PROMISE

TWENTY-TWO: A Woman's Touch

Amanda

BABY. HE CALLED ME BABY!!

I stilled at the way he addressed me. Kyle on the other hand just played it cool. Winking at me like it was all natural on his part. I swallowed and ignored the butterflies fluttering in my stomach at the way the word rolled from his tongue. I squirmed at the way it made my lower regions heat up.

The way it made me feel. Like I was...his, for him to call me that way. I loved it. I schooled my features and acted as if it didn't matter. It was probably just silly how easy Kyle could turn me into mush just by saying a simple sentence.

I had an impassive expression but on the inside, I was a hot mess. I kicked my shoes away. My feet, grateful for the freedom at last. I basically moaned with satisfaction and the reprieve the cool tiles offered to my aching soles.

Kyle strode to his kitchen and I made myself comfortable on the couch in his living room. The house was as beautiful as the first time I saw it. Everything was nicely put together into place. The floors and surfaces were spotless, it was nearly hard to believe the house belonged to an esteemed bachelor. I smiled realising Kyle was still an organised clean freak he always had been.

At least he's still the same in this regard.

I shifted around with a sigh, trying really hard to get super comfortable. The dress was beautiful and I felt fantastic in it but I was about ready for it to come off. It wasn't made for relaxation. Not in the slightest bit.

As I was sitting there, looking at the elegantly decorated place, admiring the intricately detailed architecture, something kept nagging at me at the back of my mind. Like a light bulb constantly flickering on and off vying for my attention. I sat up straight and decided to listen to my inner voice. The voice that had saved me from countless situations before. Which I knew better than to ignore.

I did a quick sweep of the place finding the exact problem my senses were screaming at me to see. Although all the interior designs and furniture were manly, you couldn't deny the thoughts and accuracy in which every thing was placed. From the colour schemes down to ornamental embellishments. Something that could only be put together by a woman.

Not that men were colour blind and lacked decorative skills.

Or maybe...

I hadn't noticed it before, but looking at it now, the house just screamed a 'woman's touch.' A woman's presence could always be felt and seen in certain areas. In the simplest and the most innocent of forms. Whoever decorated the place knew and understood Kyle's taste and preferences in a much deeper and intimate level. The details were too uncanny and precise to be put together by just a random interior designer. The person had to have a front row seat in his mind like I used to, to actually pull this off.

My heart sped up as I got up from the couch and walked to take a closer look at the picture frames gracing the living room and the television stand. I recognised most of the people in the pictures as being Kyle's family members. Some were of him with his siblings and a few with his friends I didn't know. Probably from when we had separated because he looked older than the last time I had seen him. The pictures were of an older Kyle I had missed. Older and more attractive.

It still hurt me that Kyle had had a life where I wasn't a part of. This was something which I never anticipated or liked in the least. I kept looking around for any clues that a female resident perhaps lived here. I didn't know what I would do with the information anyway.