It had two bedrooms and a large bathroom. It even had a dining room, which was something I wish I had.
The finishing’s were all brand new, although not top of the line. It was clean and looked like a place Rollo would live.
“What do you think?” Rollo asked, after I’d explored every room.
“Honestly?” I asked and his smile dropped at the corners.
“Of course. I always want your honest opinion,” he replied.
I smiled. “I love it, Rollo. It’s so you. It’s perfect,” I looked around the open living-dining-kitchen area.
“Are you sure?” he asked, already smiling.
“Positive,” I said and Rollo began to clap before hugging me.
“As soon as we get in the car, I’m going to call my parents,” he told me.
The man was waiting outside the door like he said he would. Rollo stopped to tell him that he hoped to be calling him this evening or tomorrow morning.
While Rollo was talking to his parents, I got a call from Jared, wanting to know if I wanted to go out to dinner.
“I’m hanging out with Rollo,” I said, sadly. I wanted to go out with Jared, but Rollo was my best friend, and I had been neglecting him far too much. He’d been my rock, and just because I had Jared now, didn’t mean I should just drop him into a pond, so to speak.
“We can go out as a group then,” Jared said. “You, me, Karlie, Holden, and Rollo. It’ll be fun.”
“Uh-” I stalled.
“Is that Jare-bear?” Rollo asked, poking my shoulder. I hadn’t noticed him hang up his phone.
“Yeah,” I said, but before the words all the way out he was taking the phone from me.
“I don’t know what you asked,” Rollo said to Jared, “but her answer is yes.” I could hear Jared’s deep rumble, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. “Oooh, dinner as a group. That’ll be great… That’s perfect.” Rollo hung up the phone and dropped it onto the center console. “You’re welcome,” he winked. “We’re going to go to that new buffet so that everybody can get what they want.”
“What time?” I asked.
“Now,” he said, looking at me like I was an idiot.
I drove to the buffet restaurant and we waited in the car for the others to arrive.
The buffet was loud and crowded but the food was delicious. When we finished eating, Karlie said she wanted to see a movie. We all ended up going. It had been a long time since I’d been to an actual movie theater.
Jared sat beside me, holding my hand and sharing his popcorn.
There could be an edge to him, especially when he was in a fight, but at the end of the day, he was a romantic.
As were leaving the movie, Jared said to the group of us, “What are we going to do for Katy’s birthday?”
“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” I cried.
“Why?” Jared asked puzzled. “Birthdays are meant to be celebrated,” he pushed the door open and we exited onto the street.
Rollo spoke up for me. “Her birthday is a sore spot for her. Either her mother didn’t remember, or she turned it into a big extravaganza for her own selfish reasons.”
Jared looked at me with pity and I squirmed in his grasp. I didn’t want him or anybody else to pity me. “Katy,” he said, softly. “This is us,” he motioned to himself and the others behind him. “Your mother won’t be there. It’ll be fun.”
I swallowed. He was right. This birthday would be different. My mother wouldn’t be barking orders, ruining my day.
“Okay,” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “A party will be fine.”
“Good,” Jared grinned, as we walked down the street to where we had parked.
“I want to go bowling,” I declared.
“Bowling?” Jared questioned.
“Yes, bowling. I’ve never been bowling before, so that’s what I want to do.”
“You’ve never been bowling?” Holden asked, looking scandalized.
“No,” I shook my head, “my mom wouldn’t let me. She said there were only low-life’s there and it was full of germs.”
“Your mom must be a fucking psycho,” Holden declared.
“You have no idea,” Jared muttered, stopping next to my car. Holden went on his way and Karlie went to Jared’s Toyota. Rollo stood a few feet away, giving us the illusion of privacy. “I’ll make sure you have the best birthday you’ve ever had,” Jared said brushing my hair back from my forehead.
“It won’t be that hard to make it the best,” I laughed.
“I’m still going to try,” he said, bending down to kiss me. “I’ll see you at the gym tomorrow?”
“Of course,” I smiled.
~***~
I dropped Rollo off at his dorm. He was on the phone again with his parents, and it sounded like they were being persuaded to rent the apartment. I really hoped they would. Rollo hated the dorms, and I didn’t blame him. I probably would have gone into cardiac arrest if I had to share a dorm with a stranger.
He turned and waved as he walked away, still chatting away.
I drove the short distance to my condo. I went about my nightly ritual, getting in my pajamas, brushing my teeth, and lastly, taking my sleeping pill.
So, far it had been working at keeping the nightmare away.
I slipped under the covers, Mable taking up my pillow. I reached up to pet her tail, the motion soothing me, and soon, my eyes closed.
~***~
“What kind of cake do you want?” Jared asked, as I swung a punch at the pads on his hands.
“Chocolate,” I answered, sounding out of breath.
“I called the bowling alley this morning and already booked your party,” he said.
I laughed. “That was quick.”
“Your birthday is in two days. They weren’t too happy with me,” he chuckled. “They thought I was a dad that forgot to schedule his kid’s party. I told them it was for my girlfriend and they thought I was lying.”
“Most people don’t have their twentieth birthday at a bowling alley,” I punched the pads harder this time.
“You’re right about that,” he said. “It’ll still be fun though. Do you mind if Dan and Patsy come?”
“Of course not. I’d love for them to be there,” I panted.
“Alright, stop,” Jared, said and I ceased my punching.
I was out of breath and I wanted some water.
I slipped the gloves off and slipped out of Jared’s training ring. I grabbed my water bottle, taking three long swallows.
When I screwed the top back on, Jared said, “Come on, sit-up time.”
I groaned, but lay down on the puffy blue mat. Jared held my feet tightly in his hands. “Fifty,” he said.
“Fifty?” I cried. “Are you trying to kill me? I thought you were the one that was supposed to be training, not me?”
Jared laughed, letting go of my foot with one hand, to push his hair out of his eyes.
“Just trust me.”
“Right now, I hate you,” I grumbled, starting my sit-ups.
“It’ll get easier the more you do it,” he said.
“That’s easy for you to say! Look at you!” I cried.
“If you keep talking, it’s going to make it harder,” he grinned.
“If you keep smiling at me, like that, it’s going to be hard for you to walk with my foot shoved up your ass,” I grumbled.
He threw his head back, laughing. “Oh my, how you’ve changed in the eight months I’ve known you.”
“I haven’t changed,” my breath hissed out as I completed a sit-up, “I just found my true self.”
“And you’re a feisty thing,” he chuckled as I took a swipe at his head.
“How many more?” I asked.
“Twenty,” he said.
I groaned.
We were quiet as I finished my sit-ups.
Jared stood and held out a hand to help me up. “I think I preferred it when you were doing the pushups and all I had to do was lay the
re,” I put my hands on my hips, chest rising and falling rapidly.
He threw his back in laughter. “Of course you did,” he pulled me to him. He gripped my upper arm. “Your muscles are starting to get impressive.”
“I don’t want to start looking like a man!” I cried, pulling out of his grasp.
He chuckled. “Katy, you don’t look like a man. Your muscles are just more defined. Come here,” he said, leading me to the wall of mirrors. He lifted my arm and fixed it in a flexing motion. “See, you’ve just got really nice definition.”
“I still don’t want man arms,” I muttered.
“I promise, you won’t have man arms,” he chuckled.
“They’re looking pretty manly to me,” I said, poking the raised muscle on my arm.
Jared bent and kissed it. “No, they’re not. They’re perfect. Everything about you is perfect.”
I dropped my arm down to my side.
“If you’re trying to score points, it’s working,” I smiled at him.
“Just speaking the truth, kitten,” he kissed the side of my mouth. “Jump rope time,” he said, leading me over to a different section of the room.
We had never used jump ropes before and I had always sucked at them, even as a child. I was probably going to face plant on the ground and completely embarrass myself.
“Ready?” Jared asked.
“Uh-huh,” I said, mimicking the hold of his rope.
“We’ll do this for three minutes,” he said.
Oh, God. I wouldn’t last thirty seconds.
“Go,” he said, and I watched in amazement as he made it look effortless.
I followed his actions and the stupid rope got stuck in my hair.
“Try again,” he said, still jumping, not even winded.
The same thing happened.
“You need to bring it up higher,” he coached.
I did.
It went over my head this time but stopped at my feet.
“You need to put more momentum behind it,” this time he sounded a little bit out of breath and I smiled to myself.
I tried again and managed one jump.
“Forget this,” I said, throwing the rope down on the ground.
Jared chuckled but continued to jump, adding in some fancy tricks, while watching the clock on the wall.
When he finished, he looked over at me, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips.
“Of all the things, I thought you might not be able to do, jump rope wasn’t one of them. I thought all girls knew how to jump rope,” he grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his face.
“You thought wrong, bud,” I picked up my water bottle.
“Well,” he put his hands on his hips, “I think I’ve tortured you enough for the day.”
“Amen,” I cried, completely exhausted. I was going home, taking a shower, and sleeping until my birthday.
37
“We’re here,” Jared said, pulling in front of the beat up building that housed the bowling alley. It looked like it had seen better days, but I thought it was perfect. It was exactly like I had imagined one would be.
A child-like giggle of excitement escaped me, and I jumped a little in the seat.
Jared laughed at my reaction. “It doesn’t take much to make you happy.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I said, clamoring my way out of the vehicle.
We rented our shoes and Jared led me to the private lanes they had reserved for the party.
Magenta balloons were tied to the seats and I could see a small bar area where there was a cake and presents.
The others were already here, putting on their rental shoes and entering their names into the computer.
“Piper!” I cried, spotting her pink and black hair.
I ran to her and hugged her. She was shocked, slowly wrapping her arms around me. I’d never touched her before.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I cried.
“I couldn’t miss your birthday. When Rollo called, I came straight home.”
“Thank you,” I pulled away. “How’d it go with your parents? I was worried, since they didn’t take the news about fashion school, well.”
She sighed. “It was extremely awkward and pretty quiet. At least, there wasn’t any yelling,” she shrugged.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I knew they wouldn’t approve. I just wish they’d understand that I have to do this. I have to follow my heart,” she adjusted the hat on her head.
“They’ll get there, one day,” I patted her shoulder sympathetically.
“I just wonder how long it’ll take,” she looked at the ground. Brightening, she said, “Enough about my crappy life. Happy birthday! Say goodbye to your teens, they weren’t all that great anyway.”
I laughed. “No, they weren’t. At least, not until I met Jared.”
“Awww,” Piper said. “That’s so sweet.”
“It’s true,” I looked around at everyone gathered.
I’d never had a party like this before. Something simple with people that actually cared for me, it was a foreign concept, but one I loved.
“Get your shoes on, kittycat,” Jared called.
I sat down in one of swivel chairs and yanked my shoes off. I put on a pair of socks and then, put on the bowling shoes. I giggled to myself. They weren’t very attractive.
“Are you ready?” Jared asked. “You’re up first.”
I blanched. “I hoped that you guys would go before me. I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what to do.”
Jared grinned. “No worries, I’ll help you.”
I grimaced, biting my lip. “Ooookay,” I said. I honestly doubted that anyone could help me. What twenty year old didn’t know how to bowl?
I picked the lightest bowling ball I could find and stood hesitantly in front of the lane.
“You’re holding it right,” Jared said, his breath gusting against my cheek. “Now just bring your arm back like this,” his hand was suddenly on my arm, “and swing forward, letting go.”
The ball thumped to the ground, rolling slowly for a few feet before falling into the gutter.
“I don’t think I did it right,” I frowned.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” He brushed the hair off my neck and kissed a spot just below my ear. I shivered from the sensation.
“Jared!” Holden called. “The poor girl can’t think straight, let alone bowl, when you’re doing that.”
“Shut it,” Jared glared at his best friend.
The ball came back and I tried again.
I knocked down one pin.
One.
Stickin’.
Pin.
“This is way harder than I thought it would be,” I grumbled.
“You’ll get the hang of it,” Jared said, leading me back to one of the small tables to wait for his turn.
Karlie was next and I made sure to watch all her movements. She managed to knock down all of the pins except for two. We clapped and she turned, taking a small bow, before proceeding, to knock the last two pins down.
Dan, Jared, and Holden, all got a strike… whatever that was. I assumed it was good since they knocked all the pins down at one go. Piper and Patsy didn’t do too badly.
Rollo, however, sucked, just like me. He hadn’t ever been bowling before, either. Our parents thought something like this, was beneath them.
“This is ridiculous!” Rollo cried when his ball went into the gutter a second time.
It was my turn again and Jared stood to help me but I waved him off. “I’ve got this,” I said.
“You sure?” he asked.
I nodded, picking up the ball, and he sat back down.
I studied the pins and took a deep breath. I could do this.
I let the ball sling forward and closed my eyes as it rolled down the lane.
Cheers erupted behind me and I opened my eyes to see that only three pins remained standing.
I let out a s
queal of delight.
Jared picked me up and swung me around. “Good job, kitten,” he kissed me.
The ball came back and I prepped myself to knock down the remaining pins.
I let the ball go and waited, eyes open this time.
Two went down but one remained standing, stubbornly.
I frowned, but I had done so much better than the first time, that I couldn’t be sad for long.
Plus, with all these people surrounding me, cheering me on, there was no way I could be miserable.
This was one of the best days of my life, definitely one I would remember for a long time.
~***~
We played two games and then stopped to eat at the bar area.
The bowling alley served concession type food. Jared said we could go to a restaurant but I thought this was perfect.
I ordered a hot dog and fries, slathering both with ketchup.
I bit into the hotdog and moaned. Nothing had ever tasted so good before.
Jared chuckled at my reaction.
“It’s so good,” I said, wiping ketchup from the corner of my mouth.
“It’s a hotdog,” he said in a tone that implied I was crazy.
“I don’t care, it’s yummy,” I took another bite.
“Katy Spencer, you are one strange girl,” he shook his head. “But I wouldn’t have you any other way,” he leaned over and kissed my cheek.
Everyone else was chatting, leaving Jared and I alone. I thought it was sweet that they were trying to give us space.
Jared looked around, making sure they were occupied and pulled a small, wrapped box from his pocket.
He handed it to me, a blush staining his cheeks. It was so unusual to see a man like Jared blush, which made me insanely curious to know what was inside the box.
“Happy birthday,” he whispered, sliding the box across the counter to me.
I ripped the hot pink paper off and was presented with a box similar to the one my bracelet had been in. Unconsciously, I fingered the soft cord material on my wrist. I never took it off.
I swallowed and lifted the lid off, lifting a slender gold chain out, with a small gold key on the end; a gold heart was beside the key.
“Here’s where I get really cheesy,” Jared smiled, his cheeks growing redder. “I wanted to get you something special. Something with meaning.” He fingered the charms on the end of the long chain and said, “This symbolizes that you hold the key to my heart. Only you… always.”
Unraveling Page 30
