Into His Love

Twenty-three

Kimberly

"What?" I huff, finding myself unable to answer the question. Why do I do it with it him? Why am I able to be so free and relaxed when I'm with him and not some of my best friends that I've known for years? "I-"

   "It's not a hard question, Kimberly." He points out.

   "I don't know! You mean other than the fact that you force me to go places with you?" Let's admit it. All of the places I go with him he practically makes me. Once he looks at me it's not like have much of a choice. "If that makes me adventurous-"

   "Force you? I don't force you to do anything."

   "You might as well. I mean, you do that thing with your eyes and your dimples and...I'm just going to stop talking now." I  stop my rambling and cover my hands with my face. I'm completely embarrassing myself and there's no way of digging myself out of this hole. He takes my wrists in his hands and removes them from my face.

   "You're fine. What're you hiding for?" He smiles at me as we stop walking.

   "Stop smiling at me like that. Can't we go back to having fun and not talking about this?" I sigh.

   "This isn't fun?" He chuckles.

   "No! It's embarrassing." I frown, avoiding eyes contact.

   "It's not. I like it," He reassures me. The butterflies in my stomach feel like hippos and it's getting hot in here. Really ..hot. He looks at the games around us. "Pac-Man?"

    "How is it even possible to burn noodles? You put it in a pot ..with water and turn it on." I can't control my laughter.

   "I don't know! I'm not the best cook alright?" He laughs looking towards the entrance of the arcade. His face instantly hardens and he stops laughing.

   "What? What's wrong?" I follow his eyes but can't see such around the crowds of people.

   "Nothing. We should go." His jaw clenches before he meets my eyes.

   "We didn't eat yet. Are you just trying to have me not pay?" I study his face. His whole vibe has changed in a matter of seconds. His eyes aren't the same as they were minutes ago. They're dark. Hard. The same way they were that day I saw him at his job.

   "We can grab something on the way." His voice is rushed and strained.

   "Yeah," I agree wondering why he's acting so weird. I was really starting to enjoy myself.

    We're out of the arcade and in the car within minutes. I notice Isaiah's tight grip on the steering wheel.

    "Are you sure you're okay?" I ask him. He's seems in a daze as we pull up to Chic-Fil-A and pull up to drive thru. 

   He snaps out of it and says, "Yeah, I'm fine....for the tenth time."

   "Well I'm just making sure. It's like this switch went off and-"

    "Kimberly, stop worrying. I just remembered I had some stuff to take care of when I get home." I leave it at that as we order of food. We eat in the car and have a strained conversation. It's obvious his mind is somewhere else and he looks pissed. What does he have to deal with at home? Maybe it's just Hakeem.

Maybe.

    "I'm home," I announce when I walk into the house. My mom emerges from her room and comes to give me a hug and a kiss.

   "Hey. I was waiting for you to eat dinner but I went on and ate without you," she informs me.

   "Yeah, sorry mom. I went out unexpectedly with a friend."