Sweet As You

(20) Cade

The buzzing champagne in their systems rendered them incapable to drive. Kathie pulled at his tux jacket he'd draped over her when the night breeze started to grow crisp and biting. She climbed into the cab, he followed after her.

It was convenient for the both of them. Or at least that's what he tells himself. Because five minutes inside the cab, Kathie was friends with the driver and he was amazed at how easy it was for her to get smiles out of people.

And she made him felt included no matter how little his contribution to the conversation was. Her leg brushed up against his, her elbows constantly jabbing on his arm as she and the cab driver shared a laugh.

Her effortless charm resonated the entire ride, never once chipping away.

By the time they pulled up outside of their apartment building, Kathie was pretty much best friends with the driver.

Cade got out of the car and offered his hand to help her out. She happily took it and waved the cab goodbye with the lively wriggle of her fingers. "Bye, Joel."

She kept her hand in his all the way inside the lobby.

The concierge manning the desk didn't go unnoticed – not on Kathie's watch. The man she called "Leo" greeted them back, his eyes lingered on them as if the two of them together is more of a thousand-piece puzzle. Something tells him the concierge might be wondering what the hell was Kathie doing with a stuck-up turd like him.

You and me both, pal. He thought.

Kathie then lets go of his hand when they got to the elevator. She still had too much energy for someone who chatted all night. Cade would've run out of things to talk about within a minute or two.

"Cadey," she turns to him, a bright smile on her face.

He raises a questioning brow.

"Leo's wife just got home from the hospital with their newborn baby boy," she began.

"How did you know that?"

She shrugged. "He told me the other day. Anyway, I saw this fabulous sets of cotton mittens and socks yesterday and I bought them."

"Why?"

Kathie tucked her arms over her chest. "Because I thought it would be the nicest gift. I'm still indecisive about the gift wrap though. I can't choose if I should go with the powder blue with white stripes or forest green – the latter I'm not sure of. I don't want it to look like a Christmas gift."

Cade shakes his head smilingly. "Choose the blue then. Why do I get this feeling that you buy every staff's babies a pair of mittens?"

"I don't," she says with a mock affront. "I bought Luis' daughter a unicorn headband. My gifts have variations." She shot up a finger like he was a toddler.

A sound vibrated in his throat. Then he realized he was laughing. Full-on laughing.

The woman just made him laugh.

Kathie's mouth hung open. "It's true. I don't stick to just one gift."

"Okay." He cleared his throat, swallowing the remainder of his laugh. "Santa Claus will be out of his job if you keep giving gifts to these children."

The elevator pinged open to their floor. Kathie bounces off the lift, pivoting so she was walking backward, their conversation uninterrupted. "That's adorable, but I have to break it to you. Santa Claus doesn't exist physically. He exists in the hearts of people who loves you. The people who wants nothing more but to see you smile all year round."

Cade almost faltered in his step.

Kathie Jane, with her pearly white smile, the shower of brown waves on her shoulders and the sweetest heart, started to look like a pinup poster of an angel. And by far, the most beautiful one he's seen.

"I'll give my gift to Leo tomorrow. And the card is going to say it's from me and you," she enthused.

"I don't remember taking part in the making of the gift."

"You helped me pick out the wrapper. That's more than enough."

He chuckled. "How many gifts do you give out each year?"

She purses her lips as if in thought. "I stopped counting the day I had my tenth godchildren."

"Really? How many godchildren do you have?" He asks, genuinely amazed.

"Over twenty and counting." She grinned.

They came to her door first, and then she was silent. He gripped his key fob inside his pocket to avoid making inappropriate touches.

She stares up to him, motionless.

Cade doesn't know what to do. He had the stupid wedding romance to blame for making him feel like Kathie is off-limits. He doesn't even know what to make of it.

Cade almost flushed when he realized she thought he was just waiting for his tux jacket. She shrugged it off and handed it over with a small smile.

"Cadey," she whispers, her voice a delicate echo in the hall.

"Yeah?" He folds his jacket over his arm.

She turns to fully face him. "Things will get tolerable," she says like she was telling it to herself too. She looks down to her shoes.

"It will," he murmurs.

"Well, if it's any consolation, my mother is starting to pawn me off already. I'm not even entirely single yet."

Cade felt a slit on his ego. He was well aware that Kathie Jane Lewis is taken. It never bothered him before. But now she's suddenly off-limits and he's stupidly begrudging another man for what he has and he doesn't.

So fucking inconvenient.

"Good night," Cade murmurs and turns to his door without another glance. 

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P. S. If you're bored out of your mind and have sooo much time in your hands, you can head over to my profile Aileedales and click the book Heartstrings (Collection of short love stories I ever written). I just published the first short story called "Love We Found and Lost." Hope you like wartime love stories. ❤