The tendrils of her hair bounced as she jumped and clapped her hands in excitement. His gentle movement of her hair immediately caused the butterflies in her stomach to flap even harder. In an attempt to ignore her body’s inner reactions to the man, she let out a small laugh before gesturing to the door. “Come on.” She followed him out to the car and greeted the driver once inside.
“Mmm, that’s a tough one.” Truth was her favorite character was Nani. While other girls would discuss which Disney princess they most idefined with, Sloane never felt a connection to any of them. It wasn’t until her little sister was old enough to go to school and heard about the film that Sloane had seen it. She’d found a copy of the movie in a discount bin one day at Best Buy while on her lunch break and decided to buy it for the little girl. Although both girls technically still had technically had at least one parent around, their mother was hardly ever there, leaving Sloane to be her younger sibling’s sole caretaker. Nani was Sloane. Neither of them chose to live a life without their parents, and both wanted the best for their little sister no matter what. But these were things she couldn’t say to Kaleb. He had no idea about her childhood (or lack thereof). In fact, the only person who did know about that part of her life was her best friend, Aiden, and even then she had only really decided to reveal that part of herself to him during one very terrible night when she was no longer able to keep her composure. “I guess I’d have to say Stitch.” Her sister’s favorite. “Now my turn. Jumba or Pleakley?”
A smile came easily to her face as he gifted her with his surprise. She knew how common a flower such roses tended to be, especially within the tourist heavy city they resided in, but she didn’t care; she loved their scent, and he clearly hadn’t forgotten they were her flower of choice. “Kaleb.” She said his name in the same way she always had any time he’d done something unexpectedly sweet for her. “You shouldn’t have.” She inhaled the flower’s fragrance and sighed with glee. Looking up at him, she realizes, “You know, you’ve got me all these things, and I’ve got nothing for you.”
Kaleb winced playfully, a ring of air exerting out of his chest. “Woah,” he breathed clapping a hand over his heart. “A woman after my own heart.” It wasn’t uncommon that someone faced with the question of favorites between the titular Disney characters would choose Stitch. Stitch after all was comparable to a puppy when one got down to it and who didn’t like puppies? Relaxing into the warm comfort of the seat, he tilted his head to gaze over at her. On a normal night before he’d met Sloane, Kaleb would’ve been out with the guys especially on a pre-season night but now-a-days that didn’t resonate with him as much. He wanted the quiet sweet nights with someone, wanted to feel that sense of security and comfort especially seeing as how he’d never had such luxuries before. Sighing, he made a wacky face before answering her very difficult question. Who did he favor? “Jumba because he’s severely misunderstood.” Which was honestly the truth. Jumbo was a nice guy who wanted nothing more than to be successful. Kaleb definitely related.
“I must’ve watched Lilo and Stitch a million times. My baby sis had the DVD, all the stuff animals, the whole nine yards. I think she even dressed up as Stitch one Halloween,” An endearing smile appeared on his face causing his dimples to grace his cheeks. “How could I forget that?” he asked incredulously. With a nod of his head his memories disappeared back into their mental fault and he returned back in the moment with her. He’d have to remember to bring the halloween custom up to Sam when they spoke next. With anyone else he wouldn’t have brought up his family, he was private especially with the women he dated but for someone reason around Sloane his tongue had a mind of its own.
The way she called his name sprung goosebumps up and down his spine and made his eyes darken in heat. He’d definitely missed her. It didn’t take a rocket science to note the chemistry between them and in that second Kaleb felt it pulsating throughout the air. “I wanted too.” he responded moving just a bit closer. The car was already making a smooth transition into traffic and though it was late, the city was wide awake. “Oh that’s okay,” his lips stretched upward into a wicked grin. “You can just pay me back.” With your company, your laugh and your beautiful smile, he added silently. He didn’t understand why he left it unsaid. Maybe it because no matter how close he got to someone there was always an unreasonable fear of them leaving.
