The two women made their way into the bar, it was packed with people, there were several TV’s mounted on the wall and sounds of billiard balls hitting against each other could be heard. There was the lingering scent of smoke and food in the air, both tempting and disgusting at the same time.

The ladies found a seat by the bar and sat, Kayla ordered a drink, non-alcoholic since she had to drive and Chanile got a drink and an order of wings. Kayla sighed, staring down into her glass, feeling slightly depressed.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You should be happy, you final show was great, you had a few people there to see it, what’s wrong?” Chanile asked.

She nodded, “I know, I just…I wanted…”

Chanile sighed and nodded.

“I feel like I’m in this relationship alone, all the time. I’m practically single, seriously,” Kayla groaned, sipping at her Coke.

“Maybe you need to sit down and talk to him, I mean really talk. Sadly that does mean getting him in the same place with you or on the phone for an extended period of time, which is the initial problem,” Chanile said, taking a long sip of her drink.

Kayla nodded, rubbing at her head; it was always the problem where he was concerned. “I’m beginning to think I need to schedule an appointment,” she chuckled harshly.

“Do it,” Chanile said, her lips as a steaming plate of wings with a side of blu cheese dressing was placed in front of her.

Kayla looked over at her, “What?”

“Make an appointment, show him exactly what you need to do to get any attention from him that doesn’t involve . Don’t look at me like that, you know it’s true. Maybe then he’ll get the point,” Chanile finished before picking up a wing and taking a bite, groaning loudly.

She stared off, could she really do that? It almost made sense and it did seem to be the only way she’d be able to see him.

“I don’t want to have to do that; he should be the one to make time.”

“Right,” Chanile said between bites, at her fingers. “But he’s not unless it’s convenient for him, so that leaves you.”

Kayla shook her head, she didn’t want to think about it anymore and she knew Chanile didn’t like to talk about Terrance, it just made her mad.

“So how was work?” She asked her suddenly.

Chanile looked at her, raising an eyebrow before picking up another wing, “It was ok, same ole. I’m at the end of one major project and my boss is already hinting at another, “Chanile explained, dragging a wing through the blu cheese until it was completely covered before taking a large bite.

Chanile was a computer animator, licensed architect as well as an artist. She had talent oozing out her ears, but didn’t seem to realize, Kayla envied her talent.

“That’s good though right? Means he trusts you,” she reasoned, taking another drink of her coke.

Chanile shrugged, “I guess,” she at her lips, “But it’d be nice to have a little break with something smaller, those huge projects are so time consuming.”

“Well you’re still working on your drawing right?”

She nodded, “Actually, I got an offer to work on a line of American manga a few days ago,” she announced, starting in on another wing.

“Whoa really? That’s great! You’re gonna do it right?”

Chanile shrugged, “I dunno, I’m thinking about it, I’ve got so much on my plate right now I didn’t want to commit if I can’t devote the proper time to it.”

Kayla nodded, “I know but think about it, it’s a great opportunity for you and I know you can do it,” she smiled.

Chanile grinned, “Thanks, I will. So how are things going with that guy? What’s his name? Ken Jong?”

Kayla chuckled, “Kyu Jong and things are ok. He had his first day at Sony today; I’m hoping things went well for him.”

“Oh right, you said he’s here on a work exchange right?”

“That’s right.”

“At Sony huh? Now I’m really intrigued. So…is he cute? You know, attractive?” Chanile asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kayla blinked; he hadn’t even really thought of that, not really, she shrugged.

“Wait, what’s that mean?”

“I dunno, I never really thought of it.”

“Please, that’s a lie and you know it,” Chanile groaned, rolling her eyes before devouring another wing and then sipping at her drink.

“It’s true; the first thing I noticed was his eyes.”

Chanile gave her a look.

“It’s true!”

Chanile continued to stare at her, raising an eyebrow again.

“Seriously.”

“Ok then, think about it now, describe him to me and I’ll decide,” She reasoned.

“Chanile c’mon, I’m not doing that.”

“Why not? I just want to know what he looks like since I haven’t met him yet. C’mon, spill,” she said, at her fingers again.

Kayla sighed and looked off, picturing him in her mind, “Well…he’s pretty tall, he’s got dark hair and brown eyes,” she rattled off, looking at Chanile.

Chanile frowned, “Stop being funny, go on.”

She rolled her eyes, clearing , “He’s got a round face, beautiful warm, almond shaped brown eyes. Nice full lips and he gives off this feeling of gentleness, calmness. He smiles and…it’s like…being out in the sun, he’s…” she stopped and realized she’d closed her eyes. Slowly she opened them, looking down at the table. “He’s comforting, makes you feel at ease, and makes me want to…to…” she looked up at Chanile who was watching her, a wing half way to .

“Makes you want to what Kayla?”

Kayla looked away, “I dunno, he just makes me want things you know?”

Chanile continued to watch her.

“I mean, I look at him, at how he is and I think there are actually guys like him still out there? I can’t help but think of Terrance and how he is,” Kayla said softly.

Chanile slowly took a bite of her wing before setting it down, not saying anything.

“I…Chanile I…” she bit her lip and looked over up at her, “What if…”

Chanile went still, “What if…what?”

Kayla shook her head, “Nothing, forget it.”

“Kayla…”

“No it’s cool, sorry about that. There you go, does that answer your question?”

Chanile stared at her before reaching out to cover her hand with hers, “Yes, it tells me exactly what I needed to know.”

~~~

Kyu Jong made his way into his townhouse, pulling his boots off and sliding his feet into his waiting slippers then headed over to the closet to put his coat away.

It’d been a long and exciting day, he’d met what felt like a ton of people whose names he couldn’t remember and seemed so odd to him. Everyone seemed so friendly, it’d actually been fun along with scary at the same time. He sighed, contracts and work schedules had been started, tomorrow he would start to learn the American culture a bit, listen to some music to start coming up with a style he wanted to go for, he looked forward to it.

He headed into the kitchen and whipped up a batch of rice cakes and then made a small portion of ddobokki and sat to the table to eat. It felt like things were finally on their way, he wanted to enjoy it and get as much out of it as he could before he went back home next year.

After eating, he headed into his room, gathering up a change of clothes and then taking a quick shower. Fifteen minutes later, he was out; sitting on the couch, phone in hand. Dialing, he waited the few seconds while the call connected, smiling when someone picked up.

“Hello?”

“Omma, hello!”

“Kyu Jong, hello!” His Mom cried happily. “How are you? How’s everyone treating you? Are you eating?”

Kyu Jong smiled, “I’m fine, everything is ok, everyone is treating me very well, and they’re very nice. I just got finished eating, I’m calling to see how you and abeoji are?”

“We’re good, missing you, hoping you’re well,” his mother said.

“How’s my dongsaeng?”

“She’s good she’s out right now, I know she wanted to try to get in touch with you, so she may be calling.”

“Ok, I’ll look forward to it.”

“How is everything at Sony going? Your appa and I are so worried for you,” she sighed.

“Please try not to worry, I’m ok. I’m making friends and today was my first day and it went well, I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Kyu Jong said consolingly

He went on to talk to his mother and then father for another half hour before hanging up. He missed them like always, but he knew they were well as well as his sister so that made it a bit easier.

Standing, he headed into his bedroom, he would take some time to review the paperwork he’d gotten before heading to bed, he had another busy day ahead of him tomorrow.

~~~

A Few Days Later…

Kayla flipped through the stations, it was a lazy Saturday and she had nothing to do, which was rare for her. She had to at some point; look into signing up for the next round of acting classes.

Terrance was supposed to come by at anytime and while she was looking forward to it, part of her couldn’t help but worry that something was going to come up. He hadn’t cancelled…yet, but somehow she was expecting it. He did tell her he couldn’t stay long, but that he could at least visit, she wasn’t thrilled he wouldn’t be staying for long, but she was glad he was able to come by at all.

She heard a faint rumbling upstairs and her thoughts drifted to Kyu Jong. She hadn’t seen him since Monday, but on rare occasions she’d hear him moving around or sometimes usually early morning, she’d hear him leave out. Shane said he’d been busy getting acclimated at the company, but he was always on time and seemed to easily adapt to the early schedule. Kayla remembered him saying he was used to a busy schedule from home, it looked like that was a help to him now. Part of her wondered how he was, she had hoped she’d run into him, but it hadn’t happened, he was gone before her and came in late at night. Shane had also stated that he often asked about her and how she was doing, that made her uncommonly happy.

Just then there was a knock at the door and she made her way over to open it to find Terrance.

“Hey hon,” Terrance smiled, coming in and pulling her into his arms, giving her a tight squeeze.

Kayla pushed the door closed, wrapping her arms around him, holding him tightly, breathing in his familiar scent.

“Ahh, I’ve missed you,” he said softly.

She hugged him tighter; it was so great to hear him say that.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Terrance pulled away, much to her disappointment.

“It’s so great to see you,” he smiled; lean in to kiss her deeply before pulling away again. “How are you? How are things going?” He asked, running a hand through her hair gently.

“Better now that you’re here,” she said softly, not realizing just how much she’d missed him.

Terrance smiled softly, “Aww honey,” he leaned in kissing her again, slowly leading her to the couch.

They sat and rested back and Kayla rested her head on his shoulder.

“How’s work going?” She asked, knowing it was the last thing she wanted to talk about, but that it was the right thing to do.

“Busy, so much going on. It’s the new year so a lot of people are still on vacation, so we’re at one of our peaks of the year. By the end of the month we should start to slow down so we can start to hang out more often,” he explained.

“That’d be great,” Kayla smiled.

Terrance kissed her temple, “I know it’s been rough, but we’re gonna make it through and be even stronger than we are now.”

She remained quiet; she didn’t feel they were that strong to be honest.

“Actually…” she started, but was interrupted by another faint rumbling from upstairs.

Terrance looked up, “Someone up there?”

“Kyu Jong is there, must be moving furniture around or something, he’s usually uncommonly quiet.”

“Wait, who? Who’s that?”  Terrance asked, looking down at her.

“Oh, Kyu Jong Kim, he’s going to be living here with us for a year. He’s doing a work study; he’s originally from South Korea.”

“A random stranger staying here?” Terrance frowned.

“He’s not random, he’s with Sony, Shane is helping him out and he’s a nice guy. I’ve hung out with him a few times and he even came to my opening night performance,” Kayla said, though she didn’t know why she’d mentioned that last part.

Terrance blinked, “He did?”

“Yeah, I’ve been helping him to get settled and all, he’s very polite.”

Terrance looked up at the ceiling, an indescribable expression on his face. He sighed heavily and looked back down at her, “I should’ve been there,” he said suddenly.

Kayla said nothing, what could she say? She was tired of making excuses to everyone, but especially to herself.

“I’ll try harder, I promise, I just…”

He was interrupted when his phone went off. Kayla sighed when he pulled his phone out, unlocking the screen; he was silent as he scrolled through it.

“Damn babe, I gotta go, my mom’s looking for me. Some work related things need to be done. I wish I could’ve stayed longer,” he sighed.

He could, he could tell his mom no, that he was busy, but he would never do that.

“Me too,” was all she said.

Terrance stood, pulling her up against him, “I’ll text you as soon as I have a free moment ok?”

She nodded, too disappointed to say anything. Terrance pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Kayla closed her eyes, not wanting to let go, just then his phone went off again and he reluctantly pulled away.

“Gotta go, I’ll talk to you soon,” he said, giving her a quick peck before turning and heading to the door, his phone already against his ear as he made his way out.

Kayla stood in the once again empty room, staring at the door he’d just left out of, her frustration level was high and she was hurt.

Once again she was ditched for his mother.

Turning, she headed to the kitchen, she started looking through cupboards, slamming them shut hard. She didn’t know what she was looking for; she just knew it felt good to slam something. She’d rather be angry than cry and she was dangerously close to doing just that. Kayla slammed another door shut then stopped, bracing her hands on the sink. She wouldn’t cry, she refused to cry. This was nothing new, she should be used to it by now and yet, it hurt, it really hurt.

Tears welled up against her will, Kayla tried hard to force them back, but she couldn’t seem to. Just then there was a knock at the door, quickly she wiped at her eyes and hurried into the living room. She wiped at her eyes again before swinging the door open, her eyes widening.

“K, how nice to see you.”

Kyu Jong bowed, “Hello Kayla, nice to see you too.”

“Come on in,” she smiled.

“Thank you, I won’t be long,” he said softly, coming inside.

Kayla shut the door and looked at him.

“I was just wondering if you have a…are you ok Kayla?” He asked suddenly.

She cleared , “Yeah, I’m good. If I have a what?”

Kyu Jong continued to stare at her for a moment before speaking again, “A hammer. I didn’t think to get one.”

“Sure, Shane gets all those things when he thinks he’s going to “fix” things around the house,” she said, rolling her eyes before turning to head out and get it from the hall closet.

She came back a few minutes later and handed it to him and he bowed again.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, take as long as you need. Everything ok up there?”

“Ne, just getting some things set up, some of my furniture started coming today and I’m expecting more, so I’ve been moving some things around. I hope I haven’t been making too much noise.”

She shook her head, “No it’s fine. I rarely hear you anyway, you’re so quiet.”

He smiled and then tilted his head to the side, “Would you like to come up? I could use some company, it has been awhile since I’ve seen you and I’d like to catch up if you have some spare time.”

Kayla smiled a bit. “I dunno…”

Kyu Jong continued to watch her, but said nothing.

“Well…ok, sure.”

He smiled, “Come, we can have lunch together.”

She didn’t feel much like socializing, she was too upset, too angry. Grabbing her keys, pulling on her boots, they headed out and she followed him up and inside. She took her boots off and Kyu Jong motioned for her to use the other pair of slippers that were waiting. She slipped them on and made her way in. Kyu Jong set the hammer down on the table and turned to look at her, giving her a gentle smile.

“I will prepare something delicious for us, please sit.”

“You really don’t have to do all that K, honestly I’m really not…”

He shook his head, “Ani, it’s not a problem, have a seat.”

Sighing, she walked over and sat on the couch. The room was only slightly messy, but it was apparent he’d done some moving around. She slumped back; she shouldn’t have agreed to this, it was a bad idea. She was emotional and wanted to be held, but Terrance was gone and there was no one to hold her. Kayla rubbed at her forehead, she was an affectionate person by nature, always had been. In the past she had Terrance, he’d loved to hug her, be playful. Since everything happened, he wasn’t able to much anymore. Just now when he’d held her, it’d been like old times, she didn’t realize how starved for it she was. Now she wanted more and couldn’t have it, it just made her madder.

She took a calming breath, trying to relax.

~~~

Kyu Jong chanced a glance over at her and frowned. Her agitation was palpable, something had happened before he came down to upset her greatly. He’d been on his way down when he’d seen someone come out of her townhouse. He had a phone to his ear; he’d gotten into an expensive looking car and driven off. Kyu Jong hadn’t gotten a good look at the person’s face, but he had a good idea of who it was. Whatever had happened had made her not only hurt, but angry. He’d stood outside and had heard what had sounded like doors that he assumed to be cupboards slamming.

He continued to stir the pot, checking on the pan next to it. He hadn’t planned on inviting her up, but when he’d seen her, he knew there was no way he could leave her alone. It’d been true though, it had been a few days since they’d last seen each other, he wondered how she was doing and had often inquired about her to Shane. He’d been planning to set aside some time to go down and see her and catch up and figured this was as good of a time as any.

Kyu Jong had been pretty busy, doing a lot of research, he’d made several new friends and had been hanging out with them after work, it’d been great to be around people again and to start making connections.

Still, his thoughts would wander to Kayla and he’d wonder how she was. Kyu Jong got down two small plates and two bowls. He prepared the food and set the table.

“Everything is ready if you want to come over,” he called out.

Kyu Jong watched as she stood and made her way over, she looked down at the food, a broad smile spreading over her lips.

“Grilled cheese sandwiches.”

“Ne, someone I met at Sony told me about them, he made them for me and I loved it, very good.”

Kayla chuckled, “And what’s this?” She asked, pointing to the bowl.

“It is rice cake soup, I had some left from when I made it, and I hope you’ll like it.”

She smiled and sat, “I’m sure I will.”

Kyu Jong sat across from her, said his saying and started to eat, taking a bite of his sandwich, sighing as the gooey cheese filled his mouth followed by the saltiness of the melted butter, he’d never had anything like it at home. He at his lips and looked over at Kayla who took a spoonful of soup and nodded.

“Ooo, that’s delicious.”

He smiled, “Good, I am glad you like it.”

“I do, you did well.”

He bowed his head, “Thank you.”

“What are those white log things?”

“Those are the rice cakes.”

She frowned, “Rice cakes? Hmm, the ones I’m used to are round and crunchy. This is made of rice?”

“Yes, rice flour, water salt and a little sesame oil.”

Kayla scooped one up with her spoon and put it in , her eyes lit up, “It’s chewy! Oh I love the texture, I can’t believe it’s rice,” she said, her lips.

Kyu Jong chuckled, “Yes, they can be used in a lot of things or eaten just as they are with a little honey. We have something called ddobukki, spicy rice cakes; they are very popular back home.”

“Sounds good.”

“I will make some for you sometime.”

“Really? Wow thanks, I can’t wait. So where’d you get these from?”

“I made them.”

“You did? Seriously?”

“Ne, my omma, mom, showed me how, they’re very easy to make.”

Kayla shook her head, “You cook, amazing.”

“Ani, I don’t really, I can only do a few things.”

“Well this is good, so is the sandwich, makes me think of my dad. When I was little, in kindergarten, he’d make me a Pb&j sandwich to have when I got home with a cup of milk. He’d always put too much jelly so it’d ooze out onto the plate, so much so I’d barely have any left on the sandwich at the end,” she said softly, a sad smile on her lips as she picked at the sandwich.

Kyu Jong watched her steadily, she looked so sad; somehow like the little girl she once was, remembering.

“He was nice like that when I was little, but as I got older, it changed.”

He took another bite of his sandwich then a spoonful of soup, not saying anything.

“I suppose that’s natural, but it should feel so bad, so…” she looked up at him, “Sorry, you don’t want to hear this.”

He nodded, “Yes, I do. Finish what you were saying.”

She was clearly startled, he’d never encouraged her to go on before, but he felt he needed to keep her talking.

“Oh…ok. I just think it’s supposed to change, but not to the point where it’s like you can’t even talk to him. I’m…he…” she stopped, sighing, taking another bite of her sandwich.

Kyu Jong chewed slowly, taking another sip of his soup before responding, “I take it you have some issues with your dad? Your brother told me it was a sore subject,” he said carefully.

Kayla snorted, “Sore isn’t strong enough,” she took another sip of her soup, “He just…he doesn’t approve of my lifestyle choices. He wanted something totally different for me, the career, the school of his choosing, not my own. I lived my life from the time I was young trying to make him happy, but nothing was ever good enough. It still isn’t. As I got older it got worse. He pushed harder and I equally pushed back against what he wanted, so we rarely agreed on anything,” she said.

The words seemed to rush from her, as if she was afraid he’d stop her, but Kyu Jong had no intention of doing so.

“I got my job as a medical receptionist and he was ok with that because it was in the medical field, he wanted me to be a surgeon. So while I’m a disappointment, I’m not as big of one as I used to be. But he says things sometimes, to my friends or his, it’s very cruel. I know he wants what’s best, but on his terms only,” she said shakily.

Kyu Jong frowned, he knew what it was to like to not have your parents approve of what you did, he’d had the same thing happen to him. He’d been willing to do what his parents wanted, had that last audition not worked out. Luckily for him it had and once he’d established himself, his parents were behind him completely, though they worried about how hard it’d be, but it was in him, it was what he had to do to be truly happy.

She looked at him and gave him a sad smile, “Sometimes I wonder what happened to the dad who made me those sandwiches. I rarely see him anymore; he doesn’t really want to have anything to do with me. He’ll come to visit Shane but will purposely avoid me,” she shook her head, “Isn’t it silly? Inside I’m still just that same little girl who wants that Pb&j sandwich, the same little girl who wants her dad’s approval,” she looked back down at her plate, staring blankly at the small piece of sandwich that remained.

He frowned deeper, he felt something in him go out to her, she looked so dejected, as if she long for something or someone to take the pain away. Before he could stop himself, he reached out, covering her hand that rested on the table, with his own. She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes were wet and he gave her a gentle smile.

“Despite how it feels, he does care and love you, he is your father, it is his way of showing it. It ma not be the best way to do so, but it is probably the only way he knows how to. I believe there will come a time when he will realize, I do jagi. Do not give up hope and do not stop doing what you love. If you are doing what you’re meant to do, it will work out,” he said quietly.

He saw her eyes well up more, her breathing becoming shallow.

“Thank you,” she said softly, turning her hand under his so they were actually holding hands.

He gave her another soft smile and her hand a small squeeze.

There was a knock at the door.

“Ahh, excuse me,” he said, carefully removing his hand from hers as he stood and made his way to the door.

~~~

Kayla stared down at her hand; it was still warm from his gentle touch, her heart still pounded frantically. She hadn’t planned to tell him all that, but once she’d started, she hadn’t been able to stop. He’d listened, actually listened and he even seemed to understand, knew exactly what she’d needed. She looked over at him as he let the furniture guys in. He was still in a lot of ways a mystery to her. He looked over at her then smiled and miraculously she found herself smiling back.

~~~

Kyu Jong signed the paperwork and bowed to the man who appeared startled; he turned and motioned to a few other men who started bringing in more boxes and few large pieces of furniture. When they finished, he shut the door and made his way back over to the table to sit. He saw she’d finished her sandwich and was just about done with her soup. He continued to eat and he could sense she felt slightly uncomfortable, more than likely due to the previous talk. Kyu Jong didn’t want her to be, he wanted to her to know he didn’t judge her, just wanted to learn as much about her as possible.

“Thank you K, that was delicious,” she said softly.

He nodded, “Thank you, I’m happy that you liked it. I know it wasn’t much.”

“No no, it was great, just right. You make a mean grilled cheese,” she chuckled.

He blinked, “How can you tell it was mean? Did it taste odd?”

Kayla giggled, “I just mean it was really good, it’s another figure of speech.”

“Ahh I see, I’ll remember that,” he said, smiling.

She grinned, “Well then, you must let me clean up since you made lunch.”

“Ani, I will do it.”

“No way, you have to get started with your furniture, go ahead, I’ll do this,” she insisted.

Kyu Jong went to protest, but she wouldn’t allow him, shooing him from the kitchen while she gathered the dishes up and started cleaning.

Kyu Jong shook his head in amusement and started in on one of the boxes, unloading it. A few minutes later Kayla made her way into the room with him, grabbing some of the pieces that came with the furniture and started unwrapping them.

“You don’t have to do that,” he frowned.

“I told you when you stuff comes in that I’d help you, so I’m going to.”

He chuckled and they worked through most of the afternoon, stopping occasionally to rest before going back to it. By early evening they were just about done, just a few things still needed to be moved around.

“Ok over…a little more…good, right there, it’s even.”

Kyu Jong nodded, pushing the tack into the wall then pulling the end down and pinning that too. He’d purchased a few print posters of some of his favorite paintings and some art pieces he’d found and was finally putting them up now that the rest of his furniture had come. He grabbed at a vase and set it on one of the small end tables then got the little flower pot he’d brought from home that moved with solar power that he loved, and set it in the window.

He turned to look at Kayla who was dusting his furniture meticulously. She’d worked hard, as if she was trying to distract herself from something. She never complained, but offered suggestions and found ways to do things to make the whole process smoother. Kyu Jong never experienced anything like it before, most women he knew weren’t into this kind of thing, but Kayla had been more than willing.

She turned to look at him and smiled, “Ok dusting is all done. The place looks great K, it really does, you have great taste.”

“Thank you,” he smiled.

“Me and Shane should hire you to redecorate our place,” she winked.

Kyu Jong chuckled, “I’m not that good.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.”

He could feel himself blushing.

“So if you’re all set, why don’t you come down and I’ll supply dinner this time, that is if you have nothing planned for tonight,” she offered.

“Really? I don’t have anything planned and I’d like to come down. I would like to shower first and change, how about I meet you in forty-five minutes?”

She nodded, “Sounds good, I’ll do the same then. See you soon!” She smiled, as she took the slippers off, put her boots back on and headed out.

Kyu Jong turned and headed into the kitchen to get a quick drink and stopped. The sink was spotless, dishes were all put away, and she’d actually taken the time to find where everything went. It looked as if she’d scrubbed everything down, reminded him of how his mom would’ve done it. They’d been so busy, he’d never even bothered with looking at the kitchen, he hadn’t expected her to do all this. Deciding he didn’t want to ruin the cleanliness, he made up his mind to get a drink from the bathroom. Turning he walked out the kitchen and headed into his bedroom.

~~~

Kayla made her way into the townhouse, she could tell Shane had come and gone, the faint scent of his cologne still lingered in the air. She hadn’t seen him all day, she’d been so busy helping Kyu Jong she never even thought to stop down and see him.

She’d enjoyed her time with Kyu Jong, was glad it wasn’t ending just yet. Helping him to get everything settled had been great, it’d been a great distraction and just being in his presence seemed to calm and relax her somehow, which she didn’t think possible in the state she’d been in at the time. She knew she couldn’t keep avoiding everything, but she just wasn’t ready to deal with it all, at least not today.

Sighing, she headed over to her room, grabbing a change of clothes. Maybe she needed to do like Chanile said and sit down and talk to him, really talk. It was easier said than done where Terrance was concerned though. If he really loved her he’d make time wouldn’t he? If he knew how important it was, he’d find a way.

Slumping down on her bed frowning, she wanted to think he would, but she didn’t know. Sighing again, she stood and made her way to the bathroom.

_____________________________________________________________________

a/n: Hey all! Welcome back for another chapter! Interesting things going on wouldn't you say? More of Kayla and Terrance's relationship is revealed and we learn a bit more about her relationship with her Dad, kind of depressing right? I will admit, the whole sandwich thing is true, it is the story of me and my Dad. His PB&J sandwiches are legandary, whenever I have a PB&J and the jelly falls out, I think of him. That said, some of the other things Kayla goes through is also true to life with my Dad as well, it's very thereputic for me. Anyway, Kyu Jong as also finally started to become privy to those personal bits of her life, she's opening a bit and he makes it so easy for her to do so, how can she not? I also think the conversation between Kayla and Chanile in the beginning was very telling, Chanile is shaping up to be Kayla's other voice of reason, as far as Kyu Jong is concerned at least, I enjoy the interaction with the two. The next chapter things start to break down more and Kayla finds herself in quite the situation, I'm anxious for you all to read it. Welcome to my new subscribers, I hope to hear from you as I'd love to know what you're thinking. As you may have noticed, I also got a banner made for the story, it turned out well I think, I really love it. Please stop by the shop and take a look around and request the next time there's openings. The link and banner are in the foreward. Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you soon!

MO