Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

Morning After (pt. 3)

Awkward silence.

Kaya resisted the urge to show her anxiety by biting her lip. Did it really take this long to unload food from the bags? Where was that strawberry cream cake that Ransom promised her? That, at least, would help to lessen her nervousness. 

Finally, after what felt like hours, Ransom extracted the strawberry cream cake from the bottom of the paper sack. 

He held it out in Kaya's direction, along with a fork. 

Kaya snatched it before he could say anything odd or disarming. She immediately dug her fork into the cake and stuffed a bite in her mouth, oblivious to any manners. 

Ransom coughed as if to cover up a laugh. 

Kaya glanced up. Had she done something wrong?

Ransom cleared his throat again, perfectly stoic. "I presume that Lina told you about the fansite?" 

"Mentioned it." Kaya swallowed the bite of cake before she clarified. "I know it's there, I don't know what it is." 

"I'll summarize the article." Ransom lifted a napkin and held it out to Kaya. 

Kaya accepted it. If she didn't, she had no doubt that he would wipe her face, himself. "What happened?" 

"One of them, apparently, snapped pictures of you entering the building. In short, they're calling you a two-timer and expressing displeasure with less-than-ethical suggestions." 

Kaya poked at her cake with the fork. Of course they would blame her. It was her destiny to be blamed for everything, apparently. Ever since childhood. 

"Is there a way to stop them?" 

Ransom sighed. "That's why I'm here. I'm afraid there's only one person to whom they will listen at this point." 

"You'll make a personal statement." Without him saying so, Kaya already knew the direction they would need to head. Nothing else had worked. "What will you say?" 

"I wanted to discuss that with you." Ransom repositioned the way he sat, turning instead to face Kaya head-on. 

Kaya shied away and stuffed another bite of cake into her mouth. 

"It would be a lie if I told them that I had no interest in you, but it would also, at the moment, be a lie if I told them we are in a relationship." Ransom folded his hands in his lap, as calm as he could be. 

How did he do that? How did he make it sound like everything was okay, when it clearly wasn't? And why did he always seem to assume they would be together in the future? Hadn't Kaya told him she didn't have the time or space for a relationship? 

Confused and out-of-sorts, Kaya glanced down to the cake in her hands. "Why do you like me, anyway?" 

"I've always liked you." 

It didn't really answer her question, but Kaya somehow doubted she would get much else out of him. 

"Kaya, what do you want me to say to them? If you don't want me to make an official statement, I won't." 

"No." That wouldn't help anyone involved. "What were you going to say to them?" 

"If it's alright, I think the easiest road would be to tell them that you and I are, in fact, in a fledgling relationship. That we wanted to protect it closely, since we're both unsure of where it will lead. That Zoren is a mutual friend who stepped up to try to help us keep it a secret. I will, of course, tell them that I pursued you and not the other way around. And that the two of us are prepared to respond to anything they may say." 

Part of Kaya didn't like lying to others, but... not all of it was a lie. At this point, it seemed like the only thing that might stop the madness. She didn't dislike Ransom. So...

"It should be okay. Right?"