Thoughtful (Thoughtless, #1.5)(32)

When the weekend hit and she was once again on the couch in her pajamas, I knew I had to do something. The guys and I had plans for the day, but it wasn’t anything that she couldn’t join us for. In fact, she’d probably have a great time if she came out with us. All I had to do was get her off the damn couch. She was currently glued to its lumpy cushions, flipping through channel after channel like a person possessed.

When she let out yet another forlorn sigh, I stepped between her and the TV. “Come on,” I said, extending my hand.

She looked up at me, confused. “Huh?”

“You’re not spending yet another day moping on the couch. You’re coming with me.” I raised my hand a little higher, but she stubbornly refused to take it.

Frowning, she sulked. “And where are we going?”

I grinned, knowing that what I was about to say was going to make absolutely no sense to her. “Bumbershoot.”

Like I’d just spoken a foreign language, she slowly blinked her wide eyes as she tried to comprehend just what that could be. “Bumper-what?”

I laughed at the way she mispronounced the strange name, then flashed her a bright, reassuring smile. “Bumbershoot. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”

The mocking smile she gave me in response made her lips curve in an extraordinarily appealing way. I did my best to ignore how attractive it was, and how amazingly soft they probably were. “But that will ruin a perfectly good day of wallowing.”

“Exactly.” I grinned, flexing my hand so she’d finally take it.

Still being stubborn, she let out a dramatic sigh and stood on her own. “Fine.” She put on quite a show of being put out that I was making her go have fun, and I laughed at the display. She’d have to do better than stomping her feet and sticking out her lip to make me believe she was angry. Right now, she was just…cute.

When she came down later in shorts that exposed almost all of her thighs, and a tight tank top that hugged every curve like a second skin, I realized that she was something else. Sexy. Unbelievably sexy.

Collecting our things, we got in the car and made our way over to Pete’s, where the guys were meeting me so we could all ride together. Still curious where we were going, Kiera made a joke out of it when we pulled into the parking lot. “Bumbershoot is at Pete’s?”

I rolled my eyes as I pulled into my favorite stall. “No, the guys are at Pete’s.” Looking around, I could see they were already here. Evan’s vehicle was next to Griffin’s van.

Kiera seemed a little disappointed with my answer. “Oh, they’re coming too?”

I studied her face after I put the car in park. Why did she look so sad? I thought she liked the guys. Well, maybe not Griffin, but the others at least. Frowning, I told her, “Yeah…Is that okay?” The guys would be pissed if I told them we wanted to go alone, but if that was what Kiera wanted…I’d do that for her. Actually, I kind of liked the idea of it just being the two of us.

Kiera shook her head with a sigh, like she wasn’t sure why she’d said what she’d said. “No, of course that’s fine. I’m intruding on your day anyway.”

I suddenly had the strangest desire to touch her, to run my thumb along the faint blush of red coloring her cheek. “You’re not intruding on anything, Kiera,” I told her, my voice soft. Today will be better because you’re here to share it with me. Not wanting to freak her out with my overdramatic thoughts, I kept them to myself.

The guys came over once they saw my car. There were a few issues getting everyone settled, mainly because Griffin was being a pansy and didn’t want to take the middle seat. Thankfully, Kiera solved the problem, although her solution was to move to the backseat and be harassed by Griffin the entire trip, which I wasn’t too excited about. It made a weird sort of protectiveness surge through me at just the idea of his hands anywhere near her. We’d have to come up with a different seating arrangement on the way back, or I just might strangle him.

When we got there, everyone piled out of my car, careful to not hit the cars beside me. It was a well-known fact that damaging the Chevelle in any way resulted in an automatic free pass to walk your ass home. A fact that, to date, only Griffin had tested, when he’d once had the audacity to hurl in my backseat. I swear I could still smell the vomit sometimes.

I waited for Kiera by the door, holding my hand out so she’d take it. As she was about to find out, Bumbershoot was a music and art festival at the Seattle Center, and it was typically jam-packed with people. I didn’t want to take the risk of getting separated from her, especially since neither of us had cell phones. She’d just have to hold my hand today, an idea that made me happier than it really should have.

Evan gave me a look when he noticed our physical connection, but I ignored it. I had a valid reason for touching her. It was purely for her own safety. That was what I told myself, anyway.

Kiera’s eyes were wide when she looked around the Center. Her obvious joy and wonder made me appreciate it again. I came down here so often, I’d sort of lost respect for the area. It was refreshing to see it all again through Kiera’s eyes. It almost made the fact that we were constantly being bumped into by strangers unnoticeable.

There were booths everywhere, selling everything from T-shirts to cotton candy. Artists had their work on display; there were a lot of wild animal prints, landscape prints, and prints of Seattle. As we passed near the Space Needle, Kiera’s eyes traveled to the observation deck at the top. Leaning in so she could hear me, I told her, “We can go up later, if you want?”