Kiry grinned and hopped into the Sebring idling at the curb. She and Chris has been hanging out more, and she really liked him...but only as a friend. She knew that she was leading him on, but she could never find the right opportunity or words to express her feelings. She knew that she had to soon though, before Chris got in too deep.

"How are you today, Miss Kiersten?" Chris inquired.

"I'm doing fine. How about you, Christopher?" So far they had only called each other by their full names. It had started out that way and it had never stopped.

"A bit worn out, but otherwise I'm completely ready for some serious hanging out." He gave her a wide smile and proceeded to maneuver his way through traffic to a small diner downtown.

"How is your dad doing?" Kiry asked after they had ordered their food. Chris's dad had recently undergone a surgery to see if he could regain the use of his legs. So far they didn't know.

"He's doing better. There's less pain now." Chris said.

"That's a good thing!" Kiry said.

Their food arrived and there was a few minutes' silence as they began sampling the dishes.

"You know," Chris commented. "You know about my parents, but you've never talked about yours."

Kiry almost choked on her roll. No one knew about her parents and she had wanted to keep it that way.

"That's because they're not all perfect like yours!" she snapped.

Chris looked taken aback. Kiry immediately apologized.

"I didn't mean to say that..." she looked away.

Chris reached across the table and took her hand. "It's okay, Kiersten. I'm lucky to have the parents I do. I forget sometimes that others aren't as fortunate."

His hand was warm and reassuring and in that moment she realized that maybe she did like him.

*****

"Dear Jai,

I really don't know what else I can say.

Your Secret Admirer"