Page 2

There were a lot of them on his tanned skin.
He had black ink all over his arms, neck, and who knows where else in a very cool way. Isla couldn’t help but tilt her head a little as she admired the art form because the calligraphic words, shapes, and shading were so well done.
There was no doubt that the girl had lost track of what she was doing when her doe eyes fell on his hair, which was a deep chestnut brown. As the light hit the small diamonds in his ears, her pink pout slipped between her teeth.
“Do you see something you like?”
Isla’s eyes got bigger, and she quickly turned red with embarrassment—she had been caught looking.
He only said a few words, but they were so deep and soft that they made her shiver. Her lips opened and then closed again, and her head tilted down a little as she tried to think of an answer.
“I’m s-sorry. I just…sorry.”
Isla huffed, angry with herself. It was so embarrassing that she couldn’t even find the words to make a sentence.
She was angry with herself in her head, but she didn’t see how little the man cared about her mistake. He was actually interested in her because she was shy; the man was even more interested in the smaller girl. He was surprised to find himself curious, since he didn’t care about other people very much and never bothered to look into the messy details of their lives.
“Did you need something?” He tried again, but with so many confusing thoughts in his head, it might have sounded too harsh.
The smaller girl flinched a little and then started to play with the ends of her sleeves when she heard the question. But the stranger’s jaw tightened as he thought about those small, delicate hands wrapped around something much bigger than she could handle.
“I wanted the Fruity Pearls, but…”
“I was in the way,” he said at the end.
She tilted her head up even more so she could see his face clearly. When their eyes met in a heated gaze, a blush spread over her already red cheeks. She bit her lip and turned away from his blue eyes.
Isla thought to herself, “All this trouble for some Fruity Pearls?” She saw the long line behind his tall figure and held back a huff because she knew this awkward meeting would last a little longer.
“What’s your name?” He spoke in a way that was new to him; his words were so soft that he almost shocked himself.
“Isla,” she said in a shy voice. She dropped her head again and went back to looking up at the handsome man through her lashes.
He smiled with dimples and said, “I’m Kade.”
Isla blushed again, but this time it was just because she was so close to this stranger. She fought the urge to touch her face, even though she knew it would be too hot. She was sure that even the coldest winds of autumn wouldn’t be able to get through the barrier of heat on her cheeks.
Kade felt a brief sense of panic as the last person between him and the cashier paid for their things. He had just met this girl and didn’t know much about her.
But he wanted to, and he had never wanted anything so badly before.
He usually acted rashly when he wanted something like this. But he knew better this time.
He had to be careful.
Isla looked at her hands when she realised it was almost time for her to pay. She awkwardly twiddled her fingers before looking back at the tall man.
“…Can I get my Fruity Pearls now?” She asked in a strange way.
Kade laughed and then reached over to get the red bag.
“Here,” he said, giving her the Fruity Pearls before asking the cashier for a pack of cigarettes.
Isla took the candy, but not without some hesitation. She was glad to finally have the Fruity Pearls, but she didn’t understand why he stood in the queue for so long for a small pack of cancer. Kade noticed that she looked confused as he put the cigarettes in his black jeans. He shrugged in response to Isla’s unspoken question.
“They have good cigarettes.”
Isla nodded, not knowing what else to say.
Kade didn’t leave like she thought he would. Instead, he reached over to put her groceries on the belt and then packed them into two bags. Isla’s heart raced as she watched without saying a word. She was too scared to step in and let him keep being chivalrous.
Kade gently held down her wrist and slapped $100 down for the cashier to take while she dug through her worn-out wallet for the few twenty-dollar bills that Clarice had lent her.
“Keep the change,” he said, not paying attention to Isla’s small gasp.
The girl’s eyes moved back and forth between the $100 bill and the big hand on her wrist. She could still feel the warmth of his palm and the tingles on her skin even after he let go of her arm.
She spoke with an unsteady voice because she didn’t know how to say no to his kindness.
“Thanks, Kade, but you don’t have to do that. I have the money right here—”
“I wanted to. Don’t worry about it.” His big hand was on top of hers again, so she couldn’t pull out the crumpled bills to show him she was telling the truth.
Isla’s eyes widened as the tingles came back, but the touch was gone as soon as he turned to get her groceries.
As Kade heard the girl move around behind him, his lips twitched up. She clearly didn’t know what to do, and she probably didn’t want to take his money.
It was too bad she felt that way, though; the amount was just pocket change. And it wouldn’t have done him much good anyway, since he didn’t need either a round of drinks or a new tattoo.
But he knew that $100 was a lot of money for the girl in front of him. And that was enough for him to feel even better about helping her.
As the taller man walked towards the sliding doors of the small store, Isla opened her mouth to protest. She looked at his back for a moment before jogging a little to catch up with him.
“Um, Kade? You don’t have to carry my bags. It’s not too far to walk from here, and you’ve already helped me a lot—”
The blonde stumbled back a little because she didn’t expect him to stop and turn to face her.
“Hey, it’s dark out. What time is it? Nine o’clock? Let me walk you home. I can’t let you go by yourself.”
What he really meant was that he couldn’t let her go. He needed to make sure she was safe just as much as he needed to see her again. Still, his words seemed to convince the girl who was thinking about it and couldn’t find anything wrong with what he said.
It was pretty late, and to be honest, she wasn’t very comfortable walking home alone. Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea to agree.
“Okay.”