Kevin looked over at Laura. She still looked upset to him. "You OK, Laura? You seem like you're still upset at Misty for ditchin' you," he said, turning the corner. Laura smiled. "Oh, umm... nahh, I could never stay mad at Misty. She wouldn't have left if she didn't think I would have had a way home." Laura sighed, then chuckled. "Anyway, she likes Howie so much, she'd probably ditch her own mother to spend more time with him!"
Kevin laughed. "Oh, yeah, that sounds really sweet," he said sarcastically. Laura laughed too. "She is sweet, she really is. I love her to death."
Once again silence fell as Kevin rounded the corner to Laura and Misty's place. He pulled up to the curb and shut off the car. He got out and walked around to get the car door for Laura.
"Here we are," Kevin said, taking Laura's hand, helping her step out. "Great! Come Buck!" she said, and Buck came out of the car and stood next to her. "Thank you so much for taking me home, Kevin. I really appreciate it," she said, smiling. Kevin smiled too. "You're welcome, Laura. Anything for a friend."
Friend, he must have a girlfriend, that's why he said 'friend,' Laura thought, trying not to show her disappointment. "Friend... well, I consider you a friend too," she said, still smiling. I guess 'friend' is better then nothing. "Well, would this friend like to come in for some cake? Misty made some yesterday and I was going to have a piece and thought that maybe you'd like to have some too. Besides, I'm not tired yet, and could use a little company."
"Sure, that sounds great. I'd be happy to keep you company," Kevin said. Laura nodded as she and Buck led the way. Maybe this 'friend' thing won't be so bad after all, she thought. Just then they got to the apartment door. "OK, now to find my key," Laura laughed. She reached into her purse, and within seconds found her apartment key. "Wow, found it faster then usual. You must be a good-luck charm, Kevin," she said with a flirtatious giggle, as she walked into the apartment. Kevin smiled as he followed Laura inside.
"So you just have the two brothers? No sisters?" Laura asked. "Nope, well I have a sister-in-law, but otherwise it's just us guys. I'm the youngest," Kevin said.
"So what about your parents? I mean, your whole family must just be so proud of you," Laura said, smiling. Kevin smiled. "Hell yeah, my mom is always gushing over every little thing I and the rest of the guys do. She's definitely proud. Funny how even when you're all grown up, it's still nice to know that mom's proud of ya," he said, laughing.
"Yeah, you're always your mother's child, no matter how old you get," Laura said. "And your father?"
Kevin sighed. "I lost him in '91 to cancer."
Laura reached out and found Kevin's hand. She squeezed it. "Oh, I'm sorry Kevin, I didn't know about that. I'm sorry that I--"
"No, it's OK, Laura." Kevin said reassuringly, then continued. "I miss him something awful, but I know he's with me no matter where I am or what I'm doing, looking after me. Kind of a comforting thought," he said, a smile breaking on his face. Laura smiled too. "I know the feeling. I know my mom and dad are with me every minute, and I'm grateful. I'm sure they've saved me from a lot of trouble, especially when I first lost my sight. I was bumpin' into stuff left and right, and I'm surprised I didn't break any bones or worse," she said, chuckling, then changed the subject.
"Well, Misty once again made a great cake," Laura said, standing up and grabbing her plate and reaching for Kevin's. Kevin took hers from her and took them into the kitchen. "Yeah, my compliments to the chef," he said, laughing.
"Come on, let's go sit in the living room for a bit, maybe listen to the radio or somethin'," Laura said, hoping that Kevin would stay a little longer. "Sure, why not?" he said, as Laura walked to the couch and sat down, while Kevin went over to the stereo. "Pick out anything you want to listen to. Radio, CD, whatever." Kevin found a radio station, turned the volume down and sat down next to Laura. "Sound good?"
"Yeah that's fine, whatever you want to listen to," Laura said, repositioning herself to face where Kevin was sitting next to her. She could smell his cologne. It was a very rugged and masculine scent, but a gentle scent, and she had a feeling that it also matched Kevin's demeanor. There was still so much she wanted to learn about Kevin, but the next question on her mind was if he was single. She thought now was as good of time as any to approach the subject.
"So, got a boyfriend?" Kevin said, stunning Laura. He must be a mind-reader, she thought, still surprised. "Um, nope. I was seeing this guy when I still lived with Misty's parents in Daytona Beach, but we broke up when I moved to Orlando, of course. It wasn't anything serious anyway, he was just someone I spent time with. Went out occasionally, but he was more a friend then anything else." Laura thought that since he was the one that opened that door, she would ask him now. "So, what about you? You seeing anyone?"
Kevin suddenly got tense. He should have figured she'd ask him the same question. The wounds were still fresh and he didn't like talking about Linda unless he absolutely had to. He sighed. "No, no I'm not. I was but--" He paused, still a bit uneasy. "--that ended a few months ago."
Laura sensed Kevin's reluctance to talk about the subject, so she desperately tried to think of something else to talk about. She didn't want to push him into it, she figured he'd talk about it when he was comfortable with it. Before Laura could think about something else to talk about, Kevin stood up to leave.
"It's almost 3 AM. I should really get going," Kevin said, noticing the time. Uh-oh, Laura thought, now I did it. "I didn't realize it was that late," she said, standing up to walk with Kevin to the door.
"Well, thanks for inviting me up, Laura. Have a good night," Kevin said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You too, Kev. Thanks for the chat," she said, wanting to say more but not able to find the right words. She knew that she hit a soft spot with him, and wanted to apologize, but he turned to leave before she could. Laura shut the door and sat back down on the couch.
"Great! Now I've done it," Laura said to Buck as he jumped up on the couch and laid down next to her. "I hope he don't think I'm too nosy or anything. I didn't mean anything by it. And anyway, I didn't ask him anything that he didn't ask me first. Right?" Buck licked her face and squirmed. Laura pet him as she drifted off to sleep right on the couch.
