Kita

After yanking on the parking brake, I swipe my books out of the passenger seat and climb down from the Jeep. It gleams darkly in the sun, shiny as a beetle shell. Freddie keeps the cars all waxed and spotlessly clean all the time. It makes me feel like kind of a princess. For the first time in my life.

Automatically I just start walking diagonally across the quad, heading for the computer sciences building. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of fiery red hair sparking in the light. It's Lizzie, about a hundred yards away. She's walking with Claudia and Babs, their heads tipped toward each other as they stare at a cell phone screen.

Instantly my stomach is in knots. I know it's stupid to assume that they are laughing at me again, but that wound is still fresh. My heart starts pounding and my mouth is as dry as sand. I pivot, thinking that maybe I should just walk around the administration building instead. I don't want to walk run into them. All I want to do is finish my finals, finish the semester, and then maybe think about what comes next…

Like quitting school.

But, that's a thought for another time. I quicken my step because going behind the admin building means adding a few minutes to my path, and I don't want to be late for the test. I shift my books to my other arm and cross the long back strap over my neck, lengthening my strides.

It feels kind of nice, almost like running. I have really missed exercise. Yoga is fun but it's not really the same kind of burn as cardio.

While I'm rearranging all my stuff I almost slam completely into a person-shaped obstacle. I dive quickly to my left, but he throws out an arm, catching me under my elbow. As I gasp in surprise, my eyes lock with Daniel’s and my shock turns to a bursting bubble of joy in my chest.

“Daniel!” I smile breathlessly, letting myself just grin at him without trying to hide it like I usually do. But he has caught me by surprise, so I don’t have time to remember to be coy.

“I'm sorry, Kita, I didn’t mean to startle you. You just sort of came out of nowhere.”

His eyes drift down my form, checking me over possessively. It gives me a little thrill, the way he’s not being shy about it. We’re in public where anyone could see us.

“Yeah, I've only got a few minutes,” I stammer, trying to not sound flustered. “But, hey, you're here?”

I let the question hang in the air and search his eyes, trying to make sense of this. Did he just come out of the admin building?

He stands me back upright and I get my feet under me, taking a moment to look him over. He's wearing close cut trousers and a fitted, button-down shirt. It's only slightly more dressed up than his usual outfit, but it does sort of stand out. The fabric hugs so close to his skin that I want to reach out and run my hand across the muscles that show through it. He clearly made an effort to look serious. But why?

“I had a meeting with the Dean,” he explains, though I can hear there's a little bit more to that story than he's letting on right now. “From time to time they come to me with requests. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“You’re like Batman,” I joke, trying to stifle a giggle.

He quirks one eyebrow me. “Excuse me?”

“Oh you know, just the mysterious bachelor that is always swooping in to save people… but you know what? Never mind. I don’t even know why I said that.”

I shake my head, totally embarrassed. I'm all flustered and off-balance and babbling like a doofus.

“Actually, that's sort of a compliment. Batman was always my favorite superhero.”

“Really?” I ask him, happy to have a chance to dig a little deeper below the surface and realizing I haven't had many of those chances at all so far. “Why is he your favorite?”

He shrugs one shoulder, clenching his jaw and looking around, surveying the few other people within earshot. It's a gesture I have seen him do many times, like he's always on the alert. Like he is the Secret Service or something.

“Well, probably because Batman is not a superhero at all. No magical powers. Just a man with a mission, I guess you could say.”

“A mission… and a billion dollars.”

He cracks a smile, his cheeks dimpling into long lines that bracket those beautiful white teeth. I love making him smile. Makes me want to wriggle like a puppy.

“Yeah, I guess a billion dollars doesn't hurt either.”

“Oh, hello, Daniel,” comes a voice, shooting through the air like a dart.

I startle, flinching to the side and almost rolling my ankle. Daniel catches me under my right elbow and draws me to him, but then pulls me further, pushing me behind him. He sidesteps slightly, inserting himself between me and Lizzie Whitmore, who's sneering like a tiger with a meal in front of her.

“Oh, I don't bite, Daniel!” she protests. “You of all people should know that. I just want to talk to Kita, is that all right?”

“About what?” he growls.

I press my hand to the middle of his back and feel the vibrations there. His muscles are tense as he rearranges himself to a defensive position. Literally, he is shielding me from her. And I can't help but be grateful, because there goes my heartbeat again, racing like a rabbit around my chest. I don't know why. What could she even really do to me? But I just want this to be over. I want to be away from her.

Far, far away.

“Kita, aren’t you even going to say hello?” Claudia scoffs. “Seriously? You’re just going to hide behind your daddy here?”

I feel Daniel move his arms and assume he's holding his hands up, palms out. He's managing the situation, and all I need to do is stand here. I can do that. I can trust him to take care of this for me.

I know that, but ninety-nine percent of me wants to just run the hell away.

“We miss you around the house, Kita,” Lizzie singsongs. “Like, a lot.”

Claudia chuckles, and I hear Babs’ high-pitched giggle chime in too. I hate the sound of their laughing. What's so damn funny?

“A super-lot,” Claudia says. “Where have you been?”

“Kita was just on her way to an exam,” Daniel says in a barely audible voice.

“With you?” Lizzie sneers. “You know, she's an adult. She's expected to do this on her own, not take her daddy with her to class.”

“All right, Lizzie, that's enough.” I can not only hear his voice but feel the vibrations of it through the fabric covering his back. I want to curl into his arms.

“You know what? I don't think it is enough,” she says, her voice spiraling upward. I can feel that she's gotten closer and Daniel stiffens.

“I think that whatever you guys have got going on here, it is more than a little bit weird. Don’t you think so, Claudia?”

“Oh, definitely skeevy, I would say, personally,” Claudia agrees.

“Kind of gross,” Babs pipes in.

“Yeah, you know, I always thought you were a little weird, to tell you the truth,” Lizzie continues. “This skulking around campus, interfering with sorority business… maybe you should entertain yourself with women your own age, Daniel, don't you think?”

The air chills around us. I feel his breath accelerate, then it slows again to an eerily subdued rate.

“I mean, what are you planning? You can’t just keep her locked up in your warehouse of pervy delights. You know that, right? You think nobody knows she's over there? Do you have a proper dungeon in the basement or something?”

I bite my lips together, trying to keep any words from coming out. Who does she think she is? What is she suggesting? There is absolutely nothing wrong with me staying at Daniel's place. It's a perfectly normal relationship…

Isn't it?

“I think Kita needs be getting to her exam now,” Daniel says slowly, not even acknowledging Lizzie's suggestions. But I want him to. I want him to defend me, to defend us. To explain that I wouldn't have to be hiding out in his house if I felt safe anywhere else. Which is not his fault… it's hers.

But I'm not going to say any of that. And it doesn't seem like Daniel is either.

“Really?” I hear Claudia ask. “So, what about a coffee or something? You never did buy me that drink.” A flame sparks in my chest. Don’t you flirt with…my man.

To my surprise, Daniel shifts to the side, pivoting to face me. His hands slide under my jaw, tipping my chin upward. Then, in full view of everybody he dips down, kissing me tenderly for long seconds, so sweetly that it takes my breath away. I hear my lab book slide from my hand and flutter to the ground, but I couldn't care less.

When he pulls away, he is smiling.

“Dinner tonight?” he says, loud enough for anyone to hear. “Say, seven o'clock? Fish Market on Sullivan?”

I nod tightly, trying not to breathe too hard so I don't burst out giggling by mistake. Well, this is a surprise. Batman just asked me out on a date!

“I'll take that as a yes,” he smiles brilliantly. “Wear something pretty. Now, run along to class.”

I'm not sure I can say anything without giggling or babbling like a dope, so I just stay quiet as Daniel leans over and picks up my lab notebook, handing it back to me politely. Then he pivots again to position himself between me and the sorority girls as I hurry away to my test.

I've only got about two minutes before class, but I practically fly across the quad, lighter than air. I feel so buoyant, not even gravity can stop me from where I'm going. I have to stop myself from doing tumbles across the expanse of grass.