by J.M. Downey
“Oh. I guess you were hurt.”
“Nah, I knew the breakup was coming, so I got over her real fast.”
She stared straight into his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me your father was close to the President?”
The corners of his mouth twitched and his eyes darken. “I guess Angel told you that, too.”
Katie took a step back. He looked annoyed, maybe angry. Had she pushed too far? Was his connections an off-limit subject? She should have waited until he brought the subject up. “Yeah, why didn’t you tell me?”
He smiled as the darkness fled his eyes. “Girls have a habit of being with a guy just because of his connections. I wanted you to like me for me.”
A warmth filled her. She took his hands. “I’m glad I didn’t know. I like spending time with you.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, sending tingles all through her. “Want to get some dinner?” he asked.
Katie bit on her lip, chewing. She had a history test tomorrow, but she so wanted to spend time with him. She could always study later. “Sure.”
Keith stroked her cheek, watching it redden. Her eyes were wide, wavering. The lamp light overhead flickered in them - highlighting the innocence. Better not try for the lips again. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. A giggle escaped from her lips. He should call her ‘Bubbles.’
“Good night, Katie,” he said.
“Good night.” She turned for the door, slipping behind it as her hair swayed to the side. That girl was like candy. Way too sweet.
Keith walked to his car. Once in the driver’s seat, he picked up his phone and dialed Angel’s number. His free hand clenched the steering wheel, his fingertips drumming against it. Katie knew about his father. What else did she know? Probably little. Very few knew what lay behind that man’s steel eyes. Not even his own family, or the people he bought.
Angel picked up on the third ring.
“Hey Keith,” she said. Her voice dripped honey. She was probably pulling out her favorite piece of lingerie, hoping he was on his way.
“Listen whore, stop trying to screw things up for me.”
“Keith,” Angel cried out.
He bent his head to the side as a heat pushed through him. “Angel, you were easy sex, and that’s all you’ll ever be.”
“You player,” Angel shouted.
“You’re the one that allowed it.”
Keith hung up the phone and drove to his apartment, taking slow deep breaths, but he couldn’t calm himself down. If she was here…. He squeezed the wheel. He would never. He wasn’t his father. Another pair of blue eyes tinged with fear filled his mind. He pushed the thought away. He would think of Katie and those plump red lips. He’d claim them before too long. He just needed to find the right distraction and then she’d let him.
EIGHT
Keith stole a quick glance at Katie. She had a hand on her stomach and a slight blush on her cheeks, her innocence radiated from her. The red colored V-neck blouse she wore, made her red lips stand out. Every time he hovered over them, the scent of strawberry filled him, making him long to just steal a quick kiss.
“Full?” he asked.
She giggled. “You’re going to get me fat, if you keep feeding me like this.”
“Nah, we’ll just start walking.” He could hold her hand and caress her smooth skin with the back of his thumb during a walk. That would be nice. For two weeks, he had been throwing everything he could at her and for two weeks he had enjoyed every bit of it, although she allowed no more than a kiss on the cheek. Something was wrong with him. A mere girl wasn’t supposed to make him crazy or accept things he normally wouldn’t. Keith parked the car in front of her dorm. The night ended too quickly.
She placed a hand on his, making his skin grow warm. “My roommate said she’d be around tonight. Want to come up?”
“Sure,” Keith responded.
They got out of the car and went inside. Katie stopped when they got to her door and puckered her nose. “What’s that smell? It smells like puke or spoiled ham.”
Keith shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t about to tell her, that her roommate was smoking pot. Katie was not going to want to stay, so he could take her to his apartment. He needed to thank her roommate later.
Katie opened the door and walked into a room full of smoke. She fanned the air in front of her face. Her roommate sat on her bed with a glass bowl to her face and her boyfriend sat on the floor in front of her. They both wore grungy black clothes and piercings covered their bodies.
Her roommate smirked. “Is that your pretty boy, Katie?”
“What are you doing?”
The girl started laughing. Keith placed his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said.
Katie stormed out of the room. Keith followed and shut the door.
“I don’t like her,” Katie said.
“Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t care.” They walked out of her dorm. She went to his car and got in.
Katie sat with her arms crossed, a slight scowl on her brow. Keith started up the car’s engine and drove away. When he pulled up to his apartment complex, he parked the car and said, “I didn’t know where else to take you, so I brought you here.”
Katie got out of the car. She didn’t protest. That was interesting. He could have taken her to get tea, or something. She must realize that. Maybe she didn’t care. Keith looked around the lot and noticed Brandon’s car was not there. He reached into his pocket and rubbed the bag that held a gold bracelet.
“Want to take a walk, so you can cool down?”
Katie nodded. Keith took her hand and they walked down the street. His other hand still held the bag. He began telling her a story about a case his father’s firm was working on until he stopped in front of a streetlight that cast a gold shine around her making her look like an angel. She turned to him as he took her wrist and slipped on the bracelet.
Her eyes startled and then lightened as a smile crossed her face. “Keith, I….”
“I think it looks really pretty on you.”
“Thank you. It is pretty.” Keith wrapped one arm around her back and pulled her close to him. The light of the street lamp flickered in her eyes, making them sparkle.
Keith placed two fingers on her chin and lifted her face as he bent down and barely touched her lips; immediately a shock ran through his body and for the first time, he felt lightheaded kissing a girl.
Keith pulled from her. “I really like you.”
She brought his free hand to her lips and kissed it. “I really like you, too.”
Keith smiled before he smashed his lips against hers, soaking in the taste of her strawberry lip-gloss. His body became alive and he felt emotions he didn’t realize existed. It wasn’t lust, a feeling he knew too well, but something different. He pulled back from her. A full blush covered her face as she trembled in his arms.
“Let’s go back to my apartment.”
Again she didn’t protest.
They went back to his apartment and sat on the couch. She snuggled up on his shoulder as he flipped through the channels until he settled on an action movie playing on HBO. A yawn escaped from her light red lips. Her lip gloss had been smeared to the right from the pressure of his kiss. He reached to it and wiped the stain away. Her lashes fluttered open as a smile crossed her face. Did she realize how beautiful she was? The candlelight flickered in her light blue eyes, making them look like blue diamonds. He would have to make sure he told her. The movie dragged on and soon her eyes drooped close and her breath flowed from her in a smooth rhythm. Her wisp of a body curved against his. He clenched the side of the couch. Every part of him wanted to run a finger over her hips, trailing under her shirt, but that would send her flying from his arms.
With grass stains on his pants and hair pushed in various directions, Brandon stumbled into the apartment, clutching a beer. “Man, that was a great party.”
Keith placed a finger against his lip
s.
Brandon sat in a chair, his eyes trailing over them. “Take her to your bedroom.”
Keith shook his head. “She’d get mad.”
Brandon raised his eyebrows. “You’re whipped,” he slurred out.
Keith pulled the blanket more over her shoulders. “I’m not whipped.”
Brandon stood and placed the beer on the coffee table. “Are you going to keep her on the couch?”
“I’ll probably stay out here with her.”
“You’re whipped.” Brandon stumbled to his room.
Keith laughed. Maybe he was a little whipped. He caressed her cheek. His finger ran down her neck and stopped on her shoulder. Women were most vulnerable when they slept. He slipped his hand under the blanket and let his finger rest at the top of the shirt’s neckline. He could go further, but what if she woke up? He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. He wouldn’t risk it. Not with her. She was too special to him.
Katie walked into the sorority house, rotating the bracelet around her wrist. It had such a pretty engraved flower design that flowed over the smooth piece of jewelry. Angel sat at the kitchen table, waiting for her - her shoulder-length tresses fell across her face as she chewed on a pencil. She should have left the bracelet at her dorm, since Angel was obviously jealous of her and Keith. Every night, she called asking for full details in regards to the relationship and all Katie would ever say was she hadn’t slept with him. Angel needed to accept the fact that they were a couple. Keith had made it clear to her that he never had a relationship with Angel and she just had some jealousy issues.
“What’s got you so happy?” Angel said.
Katie sat down next to her at the kitchen table, cluttered with coffee mugs and plates. She placed her book bag on the floor next to her. Let’s see what she says about this.
“Look.” Katie held out her arm, letting the bracelet dangle on her wrist. “Keith gave it to me.”
Angel’s eyes filled with tears - her chest rose and fell with each deep breath. “I don’t know if I can be friends with you.”
“What?” Katie bent her head to the side - scrunching up her lips.
“You think you’re real special just because Keith’s paying attention to you.”
“I just wanted you to see the bracelet. I think you have some issues to work through.”
The girl laughed, looking at the ceiling as a tear slipped down her face. “He’s just trying to get you in bed.”
Katie pushed from her seat and planted her hands on the table, glaring at Angel. What was her problem? Couldn’t she understand Keith had chosen someone besides her? “You’re just jealous. I know you like him and you can’t accept the fact that he has no interest in you.”
Angel jabbed her finger at the door. “Get out!”
Tears swelled in Katie’s eyes as she rushed out the door.
“He will dump you if you don’t sleep with him.”
Katie stopped dead in her tracks. “No, he won’t,” she yelled back. She walked out the door, slamming it. A few tears fell down her heated cheeks as a deep pain sliced through her. Why did she want to cry over someone like Angel? Yes, the girl had been her only friend, but she couldn’t keep being friends with someone who wanted her boyfriend and told her so many lies. She had Keith now. She just needed to focus on him.
Katie went straight to her dorm. When she got there, her roommate was on the bed with her boyfriend. The puking smell filled the air. She looked at her bed and noticed her history book. She needed to study, but there was no way she could. She needed to talk to someone, to let out everything she was feeling. Picking up her phone, she walked out of her room and leaned against the wall. Katie punched in Keith’s number. He’d help her feel better.
“Hey, pretty thing,” he answered.
“Hey.”
“What’s wrong?”
“What are you doing?” She took a deep breath, but a few tears still slipped out. The sound of his voice sounded so smooth, so caring. Maybe he wouldn’t mind holding her and caressing her back. Her body tingled all over just thinking about it.
“Just watching a game. Where are you at?”
“My dorm.”
“I’ll be there in a second.”
Katie leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Just like in the novels, he would show up and make her day better.
Keith lay on the couch with the brunette tucked under his arms, asleep. He pushed her off of him and stood. Study date must not have gone well. Good. He wanted Angel out of her life. He walked to his room. He used to take girls to his bed, but since Katie’s been around, he stopped. It just didn’t seem right. There was only one girl he wanted there. Though he couldn’t quite figure out how to get her there.
In his bedroom, Keith dressed, fixed his hair and put on cologne, hoping it would cover the smell of the brunette. He left his room and made his way to the front door.
“Where you going?” the brunette asked.
She lay on the couch, staring at him with a smirk on her face. “I think it’s time you went home.”
The girl just laughed as she rolled over on her back, revealing her over-tan body. “You don’t live up to the hype. I’ve met better lovers.”
Keith slammed the door behind him as he left. Whatever. There was nothing appealing about a slut. That was the problem. He had no interest in her. Then why did he keep sleeping with her, while trying to get things over as fast as he could? He shook his head. It was getting cold in Connecticut, so he grabbed his coat from the back seat of the car and put it on. He needed to get to Katie and stop worrying about a girl whose name he couldn’t even recall.
He pulled outside of her dorm. She looked so cute tucked away in her lavender coat, her hair pulled into a ponytail with a lavender knit cap pushed over her head. Where did girls like her come from?
The smile on her face contrasted with the red circles around her eyes. She opened the passenger side and slipped into the seat. She leaned over to kiss his cheek, but he turned, catching her lips.
Waving a finger in front of his face, she sat back. “Shouldn’t steal kisses.”
“Why not?” A smirk crossed his face.
She looked away.
“What’s up?” He asked, caressing her pale silky cheek.
Katie crossed her arms over her chest, showing him a believable pout. “Angel and I are not friends anymore.”
“Good, I never liked her.” He turned the car on and drove off. Now he didn’t have to worry about what Angel might tell her. He should find her some friends who would do nothing but sing his praises, but he couldn’t think of one girl he could introduce her to who she’d like. He’d just leave that be. Besides, she had him.
“Yeah. I bet you are. I am in a way too. Everybody is so different up here.” Katie slouched back in her seat and curled her legs to her chest.
“Not really. Am I different than any other guy you’ve ever known?”
She raised her eyebrows.
A chuckle escaped him. “What’s that look for?”
Her eyes took on a faraway look as if she was day-dreaming of something. Keith focused on the road. The yellow line on the pavement got swept under his car. What could she be thinking about? They were from different worlds. Him born to money and power and her a sweet southern belle. But it didn’t matter.
“What’s the President like?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“Like he appears on the television.”
“Are you close to him?”
“He’s my godfather. In fact, I was named after him.”
Her eyes widened. “Your real name is William?”
“William Matthew Wilkerson. People call me Keith because when I was born, Arther thought I looked like a fighter, so he started calling me Keith since it means warrior in Gaelic. I guess the name just stuck.” Keith paused for a second. How much more should he tell her about the relationship? Not more than they are close. “When you meet Arther, you’ll
hear him call me his son. He does that because I spent just as much time with him as a kid as my own parents.”
She leaned her face against the window - the sun that bounced off the clear glass highlighted the water that pooled in her eyes. He needed to find something to make her happy. “Let’s go to the mall.
She smiled. “Sure.”
NINE
Katie sat on the bed as Keith searched for a song on her laptop. His black long-sleeve Yankee t-shirt stretched across his skin, hinting at the muscles underneath. Someday she would have to run her fingers over his shoulders, touching his skin. Just the thought made her tingle all over. They had just returned from dinner and here he was alone in her room. She kicked her feet out in front of her. Keith was a nice guy. He never did anything he shouldn’t.
He clicked on one. ‘Red, Red Wine,’ began to play.
“How romantic,” Katie said as she stood and held out her hands for him.
Keith sang the words as his sensuous smile stretched across his face. His voice was smooth and held the pitch so well. Was there anything less than perfect about him? “Dance with me.”
“Okay.” She took his right hand as he placed the other on her back, sending strange little shocks through her. She stared deep into his eyes, connecting with him. Man, she was falling hard. He guided her hips with his as he moved about with a bounce in his step. The music ended and Katie stepped back, taking both of his hands. “You dance well.”
“It’s not hard to dance with such a beautiful girl.”
Her cheeks warmed. “Really.”
“Yeah,” he said, biting on the side of his bottom lip.
A new song began to play. ‘If you could only see.’
“I love this song,” he said, bending to kiss her head.
“I like it too.” A giggle rose in her as his lips moved to her cheek, his warm breath making her feel alive and wanted. This was intense. And dangerous. She took a step back, but he followed her, catching her lips with his. She kissed him back, letting it deepen while the music floated through her. This was her man. There was nothing wrong with giving him a little attention. Just not too much. She placed her hands on his chest, sliding her fingers to his shoulders as he pulled her close in a tight hold. Something changed. She couldn’t place a finger on it, but his kiss was more fierce, seeking her lips as if he wanted to devour them.
