I didn’t expect eating sushi at eleven o’clock at night with someone I barely knew could be so much fun. I drank water just because I didn’t drink alcohol during the season. In lieu of partying or going out clubbing, I walked Simba and went to bed early. I knew some of the guys thought I was stupid for letting opportunities pass me by, but I firmly believed there was a reason I had never missed one game in my entire career - until recently - and I clung onto that belief for the past eleven years.

Kira was completely animated as she talked and ate. She was a welcome distraction from everything that had happened the past hour. I wasn’t sure how I felt about her listening in on a private conversation, but I wasn’t going to penalize her for it, especially when she was honest after I called her out on her bullshit. Her babbling was adorable, nearly as adorable as her red face.

“How do you know about this place?” I asked before plopping the last dragon roll into my mouth. I had offered it to her but she politely declined, focusing on her order of crunchy rolls.

“I grew up in Irvine,” she said before taking a sip of her lemonade. “Actually, that’s not true. I grew up in Fountain Valley but went to school in Garden Grove. My parents divorced and they sold the townhouse, and since my mother got custody, we had to move. Of course, my mom being all about getting the best education, she moved us to a two-bedroom apartment in Irvine. From seventh grade on, I went to school there, which is great, because Irvine has the best schools in the country.”

I watched her with obvious amusement on my face. She liked to talk. I didn’t know if that was a trait that was cute at the beginning of a relationship, but would eventually get on my nerves once we had been together for a while. Not that Kira and I were going to get together, let alone be together for a while.

She cleared her throat as though she also recognized what she was doing, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Before I could stop myself, I reached across the small table between us and placed my hand over hers.

“I really like hearing you tell me about yourself,” I murmured. 

I didn’t know why I did that. It was something a guy might say if he were on a date... but we weren’t on a date. We were two friends eating sushi at eleven at night. Friends did that sort of thing. Right? I didn’t really know. I wasn’t incredibly social.

If this isn’t a date, a voice muttered in my head. Why are you still holding her hand? And why hadn’t she pulled hers away?

I immediately snapped my hand back down to my lap like it had been burned. She glanced down at her own hand, as if she had found something wrong.

“So how’s Simba?” she asked, her voice tainted with awkwardness. Her eyes were on the two rolls she had left and she popped one in her mouth after she asked the question. I wasn’t sure if she did it because she was hungry, or if it gave her an excuse not to talk right away because she had food in her mouth.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to settle down,” I blurted out. 

Her eyes snapped to mine, but she didn’t say anything. It didn’t look like she would, even if she didn’t have that food in her mouth. For someone who talked as much as she did, she seemed to know when it was most appropriate to be quiet. I realized just how much I appreciated that she knew the difference.

“Rose and I were great together,” I said. “I considered her my best friend, and she made me really, really happy. It got to the point though where I didn’t think I was making her happy and she started to resent me. It seemed like the whole thing completely blew up when I got that suspension.”

I didn’t know why I was telling this stranger my entire breakup story. I couldn’t believe Rose and I had broken up. I realized she probably moved her stuff out of my place and Simba had no idea what the hell was going on. He might think I was traveling again and he hated when I traveled. I would need to make sure he was okay when I got home.

That was when it hit me.

I cared more about Simba’s well-being than I did about Rose’s. 

Maybe she was right and the feelings I had for her had fallen away, and that was really why I had never wanted to settle down with her.

How much time I wasted - hers and my own.

Kira and I finished our sushi, talking and smiling. If Rose and I hadn’t just broken up, I would have considered this a nice first date. I found myself falling more and more for Kira’s ramblings, the blush on her face when she realized she had been talking too much, her smile.

My God, her smile.

It was too new to really say we had feelings for each other, but I did like her and I wanted to see her again.

We pulled into a large apartment complex in Costa Mesa, just on the border of Newport Beach. I pulled right up to where her apartment was located, pulling into an empty reserved spot and put my hazards on. I intended to walk her to her door.

She paused at the foot of the steps and turned to look at me.

“I had a really nice time,” she told me. “I’m sorry about everything, but you’re an amazing guy, Drew Stefano. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

I smiled, but I was sure it didn’t translate on my face. There was something about Kira, something I wanted to get to know better, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was there though and it was mine for the taking.

If only I would just make the move.