p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongspan style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px; font-family: Georgia;"Chapter Five – The Date/span/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey man!" I heard coming from the front door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, Keegan! How are you?" I heard Jai's voice. I turned back to Susanna, who was helping me do my makeup. Once finished, she put my hair into a half up-do and curled the bottom half, the heat emanating from it warming my neck. Both of us were startled by a knock at the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Don't open the door!" Susanna called out quickly. "Who is it?" she asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""It's me, Jai." the sound of his voice gave me butterflies./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You emdefinitely/em can't come in." Susanna half-chuckled, making Jai let out a loud guffaw from the other side of the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Is she going to be ready soon?" I heard Jai ask./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Soon enough," Susanna replied. "After I finish what I'm doing she has to put her outfit on."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""If she's not dressed, what is she in right now?" he asked. I giggled, knowing that he was thinking I was probably sitting in here naked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Shorts and a button-down that I sneaky-snagged from Keegan!" I hollered in response./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Dammit, Kayla! What have I told you about sneaky-snagging?" I heard Keegan jokingly yell at me through the door, making Jai laugh harder than he was when I answered him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You'll forgive me, Keegan! You always do." I playfully yelled back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Dammit," he said after a moment or so, confirming to me that he didn't have a better comeback. I heard Jai laughing just as much as I was on the other side of the door. Susanna finished the last curl and grabbed the hair spray, covering every curl so they would stay. Once finished, she grabbed the clothes I planned to wear and she started helping me get ready to go./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Let me go out first, and I'll tell you when to come out." she grinned. I nodded and she went out there. "You guys ready to see her?" I heard her ask. I didn't hear a response. "Okay Kayla, come on out!" she called to me. I slowly opened the door and stepped into view, my eyes locking on Jai. His jaw dropped when he met my gaze, and he looked me up and down. I ended up doing the same to him. He was in a button-down, long-sleeved, collared shirt and a very nice looking pair of jeans. He looked dashingly handsome./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wow," he said, sounding as if someone knocked the wind out of him. "I didn't think you could look any more beautiful than you already were, but you do." I flushed pink at the compliment, smiling at him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you," I replied./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Are you ready to go then?" he asked. I nodded, walking towards him as he turned for the door. "We'll see you guys later," Jai said, opening the door for me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Alright guys, have fun!" Susanna called to us from the kitchen. We got in the car, and as Jai was pulling out of the driveway, I turned to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""So, am I allowed to know where we're going?" I asked him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No." he replied simply. He glanced over for half a second and saw my questioned look. "It's a surprise." he grinned./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Oh," I said. We sat in silence for the rest of the way there. When he pulled into a parking lot, I realized we were going into the pizza parlor to the left, versus the small café to the right. I looked over at him with an impish grin on my face and he looked at me, returning my grin before we got out of the car. When we got inside, it looked very /"What? No usual stomping grounds for pizza this time?" I couldn't resist giving him a playful body bump. He slid his arm around me with ease and grinned at me again, refusing to let me go. His smell, intoxicating, of leather and musk, with a very tiny hint of sweetness. I definitely didn't want him to let me go. I was enjoying this moment, hoping it would never end. I knew I shouldn't because I knew it was only for the summer… but tonight I banned that thought from my mind and allowed myself to enjoy every second with him, no limitations./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No, not this time," he answered. "This time is different," he explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""It emis/em?" I feign surprise. "Why is that?" the grin on my face giving away to my playfulness./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Because we are on a date." he grinned, playing along with me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Oh really?" I feign surprise again. "This," I gesture to the two of us and our table. "This is a date?" I ask./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes," he looks at me in a whole other way. A way I've never seen him look at me before. "emThis/em is a date."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""And how many dates are you expecting us to have in the future?" the words slip out of my mouth before I can stop myself from asking. Never had I ever asked him anything about the future between us. I never intended to, either. I think he could tell when I slipped my hand over my mouth immediately after the words came out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I hope," he paused, watching my eyes with his breath-taking blues. "At least one or two more before you make up your mind about me," he answered. I was a little surprised. I was not expecting him to answer the question, even though I hadn't apologized and told him that the question wasn't intentional. Now I didn't have to./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""And what if I've made my mind up already?" I asked him. And I had. I'd made up my mind at that moment that as long as he wanted to go out with me, spend time with me, enjoy my company or however other ways you want to put it, that I was going to give them to him. It's what I want, to be with him; every moment that I possibly can. I can have that? I can have that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That could go either way then," he replied simply. He didn't need to specify. I knew exactly what he meant./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Think of it as a good thing." I winked at him, hoping it would reassure him of my interest. It did. He smiled at me, relieved. How could I tell? The way he relaxed his shoulders and let them fall a little bit from where they originally were. That told me everything I needed to know in this moment./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"We finished our dinner – talking, joking, laughing, picking on each other playfully, and simply enjoying each other's company. We got out to the car and he pulled out of the parking lot – the opposite direction of home./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""We're not going back home yet?" I asked a little surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No, I still have one more place up my sleeve for us to go." he grinned at me. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot of a bar. The sign in front of the bar said "karaoke tonight" and I realized just what he had up his sleeve./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Trying to get me to sing for you, are you?" I asked slyly as he opened the door for me. He revealed his Cheshire-cat like grin at me as we went inside. We picked one of the tables near the back of the room and sat there. Immediately, I pulled the book over to me that contained all the songs./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Find one you like?" his breath hot on my neck. I shook my head, it was easier than trying to yell my answer. "When you do, let me know. I'm gonna go up to the bar and order a drink, do you want anything?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Just water," I yelled, sure that he couldn't hear me. Thankfully he knew what I said though still because he walked off without having to ask me again. I'm guessing he read my lips when I said it. When he came back, he had a beer in one hand, and my water in the other. When he set my water down by me, I looked up and thanked him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Still deciding on the song?" he whispered to my ear before taking a drink of his beer. I nodded. For fun, I decided to look at the Taylor Swift songs they had since I was feeling rather indecisive. Bingo. I found my song. "Sit down! I don't want you to know what song I pick." I told him. He did as I asked and I wrote my song down and took it up to the host. I came back to sit down and took a sip of my water. I didn't realize just how far out my hands were until I felt a warm hand touch mine. I didn't pull away, and neither did he. Instead, he put his hand on mine and I looked at him. We both shared smiles, beginning to get lost in each other's eyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Next up is Kayla with, 'don't announce my song because it's a surprise for my date,'" I heard chuckles from all sides of the room, including from Jai. Breaking contact, I got up and made my way toward the small stage that was set up. I took the microphone from the host and the song "Wildest Dreams" began playing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"He said, "Let's get out of this townbr /Drive out of the city, away from the crowds."br /I thought heaven can't help me nowbr /Nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"He's so tall and handsome as hellbr /He's so bad but he does it so wellbr /I can see the end as it beginsbr /My one condition is/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /Wildest dreams, oh, ah/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"As I sang the words, I'd occasionally make eye contact with Jai and see him smile so very big./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I said, "No one has to know what we do,"br /His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my roombr /And his voice is a familiar sound,br /Nothing lasts forever but this is getting good now/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"He's so tall and handsome as hellbr /He's so bad but he does it so wellbr /And when we've had our very last kissbr /My last request is/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /Wildest dreams, oh, ah/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"My eyes stayed on Jai for the next part of the song, never wavering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"You see me in hindsightbr /Tangled up with you all nightbr /Burning it downbr /Someday when you leave mebr /I bet these memoriesbr /Follow you around/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"You see me in hindsightbr /Tangled up with you all nightbr /Burning it downbr /Someday when you leave mebr /I bet these memoriesbr /Follow you around/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just pretend/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I pause and then look away from Jai and out at the crowd./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /In your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /In your wildest dreams, oh, ah/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I wait silently, looking at the crowd. Everyone sits silently for a minute and then they all start applauding, hooting, and hollering. I hear Jai from in the back yell "Yeah Kayla!" and cheer and flush deep pink as I hand the microphone back to the host./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Sounds like you got a fan back there, Kayla." the host jokes before I get off the stage./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Nah! He's my date." I grin, making him laugh./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Well with a voice like yours, he's a lucky guy to be your date." I was about to answer when I was interrupted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You're damn right I am!" I heard Jai from our table, causing everyone to chuckle – myself included./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Once again, Kayla, everyone." the host repeated as I walked back to Jai. When I got near him, instead of letting me sit down he put his arms around me and we stood to watch the next singer. I felt his chest against my back and his face against mine. He felt so warm, despite it feeling a little cold in the bar to me. As the person on stage continued to sing, I laid my head back a little more until the back of my head rested on his shoulder. After a moment, I felt something on my neck that startled me a little and it caused me to jump. I realized afterward that Jai still had me in his arms, and I had no reason to jump. I was safe, after all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What was that?" I asked him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I kissed your neck." he grinned, a little bashful. I snuggled back into him the way I had been before I jumped and remained silent. "You did amazing up there," his breath on my neck gave me goosebumps and made the hair stand up. "I figured you could sing, but – wow! You took me by surprise," he said. I blushed and he gave me a small squeeze before loosening again, keeping his arms around me still./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"We stayed for about two hours, and I got to sing a few more songs before we left. The entire way home he went on about how good of a voice I have. I commented that he should sing with me next time we go up there for karaoke and he grinned, giving me a "maybe" as a response. When we pulled into the driveway he opened the door for me like he usually does, and walked me up to the porch. We both turned to face one another, looking deeply into each other's eyes. This time, Jai was first to break the silence./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I had a great time tonight," he smiled at me, our foreheads only inches from touching. "I hope we can go out again sometime," he told me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Me too," I replied. "I enjoyed it." I continued to look in his eyes, and he did the same. This was how we stood for a few moments before he tilted his head to one side a little and leaned forward. Helping to close the gap, I leaned and tilted my head the opposite way he had his, and our lips met in a soft, but meaningful, kiss. The kiss lasted for what felt like a long time before he pulled away and looked into my eyes again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Stay with me tonight?" he asked. "I know it sounds like I'm asking for more than-" he began fumbling his words. "I, I mean, uh-" I put my finger over his lips and smiled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Relax," I assured him. "I would love to stay with you tonight." and with that, we left and went back to his place. On the way there, I texted Susanna:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Staying with Jai tonight. We had a great date. He's amazing!/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I hit send and waited. A moment later, I felt my phone vibrate in my hand. I looked down to see her response:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Bow chicka wow, wow! Get it girrrrrrrrllllll! I'm glad you two had a good time! You guys are perfect for each other. Embrace it, enjoy it./span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I grinned and shook my head at her before responding:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"It's NOT that type of thing. And we're just friends who went out on a date, nothing more. Summer, remember?/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I hit send and looked out at the night sky. The first big star I saw, I wished that it would be more than what I told Susanna. After making my wish, my phone went off:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"It will be that type of thing if you two keep going! Summer is simply a season. You two are NOT!/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I thought about it for a minute before typing out four little words:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I hope you're right./span/em/strong/p
p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"strongspan style="font-family: Georgia;"Kayla/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey man!" I heard coming from the front door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Hey, Keegan! How are you?" I heard Jai's voice. I turned back to Susanna, who was helping me do my makeup. Once finished, she put my hair into a half up-do and curled the bottom half, the heat emanating from it warming my neck. Both of us were startled by a knock at the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Don't open the door!" Susanna called out quickly. "Who is it?" she asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""It's me, Jai." the sound of his voice gave me butterflies./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You emdefinitely/em can't come in." Susanna half-chuckled, making Jai let out a loud guffaw from the other side of the door./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Is she going to be ready soon?" I heard Jai ask./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Soon enough," Susanna replied. "After I finish what I'm doing she has to put her outfit on."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""If she's not dressed, what is she in right now?" he asked. I giggled, knowing that he was thinking I was probably sitting in here naked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Shorts and a button-down that I sneaky-snagged from Keegan!" I hollered in response./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Dammit, Kayla! What have I told you about sneaky-snagging?" I heard Keegan jokingly yell at me through the door, making Jai laugh harder than he was when I answered him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You'll forgive me, Keegan! You always do." I playfully yelled back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Dammit," he said after a moment or so, confirming to me that he didn't have a better comeback. I heard Jai laughing just as much as I was on the other side of the door. Susanna finished the last curl and grabbed the hair spray, covering every curl so they would stay. Once finished, she grabbed the clothes I planned to wear and she started helping me get ready to go./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Let me go out first, and I'll tell you when to come out." she grinned. I nodded and she went out there. "You guys ready to see her?" I heard her ask. I didn't hear a response. "Okay Kayla, come on out!" she called to me. I slowly opened the door and stepped into view, my eyes locking on Jai. His jaw dropped when he met my gaze, and he looked me up and down. I ended up doing the same to him. He was in a button-down, long-sleeved, collared shirt and a very nice looking pair of jeans. He looked dashingly handsome./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Wow," he said, sounding as if someone knocked the wind out of him. "I didn't think you could look any more beautiful than you already were, but you do." I flushed pink at the compliment, smiling at him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Thank you," I replied./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Are you ready to go then?" he asked. I nodded, walking towards him as he turned for the door. "We'll see you guys later," Jai said, opening the door for me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Alright guys, have fun!" Susanna called to us from the kitchen. We got in the car, and as Jai was pulling out of the driveway, I turned to him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""So, am I allowed to know where we're going?" I asked him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No." he replied simply. He glanced over for half a second and saw my questioned look. "It's a surprise." he grinned./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Oh," I said. We sat in silence for the rest of the way there. When he pulled into a parking lot, I realized we were going into the pizza parlor to the left, versus the small café to the right. I looked over at him with an impish grin on my face and he looked at me, returning my grin before we got out of the car. When we got inside, it looked very /"What? No usual stomping grounds for pizza this time?" I couldn't resist giving him a playful body bump. He slid his arm around me with ease and grinned at me again, refusing to let me go. His smell, intoxicating, of leather and musk, with a very tiny hint of sweetness. I definitely didn't want him to let me go. I was enjoying this moment, hoping it would never end. I knew I shouldn't because I knew it was only for the summer… but tonight I banned that thought from my mind and allowed myself to enjoy every second with him, no limitations./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No, not this time," he answered. "This time is different," he explained./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""It emis/em?" I feign surprise. "Why is that?" the grin on my face giving away to my playfulness./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Because we are on a date." he grinned, playing along with me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Oh really?" I feign surprise again. "This," I gesture to the two of us and our table. "This is a date?" I ask./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Yes," he looks at me in a whole other way. A way I've never seen him look at me before. "emThis/em is a date."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""And how many dates are you expecting us to have in the future?" the words slip out of my mouth before I can stop myself from asking. Never had I ever asked him anything about the future between us. I never intended to, either. I think he could tell when I slipped my hand over my mouth immediately after the words came out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I hope," he paused, watching my eyes with his breath-taking blues. "At least one or two more before you make up your mind about me," he answered. I was a little surprised. I was not expecting him to answer the question, even though I hadn't apologized and told him that the question wasn't intentional. Now I didn't have to./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""And what if I've made my mind up already?" I asked him. And I had. I'd made up my mind at that moment that as long as he wanted to go out with me, spend time with me, enjoy my company or however other ways you want to put it, that I was going to give them to him. It's what I want, to be with him; every moment that I possibly can. I can have that? I can have that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""That could go either way then," he replied simply. He didn't need to specify. I knew exactly what he meant./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Think of it as a good thing." I winked at him, hoping it would reassure him of my interest. It did. He smiled at me, relieved. How could I tell? The way he relaxed his shoulders and let them fall a little bit from where they originally were. That told me everything I needed to know in this moment./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"We finished our dinner – talking, joking, laughing, picking on each other playfully, and simply enjoying each other's company. We got out to the car and he pulled out of the parking lot – the opposite direction of home./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""We're not going back home yet?" I asked a little surprised./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""No, I still have one more place up my sleeve for us to go." he grinned at me. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot of a bar. The sign in front of the bar said "karaoke tonight" and I realized just what he had up his sleeve./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Trying to get me to sing for you, are you?" I asked slyly as he opened the door for me. He revealed his Cheshire-cat like grin at me as we went inside. We picked one of the tables near the back of the room and sat there. Immediately, I pulled the book over to me that contained all the songs./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Find one you like?" his breath hot on my neck. I shook my head, it was easier than trying to yell my answer. "When you do, let me know. I'm gonna go up to the bar and order a drink, do you want anything?" he asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Just water," I yelled, sure that he couldn't hear me. Thankfully he knew what I said though still because he walked off without having to ask me again. I'm guessing he read my lips when I said it. When he came back, he had a beer in one hand, and my water in the other. When he set my water down by me, I looked up and thanked him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Still deciding on the song?" he whispered to my ear before taking a drink of his beer. I nodded. For fun, I decided to look at the Taylor Swift songs they had since I was feeling rather indecisive. Bingo. I found my song. "Sit down! I don't want you to know what song I pick." I told him. He did as I asked and I wrote my song down and took it up to the host. I came back to sit down and took a sip of my water. I didn't realize just how far out my hands were until I felt a warm hand touch mine. I didn't pull away, and neither did he. Instead, he put his hand on mine and I looked at him. We both shared smiles, beginning to get lost in each other's eyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Next up is Kayla with, 'don't announce my song because it's a surprise for my date,'" I heard chuckles from all sides of the room, including from Jai. Breaking contact, I got up and made my way toward the small stage that was set up. I took the microphone from the host and the song "Wildest Dreams" began playing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"He said, "Let's get out of this townbr /Drive out of the city, away from the crowds."br /I thought heaven can't help me nowbr /Nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"He's so tall and handsome as hellbr /He's so bad but he does it so wellbr /I can see the end as it beginsbr /My one condition is/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /Wildest dreams, oh, ah/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"As I sang the words, I'd occasionally make eye contact with Jai and see him smile so very big./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I said, "No one has to know what we do,"br /His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my roombr /And his voice is a familiar sound,br /Nothing lasts forever but this is getting good now/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"He's so tall and handsome as hellbr /He's so bad but he does it so wellbr /And when we've had our very last kissbr /My last request is/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /Wildest dreams, oh, ah/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"My eyes stayed on Jai for the next part of the song, never wavering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"You see me in hindsightbr /Tangled up with you all nightbr /Burning it downbr /Someday when you leave mebr /I bet these memoriesbr /Follow you around/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"You see me in hindsightbr /Tangled up with you all nightbr /Burning it downbr /Someday when you leave mebr /I bet these memoriesbr /Follow you around/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just pretend/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I pause and then look away from Jai and out at the crowd./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px; text-align: center;" align="center"emspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress,br /Staring at the sunset, babebr /Red lips and rosy cheeksbr /Say you'll see me againbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /In your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, oh, ahbr /In your wildest dreams, oh, ah/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I wait silently, looking at the crowd. Everyone sits silently for a minute and then they all start applauding, hooting, and hollering. I hear Jai from in the back yell "Yeah Kayla!" and cheer and flush deep pink as I hand the microphone back to the host./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Sounds like you got a fan back there, Kayla." the host jokes before I get off the stage./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Nah! He's my date." I grin, making him laugh./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Well with a voice like yours, he's a lucky guy to be your date." I was about to answer when I was interrupted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""You're damn right I am!" I heard Jai from our table, causing everyone to chuckle – myself included./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Once again, Kayla, everyone." the host repeated as I walked back to Jai. When I got near him, instead of letting me sit down he put his arms around me and we stood to watch the next singer. I felt his chest against my back and his face against mine. He felt so warm, despite it feeling a little cold in the bar to me. As the person on stage continued to sing, I laid my head back a little more until the back of my head rested on his shoulder. After a moment, I felt something on my neck that startled me a little and it caused me to jump. I realized afterward that Jai still had me in his arms, and I had no reason to jump. I was safe, after all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""What was that?" I asked him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I kissed your neck." he grinned, a little bashful. I snuggled back into him the way I had been before I jumped and remained silent. "You did amazing up there," his breath on my neck gave me goosebumps and made the hair stand up. "I figured you could sing, but – wow! You took me by surprise," he said. I blushed and he gave me a small squeeze before loosening again, keeping his arms around me still./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"We stayed for about two hours, and I got to sing a few more songs before we left. The entire way home he went on about how good of a voice I have. I commented that he should sing with me next time we go up there for karaoke and he grinned, giving me a "maybe" as a response. When we pulled into the driveway he opened the door for me like he usually does, and walked me up to the porch. We both turned to face one another, looking deeply into each other's eyes. This time, Jai was first to break the silence./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""I had a great time tonight," he smiled at me, our foreheads only inches from touching. "I hope we can go out again sometime," he told me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Me too," I replied. "I enjoyed it." I continued to look in his eyes, and he did the same. This was how we stood for a few moments before he tilted his head to one side a little and leaned forward. Helping to close the gap, I leaned and tilted my head the opposite way he had his, and our lips met in a soft, but meaningful, kiss. The kiss lasted for what felt like a long time before he pulled away and looked into my eyes again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Stay with me tonight?" he asked. "I know it sounds like I'm asking for more than-" he began fumbling his words. "I, I mean, uh-" I put my finger over his lips and smiled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;""Relax," I assured him. "I would love to stay with you tonight." and with that, we left and went back to his place. On the way there, I texted Susanna:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Staying with Jai tonight. We had a great date. He's amazing!/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I hit send and waited. A moment later, I felt my phone vibrate in my hand. I looked down to see her response:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"Bow chicka wow, wow! Get it girrrrrrrrllllll! I'm glad you two had a good time! You guys are perfect for each other. Embrace it, enjoy it./span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I grinned and shook my head at her before responding:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"It's NOT that type of thing. And we're just friends who went out on a date, nothing more. Summer, remember?/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I hit send and looked out at the night sky. The first big star I saw, I wished that it would be more than what I told Susanna. After making my wish, my phone went off:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"It will be that type of thing if you two keep going! Summer is simply a season. You two are NOT!/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I thought about it for a minute before typing out four little words:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; line-height: 16.8667px;"strongemspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; font-family: Georgia;"I hope you're right./span/em/strong/p