He tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. “Do you really think I care about that?”
“No. But I just thought I’d warn you. In case you were under the impression that all college girls were neat freaks or something.”
He laughed. “I’ve seen the inside of your car, remember?”
“Hey! A car isn’t the same. I clean it out at least every six months whether it needs it or not.”
He shook his head with a smirk and followed her the rest of the way up the stairs.
The apartment was indeed a mess. Kaylee cleared the couch of a pile of clothes so Blayne could sit down before she excused herself to go to the bathroom and whisper-yell at Allie for not cleaning up after herself.
Staring at herself in the mirror, she was horrified at how she looked. Hair a mess. Dark circles under her eyes. Yesterday’s makeup smudged on her eyelids. She did what she could without taking a full-on shower. She scrubbed her face, brushed her hair and put it up into a messy bun, and applied a small amount of makeup to cover up the dark circles. It would have to do. Allie popped her head in and said with a wink, “Going to Max’s. Behave yourself.”
Kaylee made sandwiches while Blayne sat at the small kitchen table and talked to her. “So, what’s the secret behind your ‘famous’ peanut butter sandwiches?”
“Can I trust you to keep a secret?”
“Of course you can,” he said with a straight face.
“Okay then. The secret to the world’s best peanut butter sandwich is that you triple the amount of peanut butter a normal human would use, but apply the normal amount of jelly.” She plopped a paper-plated sandwich in front of him with a flourish, along with a can of soda. “You’ll need something to wash that down with.”
She grabbed her own plate and a bag of chips and sat across from him. “So, anything exciting happen while I was gone?”
He swallowed and took a drink of soda before answering. “Well, maybe.”
She sat up straighter at the touch of excitement in his voice. “Spill it!”
Blayne laughed. “Okay. Okay. I found a place to live.”
“That’s fantastic!” Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She couldn’t believe the progress he’d made.
“It’s just a small studio. Very small. But it’s within my price range and I have enough money saved up for the deposit and first month’s rent. And it’s furnished, sort of.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Sort of?”
“It has most of what I need. A couch that folds out into a bed, a couple of bar stools, a stove, and small fridge, an old TV.” He sighed dramatically. “But it doesn’t have the most important appliance; a microwave. How am I supposed to make my gourmet microwave burritos without one? I might starve, actually.”
“Hey, if mac and cheese and ramen noodles are good enough for the rest of us, they’re good enough for you.” She pointed a potato chip at him. “Microwave burritos are for the rich.”
He frowned and put a hand on his chest. “Are…are you calling me a burrito snob?”
“I’m afraid so.” She tried to keep her serious face, but the fake puppy-dog eyes he gave her were just too much. She laughed, and he joined her.
He helped her clean up and even took the garbage out without being asked. When he came back in, he said, “So, I’m supposed to go down and pay my deposit and stuff tomorrow afternoon. Will you hold on to this and what you already have until tomorrow?” He handed her a wad of cash.
“Of course. What time do you need to be there tomorrow?”
“Two o’clock.” He looked down. “I was hoping that you would maybe consent to a second date.” He raised his head and smiled shyly. “I was thinking we could go get lunch and then I could show you my new place. My treat.”
“I’d love to. What time should I pick you up?”
“Noon?”
She nodded. “That works.” She looked out the window at the darkening sky. “It’s getting late. We should probably go check on Mama C.” She really didn’t want this evening to end. Didn’t want to drop him off to sleep outside in the freezing cold. Knowing she’d see him again tomorrow gave her slight solace. But…words left her mouth before her brain could apply the brakes. “Why don’t you stay here tonight?” Heat rushed to her face, and she hurried to clarify. “On the couch, I mean. Out of the cold.”
He took her hand that wasn’t holding the wad of cash he’d just given her and stared at her with soulful eyes. Beautiful blue eyes. “Thank you, Kaylee. Seriously, thank you for the offer. I appreciate it so much.”
“But…” she said.
“But I can’t. I need to make sure Mama and the kids are okay. It’ll be my last night with them and I’m going to try my hardest to talk Mama into coming to stay with me—even though it would mean I’d have to sleep on the floor. Hell, I want them all to come stay with me, but there isn’t room, and it’s against the conditions of the lease. No more than two people allowed.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “I’m having a hard time with this. I mean, I’m so happy to be finally moving forward with my life, but I don’t want to leave them behind.” His voice had lowered to a whisper.
Kaylee tightened her grip on his hand and she nodded wordlessly.
“Thank you for understanding.” He held her gaze the way gravity held the moon in orbit.
Her mouth and throat went dry. She swallowed, trying to push a giant lump down. She croaked out, “I’m going to go put your money away.”
They continued to stand that way for several more seconds until Blayne broke the spell he’d woven between
