“It's not about them,” she responded, her voice calm. “This is about me. Proving something to myself.”
“What? That you can be just as big a skank as the rest of the girls out there?”
“Maybe. Or maybe that I can go out and find a man without it being some elaborate hoax. That I can be sexy and appealing without some great charade. That I can … I can control who I see, and what I do with them,” she finished.
Tori grumbled, but it was hard to argue with someone trying to find their independence. After a minute, though, she found a way.
“See,” she sighed. “I would agree with you, normally. I'm all for you being in charge and whatever. You literally could sleep with half of San Francisco, and I wouldn't judge you. Hell, I'd throw you a party. IF that's what you really wanted for yourself. But I don't think that's what you want. I don't think you even want to do this speed-dating thing, and that I won't throw a party for. That I will totally judge you for.”
Katya paused for a long moment, staring at her friend. The other girl was still looking at her hands, picking the black polish apart.
“It's sort of for me,” Katya whispered, then cleared her throat. “And yeah, sort of because of them. They … they stole something from me. I'm just trying to get it back.”
“Oh, honey,” Tori hurried into the room. “You won't find it out there, with some random dude. You've still got it. You just need to give yourself a chance to get over those guys. Heal a little bit. Realize it was never about them. You went on that first date. You made that first move. Nothing that happened after can ever take that away from you.”
Katya took a deep breath and stepped sideways. She could feel the impending hug, and if they hugged, she'd start crying, and she wouldn't ever stop. She laughed and patted at her hair, making sure it was all in place.
“I know, I know. Just let me wallow for a little while longer. The male attention is good for my ego.”
“Kat-”
“Seriously. I'd already planned on deactivating that stupid account after tonight. I committed to being at this event, I don't want them to be short a girl just because I make shitty choices. I'm gonna go and have fun and score some free drinks. Then tomorrow it's back to life as normal,” she assured her friend.
“Well, hopefully not too normal. New-Katya was fun. You don't need to serial date everyone on a dating app to find a man. Going clubbing with your bestie works pretty good, too,” Tori laughed.
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
She almost got out the door unscathed, but Tori surprised her by following her into the hallway and jumping on her. They crashed into a wall and Katya couldn't help but laugh. Probably her first real laugh in weeks.
I don't deserve such a good friend.
She actually felt good as she took a taxi across town. Tori had made sense – Katya wasn't really proving anything to anyone. She was just forcing herself to be something she wasn't. She didn't have to go back to being old-Katya, but she didn't have to always be new-Katya, either.
And the best part, she finally felt like neither of those personalities needed Liam or Wulf. Sure, she missed them and hated that she missed them and kind of wished dysentery on both of them. But she wouldn't let them control her anymore, not even in absentia.
When she got to the event, Katya was actually impressed. It was held on a rooftop terrace. It was cold out, but there were lots of outdoor heaters and cute little gas fireplaces. Singles mingled all over the place, enjoying cocktails at the open bar. She realized she was one of the last to arrive, almost half an hour late, and she'd barely grabbed a Cosmo before someone started tapping on a microphone. She turned towards the stage and watched as a blonde woman cleared her throat.
“Welcome, Lovers!” she shouted, and a lot of people cheered.
Introductions were made and the website was explained – despite the fact that everyone there already had a profile. Then speed dating was explained, which Katya actually did find interesting. She'd never done it before, so she listened closely.
There were an even number of men and women, which she'd already known. The entire back half of the terrace was covered in two-top tables, and the women would all go take a seat at each one. Then the men would all sit down. After five minutes, a bell would ring, and the men would shift to the table on their right. If either of them enjoyed the other person, they would go on the app and get into the event's page, then click a “yes” button on the attendee's profile. At the end of the night, anyone who matched yeses would get an e-mail with all their match details and contact info.
Katya was already pretty sure she wouldn't make any matches, but she did like meeting new people, and the five minute rule kind of made it exciting. So she chose a table in the last row and waited for the first man to take his seat.
It was an interesting process. With some of the men, five minutes felt like an eternity. They laughed at her career choice or stared at her breasts or talked about their exes. With others, though, five minutes wasn't nearly long enough. She met a guy who was three days out of the army, just trying to get back into the habit of talking to “normal” people again. Another was a father of two, who admitted to usually keeping that fact a secret till the second or third date, but he shared some photos with her when she said she liked kids. Still, no spark. Lots of potential new friends, but she wasn't naive enough to think any of these men were looking for friends. She would take the night with a grain of salt and just enjoy herself.
About halfway through the event, the bell rang and she said goodbye to Al the accountant. She was tucking his business card into her purse when the next man took his seat. Without looking up, she held out her hand to shake his.
“Hi, sorry, this zipper is stuck. I'm -”
“Katya!?”
She sat upright, immediately on guard. Then she let out a sigh of relief when she recognized the guy.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” she laughed.
“Hey, I could ask you the same question,” he teased, shaking her hand even though they'd met a long time ago.
Gaten Shepherd lived next door to her, in Liam's building. They'd bumped into each other when he'd first moved in – he'd been fighting to get his couch through the lobby door. Katya and Tori had shoved while he'd pulled, then they'd stuck around and helped him unload the rest of his truck.
They'd hovered somewhere between acquaintances and friends ever since. She'd watered his plants when he'd gone on vacation, he'd fixed some wobbly shelves in her living room. They would chat outside when she had to wait for the bus, and one time in a downpour he'd given her a ride, even though her work place was out of his way.
She hadn't seen him in a couple weeks, though. She'd been too busy with her multiple-men problem, and she knew he had a busy schedule, too. He was a well sought after carpenter and handy-man, and on top of that, his model girlfriend required a lot of his time.
Hmmm, must be an ex-girlfriend now.
“I thought you were dating that one dude,” he commented. Katya froze for a second, then shook it off.
“No, that dude and I aren't dating,” she chuckled. “What about you and Mimi?”
“Oh, that ended a week or so ago. She got a contract in Italy and got pissed that I wouldn't drop everything and leave. I was just … I was done, you know? I think I was done a long time ago,” he explained.
“Oh. Well … I guess that's good, then?” Katya offered, and he laughed again.
“Yeah. So, this is crazy, huh? Bumping into each other here, when we live like two hundred feet apart. I could've just asked you out at the dumpster,” he said, and she burst out laughing.
“Hey, I haven't clicked yes, yet. Don't get ahead of yourself,” she warned him. He held up his hands.
“My mistake. Is this the part where I should prattle off all my accomplishments? My credit score?” he checked.
“Credit score?”
“The lady at table four asked me.”
“She did not!”
> “She really did.”
It was nice talking to Gate. They'd always been comfortable with each other, right off the bat. He told her about a classic 1940's house he was helping to restore. Normally hearing someone describe cabinets would be boring, but he was so in love with his work, it came out in his voice. She was fascinated and actually a little sad when she heard the bell ringing.
“But I never got to hear your credit score,” she joked as he climbed to his feet.
“Well, click 'Yes', and maybe you'll find out,” he suggested.
“I'm sorry, but I think I'm done dating neighbors for a while,” she told him. He pressed a hand to his heart.
“Oh, c'mon, I'm nothing like that guy! I don't own one surfer t-shirt, and I have a full time job,” Gate pointed out.
“Excellent qualities, though he has a full time job, too,” she corrected him. Some sort of scuffle was happening next to them, a group of guys shuffling around. She realized Gate was holding up the line somewhat.
“He does? He always seems to be hanging around. Look, match or no, call me sometime. I'll take you to see the house,” Gate said, scribbling his number down on the back of a card. Katya stood and took it.
“That would be nice. This was fun, Gate. Thanks.”
He surprised her then by squeezing between the tables and giving her a hug. She sighed and leaned into him. He must have come straight from work, he smelled like saw dust. She smiled and pulled back a little. Another man had finally taken his seat across from her, and she hadn't even acknowledged him yet. She had to sit back down.
“It was. See you at the dumpster,” Gate joked as he headed to the next table.
She was still laughing as she took her seat.
“I'm sorry, we actually know each other, and I hadn't seen him in ...”
Katya's voice trailed off as she looked at her new suitor.
“I would just like to say,” Liam Edenhoff started quickly, “that I'm not always 'hanging around' the building, and there is nothing wrong with 'surfer' t-shirts.”
She didn't even think about it, she just stood up. Her thighs hit the edge of the table, threatening to overturn it. Liam slapped one hand down, keeping it upright, and grabbed her drink with his other hand. The candle bit the dust, though, and rolled across the floor.
“You can't be here,” she said, falling back into her seat, then trying to stand up again. He let go of her drink and grabbed her wrist.
“Please. Please, Katya, five minutes. You gave ten other strangers five minutes. Just give me the same,” he begged. She glanced around and realized some people were staring at them. She groaned, then yanked her arm free of his grip.
“What are you even doing here!? How did you get to this table?” she demanded. She would've noticed if he'd been sitting right next to her that whole time.
“I was at table fifteen, but I saw how you were talking to that guy, then I recognized him. So I skipped up here and paid the next dude to take my place,” he explained.
“Typical.”
“Hey, desperate measures.”
“You're down to four minutes. Why are you here? Are you stalking me?” she suddenly gasped as the idea popped into her head.
“Yes,” he groaned. “Stalking you, praying to you, dying for you to just look at me again.”
“Uh ...” she'd never heard Liam be so poetic before – she didn't know how to handle it.
“I saw your new profile. You won't return my calls, you won't see me – I had to do something. I saw that you were coming to this event. I know the bar that's catering, they got me inside,” he told her.
“So let me get this straight. You stalked me online, you snuck into a private event, and then you bribed someone for this seat,” she laid it all out.
“Yeah. Yeah, I did.”
That was it. No defense. No apologies.
“You can't do this!” she hissed. “You can't just … you're like a child! You do whatever you want and expect no repercussions, and then when there are, you lie and cheat and steal and do whatever it takes to get out of paying the consequences.”
“I know, but you know what? If the punishment for everything I've done is losing you, then damn right I'm gonna do all that crazy shit to win you back. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get you to forgive me,” he assured her.
“Oh really? How about just be a decent human being,” she growled.
They were really attracting an audience at that point, which Katya didn't want. She'd already made a fool of herself once for this man. Not again. She stood up, taking care not to bump the table this time, and she walked away. Of course he got up and followed her, but she refused to acknowledge him. She threw open the door to the stairs and started stomping her way down them.
“You can't just cut me off,” he called out behind her.
“Yes I can!” she yelled back.
He started to say something else, but she couldn't hear him. The bottom floor of the building was a crowded bar and the noise drowned him out. Katya beelined for an emergency exit and pushed her way out into an alley. She was almost jogging when she heard him burst out the door behind her.
“Katya,” he chuckled as he came up alongside her. “Are you seriously trying to run away from me? In those heels?”
“Yes,” she said through clenched teeth.
“You're about as athletic as a lame duck. C'mon, you're gonna trip and break your neck, then I'll have to carry you, and last time I did that, I think I threw out my back -”
Arguing and fighting were fine, it just reminded her of how angry she was at him. But him being funny? Nice? It reminded her of how much she loved being around him. About what a wonderful friendship they'd had. And that hurt. Hurting was so much worse than anger.
“I fucking hate you!” she screamed, whirling on him and beating him with her purse.
“Whoa! Calm down!” he yelled, trying to get a hold of her arms.
“No!” she yelled back, managing to avoid capture. “You don't get to do what you did to me and act like everything is fine. You don't get to violate me and manipulate me and use me, and then just crack jokes and be funny and awesome and make me hate myself and you can't just do this to me!”
“Stop,” he said in a low voice. He finally got a hold of her wrists but she kept pulling.
“No. You stop. Stop following me, and stop calling me, and stop showing up at my apartment. I swear to god, I'm gonna move,” she growled, trying to yank away. He laughed. Actually laughed at her.
“How? You just renewed a year lease last month.”
She gasped.
“You'd let me out of that lease.”
“No, I wouldn't. Not till you forgive me.”
“This is blackmail.”
“Hardly.”
“Wulf manages your buildings, I'll make him let me out of that lease.”
“Are you serious? Get out of a contract with Wulfric Stone? Have you met him?”
This time, she laughed. Actually laughed. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.
“Yeah. Yeah, he's kind of a bastard,” she agreed.
“He really is.”
She finally straightened up and pulled away from him a little, though he still clung to her wrists.
“He is. I mean, what else do you call someone who lies to you? Manipulates you? Humiliates you? Uses you? Shares all your most intimate, secret moments with another person?” she asked, staring Liam very directly in the eyes. He swallowed thickly, but didn't look away.
“Bastard may not be harsh enough. Would loser work?”
“Asshole?”
“Dickhead?” he threw out another insulting name for himself.
“How about … worst person ever?” Katya suggested, her voice barely above a whisper. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
“No. Close, but I'm not quite there yet,” he whispered back. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
“I have to go.”
“No.”
“I don't h
ave anything to say to you, Liam. I want to go home, I'm tired.”
“Katya, I'm not going away. I'll be here tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that,” he warned her.
“What can I do to make you understand that I don't want you in my life?”
“Nothing.”
“We're talking in circles. Good night,” she sighed, unsuccessfully trying to pull free.
“Then let's have some straight talk – would you treat Tori this way?” he suddenly asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Tori's your best friend.”
“Yeah.”
“And I was, too.”
“Do not compare yourself to her. I've known her for years, and she's never treated me the way you did,” Katya warned him.
“You can't deny that what you and I had was special,” he kept going. “She may have been in your life longer, but you and I were almost as close.”
Katya wasn't going to lie to him or herself – he was telling the truth. But still.
“I don't care. It's comparing apples and lying sacks of shit.”
“Still. If Tori did something awful to you – lied to you, kept secrets from you, hurt your feelings, would you just drop her like a bad habit? Cut her out of your life without giving her a chance to make up for it?” he asked.
“She would never -”
“Jesus, Katya, use your imagination. What if you found out she slept with your ex-boyfriend? And she lied to you about it, for months? Or she stole money from you? That would be it?” he was insistent with his questioning.
“Yes!” she bit out. “Now let me go.”
“I don't believe that. Really think about it. Could you just stop talking to her? Forever? After everything you guys have shared?”
She didn't want to think about it. Not at all, because he was right. She couldn't. Sure, if Tori had ever done any of those things he'd suggested, Katya would've been upset. Furious. Maybe would even threaten to stop speaking to the other girl. But when all was said and done, she couldn't imagine her life without her best friend in it. She'd try her hardest to work through the problem with Tori, and would hope they'd come out the other side as better friends.
The Neighborhood (Twin Estates #2) Page 2
