by J.M. Downey
Keith smiled and pressed his warm lips to her hands, sending a tingling sensation throughout her. Maybe he was. If she had let him kiss her, she would have never been able to walk away. She stared into his blue eyes, as he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Can I see you tomorrow?” he asked.
She looked at the concrete sidewalk to avoid his blue eyes that made her melt. Those eyes were breaking through her defenses. “I don’t know,” she said even though every inch of her screamed yes.
“Why not?” He caressed her cheek.
His touch was too inviting. Katie bit on her bottom lip. She couldn’t tell him the real reason. He would think she was silly. Best to tell him one that was realistic. “Because I have heard too many stories about you.”
“Oh.” He took a step back. The lightness to his face had disappeared. He pushed his lips into a thin line, highlighting the deep darkness in his eyes. “Who has told you stories?”
“Angel.”
“Angel, who told you Allen was a great guy?”
Katie nodded.
The air fled from her as he took a step towards her and peered down into her eyes. Something about the blueness caught and held her still.
“And Allen would have raped you, if I hadn’t stepped in?”
“But why would Angel lie to me?”
“I don’t know. How well do you know her?”
“Keith, it’s….”
He pulled her into a firm embrace, making her feel small and weak. “I think you’re confused on who to trust. I had you passed out in my car. I could have done anything I wanted to you at that moment, but I didn’t. Did I?”
“No.” She lowered her gaze. She would have to find a better reason to deter him.
Keith touched her chin, lifting her eyes to his. “I like you.”
And every part of her liked him too - responded to his smallest touch. “Want to study together?”
He smiled. “Sure.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned for the door.
“Sweet dreams.” She heard as she ducked behind the door. Of course they would be. They would be full of him.
Katie ran to her room. Her heart raced in her chest as she stepped behind her door, leaning against it. What was she going to do? She closed her eyes. Why did he have to be so charming? And cute? A giggle escaped her lips. She walked to her desk and sat down, noticing that her phone display screen said she had three missed calls. She checked them. They were all from Angel wondering why she was out all night; and one reminded her to be careful of Keith. She didn’t want to talk to Angel. Maybe tomorrow. Katie lay in her bed, stretching her feet out. Keith was amazing – someone who little girls dreamed of. But what was she going to do? Something had to be done. She couldn’t keep seeing him.
Her roommate walked in, with a new guy behind her. The sound of her roommate’s MP3 player filled the room, the loud drums and bass pouring from her speakers made objects vibrate. Katie bit down on her bottom lip, trying to hold in the scream. She shook her head and grabbed a pair of pajamas, heading to the bathroom. How could someone be so rude? She put on the pajamas and then headed to the dorm den to watch some TV. A commercial for a seminary school flowed across the screen. What was Jeff doing at Campbell University? Katie sat up from where she curled under a quilt on the couch. Jeff had the perfect solution. It was he who had asked her to sign the Purity Pledge during a youth group meeting. She should tell Keith her decision in order to see what he would say. A guy like him wouldn’t wait around for a girl like her. That would chase him away.
Keith sat on the floor in the living room of his apartment with his head lowered over a small glass plate covered with cocaine. He brought the straw to his nose, took a quick sniff and then lowered his head back against the couch. His black pants and socks blurred a little as the door opened and Brandon strolled in with a girl under each arm.
“Hey,” Brandon said.
Keith nodded.
“Thought we’d have a party.” Brandon kissed the blonde and headed to his bedroom with her. The girl with shoulder-length brown hair and wearing a tight black dress walked over to Keith. She sat down, took the straw and began to snort.
Keith’s gaze lowered to her chest, and he looked as far down her dress as he could. Not one bit of her enticed him. The tan flesh contrasted with the dress, looking tacky. But she had a nice form. Not as nice as Katie’s. Katie. He wanted her here with him tonight. That girl would not come to his bed easily. This one would. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“You can call me Alley.”
“Alley? Is that not your real name?”
“Why should I tell you?” she said, her lips, curving into what was supposed to be a playful pout.
This girl was too experienced for that look to be effective. He really didn’t care what her real name was. This was a girl he would forget the next day. But not Katie. She was calming, sweet. In some ways, she reminded him of his mother. He grimaced and refocused on the girl who wanted to be in his arms.
“Because….” He touched the edge of the fabric that rested against her chest.
She leaned forward, making his finger push into her skin. “Did I say you could touch me?”
“You’re snorting my coke.” He tugged at the neckline but stopped when he felt his nose began to run. Perfect. The blood wouldn’t hold off. He stood, tipping his face towards the ceiling.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Just a bloody nose. I can’t snort coke without getting one of these. It’ll be gone in a second.”
“Matthew Wilkerson’s son has a weakness.”
He laughed and walked to the bathroom. So everyone knew of his father. The man’s reputation reached far. Katie probably hadn’t heard of him. Did she even know of anything outside of her Bible?
Keith lowered his face over the sink, letting red blotches drip onto the porcelain. Alley had nice legs, but they looked leathery. Katie looked prettier in that floral cotton dress, that couldn’t hide her curvy hips. He needed to stop thinking of her. But it would be useless. When he closed his eyes, he would see her smile. When he sat down he felt her absence next to him. The girl left an unshakable impression.
His nose cleared and he headed back to the girl. She sat on the couch, leaning back, her legs slightly opened. His lips curled in disgust. What a contrast. He shook his head and went to her.
SEVEN
Katie sat on the brick wall outside her dorm. The white blossoms from the trees that surrounded her temporary home fell to the ground, covering the sidewalk. A warm breeze crossed her face, making a few curls bounce against her cheeks. Keith would be there any second. He had called, wanting to study at his apartment, but she knew it would be wrong to be alone with him so she’d suggested a picnic. She shivered. He might be a nice guy, but still, anything could happen. One look at his blue eyes and she’d crumbled. How could someone be so handsome, like he was a Greek statue?
A black BMW pulled into the street in front of her dorm building. Katie bounced on her feet, as the warm feeling spread through her. She placed a hand on her cheek. Her mother always said a woman’s face glowed in the presence of her beloved. Did hers?
The car stopped in front of her and Keith emerged from the driver’s side, dressed in a dark blue untucked dress shirt and khakis. She shook her head. Even today, for a study date, she felt underdressed in jeans and a t-shirt. They came from two different worlds.
“Hey.” He held up a bag of sandwiches and two bottles of Coke.
“You didn’t get those at Subway.”
“Nah, the Cornallia deli.”
She knew the place he talked about. It was somewhere Angel had taken her once, and all she could afford was a plain ham sandwich and water.
Keith took her to a park in town. They sat on a blanket, and talked as Katie worked on a paper. Children raced in circles in front of them. Their laughter filled the air as a few birds flew overhead; their dark shapes standing out against the w
hite clouds that filled the sky. Katie wiped a trickle of sweat from her brow and reached for her cup of lemonade. She took a few sips of the sharp liquid, letting it slip down her throat.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Keith focus on her, his eyes roaming up and down her body. The whole date, she had caught him staring at her, studying her as if she was a painting to be admired.
She set the cup down and turned to him. A full smile stretched across his face as he took the pencil out from behind his ear, put it in the book and closed it. He leaned back on his hands. “Break time.”
She chuckled. “We’ve only been working for an hour.”
“I study best in spurts.”
Mischief danced in his eyes. What was he thinking about? Katie closed her laptop and put it in between them. He better stay on his side.
“What do you want to do when you finish school?” Keith asked.
“I’m going to teach like my dad.”
Keith nodded. “I can see it. But why?”
Katie shrugged her shoulders and leaned back. She wanted to be like her father. “My father knows how to mold people. He can just do it. Ever since I was young I’ve watched him take a troubled young man under his wings and help him find a path. So many became productive members of society, so I guess I want to mold young children’s minds and.…”
“You could always be a mother.”
She laughed. “Women born of my mother don’t just sit around popping out babies.” No, her mother was first at ECU’s nursing school and then she ran a successful midwife program. “My mom taught me that women were to be a man’s partner, not his at-home help.”
He chuckled. “With a mother like that, how did you become so timid?”
Katie rolled her eyes and looked at the floral blanket they sat on. White lilies covered it, reminding her of her plan. “I have another goal, I want to keep.”
“What’s that?”
Katie brought her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. The timing didn’t feel right, like she was rushing things, but she wanted to get things over with, before she lost her nerve. “I want to be a virgin when I get married.”
His eyes brightened. “You’re a virgin?”
Katie looked out into the distance, slowly rocking back and forth. A child threw a ball over the head of another little boy, making him race after it. Keith was happy, maybe even excited.
“Why wait till marriage?” he asked, the tips of his lips pulling up into a tight smile.
“Because I only want to sleep with the one for me. And marriage is the only way to insure that.”
Keith sat up and crossed his legs Indian-style. He looked at the white blossoms on the blanket she had brought. Completely pure just like her. He kept inviting her to his apartment for one reason and one reason only. One that she had never given and had no plans to. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t. How long could he wait until he either wore her down or left her in rage? He looked at her light blue eyes and felt his body warm. He didn’t care. There was something about her that drew him, like no other girl had. “Well, you know what you need to do,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Only date guys who’ll respect your decision.”
“That is what I plan to do.” She picked up the laptop, a sharp focus in her eyes.
Keith tilted his head to the side. “Katie, I’d respect your decision.”
That should have brought a smile to her face, but she just looked at her laptop, tapping one of her fingers against it. “I mean it, Keith. I will dismiss you from my life if you try anything.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
She knit her brows and turned to him. “How many people have you slept with?”
“Two,” he answered. “And only girls I had serious relationships with.”
She narrowed her eyes as they roamed over his face. He focused on keeping his eyes straight, just like how his father taught him. She smiled and her body relaxed. She believed him. “Katie, I wouldn’t tell people you’re virgin.”
“Why? I’m not ashamed of it.”
“Yeah, but virgins are a rarity.” He bit down on the side of his lip. “You don’t want the wrong guys preying on you. I’ll have to keep punching people.”
A blush appeared on her cheeks. “Break time is over.” She opened her laptop and began working on her paper.
She was his.
Katie leaned her cheek into her hand, while the professor walked to the front of the room and began sorting through papers. Soon the lecture would begin. Her plan hadn’t worked, but did it matter? Keith had only found her decision admirable. Another sign of his worthy character. Besides, the Bible said not to marry non-Christians; it didn’t say anything about dating them. She bit down on her eraser, tasting rubber. What if she showed him the way to Jesus? She giggled with the thought of his warm breath hitting her face as he kissed her cheek. Yes, just like in the romance novels. A woman’s strong Godly beliefs always impacted the hero and he would fall on his knees, begging God’s forgiveness before asking for her hand in marriage.
“Hey, why haven’t you called me back?” Angel sat next to her, breaking into her thoughts. Her brown hair was pushed back into a ponytail. Red blotches filled her cheeks, contrasting with the light green dress she wore.
Katie sat straight and clenched her textbook. “I was busy. I spent the whole weekend with Keith.”
“I thought you were only going to go out with him once.”
Katie shrugged. “I think he’s a nice guy.”
The redness spread across her friend’s face as tears swelled in her eyes. “He sleeps with girls and dumps them. I’ve told you that. Is that your definition of nice?”
“I told him that I wanted to wait until I got married, and he said he was cool with that.”
Angel laughed and turned to the front; a tear slipping from her eye.
Katie looked at her notebook. What was she going to do about this friendship? How could she be friends with someone she didn’t trust? She would have to figure out something soon, especially since she had found someone more exciting to fill the void college had created in her. But there was one thing she wanted from Angel. The conversation between Keith and Allen’s father nagged at her. “Angel, Allen’s father called Keith and apologized for his son’s actions. I don’t understand why he didn’t apologize to me.”
Angel raised her eyebrows. “You have no idea who you’re dating.”
“Who is he?”
Angel turned around and stared straight into Katie’s eyes as if she had the biggest secret to tell. “Allen’s father called Keith because he doesn’t want Mr. Wilkerson to be mad at him.”
“Why?”
“Keith’s father was the biggest contributor to the President’s campaign. The two are like this.” Angel held up two fingers, which were twisted together. “I once heard my father complain that the President wouldn’t make a decision without consulting Mr. Wilkerson.”
Katie’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t believe what she had heard, although she had recently met so many people with political connections. “I wonder why Keith didn’t tell me that.”
“I don’t know. But that is why so many girls fall for him. They’re all attracted to his connections.”
“And he likes me.” A smile seeped across her face.
Angel laughed, shaking her head. A couple students glanced their way. “Katie, you’re stupid if you think he likes you. He’s got his bride picked out. Her name is Ashley, and she lives in New York. He’s just messing with you.”
Tears swelled in Katie’s eyes and she tried to say something but the professor stepped to the podium and began explaining the key points of argumentative writing.
Katie picked up her pencil and drew a circle on the crisp white paper. Was Angel telling her the truth? But she couldn’t be. So many of the things she had told her proved to be mere myths the girl invented. There was only one way to find out. As soon
as class was over, she would call Keith.
Once the lecture had finished, Katie grabbed her books and ran out the door before Angel could say something. When she got to her room, she slammed her door shut and called Keith. He wasn’t there, but she left him a message, saying she really wanted to talk to him.
Katie lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her history book was open on the floor. She had a test tomorrow, but she couldn’t bring herself to study. None of it made sense. She doubted that Keith had a fiancée, since Angel’s word was as reliable as the winter was hot. Yet, it still nagged at her. What if he did? Then that would mean he was just fooling with her. His show of affection was not genuine, and she was headed for a heartache. She bit on her fingernail, just as her phone rang. She snatched it from the bedside table and flipped it open. It was Keith.
“Hey,” she said.
“I’m downstairs.”
Katie hung up the phone, put her shoes on and was about to run downstairs when her phone rang again.
“Why did you hang up?” he asked.
“I’m on my way downstairs.” She closed the phone. Her heart beat against her chest as she fled down the room. In a couple minutes she would have her answer. Please let it be no. She didn’t want to face the hurt. She raced down the stairs and threw open the door, fixing her eyes on his face “Who’s Ashley?” she said through a breath.
Keith didn’t flinch, but stood there with his hands crossed in front of him – his brows knit. “Ashley Marriotti?”
“Who is she?”
“My ex. We broke up this summer.” Keith didn’t turn his eyes up or even twitch; he just stared straight at her. “I found out she had a girlfriend.” The corner of his right lip tipped in a smirk.
“Oh.” Katie looked at the sidewalk. He’d answered too quickly to be lying nor did he look away. Once again Angel’s word proved to be false. What was she going to do about that friendship?
“Who told you about Ashley?” Keith asked.
Katie hid her hands behind her back and rubbed her fingers together. “Angel told me that you were going to marry her.”
“I was. The only person I’ve talked to about this is Brandon, so Angel probably didn’t know we broke up.”
