Previously on Other Peoples' Heartache

Days Gone By

Note: Gift to Answrs, part 1: A view into Kay and Arthur dating. Or, at least, a view into Arthur asking Kay out for the first time. Set way before Things We Lost. Chapter title excerpted from La Lune by Madeon & Dan Smith.

....

Arthur fidgeted with his wristband, running the fabric between his fingers as he dragged it slowly around his wrist. A few strands of his soul patch straggled and the thought of them hanging there nagged him. He didn't want to tug them out, though. He saw the little bald spots Uncle Lance hid with careful combing. He'd heard his Uncle's warning a million times. "One ya start yankin' it's awful hard ta stop."

Should have clipped them in line when he saw them, but Kay had just answered his text, asking her if they could get together and talk.

Sure. Meet you at the park after my shift?

Two hours. He could wait and ask her out when she was off and plan a future date, or he could be totally prepared now, wait for her, ask, and then sweep her off her feet by having the date ready to go right then.

So he loaded the van with necessaries for a picnic; a cooler, a blanket, two plates, a set of silverware, plastic cups, and a roll of paper towels. A quick trip to the market netted him a rotisserie chicken, coleslaw, and kettle chips. Not very classy, but he'd been to enough of the Peppers' backyard barbecues to know the safe bets. A small plastic jug of local fresh-squeezed orange juice. Ice for the cooler. Two small cartons, one holding a slice of carrot cake another holding a slice of chocolate to cover the bases.

Sliding into the van, he rested his hands on the wheel and drummed his fingers, considering locations. The park was a fine place to meet Kay and ask a quick question, but it was very open. Not that open was a bad thing, but he didn't want word getting out that he was dating his best friend's sister. Not yet.

He dragged a hand down the front of his face. "Yeah. Listen to me, already thinking I'm dating her when I haven't asked her out yet. Get a grip. Get a grip."

It was a short drive over from the market. The park was a respectable size, with fenced-off playground equipment off to one side and a lengthy stretch of rolling green dotted with shade and climbing trees the rest of the way.

A quick glance at his watch informed him there was plenty of time to take a loop around the park and contemplate disaster-date scenarios. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he let his feet take him where they would and kicked his thoughts in a direction that didn't promise a hike in anxiety levels.

Okay, that was not working. Kay's face was front and center in his mental theater and it was hard to get away from the cycle of potential reactions the screen flipped through when all exits were barred. He jammed his hands deeper in the pockets. Was this how Lewis felt asking Vivi out for the first time? Probably not. At least he'd known that Vivi was into him. Arthur would kill for some of that assurance.

Vivi wore her emotions on her sleeve, but Kay was a harder read. He'd known her since middle school ever since he got to be friends with Lewis, but Lewis was the only Pepper who got to attend public school. Kay and her sisters learned at home, for reasons Arthur could never weasel out of Lewis aside from some vague brush off about religious preferences. The same hand-waving reason was used to explain their refusal to allow music in the house or at the Pepper Paradiso, but Arthur had yet to think of a single religion that forbade all kinds of music.

Digging for answers like that during your first date was probably bad etiquette. Besides, he wasn't dating Kay because he wanted answers. He was dating her because... well...