Friendly Dating - Kira

Chapter 25 - Dealing with the Sleuth

There's a soft sound at my bedroom door, and looking up from the book I'm reading seated on my bed, I see Delia standing there holding up the bag I apparently left sitting on Ethan's motorcycle and completely forgot about.

It pains me to admit that my first reaction to seeing her was one of disappointment.

My second reaction is shock and horror and a steadfast refusal to acknowledge that insane first reaction. Did I really expect to see Ethan standing there? It could just as easily have been Daddy. Why would I expect it to be Ethan? I have lost my mind, and not just because my first thought had been of Ethan...

Actually, that is reason enough.

Why on earth would my mind latch onto him of all people and then... disappointment? Really?! That girl standing there is Delia, my best friend in this whole world, and we haven't spent much time together this weekend. I should be happy to see her... and I am happy to see her, very happy.

"I was wondering why you weren't reading my texts, and then Ethe came into my room and gave me your bag on his way to take a shower."

"Thank you," I say, closing the book and taking the bag when she sits down next to me on my bed. The satchel is showing some evidence of someone wiping off the mud and water splatters decorating it earlier. I slip my phone out of it to confirm that my alarm is set for tomorrow morning. I cannot believe that I've been in such a stupor all evening. I didn't even realise that my phone was missing.

It has gone flat. No surprises there! Its battery has been on life support for quite some time now, and I'll have to charge it up to at least 5% before it will even allow me to turn on the screen again. It takes ages to charge. I really need to buy a new battery. The task is on a long list of urgent things to do that just never get done.

"Did you guys have a fight?" Dell asks while I'm connecting my phone to its charger, and I turn to give her a puzzled look.

"Ethan and I?" She nods in answer to my question, and I shake my head, shrugging. "No... I don't think so... why?"

"Oh, I don't know," Delia says, giving me one of her super-sleuth looks. I don't like that look; it usually means that she is suspicious about something, and if that something is me, I know she is going to use her superpowers to stare right into my soul. Tonight I am not comfortable being a recipient of her piercing looks. "He just seemed a little off when he brought me the bag and told me that you're going to need your phone."

Why on earth would he be feeling off?

"Perhaps he got too much sun, or he has mud in weird places," I offer, and there is that stare, the one I just warned myself about. Why am I always so transparent in front of Delia?

"Did you have a horrible time hanging out with him at the mudflats?"

"No," I smile. "It was actually really nice. He took the most amazing pictures for me, and we had some seriously interesting discussions about birds and their migrating patterns, and he didn't once think I meant that they fly in formation to write the first letter of the name of their destination so that other birds can know where they're going."

Granted, we only believed that when we were in second grade, and their father convinced us that the birds flying overhead were on their way to Virginia because they were forming the letter V. Delia's expression is softening, either because of all the fond memories of us being gullible children, believing Mr Fletcher's funny stories and theories (he was so much nicer back then) or because she can tell that I'm feeling uncomfortable.

"What's going on, Kiki?"

Great, the direct approach. Just what I need right now. I can either lie my head off, tell her to back off, or spill the beans and pour out all the misgivings and confusion I'm bottling up inside me. Is there a "none of the above" option I could use?