Random Simming: May 2018

Isabella

I must've been really tired--because I wake up in the middle of the night. It's warm in here, and my sweater made me, well, sweat. I get up to take a shower. Then I come back to check my phone.

Everything okay?

Are you coming?

I gasp. Kade! Oh my Maker! I was supposed to meet him four hours ago!

"No," I moan aloud, and I start to text him an apology.

No. I need to talk to him. That is, if he'll even answer the phone. I dial his number. He doesn't answer. Feeling foolish, I leave a message, telling him at least partly why I never showed. I only say that I had a really bad day and that if he'd give me a chance, I would explain it to him.

There. I did my best to apologize. If he wants to hear more, he'll call me. If not, well...

My phone rings. Kade. I'm honestly surprised he listened to the message that quickly.

"Kade?" I ask as I answer it.

"Yeah," he answers laconically, sounding nonplussed.

"Did you listen to the message?"

"What message?"

"I left a message." I pause. "Um, well, it basically said that I've just had the worst day of my life, and I guess after staying up all night and then crying all day, I fell asleep."

I hear what sounds like him possibly pulling the phone away from his ear and then back again. "My phone just now told me I have a message. So, you... fell asleep."

Oh plum. If a guy had said that to me, I'd never believe him that he merely 'fell asleep.' "Yeah. Can we, um, meet somewhere and talk? I owe you an apology."

He sighs, and I picture him wincing. Then, he sighs in a huff. "Yeah. Sure. That same park we met at."

When I arrive, I see he's already here, and I wonder if he's been here a while already. He looks like he's in a really bad mood.

"I'm sorry," I say immediately. "I didn't skip out on you on purpose."

"If you were going to be so tired, maybe we should've scheduled it for another day."

"I didn't get to sleep this morning because I was too busy dealing with the fact that my father got arrested." I clench my lips together to keep from tearing up again just thinking about Daddy in jail.

Kade's angry expression slides off his face. "Oh my maker! What happened?"

"I got home early this morning to find them carting him out to a police cruiser. Mom says they think he's a spy." I leave out the part how he really was one. "So, I called my big brother, and we got into a fight." My lower lip trembles. "And then I went upstairs and cried." Oh, I really don't want to cry again!

The tears win when Kade suddenly hugs me. "I'm s-sorry! I didn't d-do it on p-purpose."

"It's okay. Shhh." He reaches up and strokes the back of my head, running his fingers through my hair. I like it; it's soothing. "That does sound like a rotten kind of day. And I can understand why a date with some dude you just met would be the farthest thing from your mind."
"I'm sorry," I whisper.
"Forget about it. It's all in the past." Pause. "Are you hungry?"

He fixes us something to eat. Turns out the man can cook. I suppose it's more of the creative side in him showing itself.
We sit and talk, and he does his best to get me not to think about Daddy being in jail. Somehow, the conversation transitions to skipping rocks, and we decide to give it a try over at the little pond behind us.
He acts frustrated. "It's hard to prove how to do it well since the pond is so small."
I smile. "Well, at least you can make your rock skip to the other side. Mine just plops in like a, uh, stone."
He chuckles and walks over to me. "Here. Let me give you a few pointers." His arms wrap around me as he guides my hand in the proper way to get the flat river rock to skip on the water.
"Look! It did it! Twice. Not as good as you, but-"

My heart thumps against the front of my ribcage as Kade kisses me, taking me by surprise. I wonder if the whole 'skipping stones' thing was a setup just to get this to happen. Having my most-recent kissing experiences been with Jarvis, I can't help but notice how differently the two men kiss. I'm not saying one is better than the other--just different. Kade is so emotional whereas Jarvis would get hot and heavy really quickly. Maybe Kade's being like this because of the awful day I've had.
Speaking of day: I notice the sky getting lighter outside. I used to lead a nocturnal life before I dated Jarvis--when I would go to clubs and things. I guess I'm headed in that direction again.
Kade can sense the coming dawn, too, I guess, and he sighs. "I don't want this to end. I'd say we could go to a bar or club, but I think the only place that's open would be a 24 hour kind of deal, which is not something I'm interested in." He brushes my hair out of my face.

I continue his thought. "And I'm not eager to go back home."
"Then let's go to my place. We can just hang out."
I smile. This might be the start of something really great. "I like the sound of that."

Kade must be a decently-successful musician because his house is adorable. Of course, it is in a moderately inexpensive neighborhood, but I can guess he'd make this choice because the career of a musician can be unpredictable as far as when money comes in.
Then, he tells me more. "Do you like it? I know it's not much, but my family helps out when needed."
I smile. "It's adorable."

He leads me out onto his back porch and opens a bottle of red wine. Holding up his glass, he makes a toast that today will be a great day. I smile and agree.