Keith's POV
As soon as we arrived at the Carnival, I texted Michael with one hand. I asked him to meet me near the pretzel stand. While I get in the line to buy some pretzels with the girls.
"LARA!!" Katherine screams out of nowhere.
Red? She is here? She can't be! I can't even believe my own eyes when Katherine's little body flies into her arms. She is really here. I thought she is not going to be here. She looks...beautiful.
She is wearing a blue flowy dress that falls right below her knees. Her arms are barely covered by that see through sleeves. She has her hair up in a pony. She runs her eyes up to me so, I quickly look away.
Red is here with Mrs. Turner. Are they close? The girls are waving to Mrs. Turner and I copy them unwillingly.
"Hi, Mrs. Turner." I wave at her.
"Hey, Keith!" She waves back.
"Keith said that you left this morning." Kennedy hisses at me.
"I didn't lie! I saw her car leaving." I shoot a glare at Kennedy.
"Oh! Yeah, I took my car to the shop." Red explains.
"You won't drive a car anymore?" Sweet Kat sounds her curiosity.
"Kat!" I secretly scold Kat.
Red chuckles. "No, honey! They're just fixing my car."
"Lara!" My old man is walking so fast towards us.
He was sending me to buy the girls some pretzels because he wanted to just sit down and fed Keaton formula. And now, he is taking big steps as he walks with Keaton in his arms.
I look upon my dad who is catching his breath right now and just looks at Red like he wants to eat her up alive. What is wrong with him? I know that Red is beautiful, but can he at least not looking straight up like a hungry old man?!!
"Hey, Kyle!" Red chirps. "Um, this is Michelle."
My dad and Mrs. Turner are exchanging glances and smiles though my dad's face suddenly turns blue. I bet he recognizes Mrs. Turner as one of my teacher.
"So, what are we doing besides eating?" Red giggles.
I have to press my lips together to hold back any laughter affected by her cuteness. Kennedy and Katherine are being very talkative near Red, so does Keaton. He begs to be transferred into her arms and rest his head on Red's chest. I wish I was a baby.
"So, are we just going to goof around and not trying to have fun?" Mrs. Turner gives Red the side eye.
"Mish!" Red scold her friend.
"Well, what do we have here?" I swear that every time I hear her voice, I want to smack her stupid head onto the wall.
"Hi, Amy!" Red cheerfully greets her.
"Carnival date, huh?!" Amy looks at my dad then straight up to Red.
To make it even better, Amy is here with her stupid bitches. I remember clearly when the three of them tried to seduce my dad every now and then.
"Yeah, she's my date alright!" Mrs. Turner wraps her arms around Red's waist
"Oh, you're together?" Diana, one of Amy's bitches points her fingers at Red and Mrs. Turner.
"Right, baby?" Mrs. Turner dunks her face in Red's hair.
"Ha, right." Red is holding back her laughter.
"You look cute together." Jade, the other bitch smirks at them.
"So, Kyle, do you want to ride something?" Amy's licking her lower lip.
"Dad! I want to go to the Ferris wheel!" Kennedy drags my dad out of here with all of her strength.
"Alright!" My dad steals Keaton away from Red then comes along happily with Kennedy.
I holds Katherine's hand and follow Kennedy to where ever it is she is taking dad and Keaton far away from annoying Amy. Like seriously, Amy was insane. She asked my dad if he wanted any ride, that's so bitchy. And what's up with Mrs. Turner and Red? But, I have to admit that they were being really cool about it because Amy was hinting that my dad's on a date with Red.
"Keith!" Michael taps my shoulder.
"What took you so long, man?!" I complain.
"I had to run my ass off here because you left the Pretzel booth in a hurry." He explains.
"Sorry, I got to run from my neighbors." I shoot a glare at Amy and her bitchy squad.
"Wow, is that your Red neighbor?" Michael eyes Red over his shoulder.
"Dude, you already saw her at school." I roll my eyes.
"She was in a damn car the last time we saw her. She's dang pretty in person." He whistles.
"She is." I whisper so that Kat can't hear me.
It's the girls turn to ride a carousel and my dad obviously rides that horse too because he has to take Keaton and watch over the girls. Michael and I get to the side to wait on them.
"Stop looking at her, dude!" Michael scolds me.
"What?!" I play innocent.
"Damn, man. You really like her." He chuckles.
"No, I don't!" I shake my head.
"Oh, your eyes are shimmering like diamonds on her and you're saying that you don't? Bullshit!" Now, he's laughing at me.
"No, I don't even know her. All I know that she's my neighbor." I use my hands too much when I am panicking.
"You know what a wise man said, 'Love in your heart comes suddenly from her eyes.'" Michael suddenly quoting from a wise man.
"Who even said that?" I protest with my shoulders up.
"Look, dude! If you feels tingling sensation in your heart and in your pants, just go for it!"
I roll my eyes to him. Michael could be dramatic and poetic from time to time.
"She's older than me." I think I heard dad says that she's twenty five or something.
"Can't be that old." Michael says.
Lara's POV
My boobs are sweating! I am nervous! Oh, God! There are too many humans in here. An anxiety just decided to hit me right in the spot and my legs are shaking. Please don't make me faint! I am in the corner near the lemonade table just staring at the ground not knowing what exactly to do.
"Relax!" Michelle wraps her hand around my shoulders.
"It's so hot, my boobs are sweating." I protest.
"Yeah, he's hot. Totally." Michelle glance over Kyle on that funny horse with Keaton.
"What?!"
"Lars, c'mon! He's tall, he's got biceps and probably six packs and he's got really cute kids."
"You think they're cute?" I am just making sure because I know that Michelle is not a big fan of children.
"No, not really." She shakes her red head. "But they seem calm and less chaotic. Except for Keith, though."
"He's just trying to protect himself, I guess." I cross my arms.
"Did you point a gun at him?" Michelle is not buying it.
"No."
"That's the point! He's basically a fucking dick!"Michelle half spits, half laughs.
I don't know why but I find her words are funny. I don't see Keith as a horrible person, there is just something that he wants to hide from this world.
"Let's go to the Ferris Wheel." Michelle drags me.
"Ugh, there's so many people!" I grunt.
"We can't just tell them to suck a dick, Lars! They're lined up to get up on the Ferris Wheel." Michelle pops her bubble gum.
"Mish! We're lining up to get on the Ferris wheel, stop saying D word, there are kids in the back." I point my thumb over my shoulders.
"Oops!" She's very not sorry.
"Anyway...." She continues, "What's up with those bitches earlier?! They were like so bitchy about you."
"They probably thought that Kyle and I are a thing." I bite my lower lip.
"What? How?" Now, she's excited.
"Well, one of them saw us grocery shopping together in the store."
"You didn't tell me about this?!!! Did you already...." Michelle stops for a second to check on the kids behind us.
"You fucked him already, didn't you?" Michelle says to my ear.
"What?!! No!!" Now my British accent of saying 'No' is fully reloaded.
"Oh! There's the accent!" Michelle points her finger at my face.
"I didn't! We haven't even kissed yet." I lower my voice.
"So, go and kiss him!" Michelle's voice gets higher as she gets excited.
"Sshh!" I wrap her mouth with my hand.
She removes my hand and asks, "What's the worst that could happen?"
"Let's say that I give him a kiss and he doesn't kiss me back and being weird about it? I mean, he's my book editor and I have to see him frequently. It's a big no!"
"What if he kisses you back and fucks you after? That would be nice!" Michelle argues.
Michelle continues, "Do you think his big? I bet he is."
From here, we could see Kyle and his kids leaving the Carousel all happy and bright. Kyle spots me and I can't remove my eyes from him. He hands Keaton to Keith and they part ways.
"Don't stare at him!" I turn her head back to me with my two hands over her rosy cheeks.
"Dom's average." She spills the tea.
"You're married to him." I shake my head.
"Who said I am not?! I am just saying. Thank God, I love him to death." She is throwing her head to the sky then back at me.
I am shaking my head to my crazy best friend right here. Seriously we could spend the whole night just lying awake and talk about crazy things without even noticed that the moon has fell asleep and the sun has risen.
"Kids!" She suddenly waves her hands.
I have to turn away from her to find Kennedy and Katherine are running towards us with Kyle walking behind. As I pan my eyes to Kyle, time has moved to a slow motion. With breezy winds that's dancing to make his two lose button of his shirt opens wide and flashes some of his muscle. The moonlight and stardust are made to make his hair looks even more golden than ever.
"Let's ride the Ferris Wheel!" Michelle takes both Kennedy and Katherine in.
"Excuse me, ma'am!" A man with a little girl behind us calls, "You can't just keep adding people to the line."
"Don't worry! It's just the three of us!" Michelle pushes me away.
Michelle left me dumbfounded to just give me a naughty wink. I am literally standing on the side as I watch her taking the girls to ride. As they go up, Michelle stick out her tongue through her cheek and pressing the other with her hand.
I can't believe she did this to left me with Kyle alone.
"What can you say? She loves kids." I glances at Kyle who is standing next to me.
"She's not going to push them to the ground, right?" Kyle has his eyes on his kids.
"Ha ha." I laugh at his humor.
"I am serious." He does look serious.
I swallow my laughter.
"Ha ha ha!" Now, he's the one who's laughing. "I am messing with you!"
"Kyle!" I glare at him, but I can't keep my smile.
"Sorry!" He's trying to stop laughing.
Our eyes are crossing with one another and for the millionth time I feel so peaceful. It's like I could stare at his eyes forever.
"So, how long have you guys been together?" He asks me.
Is he talking about me and Michelle?
"Michelle?" I rise my eyebrow then tilt my head to the right.
He nods.
"No!" I am starting to laugh. "She's actually married to a handsome Neurosurgeon."
"She's married?" Kyle has this disbelief look in his eyes.
"Yeah. Very much, yes. She's the one I told you about. The friend that works in Kingston Academy High School."
"She's, um, the teacher friend? I don't think I've seen her before." Kyle looks everywhere but my eyes.
"I think she started teaching in Kingston Academy like five months ago. Her husband got a job in Eastland Hospital and they recently moved here." That's how I remember it.
Kyle lifts up his chin then throws it down slowly, "So, she's new?!"
"Um, of a sort. Yeah."
"I thought she's from here." Kyle throws his hair back.
"No."
There is always this silence awkward between me and him. Not in a bad way, but in oddly good way where we just stare at each other and never say a thing in between until someone begins a conversation.
Kyle's POV
"Um, about your latest chapter...." I shouldn't really talk about work, but I got to say something. I just want to have a conversation with her.
"It's bad, isn't it?" She presses her full lips.
"What?" It's not the greatest chapter, but I think it's a good turning point. "No, it's fine."
"Oh!" She's waiting for me to say something.
"It's just that I can't understand why she is trying to avoid him." A bit shady. I know. I'm trying to put myself in this chapter.
"Err...." Her tongue gets twisted so suddenly.
"I just can't get it." I press her.
"Well, she doesn't know what to do." She lifts up her shoulders.
"About what?"
"About him. He seems like a decent man, but the things that he did in the past... She's just confused."
"Then why doesn't she just ask him? He's got to have a reason." I lean in.
"Sometimes when you try to understand someone, you can't just ask them a bunch of questions like some kind of interrogation, but you just watch what they do." She explains and my heart bursts.
"Not like stalking or something." She's shaking her little head, making her ponytail jiggles. "Just like witnessing them do the things to you and others."
"I see." I keep my head down.
"What about you?" She asks.
"What about me?" I look at her again.
"What if a girl ghosted you like that? Would you come around to ask her or would you just let her be?"
"I....." Honestly don't know.
"None has ever ghosted you?" She's suddenly nodding her head. "Right, I'm sure they throw themselves at you."
"Actually, someone did." I take a deep breath.
"You did." I confess.
She drops her jaws.
"For the past four weeks, I have been crazy about it." I laugh my nervous off, but it hits right back at me.
"Kyle, I wasn't trying to avoid you. I'm sorry!" Her voice is so soft that it almost sounds as a whisper.
"You were not?" I assure myself once more.
"No." She shakes her head.
"Then why did you never show up at our meetings? I texted you, but you rarely responded." I sound like I want to cry.
"I was in Seattle. I had to go to finish some business." She stops her words to bite her delightful lip and I'm dying. "And about your texts, I'm sorry for that. I hate texting so, I went for short replies to not to be rude."
She doesn't hate me, then. Wow! How stupid am I?! That is why I barely saw her. She was in Seattle. Point noted! She hates texting. I should just call her, then.
"Oh, my God! I am an idiot!" I cover my face with my two hands.
"No, you're not!"
"When it comes to you.... I just..." My brain works slowly to realize that my hands are already on hers.
I trace her forearm with my fingers then move them up to her shoulder. When I place a piece of hair behind her ear, her head responds and lean on to my hand that now I place on her warm cheek. She's so beautiful.
I take one step closer to her to bump our noses together. Her forehead is on mine as I travel my thumb across her cheekbone. She surrenders her beautiful eyes to me and suddenly I can see it in her eyes that she is all I ever wanted in this world.
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