Kyle’s smile widened as she joked about the daisy dukes but he chose not to respond directly, careful to avoid her thinking he was hitting on her. Still, though, it was so great to see the old Angie he once knew come to the surface. Maybe the stress from earlier that day had melted away and his old friend was back. Things were going better than he even hoped they would.<br/><br/>“Tech free it is,” he replied after she agreed to hang out with him by the fire. “And thank you for saying that – I know you mean it. I’m not worried about finding the right girl, frankly. A relationship will happen for me when it is supposed to. Right now this is what I need to be doing,” he explained as he raised his hands and gestured towards the historic room they were dining in. “This is what makes me happy – but who knows? Maybe I’ll get sick of all this and settle down somewhere. Anything’s possible.”<br/><br/>He nodded in agreement to her idea of sharing a couch. “I was hoping you felt that way. It would be kind of weird having you across the way. Although I promise you,” he added with one hand over his heart, “I will be on my best behavior.”<br/><br/>Even though he was kidding around and making fun of the potential awkwardness of the situation, still Kyle’s words came across as sincere. With that he stood and gathered their plates in order to clear the table.<br/><br/>“Coffee, or more wine? Water? Note I didn’t ask if you wanted coffee, tea, or…” he said with a smirk as he began to make his way to the kitchen.<br/><br/>A few minutes later after he had placed the dishes in the dishwasher Kyle returned with the beverage of her choice (or not) and a treat for the dog. After handing Angie her drink, he then gave Alex a moment of petting and ear scratching as she chewed up her biscuit. Once that was taken care of Kyle sat down next to Angie with his glass of wine in hand. While he didn’t sit right next to her, he was only about half a cushion away.<br/><br/>“So tell me,” he said, breaking into conversation again. “Speaking of settling down. If you were to settle somewhere with a family - anywhere - where would you?” he asked in a curious tone before noticing the fire was dying out.<br/><br/>As she replied he stood up to stoke the fire, throwing another log on and getting the flames back up again. Alex watched him with detached conern as he worked. The whole fire thing was new to her, since the last place they lived was an urban brownstone that didn’t have a wood fireplace.<br/><br/>Kyle petted Alex some more to comfort the animal before backing into the couch. When he sat down he instantly realized that he had accidentally sat right next to her on the couch. Suddenly in her personal space, he was about to apologize when something caused him to freeze. Up close for the first time since the truck, her incredible good looks were even more overwhelming than they were at the table. His left hand stumbled upon hers simply due to the proximity, but he didn’t take it away. Instead he gently passed his fingers over hers as he tried to think of what to say. The vino got him to say what he was thinking, as in that moment he realized that the regret that he might feel for not speaking up would be worse than the pain that might come from being brushed off. He felt like he had to say something or else his heart might explode. This was the moment, it was now or never!<br/><br/>“I… I really miss you. I’m sorry, but it’s true. I miss… I miss<span style="font-style: italic">us</span>,” he added for good measure as his fingertips slipped into the sensitive areas between her fingers, en route to perhaps holding her hand if she would allow it.<br/><br/>“I know you probably don’t want to hear this right now, but I needed to say it. I just couldn’t not say it,” he added, looking up at her eyes with an expression of guarded optimism. The smell of her perfume, or shampoo, or whatever that was – combined with her beauty made his heart swim as he waited breathlessly for her response.