A Love that Endures

by Forrest, Bella

  Still, she chided herself for her childishness. She should be feeling more excited than this for her beloved cousin. Cassie deserved to be introduced to a good guy more than anyone. Plus, who knew what David’s roommate was like? He could also be different from the other Wolf Club members she’d come across so far.

  Katy gave herself a mental shake, resolving to push her own selfish considerations aside and focus on being a good wing-woman. It’s what Cassie would have done for her.

  Her cousin was standing off to the side of the stage, looking uncharacteristically shy as she spotted Katy with David in tow. Her hands grasped at her knee-length skirt and she moved closer to the wall, as if hoping it would swallow her. Of course, Katy could sympathize. If she had been in Cassie’s shoes, she would have felt embarrassed too, given the state David had found her in. But still, she needed to get over it. David was a good guy, and if he joined The Dramatics, Cassie was going to have to get used to seeing him.

  When Katy reached her cousin, she gave her a broad smile, reaching out for her hand and squeezing it gently. She turned back around to catch David’s expression as he approached. His light blue eyes had been on Katy’s back, but as she pulled Cassie forward, they lowered to the shorter girl.

  To Katy’s surprise, he looked almost confused.

  “Cassie?” he asked.

  Katy stared at him. “Of course,” she said. How could he not recognize her?

  David’s eyes bugged. “Oh. I’m so sorry. It was nighttime, and you looked pretty different in your makeup and party dress.” He shook his head. “Sorry! Cassie—good to meet you. Again.” He held out a polite hand, and Cassie shook it, her cheeks going bright red.

  “Good to meet you too.” She practically hummed the words through tight lips, reminding Katy of a toddler meeting a stranger for the first time. “And thank you for rescuing me,” she added. “And for reporting that guy.”

  “Absolutely no problem. As I told Katy, it’s what any half-decent person would do.”

  Cassie flushed again and looked away, while David reverted his gaze to Katy. The atmosphere suddenly felt a little awkward. Maybe because she’d been expecting their conversation to last longer than it had.

  “Well,” Katy said brightly, returning all her attention to David, “do you think you’ll be joining the club? We’re very open to new members, and I can introduce you to our supervisor, Mrs. Clarke.”

  David glanced at the stage and smiled. “You’ve pretty much sold me. I think my roommate will like it too. You were right about stepping into a fictional character’s shoes. I think it’ll be quite therapeutic.”

  “Even when you’ve got Miss Snappy biting at your heels?” Connor butted in from where he was leaning against a chair a few feet away.

  Katy whirled around to face him. He was walking on dangerous turf, considering she was still peeved at him over the whole flirting-with-married-men rumor thing. She shot him a glare, and though he continued to smirk, he wisely backed away.

  “What’s up with him?” David asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “Asshole syndrome,” Katy muttered.

  “Ah. I’ve heard there’s an epidemic of that going around here. I’d better keep myself inoculated.”

  Cassie chuckled alongside Katy. “I hope so. You’re clearly one of the better guys on this campus.” Her cousin flushed adorably as soon as she blurted the words and quickly looked away. Katy wanted to pinch her cheeks, she was being so adorkable around the guy . . .

  “Silence, please,” Mrs. Clarke called, and they all turned to watch the next batch of students prepare themselves on the stage.

  * * *

  After the rest of the students’ skits, and some discussion around improv and character development with Mrs. Clarke, it was time to leave. Katy reminded David that their thank-you-over-hot-drinks offer still stood, and he accepted with little to no hesitation. He sent a text to his friend Zeke letting him know that his planned visit to the library would be delayed. Then they exited the theater together and took off to the nearest café.

  Noticing Cassie had automatically fallen into step on her right, placing Katy in between her and David, Katy hung back a step and discreetly moved to David’s other side, positioning him in the middle instead.

  David glanced between the two of them with a half-bemused expression. “Why do I feel like this is some kind of setup?”

  “I don’t know,” Katy replied, keeping her voice ever so casual. “Are you naturally paranoid?”

  He kept his retort behind a wry smile as they continued down the sidewalk.

  “Maybe he’s watched too many British spy movies,” Cassie suggested.

  Katy smiled to herself, glad she’d made her cousin walk next to David—she was already starting to crawl out of her shell. Which was ironic, of course. Katy was usually the more demure of the two in social situations (and, dare she say it, the “prude”). But, particularly around guys, Cassie bore some extra scars. Katy had to step up to the plate and bring the confidence her cousin lacked if she wanted her to stand a chance. Confidence always came easier when you were the third party, anyway.

  David chuckled. “That’s definitely a possibility.”

  “Why don’t you tell us more about yourself?” Katy asked. “What really brought you to Cambridge? Or were you telling the truth on stage?”

  David’s expression grew a little stiffer. “Yeah, I was telling the truth more or less . . . just personal stuff.”

  Cassie exchanged a discreet glance with Katy, clearly indicating she wasn’t satisfied. Honestly, Katy was curious to know more too but wasn’t comfortable prodding him further on the subject. He seemed to be staying deliberately tight-lipped.

  Cassie, on the other hand, didn’t share the inhibition. “You have family here, or—?” she prompted.

  “Um, no,” he replied. “Well, maybe, actually.” He sighed, his eyes fixed on some distant spot on the road ahead. “I prefer not to dwell on the subject, honestly, but since you asked: the truth is I don’t actually know. I’m here on a sort of personal quest to find my biological parents. I was given away at birth, and we were never in contact.”

  His words yanked at Katy’s heart. “Oh, I’m sorry. That must have been very hard.”

  “Yeah, it must have been,” Cassie said, her brown eyes wide as she gazed at David, her expression a mixture of pity and awe. “You must have been very brave, growing up without them.”

  David clicked his teeth. “Agch. That’s exactly why I avoid telling my orphan sob story.” He shook his head. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I had great adoptive parents. They passed away a while back but gave me everything I needed and more. This is more of an intangible thing at this point. I’d just like to know, you know? I’ve submitted a few DNA samples to some companies, and I’m hoping they’ll give me some kind of lead within the next couple of weeks.”

  “Oh, I hope so, too,” Katy replied.

  As they reached the café and placed their orders, a long span of silence settled between them. On their way out, drinks in hand, Cassie suggested they head to Riverbend Park to watch the rowers on the crew team, and they took off in that direction.

  Katy, for one, was still thinking about David and his past. His character took her aback. He exuded the kind of confidence she never would have expected from an orphan. Never knowing his real parents had to have been hard, growing up. Then again, David had been lucky enough to get good adoptive parents, and the wonders that could do for a child clearly couldn’t be underestimated.

  David, seeming to sense the lingering attention, eventually launched into a new subject.

  “So, what about you?” he asked, glancing at Katy first. “I didn’t get to ask you many questions on stage.”

  “Ah.” Katy smiled, dabbing at a smudge of hot chocolate at the corner of her mouth. “That’s true. What would you like to know?”

  Inwardly, she had been dreading this question. It was the reason she was glad Mrs. Clarke had cut off their skit when s
he had. Katy wasn’t sure why, but she hated the idea of telling David a bunch of fibs, even though he was basically still a stranger to her. He just felt like the honest sort of person, one who deserved to hear the truth.

  But of course, in Katy’s case, that was impossible.

  “Where do you call home?” he asked, sipping from his cup. “Your accent sounds kind of Californian, though I’ve noticed it drops every now and then, so I’m wondering if that’s where you’re from originally.”

  Oh dang. She needed to get better with her accent, and fast. She’d thought she’d gotten past the stage of it dropping . . . barring occasions of extreme shock or horror.

  “You’re right. I’m not originally from America, though I grew up in California,” she replied, putting double concentration into how her accent was coming off. “My parents are French, and we migrated to L.A. when I was eight.”

  David stared at her. “Ah, vraiment? Parles-tu français, alors?”

  A furious blush suddenly spread across Katy’s cheeks. Not because she didn’t speak French—she did, thank goodness—but because David’s French accent was unexpectedly sexy. Alarmingly so. His dreamy blue eyes gazing into hers really didn’t help matters, either.

  “Oui,” she managed, snapping her eyes back to her hot cocoa.

  Thankfully, they had just reached the park, so she had a few moments to regain her composure while they found a spot on the grass to sit.

  “Je parle français, aussi,” Cassie chimed in sweetly, plopping herself down next to David.

  “So, you were saying?” David asked, his gaze intense on Katy, the shadow of a smile playing across his handsome face. Annoyingly handsome, in that moment.

  “Right . . . We moved to L.A.,” Katy said, glancing firmly out at the water. “My mom’s a high-end makeup artist and my dad’s a filmmaker, so they worked behind the scenes in the movie industry. It had always been their dream, and they didn’t see any harm in raising their daughter in an English-speaking country. I guess they’re the main reason I grew up with a love for acting . . .” She paused, suddenly feeling quite sick to her stomach at all the lies she was telling. “As for Cassie,” she went on. She looked toward her cousin, wanting to hand the conversation off. “Why don’t you tell your story?”

  “Gladly,” Cassie replied with a satisfied smile. She seemed to be finally enjoying David’s attention. Perhaps even hankering after it. Her smile grew wider as he switched his full focus to her.

  “My parents are also French, though they lived in Belgium—which is where I was born. My mom was best friends with Katy’s mom, and both of them worked in the makeup industry. My mom saw how much Katy’s parents were enjoying their new life and convinced my dad to relocate our family too. So that’s how Katy and I ended up growing up together in the same neighborhood. We’ve been best friends ever since we were nine.” She finished with a placid smile: “And I also grew up with a love for drama.”

  “That’s cool,” David said. He’d just started to turn to look back at Katy when Cassie went on, “I was also a child model, you know. Katy, too. Our parents signed us up with a top agency in L.A.”

  Katy tensed. Oh my God. Was that really necessary? David had better not try to look them up.

  “Hey, while I remember: Are you planning on going to the game this weekend?” Katy asked, needing to change the subject. The Harvard vs. Yale football game was almost all anyone had been talking about recently, and she figured it would be a suitable diversion. Even if David was British . . . and actually might not be into American football.

  “Yeah, actually,” David replied, finally turning to face Katy again. “I was planning to go with the guys in my house. Why? You into the sport?”

  Katy nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Or at least, I’ve been getting into it recently. Cassie and I are definitely planning to go.”

  “Oh.” David glanced down at his cup with a considering expression. Then looked back at Katy. “What if we—”

  “Went together?” Cassie enthused, her eyes going wide, like those of a cat who was very close to being given a bottle of cream.

  David’s eyes wandered slowly back to Cassie, and he laughed lightly. “Jinx. I’d bring Zeke, too, then. The four of us could go together.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Katy replied cheerily. She was curious to meet Zeke.

  “Should we exchange numbers?” Cassie asked.

  “Sure,” David replied. He slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Give me your number first and I’ll text you? I already have Katy’s.”

  Cassie spouted hers out, and David quickly punched it in. The girl’s phone beeped a couple seconds later, receiving David’s text.

  “Shall we put him under Prince Charming?” Cassie asked with a shy smile.

  “Yeah. And he can put us under—”

  “Katy as Window Girl,” David cut in, “and Cassie as—”

  “Drunk Girl,” Cassie supplied.

  He laughed, glancing at her. “I prefer Cassie.”

  Cassie beamed back at him for a long moment, then looked back at her phone to punch in his number.

  Katy slurped up the last of her cocoa and leaned back with a sigh. “Well. We’ve been out for over half an hour already. Don’t know about you two, but I’d better get back.”

  David glanced at his watch and sighed too. “Yeah. Same. I’ll probably skip the library and just go home to work at this point. It’s closer. I can walk you back, though, if home is where you’re headed. It’s practically on the way.”

  Any disappointment on Cassie’s face at the mention of leaving was softened by David’s suggestion.

  “That’d be nice.” Katy smiled, and they all rose to their feet.

  * * *

  It was a quiet walk back, mostly because the three of them focused on keeping a good pace rather than talking.

  But when they reached the front gate of Katy and Cassie’s house, David stopped Katy alone, discreetly pulling her back while Cassie unwittingly continued to make her way toward the front door alone.

  Katy frowned as she glanced up at him, then almost gasped when her eyes locked with his in such close proximity. Her heart started beating like crazy. What the hell was up with her? She didn’t even have a French accent to blame this time, and she barely even knew the guy. She had to remind herself to be careful with such feelings. You’re trying to set him up with Cassie, remember?

  “Thanks for inviting me and introducing me to your group,” David said, gazing down at her intently.

  Katy pushed out a smile. “Of course, no problem.”

  “I really enjoyed myself, and it’s a relief to have finally found an interesting club. I’ve tried a couple already, but none have really caught my interest enough to stick around.” He paused, still gazing at her, and she wondered where he was going with this. A smile tugged at his lips. “And it was all just to say a simple thanks?”

  Katy frowned. “Well, yes . . .”

  David raised an eyebrow. Katy huffed. “And, I suppose, Cassie and I were also impressed with your level of character. It made us want to get to know you a little better.” She glanced down at her nails. Oof. Where was Cassie to save her right now? David’s eyes on her felt so intense.

  David chuckled. “You sound like some snooty aristocrat.”

  Katy couldn’t suppress her wry smile. She shrugged. “Well, don’t let it go to your head. A girl these days might just be desperate for even half-decent male company.”

  David grinned. “Half decent, eh? I’ll take that.”

  Katy glanced back up at him, and it was all she could do to not lose herself in his ocean-blue pools. Oh, you’re much more than half decent, David . . .

  “Hey, Katy. You coming, or . . .?”

  Katy jolted at her cousin’s voice and whirled toward the house. Cassie was waiting there, holding the door open and gazing at them standing together with a hint of confusion.

  Was Katy flirting with David now?

  “Yes,
coming,” Katy called quickly. She almost stumbled over her feet as she moved to step away.

  “I’ll see you at the game, then,” David said.

  “Yes. Right! See you then.” She cast a final glance back at him, then turned awkwardly toward the door, the image of his handsome, somewhat bemused face etched into her mind, while a touch of worry nibbled at her inside.

  * * *

  As soon as the girls were in the house, Cassie flopped down dramatically over the sofa. “O-o-oh my gawsh. He is so hawt!”

  “I know, right?” Katy chuckled, trying to keep her tone casual.

  “And sweet! And sensitive!” Cassie then tilted her head curiously. “What was he saying to you just then?”

  Katy busied herself with untying her shoelaces. “Oh, just saying thanks for the invite. And he’s looking forward to the game.”

  Cassie grinned. “Well, you were the one who arranged the meeting. So let me thank you too, my dear, sweet, clever, clever cousin. I’m so glad you talked me into it. He’s such a charmer. And now I can’t believe we’re going to the game together!” She let out a little squeal, then propped herself up on her elbows. “Have you thought about what you’re going to wear? He said he’s bringing his roommate, so you gotta pull out all the stops.”

  Katy felt an invisible weight on her chest. “Ah, no. Not yet. I don’t think I’ll wear anything too fancy, though—it’s just for a game, and it’s not exactly a date.”

  “True, but who knows what it could lead to? Maybe we could go to Michelle for advice?”

  “Mm, maybe.” Katy headed to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water, feeling the need to just have a moment alone to collect herself. Zeke could be nice too, for all they knew . . . even if he wasn’t David.

  “Do you think he likes me?” Cassie asked, wandering in and joining Katy by the sink.