Chapter 13 – Tender Moments
After peacefully sending Joe, the two truck driver, away with her car, Kelsey went to the flower pot and started digging. Alex just watched her curiously for a little while before she got up with a set of keys in her hand.
She held them up for Alex to see. It didn’t take long before he put two and two together and chuckled. “Let me guess.” He slowly said. “That was your back-up plan?” Alex asked, pointing to the direction the tow truck had gone off in.
A blush crept up on Kelsey’s cheeks and she gave him a brief nod. “You didn’t answer your phone.” She said, defensively. Accusing. It wasn’t her fault. If Alex had just answered his phone when she called, like he was supposed to, Kelsey might not have needed to go to such drastic measures.
“I’m sorry.” Alex apologized, surprising Kelsey. She hadn’t expected him to apologize to her. “I’m sorry.” Alex apologized again. “But I have a proposition for you, that is, if you’ll accept it.”
“Accept what?” Kelsey wasn’t convinced.
“My sister’s wedding is on Saturday. Will you accompany me?” Alex asked, sincerity in his voice. Kelsey blinked. Will you accompany me? It surely wasn’t romantic like Will you go on a date with me? Or will you be my date? Kelsey shoved that thought out of her mind before it ended up into something crazy like will you marry me? Kelsey tried to push that thought out of her mind. He’d kissed her, not proposed to her.
Maybe if they lived in the Victorian era, Kelsey would be compromised by now and Alex would have to marry her, but unfortunately, they lived in a more tolerant time period.
Kelsey was nodding before she even realized it. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Alex repeated, sounding hopeful. “You’ll come with me?”
Instead of responding to his question, Kelsey decided to ask him one in return instead. “Do you do this with all the girls you save? Ask them to your sister’s wedding?”
Alex gave Kelsey a loop-sided smile, one that took Kelsey by surprise and needed a few seconds to recover from it. “I only have a handful of sisters, Kelsey. And two of them are single, so far. If I asked a girl to my sister’s wedding every time, I either have a ton of sisters, or my sister’s been married a ton of times. Neither of which is the case.”
“Well, in that case…Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes.” Kelsey nodded. “I’ll come to your sister’s wedding on Saturday.” Alex smiled, but it wasn’t full-blown. “Is there something else?” Kelsey asked.
“Well, there’s this thing on Friday, too.” Alex said, not quite meeting eyes with Kelsey.
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. It took a second for her to realize why Alex’s behavior was so different. Normally, he was up-front, always straight to the point. Right now, he was being evasive, almost beating around the bush. His confidence was being overpowered by something else. Kelsey couldn’t help but laugh once she’d realized what it was.
“What?” Alex narrowed his eyes at her.
“Are you feeling nervous?” Kelsey asked with a small, cheeky smile on her face, because she was pretty sure Alex was nervous. And if he was nervous, it had to be because of her. She was positive that most guys didn’t kiss girls they got worried about. Normally, the most intense thing was a hug. And now, he’d asked her to his sister’s wedding. If Kelsey didn’t know any better, she’d think that Alex liked her.
But she did know better, so she was certain that there were definitely feelings involved. Feelings that were probably foreign to both of them.
But she liked it, the way her heart raced when he was close and the way she liked how it raced. It was like his mere presence set her off. She wasn’t in denial, anymore.
And this was the first time she’d been asked on a date by a guy who’d already met Kara. She had no reason to say no, but that didn’t mean that a little teasing wasn’t allowed.
“Nervous?” Alex actually scoffed. “Of course not.” He said, as if it was as simple as that, but Kelsey had a feeling that his flippant attitude was just a cover.
Kelsey briefly remembered her telling him how she felt like she had no life and seeing Alec doing his job, she got the feeling that he was in a similar type of situation. She wasn’t sure if a guy like Alex, who was just as dedicated to his job as she was, had the time to ask girls out on dates.
“It’s okay if you are.” She assured him. “I would love to accompany you to your sister’s wedding.” There was just one thought pestering her mind. Weddings meant families. Was Kelsey really ready to meet Alex’s family, especially since she barely knew Alex? She wasn’t a complete fool. She knew that whatever was between her and Alex wasn’t anything close to love. It was attraction. Somehow, she’d raised herself so much in his eyes that he found her attractive.
Kelsey might be a little naïve in the matters of love-making, but she wasn’t completely deprived of that knowledge. Kelsey remembered the summer when she and Kara were sixteen and Kelsey had gone to Florida for that summer.
She’d met Marshall Miller for the first time that summer. Kelsey remembered the whole thing like it was yesterday. Marshall was a surfer and he had the perfect Hollywood body. When Kelsey had seen him for the first time, riding those waves, she’d developed a little, tiny crush on him. It wasn’t her fault. Nearly every girl on the beach had their eyes on him, but he had a girlfriend. Kara.
Every day, she’d come to Kelsey with stories about her wonderful day with Marshall. Kelsey had tolerated it. It was just a crush, after all. And Kara liked him. She told Kelsey everything that had to do with Marshall and Kelsey couldn’t do anything but listen.
Kara had lost her virginity to Marshall, and she hadn’t left out a single detail for Kelsey. She told her everything.
Kelsey briefly felt bad for herself. Kara had lost her virginity at sixteen and Kelsey would consider herself lucky if she lost it before she turned thirty. Time was ticking.
It wasn’t that Kelsey had high standards. No, her standards were fair. Was it wrong to want to give something special to someone special? Kelsey was careful in matters related to Kara. Kelsey wanted someone who would respect her for being her, regardless of Kara’s existence.
She doubted that she would have ever found that someone, at least, until she met Alex.
He seemed to be meeting all her standards with flying colors. He was good-looking, though that had never been Kelsey’s first priority. He was a smart, quick-thinker. It also helped that he had a fit body to die for. Kelsey knew she was all skin and bones. But every woman had standards, or even some form of wishful thinking when it came to the type of man they wanted to keep sexual relations with.
Of course, Kelsey wasn’t the kind of woman to be thinking about sexual relations with a man before she was even in a relationship with that man, but she supposed that Alex was the kind of man that she wanted because her chose her over Kara.
She remembered when she’d first introduced Kara to him. He’d only looked at her in a professional manner. His eyes had been on Kelsey longest. And Kelsey liked that.
“I was talking to her when you called.” Alex suddenly spoke, making Kelsey realize her thoughts had wandered. Why was she thinking about Marshall Miller, of all people? He was a douche who cheated on Kara.
“Who?”
“Dana.” Alex responded. “She’s my half-sister. She’s the one getting married.”
“Oh.” Kelsey didn’t know what it felt like to have a half-sister. “I only have one sister, and we’re identical.” She said, putting a small smile on her face. They had to create their individuality.
Alex smiled. “I have three.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened. “Three?”
Alex nodded. “Come on.” He motioned towards his car. “We can go, now.” Kelsey was still mulling over the fact that Alex had three sisters. She shouldn’t have been surprised, but she was. Three sisters? How did Alex manage? Kelsey was barely surviving having one, literally.
The area had cleared out and Alex got several respectful nods as he made his way over to his car. When they reached it, Kelsey was surprised when Alex opened the door for her. Kelsey gave him a smile before she got in. He made his way around the car and got in on the driver’s side.
He started the engine.
“You have three sisters?” Kelsey asked, realizing that she still hadn’t gotten over that fact. How could he have three?
“Yes.” Alex responded, with the hint of a smile on his face. “Mine aren’t as troublesome as yours, though. No criminal affiliations, yet.”
“You’re mocking me.”
“Yes.” Alex didn’t deny it. “Gabriella is my sister, though. After my mom married Jonathan, then Dana and Isabella became my sisters.”
“Are your parents divorced?” Kelsey asked, seizing the opportunity to perhaps something else relatable with Alex, but he just shook his head.
“No.” He said. Kelsey thought he wasn’t going to explain any further. Then, after a pause, he added, “My mama married Jonathan after my dad’s death.”
“I’m sorry for prying.” Kelsey immediately apologized.
“You don’t need to apologize.” Alex told her. Kelsey smiled.
“Okay, then tell me more about your family.” She requested. She was going to be meeting them, after all. It would be nice to know something about them.
“I have four siblings.” Alex said. “Gabriella’s married. She has two children. Her husband’s name is Javier. Dana is getting married. Her fiancé’s name’s James. Isabella isn’t married yet. She has a boyfriend and a daughter named Elisa. She’s still a baby. I’ve got a little brother, too. Leonardo’s only eleven. He came as a miracle and a surprise. My nephew’s name is Diego and my niece’s name’s Sophia. He’s seven and she’s five.”
“You have a very big family.” Kelsey noted. Alex chuckled, but didn’t deny the fact. Kelsey had no idea how Alex handled four siblings. Was she the unlucky one who got stuck with one bad one? At that, an image of Kara pointing the gun in her hand at Kelsey flashed in her head and the humor in the situation vanished as a wave of anxiety and terror hit her.
Kara wanted to kill me.
The pain in her head and the fact that Alex asked her out were facts that went to the back on her mind. She was only focused on one thing.
“What happened?” Alex asked, the sudden shift in the air not going unnoticed. “Is everything okay?”
Kelsey nodded. “Yeah.” She said, but the tension and strain in her voice was clear. Alex glanced over at her, seeing the horror-stricken expression on her face that wouldn’t leave.
“You can tell me.” Alex tried to coax her. Kelsey shook her head.
“It’s nothing.” She said, sounding a little snappy. Alex didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry.” Kelsey apologized. Why was she snapping at Alex? None of this was Alex’s fault. If anything, she was alive today because of Alex.
“Is it because of what happened?” Alex gently asked. Kelsey glanced at him, wondering if he ever spoke to any other victims with that soft tone.
“What else could it be, Alex?” Kelsey responded. “She’s my sister. She shot Dylan. She wanted to shoot me. Dylan’s going to die because of me.”
“Dylan’s going to be fine.” Alex assured her.
“He’s got a bullet in his body because of me.” Kelsey pouted.
“Listen to me, Kelsey.” Alex demanded. “First of all, Dylan’s going to be fine. The bullet was lodged in his shoulder blade and isn’t going to cause him any more damage. He’s in the hospital. He’s lost some blood but they’ll give him a transfusion. He’s AB positive. Almost anything works on him. And secondly, none of this is your fault. I’m not blaming you for it and neither is anyone else. So, it would be a good idea if you stopped holding yourself responsible for it, too. If anything, this is the first real lead we’ve gotten on Rocha in a really long time. We almost got him, today. It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been so brave.”
Brave? Kelsey could think of a whole list of adjectives that could be used to describe her and she was fairly certain that brave wasn’t on that list. But the fact that Alex thought she was brave made her feel like she really was, even though the logical voice in her assured her that she wasn’t. And she told Alex exactly that. “I’m not brave.”
Alex gave her a pointed look. “You are.”
“I’m not.” She insisted. “Brave people are courage. They’re not afraid of things. I’m scared. Someone I trust and love intended to hurt me today and someone I barely knew saved me. Dylan is brave. He did something. I was just standing there, even after Tiger released me.”
“Kelsey, being brave doesn’t mean being fearless.” Alex said, making Kelsey look up at him. “Being brave means you’re afraid. Of course you are. You’re only human. But being brave means being able to overcome your fear, even if only for a little while, and doing something good. You are brave, Kelsey. I never give out false compliments. Ask anyone.” Alex’s voice was sincere. He meant every word he’d said. Kelsey was brave. Alex thought so.
“Then, if I’m so brave, why am I still cowering? Why am I still scared? I should be ready to face Caleb Rocha head-on. I’m not.” Kelsey was scared of Caleb Rocha and she was scared of what he could do to her. He could dump her body in the ocean and nobody would even know what happened to her. “He knows who I am. He wanted to kill me today. He can find me.”
“I can get you witness protection.” Alex offered.
Kelsey wasn’t satisfied. “I’ve seen crime shows People who are in witness protection die.”
Alex gave Kelsey a flat look. “This isn’t a crime TV show. This is real life. Most people in witness protection live long enough to give a statement.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Kelsey raised an eyebrow. “I already gave you a statement.”
“Tell you what. I’ll sleep on your couch, tonight. Is that okay?” It was more than okay, but that was Kelsey’s opinion. Kelsey looked around, realizing that she didn’t even realize how they’d gotten to her house so fast, or that Alex had her house memorized. Kelsey was frightened and flattered at the same time.
“Only if you want to.” She asked, instead, hoping not to sound so eager. No. She wasn’t supposed to be eager about a man asking to stay inside her house, no matter how respectable he was. “But I’ll be fine.” Kelsey assured him. “I’m just a little shaken up.” That was probably the understatement of the year. Kelsey was not shaken up.
“I’m probably going to have to head back over to the office, anyways.” Alex admitted. “We’ve found a lot of stuff over there. If we’re quick, maybe we’ll find something that’ll help us catch Rocha before he gets too far.”
Alex shut off his engine and got out of his car. Kelsey pushed open her door, too, and got out. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you to your door.” Alex said with a smile as they walked side by side towards the door. “I’m going to be leaving you in safe hands.”
“Oh yeah? And who might that be?” Kelsey asked as they reached her front door. She continued the conversation, not quite ready to say goodbye just yet.
“Your cat, of course.” Alex responded. “That beast will take on anyone for you.”
Kelsey smiled in response to his statement. “I live with him for a reason, you know?” Alex raised his eyebrow. “I love him best.”
“Really?” Alex asked.
Kelsey smiled. “Of course, there’s someone else who’s quickly climbing up to match that level.” She said with a mischievous smile on her face. It was amazing how Alex’s presence seemed to help her momentarily forget what had happened. Even if it was for a little while.
“Oh yeah?” Alex asked, intrigued. “Are you going to tell me who that is?” There was humor in his voice, but Kelsey thought it was concealing something else. Hope?
“Nope.” Kelsey shook her head, that small smile still lingering on her lips. Disappointment briefly crossed Alex’s features but he quickly covered it up. “I’d rather just show you.”
And with that, Kelsey closed the distance between them and did the most courageous thing she’d ever done. She kissed Alex Diaz. They lips met, shooting electricity through Kelsey’s body awakening each and every nerve. Just as quickly, Kelsey pulled away, letting her fingers linger on Alex’s shoulder. “Do you want to take a guess?”
“I think I have a pretty good idea.” Alex said, before putting his hands on Kelsey’s waist and pulling her body against his, rejoining their lips. There was no more innocence, no holding back in this kiss. Kelsey’s hands slid, intertwining behind Alex’s neck. This was not her first kiss. Not at all, but it was the most stimulating. Kelsey’s heart was racing and she thrived on the connection between her and Alex. His hands, innocently positioned on her waist, seemed to burn into her skin. His tongue came out, asking for entrance and Kelsey happily obliged. When Alex finally pulled away, Kelsey was spent. She’d never had a kiss take so much out of her before. She loved it. She liked the connection she had just experienced. It made her feel good. It made her feel like she had something real this time, something that would last.
Kelsey pulled away, feeling a little giddy. She peered into Alex’s eyes and saw the most handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on. Even Dylan’s movie star looks and Caleb Rocha’s devilishly striking features could compare with the pure rawness of Alex.
“I’ll see you later?” She whispered against his lips. Alex grumbled a little, but nevertheless pulled away, mumbling something about work. Kelsey liked the effect she seemed to have on him.
“I’ll see you on Friday?” Kelsey asked, though she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to stay away from him that long, especially with these new feelings developing between them.
She wasn’t unsure about Alex’s feelings anymore. If she was, she would have never have gathered the courage to kiss him first, the way she had. She liked the way he’d reacted and that only made her more confident. Besides, Alex had made the first move, back by the ambulance.
He’d kissed her first. If that was a lie, Kelsey didn’t know what to believe anymore. Then, he’d asked her to come to his sister’s wedding. If that did didn’t confirm that Alex felt something for her, Kelsey wasn’t sure what would.
Alex nodded, taking a step back. Kelsey smiled, slipping her key into her lock. She pushed open the door and Professor jumped into her arms. “I made a promise to myself when I was back there, at gunpoint.” Kelsey said.
“What kind of promise?” Alex asked, curiously.
“I promised myself that if I made it out of that situation alive, I’d change Professor’s name.” She admitted, with a small grin on her face as she held her now nameless cat.
“Is that what you think about at gunpoint?”
Kelsey released the cat and he hurried into the house. “I had my reasons. But I survived, so I have to keep the promise I made to myself. I’m going to rename my cat. I’m going to call him Grizzly.” Grizzly bears were strong. They held the potential to take down a tiger and that was going to be Grizzly’s new purpose in life. They didn’t like tigers in Kelsey’s house.
“Why Grizzly?”
“Because grizzly bears are strong.” Kelsey said, simply. “Now go.”
Alex mock saluted her and walked backwards to his car, keeping his eyes on Kelsey. Kelsey stepped inside of her house, watching Alex with a smile on her face.
Today had been the most exciting day of her life. She’d suspected her sister. She’d followed her sister. She’d called Alex. She’d gotten caught by the largest man she’d ever seen. She faced Caleb Rocha. Her sister had shot Dylan. She had wanted to shoot her. Somehow, she’d survived it all. Somehow, she was okay. She was content and she had no reason to be.
Except, a handsome officer had pulled in all of his forces just because he thought she was in danger. His kiss still lingered on her lips and she smiled as she pulled the door shut.
No, it wasn’t love. But if she wasn’t careful, it could be.
Hopefully, you all weren't too confused with my little mischief yesterday :)
Honestly though, I had an awesome time writing it. It was fun. I could totally imagine a Alex and Caleb showdown. Shirtless....
Anyways, hope you all liked this chapter.
I may not update this story again until the weekend, so hopefully you all really do like this chapter.
Keep reading. Keep voting. Keep commenting.