“Maybe,” Hannah mumbled.
“Well, I better go to bed. I’m sure I won’t be able to fall asleep anytime soon,” Katie groaned as she pulled herself to a sitting position.
Hannah rose beside her, “Stop worrying. Whatever it is…it’s not as bad as you think.”
“You’re right,” Katie sighed. “I’m letting too many things influence me. He wouldn’t have given me this if something was wrong,” she fingered the key charm. “It’s late and I have to go to the hospital tomorrow with Mom to get everything ready for next week. Paperwork and all, you know…” she groaned as she stood and walked toward the door.
“Night,” Hannah called as Katie left the room.
***
Katie walked back into her room and began pulling back the covers. After brushing out her hair and climbing into bed, she spent the next several minutes letting her mind wander. Patrick’s weird behavior on the beach was playing on repeat, and she couldn’t ignore the feeling in her gut that something was up with him. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, she turned on the light and clicked on her I Pod. Music always seemed to soothe her. As the soft music played in the background, her brain began to spin out of control with thoughts of Patrick. She’d had so much drama in her life lately with Zach and Eden, now was not the time for Patrick to add to the mix. As she slumped back into her pillows, Adam Levine’s voice wafted through the air.
Just then her phone began to ring. She rolled over on the bed and looked at the caller ID. It was Patrick. She took a deep breath and answered.
“Hello?” she sighed.
“Hey, I was calling to say goodnight. I know you were tired tonight,” he responded cheerfully. “What are you doing?”
“I’m in bed listening to my new Maroon5 album on my I Pod,” she mumbled.
“In bed, huh?” Patrick chuckled.
“Yes, bed. In a sloppy t-shirt and shorts. Get your mind out of the gutter, Mr. McKinley,” she giggled.
And when the daylight comes I’ll have to go
But tonight I’m gonna hold you so close
“What song is that?” Patrick huffed into the phone. He was out of breath with whatever he was doing, and Katie snickered thinking he might be working out.
“Daylight. After you told me that you liked that other song, I downloaded the entire album. It makes me think of you,” happiness began to shine through her voice.
“Oh really?” he whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” she asked.
Just then Katie heard a ping on her window. She rolled over in bed and glanced at it.
“Patrick, I think I heard something outside,” she whispered as she sat up. “What are you doing? You sound all out of breath.”
She slowly slide her legs over the side of the bed, and glanced at the window again. This time she saw the small stone that pinged against the window resting on the sill.
“Patrick, there is someone outside my window!” she whisper shouted.
“I know,” he chuckled. “It’s me. You should be used to this by now. I mean…I’ve been doing this for how many years now?”
She moved quickly across the room and pushed open the sheer curtains. Sure enough, Patrick was standing right below the window. Katie’s room was on the ground floor, but the way the house was constructed made the back sit higher off the ground. Her window was about seven feet up. Patrick was standing on the bucket that she and Hannah had joked about.
“I see you found the bucket,” she giggled. “Hannah made sure it made its’ way back here after Dad put it in the garage.”
“Yeah,” he glanced down at the bucket he was perched on. “Nothing’s gonna stop me from seeing you…even if I get my ass beat by your father.”
“What are you doing here?” she scanned the area around the house to make sure no one was watching them.
“I wanted to come over and give you a goodnight kiss. You sounded a little bummed on the phone,” he whispered.
“Hey, why are you listening to this? It’s a break up song,” Patrick rubbed his thumb across her lips. You’re not trying to tell me something are you?” his eyes darted around as he waited for conformation from her.
“No it’s not that,” she assured him. “Listen to the other parts where he sings about the night, that’s what makes me think of you.”
Patrick reached in and placed a soft kiss to her lips as she leaned farther out the window. She sighed and leaned into him more, placing one hand on the windowsill and wrapping the other around Patrick’s neck.
“You know you could have come to the door. My parents would have let you tell me goodnight,” she mumbled against his mouth.
“Isn’t this more romantic?” he grinned.
“Well, you do have a point there,” she smiled and kissed him again.
The kiss grew deeper as his tongue swept across her lips begging for entrance. She opened up to him and a soft moan escaped her as she met him move for move. When he released her from the kiss, his eyes were slightly glazed. He rubbed his thumb across her swollen lips and placed one last peck on them before stepping back.
“Goodnight. I love you,” he whispered.
“Goodnight. I love you too,” she smiled back at him.
“Hey, I want to take you out tomorrow night for dinner. Can you pencil me in?” he grinned as he backed away from the window. “Dress up, it’s going to be a special night, okay?” he cocked his head to the side.
“Okay,” she grinned. “It’s a date. I’ll be home around three. Does that work?”
“Sure, I’ll pick you up at six,” he smiled and turned to begin walking back to his house.
“Hey Patrick? Hannah said yes,” she called after him.
“Great…I’ll tell Matt,” he grinned.
Katie couldn’t help the smile that was spreading across her face. Tomorrow was going to be a great day. She was heading to the hospital in the morning with her mom to get started on her new summer job, and then tomorrow night Patrick had some fancy evening planned. This summer was heading in the right direction.
She clicked the power off on the I Pod dock and settled into bed. Dreams would soon invade her mind, but after the birthday day she just had, she knew they’d be sweet.
Chapter 19
After spending the day filling out paperwork for taxes and taking a required drug test, Katie was finally ready to start at the hospital. Even though she couldn’t do any work as a doctor yet she was still able to do basically what volunteers did, but get paid for it. She spent the afternoon wheeling patients to tests, helping drop off lunch trays, and filing out papers at the nurse’s station. It wasn’t great work, but it got her name and face out there for when she began to need a real job in the future. She had hopes of coming back to Boston and working with her mom after she finished school. Melanie had a great reputation as a surgeon and Katie knew she had big shoes to fill.
“I’ll be ready to head out in about thirty minutes,” Melanie mentioned as she piled some charts on a nearby nurse’s station. “You about ready?”
“Yes Mom, I only need about ten more minutes to finish this,” Katie sighed as she continued to write on the file in front of her.
She was tired, and she still needed time to get dressed for her night out. Patrick had some fancy date planned and he wouldn’t give her any clues as to what they were doing. About eight minutes later, Melanie came around the corner with her white lab coat draped over her arm and her purse in her hand.
“Let’s get out of here,” she pointed to the door.
The two walked into the parking garage and climbed in the Melanie’s BMW.
“So, how was your first day?” Melanie turned to her.
“Good, I just wish I could actually do something,” Katie sighed. “I feel like a glorified candy striper.”
“Well, once you get a few more pre-med classes under your belt, you can. Right now, this is good experience,” Melanie patted her arm as she began to pull out of the parking space.<
br />
***
Once they got home, Katie rushed down the hall to Hannah’s room and knocked on the door.
“I need your help,” she begged. “Patrick wants to go out somewhere fancy and I don’t have a dress that he hasn’t seen. Can I borrow one from you?”
“Come on in,” Hannah gestured toward the closet. “Let’s see what we can find.”
Hannah began digging through the closet, hoping to find something suitable for the summer that would be comfortable.
“How about this?” she held out a pink chiffon dress. “I haven’t worn this in a long time. I think I got it for a wedding I went to a few years ago.”
“That looks great. I just hope it fits,” Katie grabbed the hanger and rushed into her room. “You’re the best!” she shouted over her shoulder as she closed her door.
***
For next several hours, Katie primped, and curled, and sprayed everything into place. Finally, she stood in front of the mirror in Melanie’s room twisting from side to side, admiring herself. The dress was soft baby pink chiffon with an empire waist, v-neckline, and a full skirt that fell to just below the knee. The back had a V that matched the front, only slightly deeper. Small knots crimped and gathered the material at each shoulder. High heeled white sandals and a gold bracelet that matched her signature charm necklace completed her look.
After much deliberation, she had decided to sweep her hair up on one side, fastened with a clip. It fell in soft curls around her shoulders. She was the picture of beauty and innocence.
When she turned to walk out into the family room to wait for Patrick, she saw Melanie standing in the doorway.
“You look beautiful tonight, sweetie,” she smiled.
“Thanks Mom, but you really should tell Hannah. It’s her dress,” Katie smiled.
Melanie hugged her and together they moved to the family room to wait. Katie moved to sit on the couch just as Austin walked into the door.
“You look beautiful, Katie,” Austin smiled.
“Thanks,” Katie nodded.
“What’s the big occasion?” he asked.
“I have no idea,” she shrugged. “Birthday dinner, maybe?”
Just then there was a knock at the door. Austin moved to open it and found Patrick on the other side. He was standing there in a khaki linen suit with a white button down. He shifted nervously from one side to the other.
“Come on in,” Austin motioned.
“Thanks,” Patrick returned nervously.
He raked his hand through his hair and made his way over to where Katie was, just as she was standing up.
“Wow, you look great,” he gasped.
“Back at you,” she giggled.
“You ready to go?” he held out his hand.
“Sure, let’s get away from the firing squad,” she giggled.
The two left through the front door as Katie called over her shoulder, “I won’t be out late.”
***
Patrick walked her to his car, parked at the curb, and opened the door.
“You mean I finally get to ride in this?” Katie asked in mock surprise.
“Sure, I just haven’t had a chance to take you anywhere yet. You can drive it one day if you want to...when you’re not wearing heels,” Patrick shrugged.
His prized possession was a black Audi R8. His dad had bought it as a graduation present, but he hadn’t taken it to school. When Katie sunk into the plush leather seats, she ran her hands over the dash.
“It’s really nice,” she glanced around. “I’m surprised you sold the Jeep for a Beemer after getting this for graduation.”
“Thanks,” he blushed. “The Jeep was getting old, besides I figured I needed to grow up and drive a grown-up car,” he grinned as he cranked the engine.
Once he was settled in the car, he pushed the buttons on the radio that linked the I Pod he had connected to the on-board doc and pulled away from the curb.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” he winked.
“What’s with all the secrets? I mean I know you’re hiding something…I’m not blind,” she turned slightly to the side to stare him down.
“Do you think that maybe just once…I could do something nice for you and not get the third degree while I’m doing it?” he teased.
“Fine,” she huffed as she relaxed back into the seat.
As she sat back in the car, she watched out the window at the passing cityscape. It was just past dusk. The sky was turning a deep bluish purple as the sun dipped below the horizon. There was a slight breeze in the air, but it was practically the perfect night. Patrick continued to drive wondering how long Katie would stay silent, for he knew she would recognize the direction they were headed in a few moments. Trying to relieve some of the tension, Patrick tried distracting her.
“You can put whatever you want on the radio,” he gestured to the dash.
“You mean I can actually touch it?” she turned a cocked her head to the side.
“Yes,” he chuckled.
“Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” she giggled sarcastically.
“He’s trying to make this night about you,” Patrick laughed.
Katie leaned forward in her seat and began pushing different presets on the radio, hoping to find something better than hard rock. She wasn’t in the mood for “head banging” music tonight.
When she finally settled on a station, she turned to him, “Oh, I love this song!”
Katie turned the volume dial up louder and began to sing along as music filled the car.
Close your eyes, give me your hand darlin’
Katie smiled over at him, “Come on, and sing with me.” She gave him a sideways smile.
“I don’t sing, Baby,” he blushed.
“Oh come on, it’s just me,” she lightly pushed at his shoulder.
Patrick soon relented and quietly joined in. As the song continued, he got a little louder with each line. Katie grinned from ear to ear. By the time they reached the restaurant, they were both belting out the lyrics at the top of their lungs.
Is this burning an eternal flame?
They both erupted in laughter as Patrick turned the car off.
“We’re here,” he smiled.
Katie glanced around, “Wait, we’re in Beacon Hill. My grandma lives down that way,” she pointed.
“Yeah, I know. This place was ranked one of the best romantic places to eat in Boston. I thought we’d try something different tonight. I want to take you to places other than pizza joints and bars,” Patrick shrugged as he hopped out of the car and made his way around to her door.
***
They walked up to the entrance to the restaurant as a host opened the door and welcomed them in.
“Welcome to No. 9 Park,” the host smiled and waved his arm in a grand gesture.
“Wow, this is amazing,” Katie gushed as she made her way in.
Patrick guided her forward with his hand on her lower back as he made his way to the hostess stand. As she let her eyes wander around and take in her surroundings, she couldn’t help but gasp. White linen tablecloths with candles adorned the tables. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The servers were dressed in black from head to toe with the exception of the white towel each one carried over the arm. There was a low hum of voices filtering through the room as other guests sat in quiet conversation. This was nothing like any of the places they had gone to in the past. Something was definitely up. Katie rocked on the balls of her feet to release some of the nervous energy.
“We have a 7:30 reservation for McKinley,” Patrick stated, bringing Katie out of her haze.
“Sure, right this way sir,” the young blonde eyed Patrick with approval and began leading them to a table in the back.
Katie couldn’t blame her. He looked edible in his suit tonight. The linen slacks hung low and loose on his hips, hugging his rear just enough to give it definition. His broad shoulders strained against
the jacket as he shifted and moved through the restaurant. When the hostess reached the table and stepped to the side to allow Patrick and Katie to sit, Katie smirked at her. She blushed and left the couple to look over the menu.
Patrick glanced in the direction of the retreating hostess, “What was that about?”
“She was ogling you,” Katie shrugged. “I was just putting her in her place.”
The Boy Next Door Page 18
