Street Lights

Mending Heart

Emma

Soon, my shift ended. Luckily for me, Walsh never came to work today. I took off my apron and waited for Killian to finish up. Once he was ready, we got in his car. "So where are we going?" I asked as he drove. "On a picnic" he said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Obviously," I rolled my eyes "I mean, where are we having a picnic?". He chuckled, "At a park".

I gave him a weird look. I don't want to spend my afternoon around screaming kids. He looked over at me, he looked back at the road and started laughing. "Not that kind of park...I mean like the one with lakes, trees, fields and paths" he said as laughed to himself. I giggled, "Oh, it's just when I heard park, I assumed swings, slides and sand". We both laughed.

We parked the car in a parking lot near a huge field. I got out of the car and followed Killian to a spot under a tree. He set out a blanket and gestured for me to sit beside him.

I giggled and sat down. "Are you doing this out of pity?" I asked. He looked at me confused, "No, I brought you here to have fun...why do you think people do nice things only out of pity?". I shrugged, "I'm just not used to it". He smiled, "Well then, get used to it....my brother taught me to respect people, especially women". I smiled, "Good to know". He nodded and began to pull food out.

"You aren't allergic to anything, are you?" He asked uncertain. I giggled, "No". He smiled, "Good" then pulled out a slice of watermelon and handed it to me. I grabbed it, "Thank you". He chuckled, "This is just going to be a light meal". I nodded and started eating watermelon. He pulled out another slice from the small basket and ate it.

After we finished all the watermelon, Killian packed up our stuff and stood up. He looked back at me and held his hand out. I smiled and he helped me up.

"Let's go for a walk through the paths" he suggested. I nodded and followed him. We walked a lot. It was so beautiful. "Would you consider me your best friend?" Killian asked after a while of silence.

I sighed, "Tough to say, I don't really call people a friend that often...I'm not very likeable". He chuckled, "I think your more likeable than you think...but I didn't ask who your best friends are, I asked if you considered me one of your best friends". I nodded, "Yeah, I do...why?". He shrugged, "I was just curious".

We stopped once we reached the end of a long path and turned around. "We should head back now" he said and we walked back up the path. "How did you end up working a bar, let alone owning one?' I asked.

He laughed, "I don't own the bar, my brother does...a friend of his used to own it and my brother would always hangout at the bar with him while he worked, but then one day he died in a car accident...a couple days later we found out his friend left him his bar in his will". I smiled, "Wow". I nodded, "My brother was going to give me the bar, but now that he's getting married I told him his kids could have it, if he has any". "Why would you give it up though?" I asked.

He shrugged, "It'll still be in the Jones family...besides, I doubt I'll be having any kids, let alone a wife". I shook my head, "What makes you think that?". He shrugged, "I don't think I'll ever find someone that will stay with me forever". I sighed, "Neither did I once, but I have hope I will...has hard as it is sometimes, I think I'll always have hope...and if I don't find someone, then that's ok". He smiled, "I like that battle plan". I chuckled, "Don't get too excited, it's not like I came up with it overnight".

Before we knew it, we were back at the parking lot. We got back in the car and He drove me home. He parked the car and smiled, "Hope we can do it again, Swan". I chuckled, "Swan?". He nodded, "Just roll with it". I nodded, "Thanks for today...you actually managed to make me forget that I had a crappy week". "Anytime" he said laughing. I got out of the car and went inside. I watched him leave and took a deep breath. Don't fall for him Emma! He's just a friend! I rolled my eyes and sighed, that's what every girl says right before she does.