164 An Outing (8)

Light flitted through the curtains, and Iris opened her heavy eyes. She'd had a wonderful dream at night, even if she couldn't recall it now, and she didn't want to get up. Turning on the other shoulder, she planned to sleep a bit more.

However, something tangled around her legs, making the movement uncomfortable. She pushed the blanket off and with her bleary eyes saw a white skirt.

White skirt? Wasn't her pajamas a T-shirt and pants?

Her mind quickly chased away the remnants of sleep, and she realized that she was wearing the dress from yesterday. It was all wrinkled up from sleeping in it, but it was clearly the same dress.

'Why didn't I change?' She wondered about it for a moment, trying to recall how she'd gotten into her bed.

But she couldn't. Her mind drew a blank for anything that happened after Kyro and she had eaten dinner. He had paid for them, and then they rushed out, like criminals leaving prison. They joked about something as they reached the car, then she sat down and… and… Her mind was blank.

She had a faint recollection of being really tired and the inside of the car being warm and comfortable. It was likely then that she had really fallen asleep, but how could she have returned home after that? Had she sleep-walked?

That had to be it.

She breathed a sigh of relief and rolled out of bed. Picking up her everyday clothes, she went into the bathroom and took a shower. Feeling refreshed, she went into the kitchen and checked the clock. It was close to eleven o'clock, so she went to peek into Kyro's room.

He was still in bed, but not asleep, staring at the ceiling while thinking about something. His eyes shifted to her upon her entrance, but he didn't say anything.

"Should I make some coffee for you as well?"

"Yeah."

She nodded and returned into the kitchen. Quickly, she got the breakfast ready and brought it to the living room. Lucy was already on the sofa's backrest, and Iris picked him up for a hug.

"You should have come with us yesterday," she told him in a lecturing voice. "We saw so many amazing things, and even someone that looked like you. His tempter was very good, so maybe you could have become friends?"

Her answer was a disapproving meow, and she let the cat go. He didn't seem very open to morning hugs.

When Kyro showed up, he didn't say a word before swiftly downing his coffee. He finished the whole cup in maybe three gulps, not bothering that the liquid was burning hot.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked then, and Iris looked up at him, puzzled. Why was he suddenly asking that, and with such a weird expression too. She couldn't tell if he was making fun of her or asking seriously.

"Yeah, why?" she answered while taking a sip of her own coffee.

"Oh, that's good," he said with a smile that held humor she couldn't understand and walked out of the room.

'Good?' Iris thought of all the meanings of this word, but still couldn't understand what he had been trying to say. Why was it good? What was good about it?

'Why are you speaking in riddles?!'

She pondered it for the next couple hours, while watching a random show on TV. Lucy lay by her side, but he didn't offer any help. All he was concerned with was having her scratch his ears and chin, then rub his back.

"Why did I take part ownership of you? You're nothing but lazy and unhelpful!"

Lucy chose that moment to start purring, and she laughed at his timing. It sounded like he was quite proud of the adjectives she'd chosen for him.

When three hours had passed, Iris could no longer take it and barged into Kyro's study. He was playing a game at the moment, so she stood still, fuming silently.

Some five minutes later, he finished a match or found a safe point, and took off his headphones. "Something the matter?" he asked mildly, pretending not to see her impatience.

"Yes, you! What did you mean in the morning? Tell me!"

His lips curved up, and he fully turned to her then. "You're still thinking about that?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. So tell me."

His expression unnerved Iris a bit, but she didn't back down. Otherwise, she'd spend the rest of the day throwing those few words of his around her head to try and decipher them.

"Nothing much, just that I hoped it was worth it."

"Worth what? And what are you talking about? Speak clearly!"

He was clearly playing with her, but even though she knew that, she was already trapped. There was no way she could just leave without her curiosity eating her alive.

With a smile still at his lips, Kyro leaned back in his chair. "I'm talking about carrying you, of course. What else could I possibly mean?"

"Carrying me?" Iris' mind went on a minor strike, refusing to form any thoughts. She could only repeat what was being said to her. "Carrying me?!"

"How else did you think you got back? I tried to wake you up, but not even an orchestra would have had any luck. I even began to wonder if you went into hibernation."

Feeling heat crawling up her cheeks, Iris slowly backed out of the room. "It's mid-summer," she murmured in an explanation for the wrong thing.

The moment she escaped Kyro's gaze, she rushed into her room as her mind conjured way too many scenarios of how everything had looked. Throwing her face against the bed, she hid her embarrassment, and the reality that she wasn't sure what she was more embarrassed about: the fact that he had to carry her, or how thrilled she was that he had done it.