“I don’t either.” Her lips turned down. “I have a friend, but she lives a long way away and I never get to see her.”
“I’m sorry, baby. That must be hard.”
Aleena shrugged. “It is. She’s the only friend I’ve had who understood me and liked me just the way I am.”
“How’s that?”
She looked away for a moment to try to find the words she needed. “I don’t like the way women act or how they’re treated. It sometimes confuses and scares me the way men handle them, and the ones I know seem to like it.”
“I know some girls like that. They don’t like the things women their age are doing. They also like to have a man who protects them and helps them with everyday decisions.”
Her eyes widened. “You know of other girls like me?”
“Yes. The friends I told you about. A few of them have girlfriends that like a simpler life, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I like that about you.”
“You do? Why?” Her lack of sophistication usually irritated most people.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess I need to be in charge, and I want the woman to look to me for everything.”
“Tell me more.”
“I want a woman who won’t mind me picking out her clothes, telling me where she’s going all the time, deferring to me about everything. I want to be the center of her world, and I, in turn, want to take care of her. Make her safe and happy.”
“Wow,” she whispered and then looked out the large window in front of her.
“Is that all you’ve got to say?”
Aleena looked back at him. “I’m just shocked, I guess. I didn’t know there were men out there like you. I thought they all wanted s … sex and stimulating conversation.”
Kaleb chuckled. “Some guys are pretty shallow.”
They both fell quiet for a moment.
Kaleb stood with his empty glass. “I think you’re going to be fine now, so I should get out of your hair.”
Aleena scrambled up off the sofa, almost spilling the rest of her chocolate milk. She set the glass down on the table by the chair and walked behind him to the door.
She twisted her hands in her t-shirt. “So, um, thank you for bringing me home.”
She stiffened when Kaleb took a few steps back until he stood in front of her. He cupped her face in the palm of one hand.
“Would you have dinner with me tomorrow… I guess it’ll be Friday night?”
“Really?” Her stomach flipped, and her heart pounded furiously in her chest at the thought of seeing him again.
“Yes.”
She nodded. “I’d like that very much.”
He ran his thumb over her soft cheek. “How about I pick you up at work, and we go from there?”
“Shouldn’t I change after work?”
“No, just wear something comfortable to work tomorrow.”
Aleena nodded and smiled. “I can do that.”
“I should go.”