It All Started With a Diary

rain

Before I could stop myself, I was on the move. After I fixed the dish and grabbed a bag of gummies, I fell back into step. I checked on Pyper, but she was sleeping so I was good there.

In a matter of minutes, I was right back in the hallway. My knock seemed much lounger than originally intended, but I held my grimace to a minimum.

I heard shuffling behind the door before Kade opened it. His saddened expression contradicted my smile. His eyes fell from my own, and instead peered down at the plate.

"Hi," I said before cringing at myself. My voice was much more pitched than I expected. Immediately, I cleared my throat. "I brought these. I didn't know if you were hungry, or if you've already eaten, but..." I trailed off of my rambling as I shoved the plate at him. Like an idiot.

His grief seemed to melt by the smallest bit as he nodded. Tugging at his lip, his eyes drilled into the plate before meeting mine. "Do you want to come in?"

I wasn't expecting it, but I was here. I nodded before I overthought it, then stepped forward.

I glanced around the room as he shut the door behind us. It was pretty simple: a flat screen plastered against the wall, a couple of dark pieces of furniture and a similar kitchen.

Before I turned, I saw the book I'd given him on top of the countertop, a bookmark right in the center. A smile passed my lips at it.

His eyes followed mine before he took the steps to close the distance between us. "You didn't have to."

I shook my head, immediately. "I wanted to. I just...I didn't want you to be alone tonight." His expression softened until the angst took hold, again. His eyes glossed over before they fell to the flooring.

A heavy sigh fell from his lips before he removed the plastic wrap from the plate. As soon as he saw the gummies, his lips tipped. My own followed before I sat down to join him.

***

Kade glared into my soul as he picked up his eight cards. "This is bullshit. Pure bullshit."

I stifled my laughter behind my set of cards, throwing my winning set on the table. "Five losses in a row? Grandma Jacky would be so ashamed."

"There's no way in hell. I know you're hiding cards up your sleeve," he grumbled. "You have to be."

I shook my head around a giggle. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Quit being a sore loser." I may have used some of Grandma Jacky's trick, but I claimed these wins as my own, nonetheless.

With a roll of his eyes, Kade murmured something along the line of congratulations. My head fell back against the sofa in laughter.

Once I came to, I saw his eyes already hovering on me, a small smile ghosting across his lips. The admiration in his eyes left my skin all tingly in retaliation.

"You know... "His gaze fell as he stacked the cards back into place. "Kace's first curse word was when we played this game." His chest bounced slightly from a chuckle.

I tilted my head, a smile rising as I watched him. "Really? Tell me."

I'd been here for a couple of hours, so it had to be around midnight, now. Neither of us grew restless. At first, we were just in each other's company until I went she grabbed some games from my apartment. Kade's mood seemed to flourish into something a little less tragic as the night continued on.

I could admit that I enjoyed it, him, us. It'd been months since we were alone, no tension or fighting. It was just us.

Though it was partially hard to avoid the times we caught eyes, or even barely touched one another. We were holding off the inevitable, but until then, I enjoyed being the one to bring such a smile to his beautiful face.