Stepping Out of Me

12

LANCE

Lance tried not to stare too much as Kiera walked down the steps toward his car. She wore her classic t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers but this time her hair was different. It was in long braids that swayed behind her as she walked. Her face was still the same. Cute as ever. Lance smiled to himself at the thoughts going through his mind. Her car was still at the shop so she needed a frequent chauffeur. 

As Kiera sat in the passenger seat of the car awkward silence ensued. However, it didn't last for long as Lance cautiously broke it.

"Good morning," He said as he drove off.

"Morning," Kiera replied.

"The cafe isn't too far from here," Lance informed her. "It's in the same vicinity as the juice bar you went to." Lance glanced at her for a second as she nodded.

A few more minutes of silence passed then Lance said, "New hairstyle...I like it."

"Thanks," Kiera replied. Then she unexpectedly added "My dad made me go. He thought I needed a 'pick me up' or whatever."

"Oh?" Lance replied. "You didn't want to?"

Kiera shrugged.

Soon they pulled into the cafe parking lot. After Lance found a parking space they headed inside. Downstairs there were people eating and drinking and a barista serving other customers. Lance headed upstairs, as Kiera followed, where he knew the study area was. They found a table near the window and sat in the chairs next to each other.

Kiera pulled out her books and laptop and placed them on the table. "So where do we start?" Lance asked.

"From the first class," Kiera replied.

Lance nodded and moved her notebook closer to him. He looked it over for a while and then began explaining to her. It took a while since she really didn't get it. Which explains her needing help. Lance ignored the fact that she seemed embarrassed at times to be so bad at biology. 

Eventually, Lance glanced at the time on his phone and realized they'd been going for an hour and Kiera had yawned twice then. "Hey, we should take a break now."

Kiera looked up at him and nodded.

As she packed her things he said "We can go somewhere and get something to eat. I know this really nice restaurant close by. It's still pretty casual so we'll be appropriately dressed."

"Okay."

They exited the cafe and got back into the car. They soon came up to the restaurant. Lance parked then they went inside. "What are you getting?"

"Uh..." Kiera began as she looked up at the menu. "I'll just get an orange juice."

Lance nodded. As the cashier showed up he repeated Kiera's order along with his own which consisted of a rice bowl, grilled chicken, and lemonade. As the cashier told them the price Kiera reached into her backpack but Lance stopped her.

"I got it," Lance told her.

She seemed hesitant at first but nodded and allowed him to pay. They found a table and sat across from each other. Lance looked up at Kiera had elbows placed on the table and her chin resting on her hands. She looked out the window and watched whatever vehicles or people passed by.

Surprisingly she turned and looked at Lance. "I"m...sorry." she began. Lance's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her words. "For how I acted yesterday. I wasn't the nicest..." she trailed off. Kiera glanced down at her hands when he didn't reply.

"Hey," Lance said causing her to look up at him. "It's okay. We can start over. Let's just say today is the first day we met." he smiled at her.

"I mean, I wouldn't go out with a stranger but okay."