Back to December Deviation

"But it was really pretty," Meredith said quietly, still looking at the painting, her lower lip jutting out a little bit, until she bit it. Carefully, she took off his jacket and handed it to him, then nodded once. "That's nice," About the date thing, she meant "I really need to go now."

She turned, if a little stiffly, and started towards the door. Tears edged towards escaping from her eyes as she left, feeling embarrassed and clumsy and idiotic. He probably really liked that painting, and was just being nice. Because from a day or two of knowing him, that seemed to be how Kale worked.

Kale sighed and watched her go feeling slightly torn. "Meredith! Meredith, wait!" Kale called as he followed after her, catching her by the hand in the hall. He draped his jacket back over her shoulders and watched her for a long moment. "Do you like me?"

"What?" Meredith said, her brow furrowing, as the tears held themselves back a little longer. Why was his jacket back on her? Why was he holding her hand? "Of-of course I like you...I don't have any reason not to...."

She didn't really get his question, if he meant as more than friends. She was answering it, like if he meant as a person. Meredith didn't have it in her not to like anyone as a person, really.

Kale sighed and took her other hand in his. "I mean, do you like me as more than a friend?" he asked, feeling slightly awkward himself. But, then again, he was all for bluntness. It was who he was and he didn't like to beat around the bush. He liked her. He knew he liked her. Now the question was, did she like him back?

Meredith slid her hands out of his, giving him a thinking look. "I-I don't know. I've only known you around a day. I hardly know you. I'm...not sure."

Kale watched her for a long moment then gave a small nod. Fair enough. "Then will you go out with me again?" he asked, finding himself slightly hopeful.

Meredith smiled slightly, hopeful as well. "If you want me to...sure." She nodded, having to control herself from getting too excited.

Kale felt a lopsided smile find its way to his lips as he gave a small nod. "I'd love for you to," he said. "Want me to take you home so you don't have to walk?" He asked, holding out his hand to her. He wouldn't make her hold his hand, but he wasn't going to let her walk home.

Meredith hesitated, but then nodded. She took his hand with a smile. "Yes, please."

Kale smiled and gave a small nod. "Here, let me fix this real quick." He let go of her hand for a split second and ran back to the apartment where he kept his paintings and turned off all the lights and locked the door. He then went back to her and slipped his hand into hers and walked with her to the elevator. When they hit the ground floor, he helped her put the jacket back on, knowing it would be pretty cold outside. Which, it was.

When they reached the truck he helped her in, cranking up the heater which quickly flooded the truck with a burst of cold air, soon followed by hot air. With his window cracked slightly so the windows wouldn't fog up he pulled away from the curb and started down the street. "Where do you live?"

"1237 Apple Vale Drive," Meredith recited in a rhythm, as most people do their addresses. She glanced over at him, many things running through her head. But at least she wasn't thinking he would be a crazy stalker this time, or anything like that. She was just thinking about their conversation earlier.

Kale nodded with a smile, putting his arm on the back of the seat, making it so she could sit closer if she wanted to. He didn't think she would, but it was open for her if she wanted to. He spent the rest of the ride in silence. When he pulled up to the house, he parked and went around to her side, helping her out before walking her to the door.

Meredith didn't move closer, only because she wasn't very good with social cues. Or else she probably would have. When he helped her out, she mumbled a thank you, and let him walk her to the door. She hesitated there, studying his face for a moment, before quickly leaning forward and pecking his cheek. "Thanks for driving me home."

Before he could react, she slid inside the door and closed it behind her, smiling to herself.

Kale stood there for a moment, a large grin planted on his face. He finally found the gumption to move, the grin still on his face as he floated on Cloud 9 back to his truck. This just got better and better.

The next morning Kale dragged his butt out of bed and into some clothes before tossing some coffee grinds in the coffee maker. He glanced at the couch, Tanner totally passed out with a beer beside him. Kale rolled his eyes and walked out the door, quickly making it to work one minute before he needed to be there.

Meredith was stacking things on shelves when Kale walked in, and turned at the tinkle of the bell that sounded whenever the door opened or closed. She glanced at the clock mounted on the wall, and she her head to herself, a faint smile on her lips.

"Hey Kale," She called from the counter, turning back to the shelve to continue unpacking and stacking. She wondered how things would be today at work -- his first day of work, she realized. At least he was on time.

Kale smiled as he walked over to her. "Hey," he said, punching in. "What do you want me to start on first, boss?" He asked, not letting work and his personal life clash. It was a bad thing to do in his eye, letting the two touch. But at the same time, he couldn't help the goofy smile he wore each time he saw her.

Meredith was the same way. She would try not to think of last night when they worked together today. She pointed to a pile of big boxes at the back of the store. "Shelve those, please. They're labeled."

Kale gave a small nod and went over to the boxes, carrying them out and shelving them. The silence began to get to him, so he whistled a light tune, trying to lighten the mood inside the shop. It seemed to be a slow day so far but he hoped it would pick up as soon as the morning had fully set in.

Meredith didn't really mind the silence, if she even noticed it. She was used to working alone, so Kale being quiet didn't bother her. The whistling didn't really bother her, either, though.

She finished up what she was shelving, then went to the counter and waited for a customer. One came in soon, though they just wandered about the store. She watched them from the corner of her eye, having nothing better to do, but not wanting to stare.

Kale continued to go about shelving, taking time to stop and talk to the customer. She was a nice girl, but her intelligence seemed to be lacking. She used words like "fantazy" and...lots of "ee" words. It was rather annoying. But, Kale endured the long, drawn out conversation, ignoring the girl's attempts to hit on him. Since when had "can I help you find something?" turned into a dating service?

Meredith watched Kale and the customer in amusement. She wasn't the type to get jealous, not really. She was more the type that was used to stepping back if someone was interested in the person she was. And right now, that was what was happening. She busied herself with papers on the counter, stacking and unstacking them, until the corners lined up and they lay flat against each other.

Kale finally found what the girl had been looking for after receiving a the girl's whole back story. He gave a small nod, his fake smile still in play until she left to go to the counter to pay. His face fell into a scowl almost and he went back to unpacking boxes, determined to make sure to not help the girls that came in anymore. That was more than he could take.

Meredith stifled a giggle as she rung the girl up, the girl who was not nearly as talkative now that there wasn't a boy involved. The girl kept chancing glances at Kale, and seemed to be having quite a bit of 'trouble' getting her money out of her purse. Meredith rolled her eyes when she finally found it, obviously having been stalling in the hopes of catching Kale's eye again.

"Have a nice day," Meredith called as the bell tinkled and the girl left. She glanced over at Kale and spotted the scowl right away. She smirked. "Not quite your type, I take it."

"Her intelligence was lacking...immensely," Kale grumbled, stuffing things on the shelf. "And she's forward, and she's just....odd. Besides, I have someone else in mind," he said casually as he took the empty box to the back room. He smirked as soon as he was out of sight, wondering if that would get her mind turning as to who he was thinking of.

Meredith mumbled something about irony to herself, as Kale was forward himself. She disregarded what he planted to get her mind turning, though. In fact, the words didn't even register with her. She knew he had his eye on her.

Meredith hummed to herself as she waited for another customer to show up.