Phoenix

chapter thirteen

Present day.............

We fixed a day for the date, and when the day came I wasn't as excited as I thought i  would be, I'd much rather stay home than go out.
It was cold so I wore my favorite hoodie.
I walked into kyle stuffing his face with ice cream.

"Kyle, am leaving.... I'll see you later"

"He didn't even come to pick you up.... what kind of person is he"he frowned. I rolled my eyes, now he was just being childish.

"He's waiting outside"I said and smiled
"Oh....well go on"he continued licking ice cream. I thought I loved ice cream until I met kyle, he was obsessed with ice cream, and he literally chewed it. Weirdo.

"Byeeeee" I closed the door before he could react.

Bruce was already waiting for me, I felt like going back to my room, but it was too late now.

I entered the car and closed the door and turned to see a smiling face.

"Am not taking you to get ice cream"he said as he turned on the engine of the car.

"What, why"

"Am taking you someplace better"

"I can't think of anything better than ice cream"

"I can"

"Prove it"

"Books, movies, food, cake"

"Okay you win"

"How did kyle react"

"He was cool about it"I knew he wasn't cool about it at all.

"Okay good"
He seemed nervous, like he was itching to say something.

"Go ahead"I said calmly, honestly I didn't care, but I was curious.

"The last meeting has been moved to tomorrow"he took a left.

"I don't see why this is a problem"

"Well you'll go back with Kyle"

"And you want me to stay a bit" I couldn't help but smile, I was touched.

"Just a week, so we can figure things out"

"Figure what out"I crossed my arms.

"Where this is going"he parked the car and I looked out the window, it was a small cafe, it was beautiful.

"Where what is going"I smiled, I knew what he was talking about, but I wanted to hear it, this was crazy.

"Us" he mumbled.

"Bruce.... there's no us"I whispered, I had no idea where this came from, why did he expect me to understand something, when we never really talked about it.

"That's my point"he rubbed his face, frustrated. He clearly wasn't comfortable talking about this.

"You want us to be a thing"I smiled,I wasn't ready for a relationship, I mean his best friend was my ex husband, it was just complicated.

"Yes, but I know you need time, so I just wanted you to stay a bit longer"

"I guess, I'll think about it"

We walked into the cafe, and it was fun.
We talked about everything and nothing, laughed about stupid things, I had so much fun, I decided to take a leave, take a step back and rethink everything.

Not exactly going into a relationship, but getting a clear view of what I wanted, this date with bruce had changed a lot, I was been to tough on myself.
I just didn't know how to tell kyle I wanted to stay back for a while.

                   &.                &.              &.
Bruce dropped me off, I walked in to see kyle going through his file, he must have been informed about the meeting and was preparing.

"Kyle" I called and sat down opposite him, this was the time to tell him.

"Yeah"he didn't take his eyes off the files.

"Am not going back yet"I took a deep breath, waiting for his reaction.

"I don't understand"he dropped the files, confused.

"Am taking a leave" his mood changed quickly, he wasn't happy at all, he ignored her and picked his files up again,

"Just for a while"I added, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Does this have something to do with bruce"now he was angry and I didn't understand why.

"We had a small talk and decided it's best I stay back a little"I was careful not to mention any details about the date, I was already standing on thin ice.

He said nothing, just slammed the files angrily on the table and walked away.

I sat there confused and angry, I didn't see why I this issue would make him angry, he was being selfish and stupid.
And I didn't care what he said, I wasn't going to back down, he'll let me go whether he likes it or not