The Boy Next Door

by Heather D'Agostino

  “That was a mistake, plain and simple,” she began to pick up the pace and catch up to where Patrick was walking with Matt.

  She quickly grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers, and pressing her body into his side. Her eyes darted around to see if Zach had followed her movement. When she noticed he was right behind her, she leaned up and placed a kiss on Patrick’s cheek. She hoped that her open affection for him in front of Zach would help drive the point home.

  Patrick looked over at her with questioning eyes, “Everything ok?”

  He sensed something was bothering her by the way she trembled slightly beside him. He kept quiet, hoping that she’d open up to him, but she stayed rather silent. He noticed that she kept her gaze forward away from the group as she blinked and fought for control.

  “Yeah, let’s just get to the club. I need something to take the edge off, and I’m looking forward to dancing with you,” she smiled.

  Katie’s mind flashed back to the night at the coffee shop. The way Zach’s body felt against hers, the way his lips melded to hers. His advances had been unwelcome, but she still felt the guilt that she was carrying around. Patrick had yet to find out that she’d kissed another man, but she knew she needed to tell him.

  Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll tell him everything she reasoned to herself. She would take him somewhere quiet and sit him down to tell him about her history with Zach.

  If she wanted a future with Patrick, she knew it was the only way.

  ***

  When they got to the end of the block, they could hear music pouring out onto the street, and there was a line out the door of the last club on the left. Fat Joe’s was lit up over the door.

  “This looks promising,” Eden giggled and pointed to the door. “Anytime there’s a line, you know it’s a good place.”

  “The fact that they’re advertising dollar drinks might have something to do with it, too,” Matt chuckled as he pointed to the banner hanging in the window. He leaned into Patrick’s shoulder as he whispered, “Tonight’s gonna be a great night. I can see it already.”

  “You think so?” Patrick mumbled under his breath smirking at Matt.

  “Yeah Dude, did you see what she’s wearing?” he shot his eyes in Hannah’s direction where she was giggling over something that Eden had said to her.

  “Behave!” Patrick warned.

  ***

  They walked to the end of the line and waited. It took a good ten minutes for the line to move up enough to get through the door. The bouncer checked the ID’s they had, stamped their hands for over 21, and took the cover charge from the guys.

  “You don’t have to pay for me,” Hannah gasped as Matt opened his wallet to hand the bouncer the money.

  “I don’t mind,” Matt smiled. “It’s only five bucks. That’s nothing.”

  When they entered the main space, Katie and Eden smiled and headed for the dance floor. They grabbed Hannah and nodded in the direction of the tables, signaling that the guys should grab one while they could.

  “I love this song! Come on!” Katie yelled.

  “We’ll get a table and some drinks!” Patrick yelled back. “You go ahead and dance.”

  “We’re goin’ old school tonight,” Eden grinned as they made their way to the center of the dance floor.

  Hannah threw her head back as she listened to the lyrics. She was never much for clubbing. Dancing and making a fool of herself was not something she was used to. Back in high school when they went to parties, Hannah was usually in the kitchen talking, not sweating it out grinding against some guy.

  Katie pulled her over and began shaking her hips to the music.

  It’s tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s right on time

  Tricky, tricky, tricky

  “You’re too stiff,” Katie yelled in her ear. “Loosen up your hips. Throw your hands up to help with your balance.”

  Hannah shook her head and Eden laughed as she sidled up next to Katie.

  “Watch!” Eden yelled.

  She slid up behind Katie and a wrapped an arm around her middle while pressing her hips into Katie‘s backside. The two moved together in time as Katie put her hands up over her head and ground her hips back.

  Hannah blanched at the provocative movement. This was not a side of Katie she was used to seeing.

  “I think Patrick’s enjoying the show!” Hannah yelled as she pointed in the direction of the table the guys had claimed.

  Katie smirked, “He’s never seen me like this. I think I surprised him.”

  “I haven’t either,” Hannah giggled. “It’s a whole new you.”

  “Let’s really give him something to smile about,” Eden shouted into her ear.

  The two girls pulled Hannah in front of Katie and all three of them rubbed together seductively. Katie saw Matt’s eyes bug out, and she smirked. Hannah was completely unaware of the effect she was having on him. He was clearly into her, and this just proved that.

  Katie threw her head back and let out a giggle, “Ahhhh…that was so worth it.”

  “What are you talking about?” Hannah turned and shouted in Katie’s ear.

  She lifted her finger and pointed at the group of guys sitting at the table gawking at them, “That right there. You see the looks on their faces right?”

  “He’s so into you, and he’s trying so hard to play it cool,” Eden giggled.

  “Who?” Hannah played dumb.

  “Matt, silly,” Eden quirked her brow.

  “He’s not into me,” Hannah argued.

  “Is too,” Katie nodded and smirked. “Do you like him?”

  “What?” Hannah cocked her head to the side.

  “Do you like him?” Katie stated again. “Like, ‘like him’ like him?”

  “Um….I don’t know,” Hannah shrugged. “I don’t feel like I really know him,” she continued to dance but this time facing the girls.

  “Well…he likes you. You should talk to him. Get to know him better. You might find out that you do like him,” Eden nudged her in the side.

  “He’s such a player though,” Hannah rolled her eyes.

  “I still think you should talk to him,” Katie urged. “See where it goes…what have you got to lose?”

  “We’ll see…maybe…I don’t know,” she sighed.

  Once the song had ended, Katie turned to Eden, “Let’s take a break and cool off. I want to get a drink too.”

  “Sounds great. It is a little hot in here,” they walked off the dance floor laughing and fanning themselves.

  ***

  When they approached the high-top table, Patrick handed Katie a glass with some sort of red drink that had a piece of pineapple stuck on the rim.

  He stood to offer her his seat as he nodded his head in the direction of the drink. “It’s on special tonight. Go slow, ok. After that show on the dance floor, I want to be able to enjoy my time with you later,” he teased.

  “Yes, Dad,” she teased back.

  “So are you trying to kill me tonight?” he whispered in her ear. “I didn’t know you could move like that.”

  “Whatever do you mean?” she feigned innocence.

  “This,” he pointed to her top as he ran his finger over the edge, “and the dancing,” he pointed to the dance floor. “You’re slowly killing me here,” he leaned in and placed a kiss to her neck as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

  Once she stood from the barstool, he grabbed her by the hips and tightened his embrace. Katie could feel his erection pressing against her lower belly.

  “See what I mean?” he groaned as she leaned into him further.

  “Un huh,” she mumbled in his ear as she discreetly ran her knuckles down his chest, past his waist, and across the hard ridge in his pants that he was trying to hide.

  He reached down and grabbed her wrist, stilling her movement. “Stop!” he hissed.

  She grinned up at him and stepped back to sit down.

  “This is what most of my weekends are like duri
ng school. You’ve just never been around to enjoy it with me,” she smiled.

  “Well, now that I know what I was missing, I’ll have to make a point to come around more often,” he grabbed her hand and began to pull her toward the dance floor.

  She smiled at him, “I was hoping to get a break for a minute.”

  “Break’s over. I want you to press yourself up to me like you did to Eden,” he smirked as Katie rolled her eyes at him.

  ***

  “Come on, I actually like this song,” he pulled her a little harder, coaxing her onto the floor.

  Patrick pulled Katie to the middle of the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her waist. They were so close their thighs were rubbing together. Katie threw her hands in the air over her head and swayed to the music. Patrick began running his hands up and down her back, going from her shoulders to her bottom. She looked up at him, desire written all over her face as she leaned in and ran her hands down his torso from his shoulders to his chest. She stretched up and placed a kiss to his lips.

  But baby there you go again, there you go again making me love you

  Yeah I stopped using my head, using my head let it all go

  Lost in the haze of the dance, Katie didn’t feel the presence behind her. Zach had left the table to join them. Apparently, Hannah and Eden had gone to use the bathroom and Matt was holding their spot at the table. Zach had made his way up behind Katie, but had stayed slightly hidden in the mob of people.

  He pressed into her back rubbing his hips against her. When she felt him, she jumped, and glanced over her shoulder. Not wanting to cause a scene, she leaned into Patrick more and tried to shift away. Patrick glared up at Zach and gave him the universal guy sign for “back off.” Zach shrugged and smirked at Katie and then left the dance floor.

  Katie had turned around at this point and had her back to Patrick. He had one hand wrapped around her middle, his fingers splayed out on her stomach. The other hand was running up and down her side. Their hips swayed together, her head was leaning back against his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck.

  “This is almost as good as what we were doing in the room this afternoon,” he groaned into her ear.

  She sighed and rocked her hips a little harder. She happened to open her eyes and look over in the direction of their table. The girls were back now, and Zach was glaring right at her. Hannah and Eden seemed to be in a deep conversation with Matt, so they were blissfully unaware of the exchange going on. She turned her eyes away from him and focused her attention back on Patrick. Her body stiffened slightly, and she hoped that Patrick didn’t notice. She spun back to facing him and kissed him again, this time with more force and deepened it quickly catching him off guard. As the song finished, and she broke the kiss, smiling lazily up at him grinning, he furrowed his brow.

  “What was that for?” he darted his eyes side-to-side staring at her. “Not that I mind, but it seemed almost desperate.”

  “I love you so much, you know that right?” she pleaded.

  “Why do I get the feeling that something’s about to happen that I’m not going to like?” he sighed.

  “I need to tell you something,” Katie’s lip trembled. She knew this wasn’t really the place to do this, but she had a feeling that Zach was going to do something stupid if she didn’t. He was forcing her to confront what happened between them, and Patrick was in the middle of all of it. “Can we go out on the deck where the music’s not so loud?”

  “Sure,” he grabbed her hand and led her outside.

  ***

  When they got outside, she led them into a corner that was less crowded and dropped his hand. “Promise me you’ll let me finish before you say anything.”

  Patrick nodded and tried to reach for her as she backed up, putting distance between them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before beginning…

  “Zach and I used to date. We were young. I was only fourteen. I thought I was in love with him. He had some major family issues and moved away. We broke up when he moved because he didn’t want to hold me back. I was miserable for a long time after that. I thought I would probably never see him again.”

  Patrick was watching her as tears pricked her eyes. He kept clinching his fists at his side. This is what Zach was talking about on the beach.

  Katie continued, it was too late to turn back now. “A while back, I was studying on the quad and up he walks. I couldn’t believe it at first, I mean it’s been years since we’ve seen each other. We went for coffee, and I told him about you.” She smiled a watery smile as Patrick’s face flushed with anger, thinking, she spent time with him on what sounded like a date...

  “I told him how we’d met. How we were friends first and then got together. How much I loved you. We parted ways and I figured that was the end of it,” she paused and took a deep breath, working up the courage to tell him about the kiss. “A week later, Eden invited me out for open mic night at a local coffee shop. She told me her boyfriend was taking her. I agreed to go, only to find out that her boyfriend was Zach. This was also after I’d invited them to join us on this trip,” she grimaced. “I didn’t know it was him she was talking about, I swear. I’ve tried to put as much distance between us as I can, but he just won’t stop,” she looked down at her feet before she mumbled, “That’s when he kissed me.”

  Patrick was silent as he took it all in. Pain, confusion, and finally anger washed over him. As all three emotions waged a war in his gut, anger finally won out. Katie couldn’t believe the rage she saw flashing across his face. She’d never seem him like this.

  She looked up at him with such a look of pain on her face, “You have to believe me. I don’t want to be with him. I stopped him right away and told him that I couldn’t be with him, that I loved you. I love you,” she pressed her hands on his chest and looked up into his eyes. “I want to be with you and only you, nobody else,” she pleaded.

  Patrick removed her hands from him backed away from her, “Is he the reason you‘ve been all over me tonight? Were you trying to prove something? Why would you keep this from me? I thought we had something special here.” The questions kept coming as he continued to move away from her.

  “I thought he would back off,” she sobbed. “I haven’t given him any signs that it would go anywhere. After that move he pulled on the dance floor, I knew I needed to tell you. I think he wanted me to tell you, so you’d leave me,” she moved closer and darted her eyes back and forth pleading for forgiveness. “You have to forgive me…I love you.”

  Patrick closed the distance between them and crashed his mouth down on hers while shoving her hard against the wall behind them. The kiss was hard and possessive. She knew he was marking her as his. His tongue snaked out and plunged into her mouth catching her off guard. She returned the kiss with just as much fervor. She loved him and wanted him to see that she had no interest in being with Zach. She WAS his, and she only wanted him.

  When he pulled away he looked back at the door to the inside, he growled, “I’m gonna kill him.”

  “No don’t!” she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

  “Katie, he can’t think that he can do that to you and not have me care. What message are you sending him if you let it continue?” he threw his hands up in frustration.

  “You don’t know Zach’s history. His dad used to beat him. Violence isn’t going to work with him,” Katie sighed as she leaned against Patrick’s chest. “Just ignore it for now, I’ll figure something out. I have to live with his girlfriend for another six weeks, you know?”

  “Fine, but if he so much as looks at you funny, I’m gonna beat the shit out him,” Patrick huffed.

  ***

  When they came back to the table, Katie was pleased to see Hannah and Matt with their heads together talking, obviously enjoying each other's company. The tension of the last few minutes; however, showed plainly on Katie's face.

  Hannah looked over at her sister. “Everything ok?”

  “Yeah, where
are Eden and Zach?” Katie questioned.

  “They left,” Hannah shrugged as she leaned into Matt‘s side. “Something about being tired, but I think they just wanted the room to themselves. Ugh!!!”

  Matt snickered as he looked at the girls, “Is there something wrong with that?”

  Hannah rolled her eyes, “Is that all you think about…sex?”

  “I’m a guy,” he shrugged. “Beer, sex, and boobs…that’s what we think about ninety nine percent of the time.”