Chapter Five

By the time we had finished with dinner, it was only seven o'clock. The sun had barely begun to set. The clouds were a dusty gray color, and the sky was so light blue, it almost looked white. Streaks of pink, orange, yellow and purple painted the sky, making the clouds look as if they had caught fire.

"What a beautiful sunset" I murmured as we walked outside. David nodded in response as he took my hand to walk me to the car.

"It's amazing" he agreed. When we reached the car, David opened my door and waited as I carefully climbed inside. I felt a small cramp in my side suddenly, which caused me to groan slightly.

"Ouch" I mumbled.

"Are you okay?" David asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I think I just ate too much" I said with a laugh.-

"I know what you mean" David sympathized, placing a hand on his belly as he settled into the drivers seat. "Just wait until my mom hears that I finally reached my limit" David said, causing us both to laugh.

"I, for one, am shocked!" I teased. "So, anyway, what do you think we should do now?"

"What would you like to do?" David asked me.

"Well, I've never been to your apartment. Do you think we could go there and hang out?" I asked.

"We could," David said, then paused for a moment. "I would suggest watching a movie or something, but I don't have too many out of storage right now, and the ones I do have, you might not like."

"Are they all action packed, full of car chases, gun pointing, and explosions?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, pretty much" David sighed.

"Then you're right, I definitely would not like them. Now, if you randomly had a Julia Roberts movie thrown in the mix, I would be all for that" I giggled, and David rolled his eyes jokingly and sighed.

"You girls and your chick flicks" David teased, shuddering at the words.

"Alright, fine" I said, smirking. "What do you suggest?"

"Do you like card games?" he asked.

"Yeah, I actually do" I said, smiling. "We could do that." David agreed, and we began the drive back to his apartment. He lived on the third floor of his building, so when we arrived he apologized for us having to climb the stairs when we were still uncomfortably full.

"It's alright" I assured him, smiling."I don't mind."

"I could carry you, if you want" David said sweetly.

"No, that's fine. I can walk" I said, looking down at the ground, then back up at David.

"If you're sure…" he replied with a soft smile.

"I am" I said, nodding and smiling back at him. He reached over and laced his fingers through mine, sending a shiver through my entire body.

"Are you okay?" David asked, as he stopped and turned to look at me.

"Yeah" I replied. "I just got a shiver, that's all."

"Oh, are you cold?"

"Only a little" I said, then began to blush. "Your touch is just electric!" I finished, blushing even harder.

"I don't think so" David teased as we began to walk towards his apartment building.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, my whole life, I've been able to be submerged in water, and if I were electric, well, you know…" he teased. I smiled and shook my head.

"You're such a dork" I sighed. "I still say you're electric. You are to me, anyway." David's whole face turned red when I said this.

"Aww, stop, Kallie. You're embarrassing me" David groaned, blushing even more, which I hadn't thought was possible. We continued to walk to the building, which took a few minutes, as we were parked almost at the far edge of the parking lot. When we finally reached the building, David pulled the door open for me, waited for me to walk in, and followed me inside, letting the door swing shut on its own. We made our way up the stairs, and after a couple minutes we arrived at David's apartment.

"Before we go in, you should know that I'm not the most organized person in the world, so it's a little messy" David warned.

"I don't mind" I shrugged. "I can slack a little bit too." David sucked in a nervous breath before opening the door, and I nearly lost mine when I saw what was before us. There were clothes, papers and other miscellaneous items strewn everywhere. David's apartment somewhat reminded me of a war zone, maybe an explosion site.

"Oh, no…" I murmured, attempting to pick my jaw up off the floor. David smiled sheepishly and sighed.

"I told you it was messy."

"I didn't know it would be this bad" I teased. "It's okay, don't worry. Do you want me to help you clean up?"

"You don't have to" David replied, shrugging. "But I wouldn't mind the help. Everything's more fun with you anyway" he said, smiling softly.

"Why don't we do that? We at least need to find your floor, and maybe your couch too" I said with a giggle.

"Alright" David agreed. "Just let me take care of the clothes. I can tell better what's clean and what's not" David said. I nodded, wondering how he would be able to tell, but I had faith in him.

After a good chunk of time had passed, maybe forty minutes, we had successfully gotten everything organized. David motioned for me to sit on the couch, and he turned to walk into the kitchen.

"Do you want a drink or anything?" David called.

"No thanks, I'm still too full" I called back. David returned a moment later with a glass of ice water and sat next to me. Neither of us spoke for the next few moments, and the apartment had grown so quiet I could hear our heartbeats thumping in sync. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a grand piano.

"That's a beautiful piano…" I said as I turned to get a better look at it. I then turned to look at David, who was smiling shyly. "Do you play?"

"I used to when I was younger. I was actually pretty good, but then one day I just stopped. I bought this one so maybe I would be inspired to play again, but I haven't been so far" he explained, his voice growing quieter as he spoke.

"Do you think you might start again?" I wondered.

"Yeah, I might, now that I have you" David said softly and sweetly. I could feel color rushing to my cheeks, and a smile crept across my face as David reached over and gently stroked my cheek with his hand.

"Do you really think so?" I asked somewhat shakily.

"I could see it happening" David said with a nod. "You inspire me, Kallie. You have no idea how much my life has changed because of you." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, so I brushed them away and leaned over to rest my head on David's shoulder.

"Tell me" I whispered.

"Well, ever since the first moment I saw you, nothing has ever been the same. Everything I thought I knew, I didn't know, and now I'm living a different life, and I get to do everything I've ever wanted to do, all because of you. When your family and I thought you might never achieve your dreams, I decided to go after mine, not for myself, but for you." I listened intently as David spoke, keeping my eyes fixed on him the entire time.

"Wow" I whispered.

"Yeah, and that's not all. Before I met you, I was stuck at a job I thought I loved, doing what I thought I was meant to do, and that all changed too. You changed me, Kallie, and I…" he then stopped speaking and glanced down at the floor. I didn't question the pause, and I wasn't going to make him tell me what he was thinking. I knew when he was ready, he would tell me. He let out a slow, calming breath before looking back up at me. I didn't know what else to do besides flash him a comforting smile, causing him to let out a deep sigh.

"So, you ready to play cards?" I asked, causing the atmosphere in the room to shift from tense and nervous to playful and relaxing.

"I sure am. Let me find my deck, I'll be right back." David stood up and walked over to the hall closet, returning a moment later with a deck of cards. He pulled the cards out of the box and flipped through them, checking to make sure they were all there. He shuffled them, then slid the deck over to me, grinning.

"Name the game."

"Texas Hold 'Em" I answered.

"Oh, well alright then. Do you want to play with chips, or no?" David asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It might be easier to keep track that way" I stated. David disappeared for a brief moment to find his poker chips, then returned to deal them out. I dealt the cards, and before we began the game, I had an idea.

"Let's add a little twist to the game" I said slyly. David shifted nervously in his seat, making me giggle.

"You don't mean…"

"No, not THAT." I teased. "What kind of girl do you think I am? Here's what I was thinking. For every hand we lose, we have to tell a secret about ourselves that no one knows."

"I like that" David replied, grinning mischievously.

"Well, you'd better start thinking up some secrets, because you're going down" I said confidently.

"We'll see" David challenged. Then, the game began. In the first round, I had a King and a Joker in my hand, and was pleased to find that there were an additional three Kings on the table, giving me five of a kind. David was dealt a ten and a two, and was unable to make a useable hand from any of the cards. I had won, which meant David now had to tell me a secret.

"Alright, let me think" he sighed. "One thing I haven't told you is…" he paused, looking straight at me, and his eyes darkened with an intensity that was almost frightening.

"Go on" I said, my voice shaking. David's next words left me stunned.

"I'm in love with you."