The Guy In 4B Has My Heart

Chapter Four

‘s**t!’ Kase muttered, then turned to face me. ‘I think I got home too early.’

His room was filled with balloons that read ‘Happy birthday, Kase.’

There was a bottle of wine lying next to the cake on the blinding-white bedsheet.

I swallowed, and the only words that came out of my mouth were, ‘This is cute.’

Kase shut the door and chuckled.

‘I will get you something warm.’

‘Ermm…’ My heart skipped a beat. I cleared my throat. ‘No, thank you. I am fine.’

I tucked my hand into the front pocket of my jeans.

Kase’s gaze felt like I was in some sort of scanning machine, and all my vitals were signalling that I needed a hot drink.

He shrugged and disappeared into his kitchen, getting to work immediately.

The kettle whistled in no time, and he re-emerged with a white mug in hand, a teabag hanging out of it. ‘It’s green tea,’ he announced, moving a balloon off his face.

I tried to remain cool when our fingers grazed as I took the mug from him.

From the little contact, I could tell he had really soft skin.

I looked into the mug for traces of abnormality

‘It’s not poisoned. You can drink up.’ He said, moving to sit down. He had a reading table just like me. And on it was an old dictionary.

Who still owns a physical dictionary?

I lifted the mug to my lips to conceal my growing smile and was greeted by the hot tea.‘It’s hot.’

‘It’s not. I made it just the right temperature.’ Kase replied, and I smiled when I noted he too was whispering.

I lifted the mug to my lips and took a sip. It burned my tongue for the second time.

I winced.

‘Seriously? Too hot?’

I nodded. Stuck out my tongue for the fan to cool it.

Kase was by my side. ‘I am so sorry.’ He flexed his fingers, then balled them into a fist before placing it lightly on my shoulder.

The jiggling of keys and the lock turning interrupted the oddly intimate moment we were just having.

Kase jerked his hand away. ‘It’s Temi!’

To my surprise, he was scrambling. He flicked the light switch off.

‘Get down!’ He whispered. ‘Under the bed, quick!’

Careful not to spill the contents of my cup, I slid under the bed.

And then Kase was right beside me.

Heart pounding.

‘Shhhh.’ He held his finger to his lips. ‘I don’t want Temi to feel like I ruined the surprise.’

My face fell for a millisecond.

We are hiding like rats because he wants his girl to feel happy.

I couldn't even hate him for it. It was sweet.

Her oblivious footsteps sounded through the room. Humming a tune.

She went to the kitchen.

‘How long?’ I mouthed to Kase.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and typed. ‘She’ll go to the bar. I’ll text her that I’m heading there now.’

I nodded.

The rain outside had eased, and I wanted to be with Tivere now and let these relationship folks have their fun.

Temi’s phone pinged. Kase’s message. She read it, groaned and was out the door.

Kase and I looked to each other. He had an unsure smile as he tried to read me.

I offered a smile.

‘I am sorry. Temi can be dramatic. I didn’t want her going through all the stress to surprise me and fail.’

‘You don’t have to apologise. Really. I think all of this is cute, actually.’

He chuckled. ‘She’s never pulled off a surprise for me. Somehow I always find out and have to act surprised.’

I laughed. He laughed.

We stayed put in our crawl space.

Is he waiting for me to roll out first?

I am not sure I want to.

It felt safe.

‘I will find a handyman for the door. Thank you.’ My words filled the still silence.

‘Ahead of you. I already called my guy. He’ll fix it, then we’ll head to the bar.’

My heart jumped.

‘Yeah, you are not going to get away.’

I rolled out from under the bed, and he followed my lead.

‘I–I have another engagement; sorry, I will not be available.’

‘You are just looking for excuses to bail.’

‘No.’ My voice came out higher than usual. He was right. I wanted to bail, but it was not for the reason he thought.

The true reason made my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

He is only dating her. Not married. You can still shoot your shot.

I bit my lower lip to stop myself from such loser thoughts.

I don’t know Temi. I’m pretty sure she is a lovely girl, and she’s lucky to have a boyfriend who cares about making her smile.

‘I am not taking no for an answer.’

‘But it is Rousing Night.’ I blurted.

There was a shift in Kase’s eyes. He studied me anew. ‘When you are with me, you are safe.’

His words sent chills down my spine.

Great now he thinks I am a scared little girl who cannot survive on her own.

‘Besides, the whole rousing talk is foolishness. The first rain does nothing.’

I gave a small smile and nodded. He was probably right. And Tivere might just be wrong.

Wrong about Rousing Night and Kase.

‘I want to pull you out of your shell.’ Kase said.

I c****d an eyebrow. I don’t like it when people assume the responsibility of making me ‘have fun.’

I can have fun! I am fun.

‘I am not in any shell.’

Kase threw his head back in laughter. ‘Sure! You have been living in the shadows since you moved in. It’s been class and school, class and school.’

My eyes narrowed.

‘Come along. If you hate it after an hour, you can hold me responsible.’

I bit the insides of my cheeks, going over his offer.

‘Live a little.’ He said under his breath.

I rolled my eyes. ‘Okay. Just an hour.’