BLUE ICE (ICE SERIES)

by Carolina Soto

  As if he was expecting for me to do something about it he turned around and smiled at me. ‘Ready for your first hotdog Katherine?’

  ‘I am starving but there’s no way I will walk that far to get it.’

  ‘What do you like on it?’

  ‘Ketchup, mustard, mayo, tomato, the usual.’

  He just nodded and went back to focus on his game, he wasn’t getting my dog. Maybe at the break, maybe he just wanted to know how I like hotdogs because he couldn’t investigate for my file, who knows! Suddenly one of the Capitals pushed one of our guys in a nasty way, the Ranger stood up and took his gloves off, my favorite part! They were beating the hell out of each other and I was having a blast watching. This time it was Blue Eyes who was staring.

  ‘Enjoying the show Ms. Bianchi?’

  ‘I love when they kick each other’s ass!’

  I was having fun, but even then I could see Joe approaching us with some girls. All of them with hotdogs and beers on their hands. Big guy handed me mine and a regular Coke and the girls delivered the other hotdogs and onion rings for Spence. Blue Eyes was taking my order earlier. It was delicious and I was eating like a five year old without manners. I noticed perfect Mr. Rich-ass Berkeley was eating his with perfect grace, until some mustard stayed on the corner of his lips. Without really knowing why, I cleaned it and licked my finger. He didn’t say anything about it, just a tiny little smile appeared on his face.

  ‘May I ask for other hotdog?’

  ‘Sure Katherine.’

  He took his iPhone from his pocket and unblocked it. ‘Call Joe, ask him to bring you whatever you want.’

  It was nice, being with his relaxed version. I asked Joe for another two hotdogs and some nacho fries; yes, those delicious fries covered with nacho toppings. Berkeley seemed surprised but Michelle explained to him that was the way I always ate fast food. We won the game and the guys celebrated as if it was Christmas morning. This was their happy place. Marc even carried Michelle on his back on our way to the SUV.

  Without saying much Dylan took my hand in his and walked as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It felt good, so good, my whole body focused on how our hands felt together, too much energy. I enjoyed it for a little while, but then I did what I do best, dismissed him. I acted as if I were looking for something from my purse, so he had no other option but to let my hand go.

  The ride back was just white noise. The guys were discussing the game and Michelle was falling asleep on Marc’s shoulder. We got home first. I said goodbye in a general way to avoid the “too long cheek kiss”, but of course, gentleman Berkeley got out the car and walked me to my door. I just said goodbye and ran, so it was even more awkward.

  Chapter 10

  On Friday my cell announced a text.

  WHAT ARE YOU DOING KATHERINE?

  My heart did that girly beating thing when I read his name on the screen.

  WORKING. NOT ALL OF US ARE RICH BASTARDS. WHAT DO YOU WANT?

  That thing vibrated again in a second.

  WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! NOTHING. JUST MISSING YOU.

  Bang! He just dropped that bomb and I wasn’t up for answering that. I didn’t pay any more attention to my phone that evening, I wasn’t going to play those high school games. That weekend was like all my weekends, but I added a new activity, stalking. I searched for Dylan’s pictures, I told myself I wanted to see him, but I knew I really wanted to see if he had any special relationship. Almost every girl that appeared with him was beautiful but only made one appearance, even though there were a couple of regulars. One blonde in particular, completely different from me, tiny, petite, feminine, short blonde hair; a gorgeous girl; I hate her!

  On Monday morning my worst fear appeared, a text from Michelle:

  BITCH, HAVING LUNCH WITH THE GUYS THIS SATURDAY. 12PM. DETAILS LATER.

  Yes I was going to see him again, but it would take 5 entire days. What’s going on with you Katherine, you can’t possibly be missing the guy! As I had predicted, 5 long, boring days, working with John and making Jenny’s life a living hell; she deserved it for bothering Mrs. Cherry.

  On Saturday I wore a boho purple maxidress, light purple flats and big Jackie O sunglasses. The weather was something I needed to exploit. After hours on the phone Michelle accepted that I would see them at the restaurant, not in my house again.

  By the time I arrived, they were already there, Michelle and Marc were all over each other and Mr. Bastard was distracted by his phone. Spencer was back in Chicago. Blue Eyes looked terribly handsome, my hands were sweating because of how perfect he was. Beige khakis, navy blue belt, light blue linen shirt and a light grey cardigan. He was a GQ page walking and I was melting again.

  I made my appearance and we enjoyed a rather funny meal. Marc entertained us and Michelle told us every detail of every one night stand she had had in her life. It was great to see how Marc was confident enough to hear all those terrifying stories from his girlfriend. And as usual Blue Eyes just stared at me. Of course my best friend wanted to include me in the conversation, so she started with one of the worst stories she could have shared.

  ‘Have I told you about the day K broke the quarterback’s arm, back in high school?’

  I absolutely choked on my waffles. I was choking a lot lately.

  ‘You did what?! Katie please tell me why would you do that?!’ Marc seemed more excited than scared, but I was still pissed. I didn’t need them to know that.

  ‘Yes she did! On the night before the big game!’ That little bitch was even laughing.

  Marc clapped and smiled at me. ‘Oh no, you didn’t! Please Katie!’

  I got so tense I could barely open my mouth to answer. ‘He grabbed my ass! He totally deserved it!’

  ‘So you became really popular Katherine?’ Even stupid Blue Eyes was laughing at me.

  ‘Bite me, Berkeley! He just needed a lesson!’

  ‘Yeah, she said the same thing the night she crashed her car against an asshole’s Ferrari at the Hamptons.’ Michelle was digging deeper.

  Defensively, I dropped my fork so I could use my hands to express myself. ‘We were 17! And he was driving like an asshole!’

  Michelle was really calmed at my defensive reactions. ‘Ok, they deserved it, how about all the girls that have had to quit since you got that promotion?’

  ‘They weren’t competent, I can’t deal with stupid people. I truly thought I could, but they were intellectually damaged!’ Now I was whining. They were new people in our lives; they didn’t need to know about how crazy I was.

  ‘And the girl you fired because she wore ugly clothes?’

  ‘I didn’t fire her! She quit!’

  ‘After you told her she needed to wear nicer things!’

  And that’s how my best friend made a theater of my flaws. Yeah all of that happened, no, I didn’t think I should be blamed. And, after the last broken nose, daddy forced me to take some anger management sessions, boring, lame, ones, but I did it. Marc must have sensed my reaction to those accusations, because he tried to make me feel less uncomfortable.

  ‘Don’t worry Katie, Dylan fired 20 assistants last year! At some point he had Tamara answering the phones for him.’

  Surprise, surprise to no one! Moody Mr. Bastard seemed like the worst boss ever.

  ‘Cut it out, Marc.’

  One phrase, it took four words from Blue Eyes to stop the inquisition. His hands were in fists and his eyes cold, matching that tense jaw. It wasn’t until then that I noticed he had been tense the whole lunch. Marc was probably just trying to save his job, but in a second he was waving to the waitress to get the check. No other reference about our adorable personalities was made. I had no idea who Tamara was, but I learned that Dylan didn’t want to discuss the whole thing, so I just put it in the back of my mind. I was worried about what would happen when the time to leave came and I found out rather quickly.

  ‘What are you doing after this K?’

  Michelle asked me just as we were
getting up. Dylan took my arm. ‘I want to take Katherine some place Michelle, so I guess we will call you later.’

  I smiled at Michelle and Marc and we said our goodbyes.

  ‘Strike one Berkeley, remember the not assuming my acceptance rule?’

  ‘Oh relax woman, we are just going for a walk.’

  Those flats weren’t made for walking, but I looked nice and I wanted to see him in those clothes for a bit longer, so I walked with him. After a couple of blocks he took my hand in his, the energy was there again, but I kept it there this time. Once we had crossed half of Central Park we arrived at no other than the Bethesda Fountain, as always it looked beautiful but I am partial because I love that place. He didn’t stop walking until we got to the lower passage, the Angel Tunnel. Without much ceremony he stopped.

  ‘Sit here.’ He motioned to a spot in the middle of the floor.

  ‘Where? On the floor?’

  ‘Yeah, on the floor Katherine.’

  He made me sit just in the entrance of the tunnel and the limit of the terrace. I laid on a column; I was scared as hell of messing up my dress, but I was even more worried of what would happen to those perfect pants of his once he got on the floor. He sat next to me, laying on the column too and remained silent for a long time. He was starting to worry me.

  ‘My mom used to bring me here, when I was little. I always loved to see the fountain, so she used to sit here while I was playing.’

  He was talking to me about his mother and I felt I was invading an intimate moment. I was a girl he had just met and only fought with for the last few weeks, so I didn’t deserve his memories.

  ‘She was not only beautiful but so calm, she could be sitting here for hours before getting tired of watching me. Dad always knew that if we were out of the house for a long time we would be here.’

  ‘Do you miss them?’

  Holy shit! That left my mouth without me even noticing it! The no filter characteristic of my mind was appearing at the worst moment.

  ‘Every single moment of my life. I would give everything just to get them back for a while.’

  ‘Do you want to talk to me about them?’

  ‘What do you want to know?’ For the first time since we arrived, he turned to look at me.

  ‘Whatever you want to tell me.’

  He looked at me in a weird way, it was making me uncomfortable but I could see something warm in his eyes. Without any effort he put his head on my lap and laid on the floor, this was way too relaxed for him. I had never accepted anyone to cross my personal space limits like that, but I guess he was trying to be as close as he could to talk me about them. I noticed no one else was on the floor but I tried to ignore the awkward feeling, this was a difficult topic for him.

  ‘They met each other when they were really young, they were from England and came here as soon as they got married. My grandfather was angry because they got married young, so my dad decided to look for opportunities in another country instead of living from his family wealth. Supporting my mom is the only reason BKY Enterprises exists. I don’t blame him, she was beautiful enough to inspire an empire.’

  I couldn’t disagree, seeing Dylan was enough to know that his mother had been beautiful. He kept talking about them, not many details, just the general story. But after some minutes he remained silent, just watching the fountain. I stared at him, I was just feeling the proximity of his body. This really close posture was too much for me, it was too much for a pair of cold individuals, but it seemed fine, it seemed natural and that freaked me out. I was just about to move but noticed that Dylan was completely asleep. He looked so calm, so relaxed, that I couldn’t wake him up.

  We remained like that for an hour, after staring at him to death I took out my iPhone and started checking my Twitter, some emails and I might or might not had taken some pictures of Blue Sleepy Eyes. I was completely distracted when out of nowhere the sky started pouring on us. Not the usual crescendo rain, it became the diluvium of the century in just one second.

  Dylan woke up, but it took him too long to stand up in order to let me get up. I thought we should get into the tunnel, but he wasn’t thinking the same. Taking my hand he started running to the street. About half way to the street he took off his grey cardigan and gave it to me so I could cover my shoulders. We walked all the way to my apartment in the rain.

  By the time we arrived and I opened the door and let him in, my shoes were ruined and I was furious and wet. I turned to meet Dylan’s gaze and he was completely sodden and staring too hard at me. His linen shirt was glued to his skin, I could see his abs, his navel, those pectorals, wake up princess!

  ‘Oh my God Dylan, you are soaked. You need to take a hot shower now!’

  ‘It’s ok, I’m fine. I’ll be fine Katherine.’

  ‘No, you’re not and I don’t want you to get sick. Get into the shower now!’

  ‘I don’t have any extra clothes with me.’

  With all the pain in my heart I reminded him of his jeans and t-shirt from the other night. I had them treasured but I knew I was about to give up my little conquests. ‘I still have those clothes you lent me the other night. I’ll put them on my bed, there are towels in the bathroom. Take that shower and I’ll order pizza, ok?’

  ‘Ok. I’ll be right back.’

  Mr. Sexy Bastard was in my shower, naked, in my room, how cool’s that? Yes dear, you are a 12 year old stupid girl. I smelled those sexy clothes of his for the last time and put them over the bed so he could find them. I put on a pair of yoga pants and a big New York grey sweatshirt, left the room and ordered the pizza. Dylan came out of my bedroom looking amazing with that wet hair.

  ‘Better?’

  ‘Yes Katherine, but I was fine.’

  ‘Yeah right, you were a walking wet t-shirt contest ad!’

  Why on Earth did you say that?! He just had that pain in the ass little smirk on his face.

  ‘Did you order pizza?’

  ‘Yeah, and since I chose pepperoni pizza you can choose the movie.’

  ‘Easy, Casino.’

  ‘Oh no pal, we are not going for dark De Niro.’

  ‘You are not doing that Katherine.’

  His tone was harsh, something had bothered him.

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘You are not turning me into a friend, I don’t want to be your friend.’

  I never said I wanted to be his friend, he was too hot to be my friend, but he was right. Every time I felt the danger of attraction I changed the format to a friendship relationship, safe territory.

  ‘Oh, so what do you, my Lord, want from me?’

  Thank God the bell saved me, I would tip this guy more than the pizza’s price itself. I got into trouble with my smart ass comments.

  ‘Pizza is here, grab some plates from that door and take whatever you want to drink from the fridge.’

  I said that and turned around to receive the pizza, but before I got to the door Dylan was already paying the guy. So I went for the plates and drinks and then turned on the TV so he could choose a movie. I sat on the single seat sofa, so he couldn’t sit with me. I was being childish but we had passed too many limits for a day and I was not the cuddling kind of girl. We watched a couple of James Bond movies and ate the entire pizza.

  At some point, I started fighting with my eyes to keep them open and Dylan noticed it, so he stopped the movie.

  ‘Tired, Ms. Bianchi?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘So I guess I am leaving.’

  ‘I guess so.’

  I walked him to the door lazily.

  ‘I had a really good time today Katherine, thanks to you. Good night.’

  He brushed back a stray strand of hair that was on my face and I felt that energy again. He leaned in smoothly and gave me one of those “too long” cheek kisses. As soon as he left I went to my room and put on my PJs. I was already in my bed when I noticed some missed calls from Michelle on my cell. The thing started ringing again.

  ‘What
’s up C?’

  ‘Katie did you see Dylan after lunch?’ Her voice sounded worried, but I didn’t know what this was about.

  ‘Yeah, he had just left, why?’

  ‘Oh, thank God! Baby he was with Katie, he’s fine!’ she shouted to Marc.

  ‘What’s going on Chelle?’

  ‘Nothing sweetie, today was a difficult day for Dylan. It is his parents’ death anniversary, and each year Spencer and Marc stay with him, but today they lost him and we were really worried.’

  ‘Worried about what?’

  ‘That he would be drinking his ass off.’

  Fuck, I let him go on his own. If I had known this probably I would have entertained him a bit longer. ‘Oh Chelle, but he’s alone now.’

  ‘Have you seen the hour? Is 1 am, it’s no longer the dark day. What were you two doing this late?’

  ‘We got caught in the middle of the storm; we came home and watch some Bond movies.’

  ‘Good girl! You are getting along soooo well!’

  I knew exactly where this was going.

  ‘C, I was falling asleep when you called, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, fine?’

  ‘Fine “Katherine”.’

  ‘Oh, back off bitch, good night.’

  I really had a good time with Dylan and never suspected he was having a hard time. The whole night I could just think about how nice he had been and recalled every single word he said and every movement he made, but mainly I remembered everything I felt being with him. But there was no a future encounter in our plans, so it would better if I put that in the back of my head.

  Chapter 11

  On Monday I received a text that put a smile on my face for the entire day. Yeah, I was becoming stupider by the second.

  HOPE YOU HAVE A NICE DAY KATHERINE.

  The day went on until 8 o’clock when my phone started ringing, my heart pounded hard expecting Blue Eyes in the other line.

  ‘Hello princess!’

  ‘Hey mom! How are you?’

  ‘Fine baby, your dad and I haven’t talked to you for an entire week, we miss you.’

  ‘I miss you too mom, how’s daddy?’