ImPerfectly Matched! (The Match #2)

by Mj Fields

  I text Darby that I will be at the house until three forty-five. Technically I don’t have to be to work until four.

  I decide that the tank top with the sparkling middle finger is what she ‘haves’ to wear is fine for her, but washing her clothes and drying them should only take an hour or so. She’ll put them on before we leave the house.

  She runs up the stairs like she owns the joint as she yells, “Gotta get a book and our colored pencils.” I hear her little feet slapping the hardwood floors and quickly shed my wet clothes and slip on my bathrobe.

  She slides down the stairs on her butt holding the pencils and pad.

  “Daddy makes me do that. It’s safe.” She nods and walks slowly toward the coffee table and sets them down.

  “I’m going to wash our clothes so we can wear them when we go back to the-”

  “Oh can I help!” she says running toward me. “I love laundry.”

  Sure.

  Apparently her father actually talks to her like she’s… human. She tells me that she knows so much about me and thinks I should get to know more about her. It’s hysterical.

  “My favorite color is definitely pink,” she says and holds up the pink pencil.

  “Sweet,” I say as I get up and make my way to the kitchen.

  “You like lasagna?”

  “Only Momma Joe’s,” she says, eyes never leaving the paper as she colors.

  “Perfect, that’s exactly what I have.”

  I sit and watch as she colors in one of the unicorns drawn on my sketchpad.

  “I like you coloring books better than mines.”

  I don’t tell her I drew them and that they weren’t coloring books they were sketchpads.

  One knock on the door and then it opens.

  We both look up to see Darby and my mom walk in.

  “Darby!” Natalia cries and jumps up to run to her. “You missed me.”

  Darby laughs as she catches her in a midair launch and says, “Yes I did.”

  As Natalia drags Darby toward the coffee table I turn to follow them when Mom grabs my wrist stopping me and whispers, “What does that child have on?”

  It takes me a moment to realize what she’s talking about. When I realize it’s the shirt, I have to stop myself from laughing.

  “I believe in a child expressing themselves. She likes the shirt….” She tries to interrupt and I hold my hand out stopping her. “It’s what she wants.”

  She looks at me like she’s ready to blow and I can’t help but smile. “Her clothes are in the dryer.”

  Mom and Darby stay at my place; I take Nat back to the shop with me. Ricco leaves with her immediately and I get sucked into my art.

  ***

  Thursday morning Mom leaves and Darby stays. It’s a win for me.

  Darby and I decide to go shopping before work. I hate shopping, but I also know that Ricco has set up more interviews and that is a good enough excuse not to go into work early. We do drop by at Darby’s request to see if Natalia would like to go to lunch and shopping with us and of course she does.

  While we’re at the mall we see a little store with pink everything in the window. Natalia looks at it like it’s magical, and yes we end up not only looking around the store but walking out with two bags full of frilly girl clothes.

  Darby insisted. Natalia had told her she was going to a new school and apparently Darby thought the biker tee-shirts and baby leggings were not up to snuff. I don’t disagree but her baby biker clothes are totally cool.

  When Ricco sees it he tries to pay me back. I had foreseen that coming and ditched the receipt in the console of my car. Finding anything in there was exactly like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

  He insists on taking Darby out to dinner with he and Natalia. Then he reminds me I have a date. How awkward is that? Let me tell you, it’s about as awkward as fucking your co-worker and craving his dick every time he’s around. It’s as awkward as me hanging out with a kid when normally I would be making extra money. It’s as awkward as getting your Thursday paycheck all on the books and making more than you did the previous weeks when you aren’t working any harder.

  I decide to take the good with the bad, and I’ll tell you I am finding pretty much nothing bad lately, which I remind myself is completely fucked up.

  By the time they leave it’s an hour and a half ‘til closing, Ricco is taking them for steaks and then dropping Darby off at my place.

  I walk into the bar and see Jinx and his mohawk behind the bar. I roll my eyes and walk up to the him.

  “Hey Kat, what can I get you to wet your whistle?”

  “A different bartender would be great,” I say as I sit down.

  He leans in and whispers, “What the fuck happened to you huh? We had a good time, tell me you don’t wanna go another round with me.”

  “Okay I’ll play along, I don’t want to go another round with you.”

  “You swallowed my dick babe,” he whispers again.

  “Wow, well, to be honest with you there wasn’t a hell of a lot to swallow.” I shrug. “Plus I was fucking tanked so I don’t really remember.”

  “Clearly, my dick’s better than average.” He winks. “You told me so yourself.”

  “Jinx, I was shit faced and trying to get off, I would have probably said anything.”

  “Oh so now you’re ballin’ huh?”

  “What?”

  “Nothing Kat, just remember, I’m the fucking baller,” he holds up one finger, “around here.”

  “Okay you be you, just do it somewhere I don’t have to deal with it okay?”

  After that statement he leaves me alone.

  Joey comes over with a Jack and Coke. “He being a tool?”

  I nod and place a ten on the bar. “Yeah.”

  “Ignore him, you hurt his ego with the strap-on talk.” He winks. “Please tell me that shit is true.”

  I look at him and almost smile, almost. “I tell you the truth don’t tell him.”

  “Okay.”

  “He fucking loves them,” I lie and stand up.

  As I’m turning around Joey asks, “For real?”

  I shake my head no and he laughs.

  I sit in the corner sipping my drink waiting for Mr. Mister, while flipping through my Matched Up messages hoping he’s a no show. I am exhausted from, well Ricco, and well the feels.

  I flip through the messages

  @countryboi22: What are the chances you want a friend with benefits?

  Kat: What are the chances you have at least an average size dick? Both not good.

  @countryboi22: Dick’s above average.

  Kat: Is that what your mommy told you?

  @countryboi22: No, but yours did.

  Kat: She told me she was lying to make you feel better tiny.

  Fucker was quick I’ll give him that. I block him and flip to the next.

  @cockroket2: Not looking for anything serious but I could be like your gay bestfriend, but play with your tits.

  Kat: My seven kids ruined my tits you wanna try something else?

  He doesn’t reply.

  @rider1: How you doing babe?

  Kat: On a date. You?

  @rider1: Still waiting on you to get your shit together.

  Fuck him.

  @rider1: No reply.

  @rider1: Oh Kat you are missing out.

  Kat: On a date.

  @rider1: When you should be underneath me.

  Kat: Got that covered too.

  @rider1: Does that imply you’re fucking someone? I would assume you’re not fucking and texting.

  Kat: I’m a girl of many talents.

  @rider1: I’m a man who can help open you up to new ones.

  Kat: What do you want from me?

  @rider1: Just the truth.

  Kat: Truth is I’m waiting for a date, who I have no intention of fucking.

  @rider1: Good to know, then why the date, and what kind of man lets you date others while fucking him?

&n
bsp; Kat: Someone who knows fucking is fucking.

  @rider1: So a FWB.

  Kat: Maybe.

  @rider1: What the hell does maybe mean Kat?

  Kat: Means yes but I have no idea why the hell I am explaining myself to you.

  @rider1: Is your FWB good in bed?

  Kat: Is your hand?

  @rider1: Hand’s not necessary. I have a FWB too.

  Kat: WHAT?!?! Then why the judgmental mind fuck?

  @rider1: No more judgment.

  Kat: Does she know you’re stalking me?

  @rider1: You want me to stop messaging, block me. You want a date with me, see where this obvious mutual connection, attraction could lead let me know.

  Why do I keep playing games with him? Why haven’t I blocked him? What the fuck is wrong with me, with him?

  Kat: Straight up, you and I would kill each other.

  @rider1: Why would you say that?

  “My God Katherine, look at you,” I hear a familiar voice and look up.

  My body tenses as I look at him. Wentworth Miller’s double.

  I feel four years of emotion go off like a bomb inside of me. I sit on my hands to keep them from shaking. I want to get up to run but I can’t.

  He sits down across from me and smiles. “Cat got your tongue?”

  I shake my head no and he reaches across the table and rubs the back of his hand down my cheek.

  I pull away.

  “Christ look at you. Still fucking beautiful but what’s with all the tattoos?”

  “Why are you here?” I ask in a low whisper.

  “Needed to see you,” he says looking over my bare arms.

  “I didn’t need to see you.” I start to stand and he grabs my hand.

  “We need to talk,” he says.

  I look up and Jinx is looking at me, I don’t want any of these clowns knowing a damn thing about me so I sit back down.

  “No we don’t. I also don’t need anyone here to know a damn thing about who I used to be so what’s gonna happen here is you’re gonna finish your drink and then we’re both going to walk out of here and forget we ever saw each other again; you understand Professor Michaels?”

  He shakes his head no as he looks over my face. “We will see each other again.”

  “I’ll get a restraining order,” I threaten in a quiet, yet firm voice.

  “First of all Katherine, I never hurt you so that would be impossible. Second we’ll see each other because we have mutual friends getting married in a few months. This weekend we’ll be at the same engagement party.”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck!

  “This could have been discussed through messenger.”

  “Well seems you don’t answer messages, hell you changed your phone number.” His face grows tense.

  “I was done.” I finish my drink. “And now Professor Michaels, I’m done again. Let’s walk out of here and-”

  “You don’t want a scene here, and I don’t want one at the engagement party, so do stop acting like a child and let’s discuss this shall we?”

  “There will be no issue at the party, hell I won’t even be there,” I laugh.

  “Just like you to run from your problems instead of facing them.”

  I lean forward. “My problems? You’re the one with the problem. I just fixed it for you.”

  “Did you have an abortion?”

  I feel the blood drain from my face. I hear my heart beating in my ears. I can’t form words that would make any sense so I sit looking into the face of a man who solidified my belief that I, Katherine Ann Teresa Brun, would never trust in my heart again, and would do everything in my power to avoid believing that fairytales and a happily ever after were anything but pretty stories with pretty ideas and pretty pictures.

  “Did you?”

  I shake my head no, because it’s the truth.

  “I know you were pregnant. I know it was mine. So you wanna rethink that answer Katherine?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Sundaes

  RICCO

  Natalia and Darby sit across from me coloring on the placemat while we wait for three prime rib dinners.

  My girl looks so fucking happy. Darby is a sweetheart, even though at first she was kind of a little snot. She genuinely likes my kid, hell she’s wonderful with her.

  She says she came back here because she’d rather spend time with Nat than get a job on the beach serving soft drinks. She says that type of job would be the equivalent of cleaning toilets.

  “I’m fun-er,” Natalia smiles.

  “Sure are,” Darby grins back at her.

  I watch as she dots out the letters, N-A-T and takes Natalia’s hand and traces them.

  “Nat, you just wrote your name.”

  “I did?” she asks and then she laughs. “I did!”

  “You did,” Darby laughs.

  “Again.” She pushes the crayon to Darby and Darby does it again and again and again.

  When the food comes she sets down the crayon and Nat grabs it and gives it to her. “Again.”

  “Time to eat Nat,” I say.

  “But-” Natalia starts to whine.

  “Natalia,” I gently warn her.

  “What if Darby goes home Daddy?”

  “Kat can do it,” Darby smiles. “She taught me.”

  Kat.

  ***

  We walk into Kat’s place carrying bags of ingredients for ice cream sundaes. The girls wanted to stop for ice cream, I decided I’d like to make them, at Kat’s.

  They’re settled in front of the TV watching Despicable Me, and I am setting up a buffet of sundae toppings. Bought out the fucking store honestly, they were having fun, and I was wasting time, thinking that Kat may be home by now, but clearly she wasn’t.

  On a fucking date.

  Do I like that shit? Fuck no I don’t but I like Kat, a lot.

  I like her pussy, I am enjoying playing with her toys and throwing those fuckers out one by one. I like the way she smells and tastes, feminine and sweet, even though it is a complete contradiction to who she is at work.

  I like Kat here, in her place and under me. I like that she doesn’t give herself to everyone, she keeps shit tight and to herself, and to the few people she lets in. That tight little circle was expanding as I push in hard to make damn sure it does, just like I do to her hot little box.

  There’s a knock on the door and Darby jumps up and walks to the door. “Kat probably forgot her keys again.”

  I feel relieved knowing that she’s not out with some dumb fuck and she’s home.

  “Stephanie, come in.” She steps back opening the door wider and the little blonde chick walks in.

  “Hey Darby.” She hugs her. “Look at you all grown up.”

  “Look at you.” Darby steps back and looks at her. “Stephanie?”

  Stephanie pulls her in to a tighter hug and I see her crying. “Where’s that sister of yours, I sure could use some of her strength.”

  “Daddy what’s wrong with that girl?” Natalia asks in the way a three-year old does, loud and unaware that she may be hurting someone’s feelings.

  “I’m fine, just got a bug in my eye,” Stephanie says wiping her tears away as she steps back.

  “You need Kat?” Natalia asks.

  “Yeah.” Stephanie forces a smile.

  “She’s on a date. We got sundaes.” She waves her little hand toward the kitchen island as if ice cream and sprinkles will make everything better.

  “I’m not very hungry,” she says and looks at me.

  “Don’t have to be, just have to like ice cream.” Natalia takes her hand and drags her to the Island. “White?”

  “Sounds good.” Stephanie pats her on the head.

  As the three little women load up their bowls there is another knock. This time I get to the door in hopes to warn Kat she has company.

  When I open it I see a dude.

  “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong address.”

  “You trying to sell som
ething?” I ask because I’m thinking he has the right address; I see Kat’s fucking phone in his hand.

  He huffs. “No.”

  “Where’d you get the phone?” I ask swiping it out of his hand.

  “Who the hell,” he starts and I lean on the door.

  “Darby, you got Nat, I need to run to the store.”

  “Of course,” she yells back.

  “So this is Katherine’s house.”

  I shut the door behind me. “No, but tell me why the fuck you have her phone.”

  “Are you her brother or-”

  “Listen asshole, you show up here with her phone looking like someone she’d just assume stab than deal with I’m gonna assume one of three things, you’re some sick fuck, you fucking stole it, or she gave it to you and my Kat doesn’t hand over her shit. So unless you answer the questions, I’m gonna beat them out of you, you hear me?”

  “Your Kat?” He laughs. “She left it on our date this evening.”

  “This evening,” I mock him.

  “In my car,” he says snidely.

  “And what, she jumped the fuck out while you were driving down the road to get the fuck away from you and left it behind?”

  “She forgot it. I looked in her contacts this was the emergency address.”

  “How the fuck did you know her password?” I snap.

  “I took a guess and I was right. It’s been the same since she was at Harvard. I’m Owen Michaels, I used to date Katherine.” He holds out his hand like I’m gonna shake it. I don’t.

  He rolls his eyes. “You said the name Darby, I know that’s her sister. Is her mother here as well? I ask because I know her father passed years ago. I know because I knew Katherine before she had to go,” he eyes me up and down and I know damn well he’s looking at my ink, “express herself.”

  “Tell me Oscar,” I say trying not to fucking blow.

  “It’s Owen,” he interrupts.

  I shrug to say, ‘so fucking what’. “How’d the date go?”

  “As well as expected,” he says smugly.

  “Great then where the fuck is she?”

  He looks uncomfortable which brings me worry and concern for my Kat.

  He clears his throat. “She left her phone.”

  “To get the fuck away from you.” I poke him pretty fucking hard in the chest and he steps back.