Ties That Bind

by Heather Huffman

  “Do I have to be in any of these pictures today? Please tell me no, I don’t have a stitch of makeup on.”

  “Maybe one or two,” he played with a lock of hair that slipped over her shoulder.

  “When we walk out that door, the spell is broken and you have to keep your hands to yourself again,” she eyed him warily.

  “Then I’d better do this while I have the chance.” In one fluid motion, he stood and pulled her to her feet and to him. His lips claimed hers hungrily. His arms held her tightly to him, her own hands held his shoulders as if clinging for dear life.

  The need grew with the kiss, swelling to a painful, all-encompassing wave of emotion. With an almost-pained expression on his face, he ended the moment, resting his forehead against hers. Their breath came in great heaves at first and they stood there quietly, waiting for equilibrium to return.

  “I shouldn’t have given you the heads up,” her eyelashes fluttered.

  “Do you wish I hadn’t done that?” his voice was gentle as a feather.

  “No. Heaven help me, I don’t wish that,” her eyes met his.

  “If you don’t want this to go further because it goes against your moral code, I’ll respect that,” he stroked her cheek with his thumb. “But don’t put me outside a wall I can’t climb because you’re scared. That’s not fair to either of us.”

  “Is it really that easy? Do you expect me to say ‘Okay then’ and just forget years of hard-wiring?” She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry.

  “I know it’s not that easy. I’m just saying give me a fighting chance. I think I’m falling for you.”

  “You can’t possibly know that,” she shook her head. “You barely know me.”

  “Don’t dismiss me like a schoolboy with a crush. If you really believe that, then let me get to know you. If you’re right, then I’ll get bored and go away on my own.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she promised. It was all she could give. What if he got bored and she didn’t?

  “That’s all I’m asking,” he stole another quick kiss and stepped back before his will power slipped. He busied himself tossing dishes in the sink for later while Kate studied him thoughtfully. It was amazing how his smile could take his face from dark and brooding to boyishly earnest in an instant. She wanted to believe him. Wanted to, but wasn’t sure she dared. With a start, she realized that he was walking away from the pile of dishes in the sink.

  “I can do those,” she jumped to her feet and offered.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he waved them off.

  “I don’t think that’s possible,” she admitted.

  “You’re joking, right?”

  “No, not really. How can you just walk away from a pile of dishes like that?”

  “Quite easily, actually,” he grinned at her.

  “It’ll only take me a minute to wash them,” she urged.

  “You want to wash my dishes for me?”

  “You cooked for me.”

  “Somehow I don’t think that really matters. It’s really bothering you that much?”

  “Kinda, yeah. Besides, I did something reckless earlier. You sort of owe me this one.”

  “So I owe it to you to let you wash my dishes?”

  “You can help if it means that much to you,” she shrugged, moving to grab a dishcloth before he could protest.

  “So this is like tit for tat? I do something responsible, you do something reckless?” His eyes brightened.

  “I don’t know if I’d say that.”

  “No, I’m pretty sure you did. You could be on to something here.” The tone in his voice made her nervous. “What do I get if I clean my room?”

  “From what I can see, that’s worth something big,” she giggled in spite of herself.

  “It’s a deal,” he announced.

  “Wait, I….”

  “Nope, a deal’s a deal.”

  “Oh forget it.”

  Chapter Six

  Once they’d swung by Kate’s apartment so she could drop off her lonely purple pump and grab a new pair of shoes, it had been an entertaining afternoon, popping in and out of San Francisco hot spots. It had been fun.

  Maybe Kate thought Gavin would lose his nerve about the haircut. Maybe she’d managed to forget the six o’clock appointment looming before her. Either way, now that it was a quarter after six and she found herself leaned back uncomfortably with her head being washed in mango shampoo, her surly attitude returned with full force. She didn’t want to take it out on the hair stylist, so she sat in silence. When she heard another stylist asking Gavin how he’d like his hair cut, she sat up so fast she bumped heads with the woman leaning over her.

  “Sorry,” she winced and rubbed her head. “I get to decide that question.”

  “Fair enough, since I get to decide yours,” he leaned back against the sink, folding his hands casually across his stomach.

  “Shoot, I shouldn’t have reminded him,” she muttered.

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.”

  “So how does he want his haircut?” The stylist focused her question on Kate.

  “I don’t want to say. Strategy,” Kate told her apologetically.

  “Not sure how this is going to work, then,” the woman frowned.

  “I’ll tell you after he tells her,” Kate shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “And wind up with a mullet? I don’t think so,” Gavin added from his sink.

  “How about we show you pictures?” Kate suggested.

  “Whatever,” the woman rolled her eyes. Gavin chuckled. Kate settled back in the sink, belatedly remembering she still had shampoo in her hair. It wasn’t fair, he seemed much too relaxed. Either he didn’t really think she’d stick him with a mullet, or he didn’t care. How infuriating. Much subterfuge later, the hairstyles in question were underway. Gavin’s continued easy demeanor only served to further rattle Kate’s nerves.

  “So I’ve been thinking about your parents,” he struck up a conversation with her.

  “And?” she asked hesitantly, unsure if this was the best venue for this discussion.

  “I think maybe Devon could help out there. He’s good at tracking things down. I bet he could get us on the right path anyway.”

  “I don’t want to put anybody out.” She kept her eyes firmly shut, refusing to look until it was over.

  “He won’t mind. It’ll be like a game to him, a puzzle to solve. Do you mind if I ask him to start digging?” He posed the last question quietly and waited for her response.

  “I guess not,” she allowed. “I don’t have any idea where to start.”

  “Almost done,” Gavin’s stylist got out the hair dryer. Kate ventured to open one eye, hoping for a sneak peak. All she could see was the stylist’s back. The blow dryer started on her own hair and she clamped her eyes shut again. And then the moment came. She tried to gauge how much lighter her head felt, but couldn’t tell a difference. She opened her eyes and couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter that erupted.

  “Well that was rather anti-climatic,” she looked from her reflection to his and back again.

  “A trim. We went through all those theatrics and gave each other a trim,” Gavin added his own chuckle.

  “We shaped it, too,” one of the stylists scowled.

  “Oh, I’m sorry – you did a wonderful job. I really love it,” Kate assured her genuinely. She did like how her hair framed her face, how it laid in somewhat messy layers now. It was her hair, just better. Just like his was his, just a little shorter, a little less mad-scientist.

  They paid, tipping well, and left the salon still laughing about their chosen hairstyles.

  “So I guess this is goodnight,” Kate sighed as they stood on the sidewalk.

  “You’re not getting off that easy,” he tapped the end of her nose playfully. “We’re meeting the girls at John Collins. I’ll grab a few more shots; we’ll grab a few drinks.”

  “Oh. Won’t I be the oldest person there?” Kate frowned.
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br />   “Just leave your walker with the door guy and no one will know.”

  Kate made a face at him, but allowed herself to be pulled along behind them. She should be running back to the safety of her apartment. But it wouldn’t be so dangerous with the girls there, right?

  Except that with the girls and their significant others there, suddenly it made her feel more like she was part of a couple and Gavin was the other half. It didn’t help that everyone treated them that way. As much as she wanted to relent to the ease of it all, she just couldn’t seem to.

  Kate had a really expensive shoe sitting alone in her closet as evidence for how things often turned out when she acted impulsively. It never ended well. Her responses became stiffer as the evening wore on and she realized she was putting more and more distance between herself and Gavin. When it became awkwardly evident to the entire party, Kate excused herself miserably and made for the door. To her surprise, or was it dismay, he let her go.

  She cursed herself for being so broken, but couldn’t see a way past it. To make matters worse, the person she most wanted to talk to about the confusing jumble that comprised her thoughts was her mother, and her mother was gone.

  So she dealt with the confusion the way any rational person would, she shoved it to the side and sat down with a takeout pizza to catch up on email. Then she killed some time shopping online for reporter gifts. She wanted to get her name out there as a good experience before she needed them to run her stories about the launch party. She knew it was past time to start taking her selected reporters to lunch.

  The next morning she worked from home until it was time for the morning meeting, did her absolute best to ignore Gavin during the meeting, and called Tara to arrange wedding planning for the entire day. The looks Liz and Jessica gave her as she flew out the door said that they were going to want answers. The only problem was she didn’t have any.

  Kate was very proud of how well she avoided Gavin over the next week. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was skill, or maybe he was giving her space. Any way you looked at it, she practically skipped home Friday evening.

  She’d survived that first weekend by wandering around China Town on Saturday and taking the bus over to the Pacific Coast on Sunday. There was so much to see, she barely felt the twinge of loneliness.

  When she was back at work, she’d not only expertly ignored Gavin—she’d even done a pretty good job of staying out of the same room as Jack. Maybe the similar mannerism thing wouldn’t be as noticeable if they weren’t standing right next to each other. That did make it harder to learn much about who Jack was, but she had a surprising resource in Tara. Once she got over the weird-factor, she found Tara to be an eager and useful fountain of information.

  She’d done so much work on Jack and Tara’s wedding in the past days, she found herself behind on the launch party. Now it was Friday and she was home. She took a deep breath, savoring how clean and orderly everything was here in her haven. Then she quickly changed into her comfiest pajamas and sat down at her computer, determined to at least catch up on email – again – and proof the launch party invites that should have been sent to the printer already. Liz would never complain, but still Kate felt guilty.

  With that done, she issued her first lunch invitations to the local reporters that seemed to matter most to her cause. Liz and Jessica had helped her line up the best restaurants to take them to. If all went as planned, she’d have lunches set up for the next couple of weeks and some really good contacts to show for it.

  When she’d completely caught up on work, she decided to nose around the Internet a little to see what she could learn about either of her parents that might link one to the other. She wasn’t sure if Devon would still be helping her since she’d been avoiding Gavin like the plague.

  A knock at the door startled her and she glanced at the clock on her computer. Eight o’clock. That’s odd. She looked around the apartment briefly for a weapon, her search interrupted by Jessica’s voice.

  “Kate it’s us.”

  “Yeah, let us in,” Liz added.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Kate wondered aloud when they filed in past her.

  “Some welcome,” Liz teased.

  “You know you’re always welcome,” Kate rolled her eyes.

  “We’re taking you out,” Jessica announced, handing her a hanger with a bag over its contents. “Put this on.”

  “Why?” Kate eyed them suspiciously.

  “Because I can promise you that not one thing in your closet is fit to wear to this place,” Liz shoved her gently towards her bedroom.

  “Not sure how to take that.”

  “Be sure to put on makeup,” Jessica called after her.

  Kate wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that, but it was hard to argue with those two women when they set their mind to something—even harder when you didn’t feel like arguing all that much. With the new little black dress in place, her makeup carefully applied, her hair freshly styled, and Liz incessantly tapping on her door, Kate could procrastinate no longer and reemerged from the bedroom.

  “Perfect,” Jessica smiled, quite pleased with herself. “We’d better go or we’ll miss our reservations.”

  “Reservations?” Kate’s anxiety renewed itself.

  “No questions. Just follow us.” Liz handed her a small black purse.

  Kate started to protest that the bag wasn’t hers, but realized that Liz had put her things in it. Of course they’d thought of everything. Her curiosity was piqued as she followed them into a cab. What was really starting to make her antsy was their complete and total lack of questions. The looks they’d been giving her for the past few days were those of women dying of curiosity. Now they had her alone, they chatted about the guest list for Liz’s upcoming wedding. That scared her. A lot.

  “Her guest list is up to 200 people,” Liz threw her hands up in despair. “The reception hall only fits 300. I have five aunts and uncles. Apparently Justin and I don’t get to invite anyone we know. You will not believe who she invited yesterday.”

  “Who?” Jessica leaned forward eagerly.

  “His third grade teacher! Apparently she ran into her at the store. Who does that? Really?”

  Kate tried to hide the grin she felt creeping up. That was one perk of having no family; she’d never have to worry about runaway guest lists.

  The cab ride was short. Jessica paid the driver and Kate found herself standing on the sidewalk with her friends in front of a white building with shiny gold doors and the words supperclub all lowercase above them. Kate felt her heart rate return to normal. They were taking her out to dinner. How very thoughtful. With a renewed sense of adventure, she followed them through those shiny doors.

  Kate was so instantaneously caught up in the surreal nature of her surroundings she paid little attention to Liz as she whispered instructions to the man at the door. Otherwise, his smile and knowing nod would have put her on edge.

  She was too wrapped up in all-white surroundings, odd lighting and even odder people to take in much else as she followed the man towards her…. Bed? White beds lined the walls where there should have been chairs. Dinner in bed?

  Even as her mind tried to process this, a chocolate-covered woman wearing a snake slid passed with a pleasant “excuse me”. Kate wasn’t sure she could be this trendy, this… decadent. The part of her that craved order looked longingly back towards the exit. That’s when she realized with sickening clarity that Jessica and Liz were no longer with her. The traitors.

  She knew in an instant what they had done—even before she turned around to find Gavin stretched out lazily on the bed, his long frame dressed in black and creating a rather striking image against the white linen. And he was smiling like the cat that just ate the canary, obviously pretty proud of this one. Kate hesitated briefly, deciding that a royal temper-tantrum would probably just make him laugh. So she settled on the bed with as much dignity as she could muster, silently cursing her friends for the dress.

>   He studied her for a moment and she blushed in spite of herself.

  “You look amazing,” he finally broke the silence between them.

  “So do you,” she grudgingly admitted. “But I’m not sure I’m going to forgive you that easily.”

  “Understood,” he acknowledged.

  “You really need to do something about that nervous tic in your mouth,” she snapped. The way his lips twitched when he was trying not to laugh might have been sexier if it hadn’t been for the fact that she knew he was trying not to laugh at her.

  “I hired a maid,” he ignored her last statement.

  “Not the same as doing the cleaning yourself, but making sure you don’t get dysentery is still a good thing.”

  “Somehow I don’t think I was quite to the stage of acquiring dysentery.” His lip was twitching again.

  “So this is my end of the deal?” She arched an eyebrow and gestured at a grown man walking by in what looked like a diaper.

  “No, sorry; you’re not getting off that easy.” He paused to thank the waiter who was setting their first course in front of them. “This is Jack’s idea.”

  “Jack’s idea? Really? And he didn’t have any help at all coming up with this idea?”

  “Well, maybe a little guidance.”

  Kate shook her head and took a drink from the glass in front of her. The alcohol content immediately burned her throat and she made a mental note to sip rather than gulp. The man in the diaper and the chocolate-covered woman began what Kate assumed was the evening’s entertainment. She ignored her mental edict and polished off the drink.

  “Could you please take whatever pictures you need to?” She whispered when she finally regained the ability to speak.

  “Why is that?” he leaned in towards her, curious.

  “Because I’m about to run screaming from the building.”

  “But what about the other three courses?”

  “I’d be really happy with a burger from the diner down the street,” her eyes pled with him to have mercy on her.