Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

A Full Day's Work (pt. 6)

I am so not dressed for this, Kaya thought to herself as she glanced around the restaurant. 

Of course, she did dress up for the day. A little. A printed dress that hung to mid-calf and a pair of nice boots. It seemed too casual for such a restaurant. 

Kaya reached sideways to tug on Tobin's sleeve. "Does this kind of place even take walk-ins?" 

Tobin chuckled. "They do when it's Ransom Lee." 

"What about the fan club and the tabloids?" Kaya lifted a thumb-nail to rub it against her bottom lip. "This seems like a date venue." 

"I'm here, as well." Tobin motioned around. "And does it look like a place that reporters can enter?" 

Kaya shook her head. No. It didn't. However, the apartment building hadn't seemed like a place that reporters could enter, either. The whole incident had made Kaya a little paranoid. 

"They'll seat us. This way." Ransom beckoned Tobin and Kaya to follow him. 

Kaya didn't have words to describe the brilliance of such a nice restaurant. Everything screamed luxury. On her own, she would never dream of entering such a place. 

Ransom pulled a chair out from the table. "Ms. Parker." 

Kaya snapped back to attention and, in something of a daze, settled in the chair Ransom held. 

Ransom pushed the chair back toward the table and circled to the other side, where he took his own seat. Tobin took the chair beside Kaya, a fact she was thankful for. Tobin seemed the only realistic piece in this new-fangled puzzle. 

The menu didn't help the surreal feeling. Kaya didn't recognize half the dishes, or they were things she had only heard of in theory. 

Somehow, she fumbled her way through ordering, though she didn't miss a few glances from Ransom. 

None of them spoke much, considering Kaya's dumbfounded speechlessness and Tobin and Ransom's general stiffness. Until, that is, they had begun eating. 

Surprisingly, Ransom spoke first. "You didn't grow up in the city." 

Though it wasn't phrased as a question, Kaya felt the need to answer it. "No, I did not." 

"You grew up at a bakery, didn't you? Your mother's." 

Kaya nodded as the familiar pang of anxiety ripped through her heart and mind. "Yes." 

"Why did you move here, then?" 

Kaya swallowed. What did she say to any of these questions? She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to think about it. 

Ransom set his fork down. "It's been... how long? A few weeks since you came here? Something must have instigated the move." 

"I needed a change of scenery." Please let the subject go. Move on. 

"How was school growing up? You must have had quite a few friends in such a small town." 

Thank God. "Not really. You know that I'm shy." Kaya stabbed at a piece of meat on her plate. 

Ransom nodded once. "Still, there must have been one, however brief." 

Kaya thought back, searching her memory for something like he said. Someone dangled on the outskirts of her thoughts, but Kaya couldn't place the child. "No. No one. I'm a loner, usually." 

An emotion crossed Ransom's face. One that Kaya hadn't seen on him before. It was at that exact moment that she became more curious than ever about Ransom Lee. Even about his past. 

"Will your mother come visit now that you've moved out on your own?" Ransom asked. 

"Mr. Lee, that's a bit..." Tobin finally interrupted the conversation, glancing between the other two at the table. 

Kaya ducked her head to hide the sudden dampness in her eyes. "I'm going to the washroom for a moment. Excuse me." 

Though part of her wanted to tell the truth, Kaya still felt the pain of everything too acutely. She fled from both the questions and the people asking them.