Page 78 of Playing to Win
“You’re snarky in the morning.”
“When am I not snarky? That’s why you like me.”
Kyle grinned and walked out the door in search of some semi-healthy cereal in his kitchen. He was digging through the cabinets a few minutes later when Callie walked in sporting one of his t-shirts. Her bare, toned legs went on for miles. “Damn, Curly. You look good in my shirt.”
Callie smiled shyly. “I didn’t have any other clothes except the ones I wore for the interview.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t have any. Your legs…wow. And guess what? I found some Frosted Flakes, too.” Kyle poured her a bowl and himself a bowl of Lucky Charms, sliding it across the island to her. She sat down on one of his steel bar stools.
“I’ve forgotten how much I love these,” she said between bites.
“So what’s with the aversion to sugary breakfast cereal, Curly?”
“Well, being raised by a single dad meant I didn’t eat the healthiest meals. My nana tried to help as much as she could, but she didn’t live with us, so I was mostly at the mercy of my dad. He did his best, but he was no chef. My childhood meals mostly consisted of ramen noodles, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, corn dogs…what else? Oh! Grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, bacon sandwiches, and for breakfast, all the sugar cereal a kid could want.”
“Sounds like an awesome childhood menu to me.”
“That’s because you didn’t eat it all the time.”
“Do you still eat the other stuff?”
“Sometimes, yeah. But not often.”
“So that doesn’t explain why you never eat the sugar cereal. I find this very interesting. I must know the reason.”
Callie grimaced, remembering. “Okay, so back then I loved Captain Crunch. Like, would eat it three meals a day loved it. And, since I was a daddy’s girl and he was a single dad, he would let me. One day…I guess I was about seven, that’s all I ate all day. Then, that night, we went to this place called Kiddie Land in the bigger town next to us. It’s like a little kid’s version of a tiny carnival. There was a carousel, mini train, that little airplane ride that would fly you around. But the best thing of all was the tilt-a-whirl.”
“What is that?”
“It was this round booth like thing. There were several of them on a round platform. You would sit in them and the ride would start and they would spin around and around. Think the teacups at Disney World.”
“Gotcha.”
“So yeah. I rode that. About halfway through the ride, I could feel myself getting sick. My dad tried to signal the guy who was running it to stop the ride, but he didn’t. And I couldn’t help it. I spewed Captain Crunch all over me. All over my dad. All over the people in the booth next to us because their booth was spinning toward us at the exact time I puked. The trajectory of the ride threw it that far. It was so awful. It came out my nose even. It was in my hair and you’ve seen what happens when stuff gets in my hair.”
Callie paused in her rambling and looked at Kyle. She could tell he was trying his best not to laugh. “Kyle! It’s not funny! It was very traumatic! So that is why I don’t eat sugary cereal. Every time I look at a box, I cringe and remember the horror.”
Kyle wiped away the tears that were rolling down his cheeks. “Jeez, that’s funny.”
“It was not!”
“You have to admit, it kinda is.”
Callie looked at him, a small smile creeping on her face. “Okay, okay. It is a little funny. Now do you understand why I don’t want to eat sugary cereal anymore?”
“Yes, I do. And I will never ask you to relive the horror again.” They finished their cereal in comfortable silence. Kyle looked at her, a small, serene smile on his face.
“What?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About the fact that I’m crazy in love with you.”
Callie’s spoon clattered into her bowl. “Wh-wh-what?”
“I love you. I love your laugh, your smile, your wild, crazy hair. I love your hazel eyes that sparkle when you’re happy and flash when you’re mad. I love all your freckles and the smoothness of your skin. I love how much you care about others and how hard you work. But mostly, I just love you. All of you.” Kyle looked at her, the love he just professed shining through his eyes.
Callie couldn’t think, couldn’t say anything. She had no clue what to do. Did she love him? She didn’t know. It all hit her so fast. She could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate. She looked up at Kyle, seeing his smile slowly fading from his face. “Curly, everything okay? I didn’t mean to freak you out. I just…I just had to say it. I love you. I do. I can’t help it. Don’t you feel anything?”
Callie just stared at him. Then, without a word, she turned and walked out the door.
