by Gardner, A.
"Before you lecture me," she begins. "Let's look at the facts."
"Holly-"
"Hold up!" She waves her hand in the air. "I'm just doing what you normally do. Point out the obvious." The obvious involved my engagement party, my golden silverware, and a single best friend. I bite my tongue.
"This'll be interesting."
"First, you and I are both falling for him. Second, Rex passes the check list. Third, Rex needs a fiancé like yesterday."
"Your point?" I add, trying not to let on that I'm not happy with the direction she was taking this. I wasn't doing a very good job.
"I'm getting there. The point is why waste a perfectly good catch on something that happened by chance?" She takes another breath and casually picks at her salad. "I mean, it's not like we've both been seeing him for months right?"
"So who's going to step down?" There's no way she was going to volunteer. I had no choice but to follow up with a blunt add on. "I'm not going to."
"You don't have to," she answers. I move in closer, intrigued by her answer. "We'll let Rex decide." My cheeks go scarlet. This is hardly fair.
"Are you seriously suggesting we both waltz in like a couple of middle schooler's and demand that he picks one? Yeah. That'll work out nicely." And last time you left me hangin' at recess.
"Of course not," Holly shakes her head. "Honestly Kat, sometimes I think you think I'm an idiot." I stay silent. She glares at me, then moves on. "We're not going to tell him. No way. We'll just carry on like normal and eventually he'll have to choose one of us."
"Or neither of us," I mutter.
"Come on, Kat. That won't happen. Don't you think we all deserve a shot at happiness here?" I lean forward with a smirk on my face.
"And what if he chooses me, not you?"
"No hard feelings," she immediately responds. I narrow my eyes.
"Because I can see millions of ways this could play out horribly."
"I promise," she assures me. "If this starts to ruin our friendship then I'll walk away. But only if you promise to do the same."
"Duh." The last guy that had come between us was Chad. Only because him and Holly didn't get along.
"So what do you say? You up for some friendly competition?" She lets a wide grin cover her face. My stomach goes sour. Holly didn't like to lose and neither did I. But we were always on the same team. My head was already spiraling out of control at the thought of losing Rex. I couldn't let Holly see it. Her sex appeal gave her an unfair advantage. My only edge was that I'd already had my first date.
"Okay," I agree. Holly looks pleased. She glimpses at the time.
"I better get going."
"Right." My nerves told me to follow her. Follow her and stalk her. I blink a few times, trying to change my mind set. She smiles and rushes off without even finishing her lunch. I stare at her full plate of food and my half eaten sandwich. I was going to have to kick things up a notch - push myself out of my comfort zone . . . and go on a diet. I stand up and grab my purse.
You want a fiancé, Rex? You go it.
Chapter Four
My hands shake as I dial Rex's number, hoping to catch him before his meet up with Holly. I park my car in front of the grocery store, trying not to have a panic attack. My head was filled with horror scenes of Rex telling me he'd met someone else. A home cooked meal and me in heels and an apron was the plan. No body guards. No paparazzi. No phones. Just me and Rex. Ringing fills my ears.
"Kat." His voice is both lulling and nerve-wrecking when he answers the phone. "Perfect timing. I just stepped out of the office."
"Rex." The tone of my voice goes up a notch.
"I want to apologize for yesterday," he responds.
"Then make it up to me." I rub my forehead, hoping his response would be a positive one.
"Go on."
"Have dinner with me," I answer.
"This time I'll pick a better-"
"No," I interrupt. "My place." My chest pounds at the thought of Rex sitting in my plain, pathetic kitchen with a plastic plate. It wasn't that impressive and nowhere near as fancy as Holly's loft, but it was the best I could do.
"Your place?"
"Yeah. I'll cook."
"Hmmm," he sounds intrigued. "I can't remember the last time someone made me a home cooked meal."
"So it's a date." I pause waiting for Rex to confirm. My stomach feels like its doing cartwheels. . .
"Definitely." . . . one-handed cartwheels! "I have some time on Friday free." This brought me to my next point. Holly worked fast. I dig my nails into my fist.
"What about tonight?" I clench my fists even tighter.
"Tonight?"
"I mean . . . why wait?" My nails are digging into my skin, I might have actually drawn blood. He collects his thoughts for a minute.
"Okay," he quietly replies. "Tonight. Your place. Charles will be in touch."
"See you then." I hang up, letting a giant breath escape from my lungs. Beat that, Holly.
My brain goes berserk again as I grab a cart and walk down each aisle of the grocery store, hoping the perfect recipe will jump out at me.
"Kat!" The sudden voice startles me and I jump. I place a hand on my hammering chest. Jack wasn't what I expected to jump out.
"Jack," I scold, hitting him firmly on the shoulder. His t-shirt is wrinkled but his dirty blond hair looks gelled for once. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Not the greeting I expected but I'll take it." He pushes his empty cart alongside mine. "Big night tonight?" His gaze settles on my cart. The one thing I did manage to grab was a few bottles of wine. Beyond that I couldn't concentrate.
"Actually yes. I have a date."
"I see," Jack grins. It was refreshing to see that he was back to his usual self, despite our last conversation.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're trying not to laugh," I frown. "Just say it."
"I'm not laughing." He bites his lip and follows me to the baking aisle. "That's great. Good news." I narrow my eyes.
"Instead of sarcasm why don't be helpful for once?" I take a deep breath and stare at the baking chocolate. Jack grabs a bag of milk chocolate chips and tosses it in my cart.
"There," he grins. "Chocolate covered strawberries." I nod. "Are you making dinner?" I nod again.
"That's if I ever figure out what to make."
"Nothing light or low carb," he teases. "Make something real. Something hearty. Guys like that." I shoot him a suspicious look. "I'm serious." I laugh. Jack forgot to mention that a hearty meal would also make my date sluggish. Too full to perform maybe?
"Thanks for the suggestion."
"No problem," he responds. "That's what friends do, right?"
"I thought you weren't down with friends?"
"I never said that." Jack shakes his head. I quietly giggle.
"Remember a month ago when you brought me that hideous bouquet? You asked me out again in front of Earl and I told you to spring for something that wasn't on sale in the hospital gift shop?" Jack looks annoyed so I continue. "And I asked you why we couldn't just be friends, and you said because I'm not down with that. Remember?"
"Vaguely," he admits. "I wasn't aware you had a photographic memory."
"That was last month Jack," I chuckle. "My memory is the same as a normal person's."
"Whatever." His cart is still empty but he follows me to the next aisle. "I'm telling you now I think we should be friends."
"Why?"
"Because that's better than nothing," he sincerely answers. For once his eyes are soft and his expression looks genuine. My chest feels heavy as I think of Earl, and the heartache Jack will experience through once he's gone.
"Fine," I sigh, unsure of his motives but I could use a good friend at the moment. The one I already had was busy trying to steal my future fiancé. "Then you should know friend that I met someone. And . . . well let's just say things might be very different a month from now."
"How different
are we talkin'?"
"Like bling-bling different." The look on Jack's face is priceless. He attempts to hold back a laugh aware that his face is an open book. "It's true."
"I'm not disagreeing with you," he smiles. "Wow. So that's why I keep getting burned. How long have you two been dating?" My eyes dart across the selection of dry pastas.
"Um . . ." I grab a package of linguine.
"Six months?" he guesses. "Three? Two?" He follows me to the meat section.
"It's complicated."
"No Kat," he cringes. "Don't tell me you just met this dude?" My silence gives him enough information. "Why? What does this guy have that I don't?" He jokingly shakes his head.
"A billion dollars," I reply with a serious face.
"I see."
I turn to him and stare at the blue in his eyes, disappointed at what might be going through his head.
"I'm not some kind of gold digger if that's what you think." I try hard not to get too worked up. Jack watches me flail my arms in the air. "I've had it rough the past few years okay. I'm allowed to dive head first into a relationship with a guy that has everything."
"You don't have to explain it to me," Jack replies. "I get it." I frustratingly turn my head towards a mound of fresh scallops behind the seafood counter.
"I doubt that."
"I do," he continues. "You're looking for security. Who isn't?" The calming sound of his voice finally helps me relax. In a weird way I was glad he seemed to get it. It made me feel better for jumping into something with a guy I barely knew. I reach for a scallop like it's a head of lettuce, forgetting about the plastic barrier. I smack my hand against the counter and wince. Jack automatically grabs my hand and I blush. The warmth of his skin doesn't help.
"I'm sorry," I breathe, rubbing the side of my face. "It's been a weird day and I think I'm about to go insane."
"Yep," Jack answers. "Okay." He grabs my hand and pulls me away from my cart. "Come on."
"What are you doing?"
"I have just the thing." Jacks pulls me towards the sliding doors.
"But the food-"
"Someone will put it all back," he continues. "You can come back later." My head is confused but my chest is thudding. Jack leads me to the parking lot and begins speed walking down the sidewalk. I sneak a glance at the back of his fitted jeans and the way they draped across his backside..
"Jack."
"This is it," he announces, holding his arms in the air. "Tada!"
"It's an apartment complex," I comment. "And an old one at that."
"I know."
"So . . . you live here? This is what you wanted to show me? Your apartment?"
"No," he protests. "I bought it." He pauses and watches my reaction. The place had potential but the few units within eyeshot looked like they needed to be knocked down and rebuilt.
"What?"
"Yeah," he smiles. "This is my new project. I'm gonna refurbish these babies."
"With what money?"
Jack frowns. "I thought you'd be happy for me?"
"Well it does explain what you were doing at the grocery store."
"Told you I wasn't stalking you," he responds. "Come on. What do you think?" My brain jumped to the millions of projects it would take to make a place like this look new.
"Well, it looks like a lot of work . . ." He looks eager to gain my approval with a wide smile and hopeful expression. He clasps his hands together. ". . . but I think it's doable." He nods.
"Come on." He grabs my hand again. "Let me show you the inside." He pulls a ring of keys from his pocket and studies each one. The sleeve of his t-shirt slips, revealing the edge of a tattoo I had yet to see the whole of.
"How long have you had it?"
Jack's eyes follow mine to his shoulder. His expression turns sour. He quickly resumes searching for the key.
"You know that feeling you sometimes get when something reminds you of the past . . . in bad way?"
"Actually yes," I reply. I still had a funny feeling whenever I spotted a red pickup truck. The car Chad used to drive.
"Yeah, I normally try not to look down."
"That bad huh?" I watch as he unlocks the door to the first unit. He steps inside without explaining any further. "Now that's not fair. I have to tell you every little detail of my life and you can't tell me yours?" Jack takes a long breath and runs a hand through his hair. His thick fingers rest on the scruff of his chin.
"A couple years ago I met a girl," he answers. "Cindy. We moved in together too fast." He looks down at his shoulder. "I got this when we were together."
"And . . . what happened?" I move closer, pretending to casually survey the stained carpets and broken cabinets.
"She uhh . . . things were great at first until I realized that our relationship was . . . well fake."
"It was all about sex," I added. Jack looks shocked.
"NO," he argues. "Not that it was uh . . . no. She was really superficial." I giggle when I see the color of Jack's cheeks change to a rosy pink.
"Let me guess. Blond hair, big boobs, and a habit of shamelessly mooching?"
"Close," he grins.
"Yeah," I sigh. "I had a Cindy once."
"Cindys," he laughs. "I bet you met yours in high school. Am I right?"
"Too right," I answer. Jack gives me a friendly nod. His imperfect grin is suddenly tolerable. Actually refreshing.
"Now." He interrupts my train of thought. "Dinner."
"Right. I forgot about that."
"Then my plan worked." Jack looks pleased with himself. Being forced to think about worse times when I was with Chad made me realize how far I'd come. I'd made a promise to myself and I was inches from finally fulfilling that promise. My life would never be the same. Unless Holly had stooped as low as slipping something into Rex's coffee.
"I gotta go."
"But," he adds. "Do you know what you're making tonight?" I nod. More sure of the answer than I was fifteen minutes ago. I had to bring out the big tricks and lucky for me Holly was a horrible cook.
"Oh yeah." And for what I planned on wearing, I needed to get a quick workout in. Or five.
* * *
I wipe my counter for the tenth time and take the lid off my tomato basil pasta with seared scallops. Steam rises and the smell of fresh herb fills my nose. It is perfect. I check the clock. It's already eight. I run to the mirror in my bedroom and get a last look at my outfit. Heels and an apron. I'd spent ages wondering if the dress underneath was needed or not. Yes! You're not a slut!
The oven timer beeps and I rush to take out my chocolate cupcakes before they burn. My mom's recipe. Chocolate and cayenne. It gives the cakes a nice little kick. I impatiently make myself comfortable on the sofa. If this wasn't enough to keep Rex's attention, I didn't know what was. Well . . . maybe one thing. I hope Holly at least learns his middle name before jumping to that one.
Holly and I were on the same soccer team in sixth grade. Soccer wasn't Holly's strong point. She later moved on to dance and decided that was where she belonged. We used to taunt our competition before every game. Holly had mastered the art of the dirty look. She tried to teach me but it involved swallowing your conscious.
One Saturday I attempted to make Holly proud by stepping on a girl's shoelace. I didn't expect her to fall over, break her nose and scream bloody murder. I remember my heart pounding so violently I thought it might burst from my chest. I could barely swallow. The sound of her shrieking tore me apart. Never again! I promise! Never again!
I remember hardly being able to speak when my coach walked towards me. I literally thought my life was over. But Holly stepped in. She knew exactly what to say. I never needed to explain. With a sigh of relief, I was off the hook. It was right then and there that I knew Holly and I made a good team though I carried around a dirty conscious for the next year.
Now Holly and I were contenders. How was I ever going to survive?
My eyelids feel heavy. It feels good to close my eyes especially a
fter a night of constant cooking on my sore feet. I try to relax, thinking about Rex. About our kiss. About the way his hand stroked the small of my back and how his scent seemed to encapsulate me. In that moment, I couldn't think of anything else but being with him.
I take a deep breath. Then another. And then another. My heart rate finally slows, allowing my tense arms and legs to loosen themselves. I sink deeper into the cushions, thinking more about Rex. Fantasizing about our night together - playing out every step in my head.
He walks through the door, takes one look at me and wraps his arms around my waist. His kiss puts me under his spell. I enjoy the burst of heat and the tingles each kiss sends through my legs. I tell Rex he's the only one for me and tilt my head back. His lips move to my neck, exploring every inch of my fiery skin until he reaches the heaving rim of my cleavage and-
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!
My eyes open to a bright living room and a moving phone. I rub my eyes, completely confused. It was morning. Time to for another tiresome shift at Harrison Memorial. My eyes go wide and I stare at a single unopened message on my cell. It was from Rex. Sent around midnight. Something came up. Promise I'll make it up to you.
"Holly," I say through my teeth.
Chapter Five
"We need to set some ground rules." I barge into Holly's studio, making a scene amongst the waiting room of yoga moms and weathered nannies. Holly sits behind the front desk with an innocent look on her face.
"Ground rules?"
"With Rex," I continue. "I think we should set some rules."
"Is this about last night? Because-"
"How could you guess?" My frustration only deepens as Holly gives my outfit a once-over. Scrubs and sneakers hardly accentuated the muscle tone in my thighs.
"Chill out," she whispers. Her pink sweater and matching leg warmers bring out the pink in her lips.
"Rex and I were supposed to have a date last night," I mutter, looking at gawking eyes around the waiting room. "And you ruined it."
"Sorry," she says quietly. "How was I supposed to know that? He didn't mention it."
"He didn't?"
"No." She smiles at a woman in a paisley scarf. "Morning, Mrs. Newman." She nods reassuringly. I glance at my watch.
