Page 44 of Falling for the Unexpected

I hoped no one could see the blush that crept up along my cheeks when I made eye contact with Kyle. He smirked at me. In turn, I giggled and then quickly covered it up with a cough while getting plates and silverware out.

“Are you going to be seeing this one again?” Kyle asked Trent. The way he asked that question was another reminder of how casual the two of them treated their hookups.

“Nah, man, not looking for anything serious, and the way she kicked me out this morning, Ashley isn’t either,” Trent said, good-naturedly.

“So what are we doing today?” Ian asked, finally able to speak in more than just grunts since we got some coffee in him.

“We should try to catch some waves, the surf is supposed to be pretty good today,” Trent commented, looking behind him and eyeing the horizon.

“Sounds good to me,” Kyle said. “What are you girls up to?”

Kayla and Addie had finally woken up as well, but that was probably because of the loaded plates of food being passed around. “What time do you need to pick up Stella today?” Addie asked me.

“Not until this evening,” I said, standing across from the rest of them. “Jim and Marla are taking her to the zoo and then I’m supposed to have dinner with them.”

“Let’s have a girls’ day then,” Addie suggested, brightening.

I grinned, liking that idea a lot. “Sure.”

“Pedicures and shopping it is,” Kayla added.

I smiled and nodded, jabbing at my eggs. In my peripheral, I watched Kyle. I could feel him even before he walked toward me. He was the last to plate his food and he went to move in right next to me. So close that there was barely even an inch of space between us. Too close for it to not be on purpose. His closeness made it difficult to finish my breakfast. I just hoped no one could tell how much I enjoyed having his body next to mine.

*****

Trent was nice enough to drop all of us off at home since none of us had driven last night. Once I was ready, I picked up Addie and Kayla and we headed downtown. We spent a couple hours at the salon, walking out with fresh manicures and pedicures. After that we headed to the Gaslamp Quarter for some shopping. There was a distinct chill coming off the water, but walking around and the sun overhead helped keep us warm. Since it was Saturday, it was a little crowded but not as bad as it was in the summer. During tourist season, this area of San Diego felt like an international city, with visitors coming from all over the world.

I very rarely treated myself, usually spending what little extra money I had on Stella and the necessities. And with Brad not disclosing where he was working, I didn’t get anything from him in the way of child support, but his parents, once again, came to my rescue. I truly appreciated their help, but at some point, I wanted to be able to pay for the rent and other things, and just be more independent. Most of my clothes were years old, but I took care of the things I had. Being that it was my birthday weekend, I treated myself to a matching bra and panty set. It was an impulse buy and I had a particular guy in mind when I’d bought it, which I knew was silly. Dating was still a scary thought since I had a daughter to think about. I couldn’t date just any guy.

Just before one, we headed to Seaport Village for lunch. The restaurant we chose was right on the water and provided a beautiful view of the harbor. It didn’t take us long after placing our order to get our food.

“So that Ian guy is pretty hot, huh?” Kayla asked, between bites of her turkey club.

Addie started choking on her water, causing us both to whip our heads around in her direction. She cleared her throat. “Sorry, wrong pipe,” she said catching her breath.

Kayla arched an eyebrow. “Sounds like there’s a story there,” she pushed.

“No story,” Addie said, shaking her head. “We’ve known each other a long time, haven’t seen him in a while, that’s all. So, Simone, did you have fun last night?”

I felt my cheeks blush and for a moment I thought she was talking about me hooking up with her brother. I then quickly realized she was simply asking about our time at the club and trying to get the attention off of Kayla’s question about Ian.

“Last night was great,” I answered, keeping it general and focusing on my pasta. “Thank you so much for planning a night out.”

“Too bad the boys had to show up,” Addie returned dryly. “Trying to find a guy with all of them sticking to us like glue was useless. They wouldn’t have let anyone get within ten feet of us.”

“Yeah but you’re Kyle’s sister and his friends have known you forever,” Kayla pointed out. “I’m sure Simone or I could have hooked up with someone last night if the opportunity arose.”

Addie poked at her salad, mulling something over before speaking. “I don’t know. Trent sees Simone as a sister and would protect her probably more fiercely than he would protect me,” she said. “That means Kyle would do the same. Whomever is important to one of them becomes important to all of them.”

I didn’t know how that made me feel. On one hand, I felt honored knowing that Trent felt so strongly about me. On the other hand, I didn’t want Kyle seeing me as someone who needed protecting. And while I was sure our night together was a one-time thing, I didn’t want him to think I was too fragile to pursue.

We continued to make small talk throughout the rest of our lunch. Once we were done, I dropped Addie off at her apartment, and then drove to Kayla’s place.

“Thanks again for last night, I really had a great time,” I told her as she exited my car.

“It was good to see you letting loose. You should do it more often,” she said with a smile as she closed the door.

It did feel good to let go last night. I felt free and at peace for the first time in a while. Until Kyle, that is. Now that my divorce was finalized, we’d have no reason to purposely see each other at all. Right? The thought of that saddened me a little. He’d sort of become a staple in my life and he got along with Stella well. In some ways, our night together signaled an end. I didn’t like that thought at all, though.