the menu and I will help you.” He kissed each cheek before brushing his lips against mine. Tingles shot straight through me, and I froze at the feeling. Richard sighed and leaned back before he went back to his seat.
I was such an idiot. Not only was I out with a man I barely knew, who wasn’t my boyfriend, but I was upset over something that was easily solved. Argh, I didn’t deserve any of this. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here with you. I have a boyfriend. I don’t know you. I…” I stood knowing I had to leave.
“Please sit. I shouldn’t have kissed you. Be here as a friend. Please, I want to get to know you, even if all I get is to be your friend.”
I couldn’t resist the plea in his voice and sat back down. “Friends.” I could have friends. For some reason, one I wasn’t ready to look into I felt the need to get to know Richard. I needed to be close to him even if we were only friends.
“Friends.” I gazed across at him and damn if I didn’t see the biggest smirk on his face. His dimple was deep, and I couldn’t help but melt. He really was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. I knew this friendship would be hard.
*****
Richard
I felt like an idiot. I’d taken her to breakfast and forgotten about her vision problem. Her tears had my chest aching and feeling like an inconsiderate douche. I’d read her the food options, but I could tell she hated that I had to do that for her. From what little time I’d spent with Bailey, I could tell she didn’t like relying on people and endeavoured to be as independent as possible.
We now sat in my silver Land Cruiser on our way to one of her birthday presents. She’d spent the first ten minutes of the ride on the phone to her friends telling them where she was and who she was with so they didn’t worry. Bailey asked me a rough time of when we’d be back, and I told her it took about forty-five minutes to get to where we needed to be and then after that, I wasn’t sure. It all depended on if she liked her present.
Bailey finished on the phone and stared out the window. “You do know I don’t need or expect a present from you.”
I expected she’d tell me this, and I knew I didn’t need to get her anything, but I wanted to. Yesterday had sucked not being able to spend it with her. “I know. I wanted to get you something, though. I wish I could have spent yesterday with you.”
“I barely know you.” She sighed. “I really shouldn’t be in the car with you now. I really shouldn’t let you get me anything.”
“Yes, you should. Friends get each other gifts.”
She groaned, “It’s pointless me arguing with you, isn’t it?”
Shooting a grin her way I nodded. “Yep. So don’t even try.”
She was quiet for a while and then sighed loudly. “So, are you going to tell me anything about this present? Why we need to drive this far out of the city?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Concentrating on the road, I tried not to glance at her when I felt her gaze on me. “I don’t like surprises. I don’t know you well enough to know that the surprise will be good. I really shouldn’t be in the car with you. If I'm really honest, I shouldn’t have even gone to breakfast with you. I have a boyfriend.” She moaned, and I watched her out the corner of my eye as she scrubbed her face. “There is just something about you, Richard. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
I hated that she had a ‘boyfriend’ who thought he had a chance with her. He wasn’t the one for her. When she gets to know me, she will stop seeing the boy. Darting my gaze off the road I saw her staring at me as she bit her bottom lip. Damn, my cock jumped in my pants at the sight of her full lips and her nervous action. “We’re friends, so you can be in the car with me. Friends get each other birthday gifts. My gifts just happen to be on a farm.”
As soon as I said farm, she squeaked, “A farm. Oh my God. What on earth did you get me for my birthday that
Learning to Kill: Stories