Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (16 page)

He leaned down and
kissed the top of my head. “Thanks,” he said softly.

I got him to the
bathroom and sat him on the edge of the tub. “Look, I don’t know how you feel about
taking a bath, but I don’t think you can stand up by yourself in the shower.”

He looked down at
the tub and back at me. “Are you kidding me? I can’t fit in that tub,” he said,
his eyes wide.

I put my hands on my
hips and narrowed my eyes. “Well you’re going to have to because you might fall
in the shower, so I’m not letting you get in there,” I said, reaching down and
turning on the faucet.

He sighed loudly but
didn’t argue with me. He took the wash rag I held out. “Are you going to be
okay on your own in here?” He shrugged, but began to pull his shirt off. I
looked away, even though part of me didn’t want to. “Okay, I’ll wait on you
right outside the door. Yell if you need anything.” I got up and closed the
door behind me as I left.

I sat down on the
floor and leaned my back against the door. The steady sound of the running
water made me want to close my eyes, but I knew I had to stay awake. The water finally
stopped and I heard him get in the tub. I tried not to focus on the fact that
he was naked behind the door, and began to hum.

“I can hear you,” he
called out.

I laughed and shook
my head. “Is this as awkward for you as it is for me?” I asked and heard a
splash.

“Huh? Did you say
something? I was washing my hair.”

“Nope.”
I guess
he’s not bothered by this.
“Are you about done?” I asked, fighting back a
yawn. I didn’t know how much longer I could stay awake.

“Yeah. I’m getting
out now,” he said and I heard the water begin to drain from the tub.

“Levi, please be
careful getting out. Go slow and don’t fall.” My body tense, I stood up and
leaned against the door, my hand already gripping the knob. I put my ear to the
door, listening for any sign of distress. I didn’t hear any after a few seconds
and relaxed.

“I don’t have any
clean clothes to put on,” he said, his voice sounding close. I realized he was
standing against the other side of the door and took a step back.

“Okay, I’ll go see
what I can find in the dryer. I’ll be right back.”

I ran to the laundry
room and opened up the dryer. I found a pair of gym shorts and another t-shirt
but no boxer briefs.
Oh well, maybe he won’t notice.
I hurried back to
the bathroom and knocked on the door. It opened a crack, and I slipped his
clothes through to him. As he closed the door, I held my breath hoping he would
just put on what I gave him and not say anything.

“Uh, Katie, I think
you forgot something.”

I exhaled.
Well,
so much for hoping.
“Yeah, sorry. I couldn’t find any of your boxer briefs
in there, so you’ll just have to go commando.”

The door opened after
a minute and he stepped out dressed. “How did you know I wore boxer briefs?”

I felt heat color my
cheeks. “I had to help dress you at the hospital.”

“Oh.” He chuckled.
“Well, I guess that means we’re really close friends now.”

I tried to smile but
it turned into a yawn. He reached down and ran a finger under my eye. “You’ve
got dark circles from lack of sleep. Come on, get in the bed.” He led me to the
side of the bed and pulled back the sheet and comforter.

I climbed in and
laid my head down on the pillow. “Are you going to be okay?” I asked, struggling
to keep my eyes open.

“I’ll be fine. I’m
feeling much better,” he said as he tucked the covers in around me.

He leaned down and
kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes and thought I heard him whisper three
little words, but I could have already been dreaming.

***

I woke up and
glanced over at the clock. It was after noon. I had slept for four hours, but it
wasn’t enough. I still felt tired. I rolled over and wondered what Levi was up
to. I got out of bed and made it up before I went into the bathroom to survey
the damage to my hair. Just as I thought, it was a total mess. I’d left my
purse in the car so I didn’t even have a hair tie. It was too tangled to use my
fingers to get the knots out, so I just left it alone.

I made my way down
the hall and noticed Levi’s bedroom door was open. His sheets had been stripped
from the bed, and I smelled cleaning solutions. I shook my head.
Stubborn
man.
He just couldn’t stand it. Even weak, he was determined to get his room
cleaned before I could help him.

I continued on to
the kitchen and saw my clothes folded on the counter.
Ugh, I forgot that I
left them in the washer.
I had planned on moving them to the dryer but fell
asleep before I could. I spotted my hot pink boy shorts folded neatly on top of
the pile and groaned. I heard Levi chuckle from the living room. “What was that
you said about me going commando?” he called out.

I joined him on the
couch and shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I
said innocently and quickly changed the subject. “Did you try to eat anything
while I was asleep?”

He cringed. “No. I
was kind of afraid to.”

I definitely
understood
. Who wouldn’t be scared to eat again after throwing up for almost
six hours?
“Let me make you something. You need to try to eat,” I
suggested.

He agreed so I went
into the kitchen and made him some toast and a glass of tea. I brought it to
him, and he slowly finished it all. I tried to watch TV but found myself
peering over at him every couple of minutes worried he would get sick again.
After about fifteen tense minutes I finally asked, “Well, are you okay?”

He put his hand over
his stomach. “Yeah. I’m good, no pain or nausea.”

I relaxed against
the couch, relieved that the whole ordeal was over. He flung his arm around my
shoulders, and gave me a cocky grin. “What’s this about?” I asked and giggled.

“I just remembered
something. When we were in the car, you called me babe.”

 Squinting, I tapped
my finger against my lips. “Hmm, did I? I don’t recall that. I think maybe you
were just dreaming.”  

He laughed loudly and
pulled me closer to him. “When are you going to admit that we are more than
friends?” he asked, his voice low. I just shrugged my shoulders. “Okay, I’ll
take that answer for now.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Hey, next
Saturday night some people from work are getting together for a bonfire. Do you
want to go with me?”

I looked up into his
eyes. “Sure. I’d love to go with you.”

I knew he wanted to
ask if I thought this was a date or not, but he didn’t. He just smiled and
said, “Great. I’d love for you to go with me.” I didn’t miss that we both said
the word love. I knew I was in love with him. I just couldn’t tell him. I
didn’t know if he was in love with me, but sometimes, the way he looked at me
made me think so. I turned those thoughts off. I couldn’t have a relationship
with Levi. It would be based on lies. I could never tell him the truth about
Asher....could I?

I couldn’t think
about it right now. I needed to get home. I got up and grabbed my clothes from
the counter. I took a step towards the hallway, but he reached out and grabbed
my hand. “You can just wear that home.”

I looked down at the
way too big t-shirt and shorts. “Uh, okay. I’ll get them back to you,” I lied.
I would be sleeping in his shirt that night.

I walked to the door
and he followed me. I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist, laying my
head against his chest. He put his arms around me. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was
really worried about you.”

I felt him kiss the
top of my head. “Thank you for taking care of me. You don’t know how much it
means to me that you were here.”

Neither one of us
let go. We just stood there in our embrace. I finally pulled away. “I’ll call
you later.”

I walked to my car
and got in, knowing he was watching me the entire way. I pulled out of his
driveway and headed home wearing Levi’s clothes and a giant smile.

Levi picked me up
for the bonfire at seven the next Saturday night. I smiled when I saw him in
his jeans and navy hoodie. He looked so handsome. I couldn’t believe he was
interested in me. I wore a long gray sweater, black leggings and my knee high
black riding boots.

With wide eyes he
took in my outfit. “Wow, you look hot.”

I blushed. “You look
pretty hot yourself.” I grabbed my gray toboggan from the counter. He took it
from me and tugged it on over my head.

 He situated my hair
over my shoulders and said, “Perfect.”

I rolled my eyes.
“Whatever. I look like a dork in this hat, but it’s too cold to go without it.”

He raised his brows.
“You don’t look like a dork. You look beautiful. I’m going to have to keep you
close tonight so the other guys don’t get any ideas.” He leaned down and kissed
the tip of my nose, and of course, I blushed.

We loaded up in his
truck and headed to the lake for the bonfire. When we got there, Levi grabbed
two blankets and an ice chest from the back seat of his truck.

“What’s in that?” I
asked, pointing to the ice chest.

“Hot dogs, for
roasting.” 

 “I haven’t roasted
hot dogs since I was a kid. It reminds me of the one camping trip my parents
took me on.” I smiled, remembering the good time we’d had.

He looked down at
me, his face unreadable. “Did you like camping?”

“I did. I can
remember the smell of the campfire and the noise of the crickets chirping in
the trees. It wasn’t something we normally did, so it was nice.”

He grinned, quite
amused at my answer and I already knew what he was thinking. “I can see the
wheels turning in your head, Levi,” I said with a laugh.

“What?” he asked
innocently. I tilted my head and waited. “Okay, I would love to take you
camping with me. I was trying to think of a Saturday I could take off work.”

The image of us
together in a tent popped in my head and I smiled. “Maybe,” I said softly.

I looked around and
saw a number of people from the nursery were already gathered around the roaring
bonfire. Levi put our stuff down on the sand, and we went to mingle.

I met Zach, Levi’s
friend since childhood, who was also Sydney’s husband. He seemed really nice
and told me a few stories of him and Levi growing up. It seemed they were a
couple of carefree boys, always riding their bikes, swimming, and fishing. It
was great to see them together, laughing, and remembering old times. Sydney
looked like she was about to give birth on the sand. “Whoa there, momma. Are
you sure you have another month?” I asked, patting her belly. I’d grown to
really like Sydney, and I guess seeing her swollen belly almost every day
helped me get over most of the pain I’d felt around pregnant women. I was
thankful for that.

”That’s what the
doctor says, but I feel like I’m about to pop,” she said with a grimace.

I laughed. ”Yeah, it
does seem to drag on, doesn’t it?”

 She cocked her
head, studying my face for a second. “Yeah. You’re right. It does.”

 I knew my mistake
immediately. I let on that I knew what it was like to be pregnant. I looked
over at Levi and smiled. I felt like I needed to say something to clarify what
I accidentally let slip out.

“I have a younger
brother. I remember my mom being pregnant, and she would say the same thing.”

 Sydney smiled but
didn’t look convinced. I glanced over and saw Todd wave at me from a little
ways down the shore. I waved back and Levi noticed. “You want to go say hi,
don’t you?” he asked me teasingly.

“Yes. I don’t want
things to be awkward between us. He’s a sweet guy.”

“Why would things be
awkward with Todd?” Sydney asked.

Levi grinned
wickedly and spoke before I could, “Katie went out on a date with him once but
turned him down for a second one.”

 This obviously
surprised her. “Wow, I’m impressed. He’s usually so shy.”

 I laughed. “You
have no idea. Anyway, I’m going to say hi to him. I’ll see you later.” I
started to walk away but called over my shoulder, “It was nice to meet you,
Zach.”

 “Same here,” he
yelled back.

 Levi stayed behind
to talk with his friends some more, and I faced Todd alone. “Hey, Todd, how are
you?” I asked with a sweet smile.

He blushed and
looked over my shoulder. “I’m good. So, you’re seeing the boss, huh?”

 I smiled and shook
my head. “We’re just friends.”

 He cocked his brow.
“No, it’s true,” I said firmly, but as soon as the words left my mouth I felt a
large arm wrap around my waist. I didn’t even have to look to know who it was.

“Hey, Todd. Are you
having a good time tonight?” Todd looked down at Levi’s arm around my waist and
back up at my face. He nodded his head. Levi looked down at me and gave me a
sly grin. “Baby, I’m starving. Let’s get to the food before it’s all gone.”

We said bye to Todd
and made our way to the food tables. I elbowed Levi in the side and heard him
grunt. “I told him we were just friends, and then you show up and call me baby.”
I hissed out.

   “Woman, you’ve
got some sharp elbows,” he said, rubbing his side. He frowned and continued, “I
heard what you told Todd.”

 I felt bad for
lashing out at him. “I’m sorry,” I rubbed a hand over his side before meeting
his gaze. “Why did you do that?”

 He shrugged his
shoulders. “I don’t want to be just your friend, and I don’t want other guys
asking you out. Believe me, when you talk to any single guy around here, that’s
exactly what they want to do.”

 I leaned into him.
“I’m sorry, Levi. I know you want a relationship with me. Those guys can ask
all they want, but I’m not going to go out with any of them. Todd just caught
me off guard, and I won’t let that happen again.”

 He squeezed me
tighter. “Really?”

I smiled and
whispered, “Really.” I knew why I didn’t want to go out with any other guy. I
was already with the one I wanted. Right then, I knew that I was done fighting
my feelings for Levi. I had my answer ready for the next person that asked
about us.

We roasted our hot
dogs on hangers over the fire. I glanced over at him, and he gave me his
gorgeous smile. This man made me so happy. We took our charred hot dogs back to
the food tables. We loaded up our plates, sat down and ate. When we finished,
we made our way back to the blankets but were stopped by Jeff, one of the
mowers.

 “Hey, boss man. Hey,
Katie,” he said.

 “Hey, Jeff,” Levi
answered. I just smiled and waved.

 He looked at the
two of us standing close together and asked, “So, you two an item?”

Before Levi could
answer I said, “Yes. We are,” and took his hand in mine.

He squeezed my hand
hard and said with a chuckle, “Yeah. We sure are.”

 We continued on our
way in silence. Levi picked up one of his blankets and spread it out on the
sand. He gestured for me to sit, before sitting down beside me. He reached over
and took my hand. “So, were you serious when you answered Jeff?”

 I looked up into
his beautiful blue eyes. “Yes. I want to be in a real relationship with you.
I’m tired of fighting my feelings for you.”

He grinned. “Well,
it’s about time. I was beginning to think I had lost my charm.” I started to
laugh but the sound was cut off by his gentle kiss. “We’re right for each other,”
he whispered as his lips left mine. Chills ran down my spine from his kiss and
his words, making me shiver. “Are you cold?”

 I slowly shook my
head. He grinned, grabbed the other blanket and tucked it around me anyway. He
scooted closer to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. I leaned my head on his
shoulder, enjoying the warmth of the fire and him at my side. Neither of us
spoke, we just watched the flames as they danced higher and higher, and
listened to the pop and hiss of burning wood.

He broke the silence
after a while. “Do you want to go to church with me tomorrow?”

 I thought about it
for a second before answering, “Sure. Take me to church tomorrow, Levi.”

 He seemed more
pleased with that answer than he did when I said I would date him. “I think God
misses you, Katie.”

Tears came to my
eyes, but I fought them back. “Maybe,” I replied in a whisper. He leaned over
and kissed me on the temple but didn’t say anything else. Someone turned on
some country music nearby and I listened as Reba sang “Fancy” and couldn’t help
but laugh.

“What are laughing
at?”

 “This song, it’s
really bad.”

 He chuckled. “I
take it you don’t like country music?”

 I wrinkled my nose
and replied, “Not really. The songs all seem to be mostly about drinking and
heartbreak, so it’s kind of depressing.”

The next song that
played was “Red Solo Cup”. Levi rolled his eyes and groaned. “I think you might
be right.”

We listened as the
people around us belted out the words about a plastic cup and laughed. The
first bars of the next song began and my laughter died. I recognized the
familiar song instantly, and suddenly I was back in high school listening to
Seth sing along to it. I didn’t even realize I was crying until Levi wiped the
tears away with his thumb.

“Why are you crying,
Katie?”

 “I hate this song.
It brings back bad memories. My ex played it nonstop during football season.” I
wiped my face and leaned my head into Levi’s chest. He covered my ear and pressed
me tighter to him, muffling the sound of the song.

He removed his hand
after a little bit and whispered, “It’s over now.” My heart melted at the
compassion he’d shown. I looked up into his now sad eyes and knew I wasn’t
right for him. He deserved someone better than me. I was lying to him about my
family, my past, my whole life. He smiled, leaned down and placed a sweet kiss
on my lips. I tried to smile back but couldn’t. I would do nothing but hurt him
in the end, and I knew the end would eventually come.

“It’s late. I’ll
take you home,” he said gently.

 I stood and helped
him get our things together. We were both quiet on the ride to my apartment. He
switched off the truck and turned to me. “Don’t do this, Katie. Don’t push me
away. I know that’s what you’re trying to do,” he said, his voice filled with
pain.

 I looked at his
handsome face. “You don’t need to be with me, Levi. I’m so messed up. It seems
all I do is cry around you. You deserve someone you don’t have to comfort all
the time.”

“Stop it right now.
I want you. I want to comfort you and take away your pain. I don’t think you
know how much you mean to me. I feel more for you than I’ve ever felt for
anyone, even Denise,” he said as he leaned over and cupped my face in his
hands. He rubbed his thumb over my cheek. “Let me help take away all those bad
memories,” he whispered.

 He leaned down and
kissed me passionately. As he kissed me, the only thought I had was of him. He
pulled away and smiled. “We’re going to replace them with happy memories of us
together, okay?”

 I knew right then
if anyone could get rid of my bad memories, it was him. “Okay,” I whispered.

He walked me to the
door but didn’t come inside. “I’ll pick you up about ten thirty for church.”

 I smiled. “I’ll be
ready,” I knew I meant more than just being dressed. I was ready to start my
new life and make some great memories with Levi.