while I was out with Kia.
* * *
I arrived at the library right on time. Since I didn’t have a phone to call Kia, I decided to wait for her just inside the entrance, where she could see me, but my mother’s driver, who was parked out front, could not. I could feel my heart racing. Was that because I was nervous about being caught in a lie by my mom, or was I nervous about seeing Kia? I wasn’t sure, but I took a few deep breaths to try to calm my nerves.
Fifteen minutes later, she still hadn’t arrived, and I started to wonder if she was ever coming. I slipped my iPad out of my book bag and logged on to the library wifi to message her.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Before I could type a message, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and there she was. Dressed in a cropped T-shirt, cut-off denim shorts, and sandals, she looked even more beautiful than she had the other day at the water park. It was hard not to stare.
“It’s no big deal.”
“Then why does it look like you’re about to send me a message?” She pointed at my iPad screen with her IG profile displayed.
“Uh, I was just gonna let you know I was grabbing us a table.” I shrugged as I put the iPad back into my bag. “You ready?”
We went inside the main room and found a table near the back, somewhat secluded. Kia reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out a thick book, tossing it onto the table with a thump.
“GED preparation guide,” I read aloud. “This is a big book.”
“It’s a big test,” she said, reaching back into the bag and taking out several pens, a notebook, and a calculator.
“I see.” I sat in the chair beside her. “I guess we’d better get started.”
As we got to work on the subjects she was struggling with, I noticed that Kia was really focused, which made me even more curious about her. How did someone who was obviously smart and eager to learn end up without a high school diploma, working for someone like Marie?
“Here, let me show you.” I slid a little closer to correct a problem she was working on. I couldn’t tell if it was her hair or her perfume, but she smelled as good as she looked.
“Oh, I get it now.” She exhaled loudly and sat back in her chair. “I’m so slow.”
“You’re not slow. You’re actually very smart,” I said.
“You think so?” She glanced over at me.
“My grandfather says that really smart people are ones that use their resources. You needed help, so you came to me and asked for it. You used your resources,” I said with a smile. “So, just based on that logic, you’re smart. And based on the work we did today, I know you’re gonna ace this test.” I fumbled with a pencil on the table to keep my hands busy so I wouldn’t give in to the urge to brush away the piece of hair that was hanging in her face.
“I don’t know about acing it, but I do feel a lot more confident. So, let’s get back to work, teach.” She put her hand on my arm. Unfortunately, at that moment, my stomach decided to growl loudly. “Whoa, sounds like my teacher is hungry,” she said with a laugh.
“Maybe a little.” God, how embarrassing. I had been so excited about the two hours of freedom my mother granted that I forgot that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“Why don’t we grab something to eat? I’m a little hungry myself.” Kia began packing up her study materials.
I looked at my watch. We’d been studying for an hour, but because Kia had been fifteen minutes late, that only left forty-five minutes before my mother’s driver would be looking for me.
“I don’t really have time to go anywhere.”
“We can just walk over to Central Park and grab something quick from a cart. Come on. My treat.” She stood and reached for my hand.
I packed up my stuff in a hurry, then wrapped my fingers around hers, momentarily forgetting everything but the feeling of our palms connecting. We were almost at the exit before my senses kicked back in.
“Wait.” I stopped in my tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go out the other door,” I suggested, remembering the Town Car was parked out front.
Kia looked at me funny, but then shrugged. “Okay, whatever you say.”
We changed directions, slipping out the side door of the building and out into the street. She held on to my hand as we walked to the park, only releasing it to pay for two slices of pizza. The park benches were all full, so Kia found a nice grassy spot where we sat down to eat.
“This is so good,” she said with a mouth full of pizza.
“It really is. I haven’t had a slice in a while.”
“Yeah, probably because your family has a chef making you gourmet meals all the time,” she teased.
I shook my head. “Nah. Believe it or
