String of Fate

Chapter Seventy Nine

"I'm sure it'll be fine." He told me as I grabbed my stuff and headed from the store.

"Kai, my dad says that I have to take you for ice cream as a thank you for helping out with the gang, so, do you want to go?" I asked, stopping beside him outside the shop and realising that he was actually quite tall. I didn't know how I hadn't noticed that before now.

"Sure, why not?" He answered, shrugging a little. He pushed off the wall and started walking a little. When I didn't follow, he turned and smiled at me. "Do I get to pick the place, too? I know a great ice cream parlour on the beach front."

"Personally, I'm a little surprised that you agreed." I admitted, coming to stand beside him. "Of course you can pick the place. Lead the way."

We walked side by side down to the beachfront and into a little ice cream parlour on a little side street. I bought the ice creams and expected Kai to lead me back outside, but he led me upstairs and through a large seating area to a balcony I hadn't noticed from the outside. We both sat down and I looked out at the view – it made out little beach look amazing.

"This place is so cool." I told him, looking around at the view and the mismatch of tables and chairs that made up the seating area. "I didn't even know that a place like this existed. How did you find somewhere like this?"

"My aunt owns it." He explained, his cheeks going a little red. I was a little surprised that he was sharing the information with me. He always seemed like a very private person. "She inherited it after my grandmother retired because my dad didn't want it. The recipes are all my great grandmother's."

"That's pretty cool. Do you think that your aunt will teach me how to make ice cream? Imagine how much money I'd save." I said, spooning a bit of ice cream into my mouth. He looked a little worried, like he didn't realise that I was joking. "You do know that I am joking, right?"

"Oh, thank god." He breathed, the relief pouring out of him. He even slouched down in the seat a little. "I just don't like talking to my family. I usually just hide away at the family functions."

"Me, too." I admitted. He looked at me, a little surprised. I looked down at the ice cream. "I'm quite lucky with my family. They're big enough that, at kid's parties, I can just hide in the corner away from them and just watch YouTube on my phone."

"I wish I could get away with that. I always end up being the one that has to hang out with the kids at birthday parties." He responded, leaning back in his chair and eating a scoop of ice cream. "It's actually horrific."

"I'm sure it's not that bad." I laughed.

"Oh, you think so?" He asked, laughing, too. "Why don't you come with me Saturday to my cousin's and let me know then?"

We both seemed to stop for a moment as we registered what he had just said. Then, I couldn't help but smile. "Alright, then. If you're sure that's okay with your family?"

"It'll be fine. You can see how much of a nightmare they all are then." Kai told me.

"I'm just going to loiter around the snack table and it will be fine." I replied, eating more ice cream. "Just tell me where to meet you and when."

On Saturday, I probably had a harder time picking what to wear than I should have. I was only going to a kid's birthday party after all. I should not be nervous. Then again, I was going to be standing in a room full of strangers with one person who I didn't even know that well. So, it was going to be a bit nerve-wracking. Sophie spent a lot of the time on Skype helping me to calm down and giving me suggestions on outfits to wear. In the end, we decided on my black slightly scuffed skinny jeans, my converse trainers, and a blue vest top with glitter on the bottom hem. I grabbed the present from the desk, ended the call with Sophie, and headed out to meet Kai at the shop.