The Broken Road (The Broken Series) (22 page)

Kadyn
shrugged. “Sure.” His hand settled on the small of my back as we walked up the
stairs. He pulled the storm door open and followed me inside. The living room
was packed with people. Kadyn steered me toward the kitchen.

Patrick
entered the kitchen through the back door while Kadyn and I were digging
through the cooler, looking for Sprite. “Hey, Kri! I can’t believe you actually
showed up.”

I
laughed. “Shocking, isn’t it?” I pulled my hand out of the cooler as Kadyn
handed me a Sprite. “Patrick, this is Kadyn.”

Patrick
reached for Kadyn’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you. Kri talks about you all
the time.”

I
thumped Patrick in the shoulder. “I do not!”

Kadyn
grinned as he shook Patrick’s hand. “That’s good to know.”

Patrick
patted me on the back. “You guys make yourselves at home. I’m deep frying a
turkey out back, and I need to make sure it doesn’t blow up. It’s my first time
working a fryer.”

I
reached for a piece of monkey bread as Patrick backed out the door.

Kadyn
grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room. He seemed determined to
gain some distance from Patrick’s fryer.

I
dug my heels in when we got to the edge of the crowd. No way was I diving into
that mess.

Kadyn
stepped in front of me. He linked my fingers through the belt loops on either
side of his jeans. He shielded me like I was a star quarterback as he pushed
his way through the crowd. He found a spot where I could stand with my back
against the wall.

Kadyn
leaned against the wall, but he faced me instead of the party. The music was
crazy loud, and there was a crush of people dancing all around us. Kadyn and I
had to press our lips against each other’s ears, just to be heard.

Jonathan
and Jamie made valiant attempts to talk to us, but it was difficult to have a
conversation over the music. Eventually, Jamie pulled us back through the
kitchen and into the backyard.

I
breathed a sigh of relief when we stepped away from the crowd and the deafening
music. I smiled gratefully at Jamie. “Thanks.”

Patrick
handed Kadyn one of the drumsticks from the turkey, which was now sitting next
to a citronella candle on the picnic table.

Kadyn
took a bite. “Not bad for your first try.”

Patrick
handed me a piece of white meat. “What do you think, Kri?”

I
popped it into my mouth. “I think it tastes great.” I reached for a second
piece. “Whatever possessed you to buy a deep fryer?”

Patrick
shrugged. “I needed to add more protein to my diet.”

Kadyn
patted my back when I choked on the turkey. “Doesn’t the fact that you’re
frying the meat sort of defeat the purpose?”

Patrick
looked thoughtful as he considered my point. “No, I don’t think it does.”

I
just shook my head.

Jamie
laughed. “So, Kadyn, I hear you played football for the Air Force Academy.
Which position did you play?”

“Running
back,” Kadyn replied. He reached for the roll of paper towels.

“I
saw Kadyn play in a game against Notre Dame,” Patrick announced.

Kadyn
looked surprised. “You did?”

“Yeah.
I’ll never forget that game. Air Force was at Notre Dame. It was fourth and
two, and Air Force was down by seven. You caught the pitch from the
quarterback, made the free safety miss, and outran everyone else. You scored
from twenty-six yards out to tie the game.”

Kadyn
was grinning. “Air Force won that game in overtime.”

Patrick
slapped Kadyn on the back. “Thanks to you.”

I
stared at Patrick in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

Patrick
shrugged. “I saw that game when I was in high school. I didn’t put two and two
together until I Googled Kadyn last night.”

My
jaw fell slack. “You Googled Kadyn?”

Jonathan
fielded that question. “We wanted to make sure you were dating a good guy.”

“We’re
not dating,” Kadyn and I responded at the exact same time.

Patrick
raised an eyebrow. He looked pointedly at Kadyn’s arm, which was wrapped around
my back.

I
tried to pull away, but Kadyn tightened his hold. I scowled at Patrick.

Jonathan
and Jamie laughed.

Kadyn
grew quiet as the night wore on. I could tell something was bothering him, but I
couldn’t figure out what it was. We ducked out of the party shortly after
eleven o’clock. This time, I savored the motorcycle ride and the feel of Kadyn
in my arms. I didn’t want to let go when he parked his bike outside my
apartment.

Kadyn
turned the motorcycle off before reaching around to help me off the back of the
bike.

I
slid the helmet off my head and handed it to him.

He
hung both helmets on the handlebars of his bike. He locked his eyes on mine as
he pulled me against him. “Can we date now?” he asked huskily.

My
heart beat anxiously against my ribcage as I contemplated the question.

Kadyn’s
eyes fell on my mouth. His thumb brushed across my bottom lip while he waited
for my response.

I
could feel him willing me to respond. I closed my eyes as his forehead lowered
and rested against mine. His mouth was less than an inch from mine. “Say yes,”
he breathed.

“Yes,”
I whispered hesitantly.

Kadyn
kissed my forehead. “Good. I’ll pick you up at six for dinner tomorrow night. We’ll
consider it our first date.” Kadyn slid off the bike and walked me to my door.  “Do
you mind if I join you and Cade on your walk?”

I
unlocked the door. “No, of course not.”

Cade
bum rushed me as I swung the door open.

I
scooped him up in my arms and buried my face in his fur. I snapped the leash
around his neck and set him on the ground as we began our walk.

Kadyn
reached for my hand when we returned to my apartment. He smiled as he kissed
the back of my hand. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.”

My
pulse ratcheted up a few notches. “Me too,” I whispered. My hand shook when I
unlocked the door. I glanced back at Kadyn as I closed the door between us.

I
slid the deadbolt into place and leaned against the wall. I took a few deep
breaths, then glanced down at Cade. “What did I just do?” I reached for him as
I slid to the floor. “What happened to the moratorium on dating?”

*
* * * * *

Kadyn
texted me shortly before noon.
I’m planning to drive my car just in case you
want to wear a dress. See you at six.

I
ducked into my closet so I could sort through my clothing options. Then I
cleaned my apartment in a feeble attempt to stay sane. Once the apartment was
scrubbed, vacuumed, and polished, I sank into my bathtub. The lavender bath
salts worked their magic.

An
hour later, my hair and makeup were done. I took Cade for a quick walk around
my building before changing into a black long-sleeved cocktail dress. I slipped
on some shiny black patent heels and made a rare attempt to accessorize with
silver bangle bracelets and a long silver necklace which hung in multiple
strands.

Kadyn
arrived promptly at six. He was wearing black slacks, black dress shoes, a
white dress shirt, and a silver tie. “You look beautiful,” he murmured. He
handed me a bouquet of sterling silver roses and softly kissed my cheek. “Shall
we?”

I
buried my nose in the flowers and took a deep breath. They smelled heavenly,
like fresh spring rain. “These roses smell amazing.” I backed toward the
kitchen. “I just need a minute to put them in some water.” I pulled a vase from
under my sink, filled it with water, and set the bouquet inside. I glanced at
Kadyn as I reached for my dress coat. “Where are we going?”

Kadyn
smiled. “It’s a surprise.” He waited patiently while I locked the door. He reached
for my hand and helped me into the car. One of my favorite blues artists, B.B.
King, was playing on the stereo. Kadyn glanced at me as he pulled away from the
curb. “Do you like B.B. King?”

I
laughed. “I do. I like him even more than 2Pac.” I was never going to forget
the look on Kadyn’s face when he heard 2Pac playing on my car stereo.

“Good.
Then you’ll like where we're going for dinner,” he hinted with a smile.

I
couldn’t resist guessing. “Are we going to Blues Alley?”

“Nope.
Even better,” he responded smugly.

I
wondered whether that was even possible.

Kadyn
turned up the stereo.

I
leaned back into the soft leather seat, closed my eyes, and relaxed as B.B.
King’s rich velvety tone slid soothingly through me.  

A
half hour later, Kadyn brought his car to a stop in a large parking lot. There
wasn’t a single restaurant in sight.

I
stared at the throng of people moving through the parking lot. Then I spotted a
large wooden sign that read Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. I looked
at Kadyn questioningly.

A
small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He helped me out of the car before
retrieving a blanket and a picnic basket from the trunk. I was thoroughly
perplexed by the fact that we were going to picnic in dress clothes. Kadyn
slung the blanket over his shoulder and reached for my hand as he pulled me
into the crowd.

Kadyn
handed two tickets to a gentleman standing at the gate. We wandered the grassy
hillside until we found a place to spread the blanket. Kadyn unpacked cheese,
grapes, bread, bottled water, Sprite, cheesecake, and strawberries from the
basket.

I
tried to wipe the shocked look from my face. I kicked my heels off and curled
up on the blanket next to Kadyn. Soft jazz drifted from a large wooden
structure at the base of the hill. The building appeared to be a large wood
amphitheater.

Kadyn
dodged my efforts to discover who we were there to see. Once we finished
eating, Kadyn packed up the picnic basket and blanket and took them back to the
car. He met me back at the fence line. Then he escorted me into the covered
section of the amphitheater, where we settled into third row seats.

I
stared at him in awe when B.B. King was introduced. “How did you pull this off?
We just made plans for dinner last night.” I watched the blues legend walk
amicably across the stage with a guitar in his hand. He sat on a black stool
directly in front of us.

Kadyn
leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You should know that I can be very
determined when I have my heart set on something.”

I
swallowed nervously.
Was he talking about the concert, or was he was talking
about me?

Kadyn
laughed. He tucked me under his arm as we settled in to enjoy one of the
greatest musicians of all time.

B.B.
King joked with the audience, wove colorful stories around us, sang, and
strummed his guitar with his eyes closed. His laid back demeanor left me
feeling like we were close personal friends.

Our
date couldn’t have been more perfect. During the drive home, I was still trying
to figure out how Kadyn had secured such great seats at the last minute. I
wondered how long he’d been planning this evening at Wolf Trap.

Kadyn
parked his car in the garage under his building. He walked me to my apartment
so he could make the nightly rounds with Cade and me.

I
was finding it difficult to hold up my end of the conversation as we walked toward
my apartment. I was so worried Kadyn was going to kiss me that I couldn’t think
about anything else. My nerves got the best of me as we approached my door. I
suddenly blurted out, “You know, saying goodnight is always so awkward,
especially on a first date. I think we should just kiss and get it over with.”

Kadyn
stilled. His face was void of all expression as he silently regarded me.

Heat
flooded my cheeks. “Oh, God. Forget I said that. I don’t know why I said that.”
I began fumbling with my keys. I was dying to get inside my apartment so I
could escape any further embarrassment.

Kadyn
boxed me in against the door. His arms were braced on either side of me. He
waited silently until I turned around to face him. He stared at my lips. Then he
lowered his mouth until it was only millimeters from mine. His eyes locked on
mine. “I’m not kissing you to get it over with.” His lips brushed lightly
against my cheek before settling just behind my ear.

Goose
bumps scattered across my arms and back.

Kadyn
issued his warning in a low, determined tone. “When I kiss you for the first
time, you’re going to want that kiss more than your next breath.”

My
heart stopped beating. My brain stopped… my breathing stopped… everything
stopped.

Kadyn’s
hand tilted my chin up as he forced me to look at him. He stood there, every
inch of his body nearly touching mine, as he looked directly into my eyes. His
hand cupped my neck as his thumb caressed my jaw. His mouth hovered over mine
for what seemed like an eternity.