He slowly helped me down, but when my feet touched the ground, I suddenly felt embarrassed.

I moved away too quickly and my shoulder bumped harshly into the ladder. Kai shouted out in protest, and on instinct, we both brought our hands forward holding the ladder in place.

This time, our hands were touching. We both looked at one another. When the ladder was in place, I didn't act impetuously... I calmly moved my hand away from his instead.

"What were you doing?"

"I just--" I started and winced. My arm was hurt. I reached for it impulsively but stopped midway, putting my hand down.

"Edna is sick. I told her I would do her chores for her so... this is why I am here," he saw the note on the ground and picked it up. He scrolled down the list meticulously.

"Can't you see," he pointed at the 'chandelier chore,' where she scribbled: seek Frances for assistance with the ladder. I didn't read the side of the note...

"I didn't... okay, that was my fault."

"You could have seriously hurt yourself. Whose fault do you think that would be then?" I stared at him. It didn't look like his concern was coming from a place of hatred. Something like wariness? So I could potentially have sued him and he was worried about that?

"I won't do this again..." I looked up at him and he stared at me.

"After I clean the windows, though..." I pointed over at the front windows. At this time, Nathan was walking in. He saw that we were standing in front of each other and squinted towards us.

"Hazel... everything alright?" I nodded and Kai sighed.

"I'll have someone else do that."

"I was... just trying to help... I know I caused more trouble than I did in this case but..." Kai looked like he wanted to say something but a little voice cleared her throat. I looked down and saw Mackenzie with a glass of water.

"Edna told me to bring this to Hazel..." I smiled at her and took the glass of water.

"Thanks Kenz..." she grinned proudly. At that moment, Kai turned around and walked away. I didn't know what else to say to him... but the damage had been done. Nathan had walked over to greet me.

"What happened?" he tried accessing the situation and I briefly told him what happened. He also scolded me for not getting any assistance. Shortly after, I decided to go and relax upstairs. Nathan agreed to talk to Edna about staying in for the rest of the night and to get another one of the employees to help make dinner.

When I was upstairs the soreness of my arm increased. When I took off my shirt in the bathroom, I saw that there was a large bruise already starting to form.

After having another quick shower, Nathan told me that he ordered me some food, which I was grateful for. After bringing it up to me, he told me that I would be needed at the office again, and apologized for that in the future. I told him that I didn't mind because being there was interesting and a good experience for me.

When he left I sat at the small dining areas in my room thinking about what I needed to do next.

However, from time to time, no matter how hard I tried to avoid it... I couldn't help but feel that lingering sensation of being held in Kai's arms...

***

By the time my second class came in, the sensation of pain I felt yesterday when I hit the ladder was practically gone. It was a little sore but above all I felt better.

When I saw Rae she told me about an art gallery show happening later tonight. She only found out about it earlier today and wanted to tell me when she saw me. I agreed to go immediately because the artist was only known for having sporadic shows. And their work was incredibly provocative.

When I got ready for the class I was also greeted by West, the one I previously went to school with.

"It's good to see you again," I said.

"Likewise..." he replied looking over at my side, "your arm seems a little stiff, are you alright?" I couldn't believe how perceptive he was. No one else noticed my movements all day...

"I was at the gym yesterday and I overdid it a little..." he nodded while he got out his art kit. Everyone else set up and we began our class. When Rae was helping another student West called me over.

"Am I doing this correctly?" I nodded.

"You are expressing Monet beautifully," he smiled, and I looked at him more intently. "West... you never told me what you do for a living? Well, I never asked..." he chuckled.

"I'm in real estate. Actually, the reason why I came here was to take a little break from it. My mom is a potter and she told me I could take up some pottery classes in the meantime so I did. But afterwards... I felt like I needed to try something new and then I got to meet an old classmate unexpectedly."

"Well, I'm glad you found a creative outlet... has it been helping?" he nodded and I smiled.

Before I knew it Rae had crept up beside me and said, "West, would you be interested in attending an art gallery session with us tonight? Admission is free and the more the merrier," I looked at her glaring. She pursed her lips together and looked away innocently.

"Sure, that sounds fun!" he beamed and I nodded. I walked away with Rae and demanded to know why she did that.

"Because he seems like a nice guy that you could get to know."

"Try and be a little less obvious Rae... besides, you know I'm not interested in dating right now."

"I'm curious about him... besides, even though you said you're not interested, there must be another reason why? Are you interested in someone else?" I scoffed at her and crossed my arms, but when I didn't I couldn't help but think about my hand touching Kai's yesterday, and about how he swooped in yesterday breaking my fall effortlessly...

She was waving her hand in front of my face. I must have gotten distracted again by my thoughts. The fact that I was being reminded of what happened the other day...

I looked over at West concentrating on his painting. He did genuinely seem like a nice person but that was all I could see him as.

Shortly after the class, Rae gave West the address and he agreed to meet us there. I didn't want to wear the casual clothing I wore to work today so we agreed to go get something else to wear tonight.

While we were shopping we were able to catch up the way we used to on each other's lives.

When we were ready to leave the mall (since Rae had brought her car with her today) she drove us to the gallery. When we got there West was already waiting for us.

"I hope you didn't wait long," I asked and he shook his head.

"Not at all. I just got here," Rae smiled between the two of us and linked her arm into mine and commanded we all go forth together.

After spending some time going through multiple exhibits and the crowd increasing it got a little hotter inside. I fanned myself, hoping I could find Rae who had wandered off to tell her I would be heading out. Instead, I bumped into someone: it was West.

Before I knew it, someone pushed me from behind and I fell forward. West caught me and I looked up at him looking down at me a little worried. If only Kai was able to express a kind of concern for people when he helped them out. It was probably just me though...

What? Why was I thinking about him again?

I shook my head and before I knew it West was leading me towards the front entrance. I could feel the cold air from the outside getting swept in from the revolving doors.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, sorry about that..."

"Would you like a lift home?"

"I'll be fine," I smiled. "I will be calling someone to give me a ride home."

"Are you sure?" I nodded.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" I asked and he chuckled.

"It was a unique experience..."

"His work is unconventional but... it's interesting."

"Yes, I agree... well then, I suppose I should take off if you're heading home?"

"You can stay longer if you'd like."

"To be honest it's a little too warm in there now," he smiled at me and I could sense what he meant seeing as I wanted out of there for the same reasons.

"But I had a lot of fun... I'm sure the next time I see you in class maybe we can go out again with Rae. Although I would prefer a café or a place to grab something to eat?" I chuckled and nodded.

"Of course."

"Have a good night..." he waved at me politely before leaving. After watching him exit, I reached into my phone and texted Rae. I told her I would be leaving. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. When I got my jacket back I headed outside, comforted by the coolness.

Just when I was able to walk towards the bus, a car pulled over beside me. When I peered inside, it was James. He looked up at me and I had to lift my hand over the top of my eyes to see if it was really true.

I could hear the door unlock. I looked around me left and right to see if Rae or someone from my classes was around, but there seemed to be no one, so I opened the door and met his gaze.