"What if... what if he isn't being, I don't know, genuine? He hasn't even really made it seem like he likes me, anyway, Zo."

"Oh, Mylanta," she moaned way too loudly, causing the people in the table right across from us to turn around and look. "He likes you! Don't be so silly. Who wouldn't like you? I think that you need to be the one to take the next step. I was just talking to Ryan yesterday, and he was blabbering about how all of his friends liked you. Even he doesn't understand why you aren't with Tristan."

I wished I were still in elementary school so that it would be easy to send him a note asking him if he liked me and to check the box for yes or no.

"What if he doesn't like me?"

She rolled her eyes, "That isn't going to happen but if he doesn't then at least you know to move on, hello." Her eyes went wide in response to something behind me.

"Katherine?" I heard the gravelly voice ask before I saw the figure to my left. Sea foam colored eyes looked down at me from above a shy smile.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face when I finally recognized the strange man. "Hey Kieran," I said. "This is my best friend, Zoey," I pointed at the way too intrigued female across from me.

Kieran held his hand out in Zoey's direction before exchanging a "Nice to meet you." I, in the meantime, took the opportunity to size up my new acquaintance in better light than the one at the aquarium. He was just as hot as before, maybe a little more now that I could fully appreciate the fullness of his arms and clear, porcelain skin tone.

He turned his attention back to me with a blush. "I was just grabbing a bite to eat with my friend, and I wanted to come over and say hi," he said.

I smiled at him in response before I felt a swift kick to my shin underneath the table. Zoey was winking at me from her side of the table while looking between me and Kieran and mouthing something. "I'm glad you did," I managed to say slowly, while trying to read Zoey's lips.

"Who is he?" she mouthed.

"What a coincidence," he said with a long exhale afterward. He started pulling at some imaginary lint on his shirt. "I was kind of wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with me?" His face flamed red across his nose.

Another kick a little harder that time landed right on my shin. By some miracle I managed to swallow the groan that under normal circumstances would've been considered a borderline yell, and instead diverted my eyes over to give Zoey a forced, saccharine smile. She sat there with a big grin on her face and mouthed, "Say yes."

Kieran stood there during our little exchange, tugging on his belt loops as he smiled sweetly. "Or we can do something else if you want," he offered.

He really was too handsome and polite for his own good. If he would've appeared in my life two months before, I would've e-mailed him the hour I got home from the aquarium, but all I could think about was Tristan. But suddenly his porn-escapades filtered through my brain in a slush. I truly doubted that Tristan had thought about me at all when he was off in Los Angeles.

"I'd love to," my mouth responded before my brain had completely comprehended my actions. "I'm free tonight."

Chapter 42

It was bad enough that I was nervous to begin with.

The text I got on my way to the movies to meet up with Kieran only served to make my hands sweat more than they had been before. I didn't think it was possible for them to be more clammy but obviously I was wrong.

Are you done with Zoey?

'Magellan' texted me. My stomach rolled in nerves.

He had texted me in the afternoon, asking if I wanted to come over when he was done with work, but Zoey had roped me off to go look at the bridesmaid dresses that Nikki and I had picked out two weekends before. I may have failed to mention that I had a date. I may also have been feeling like shit because a part of me felt like I was cheating on Tristan, which was truly an impossible circumstance. We aren't dating, was the mantra I kept on repeat in my head. It was the truth; we weren't anything more than friends despite his recent flirting. I was my own woman, I reminded myself.