Resilient (2) (7 page)

The ride home consisted of gossip and a play by play of the highlights of the party. They all agreed it was a total success. Charlie outdid herself as usual and everyone had a great time.

“Marcus did you and the boys have fun?” Katrine asked.

“Yeah, it was a good time. I didn’t think they could fit a hundred people in their living room, but towards the end of the night the two lines for the bar were six people deep. I felt like I was at a club. Did you see those drunk women dancing on the coffee table?”
 

“Oh my gosh, I thought Charlie was going to rip the extensions off,” Jane laughed.

“That was hilarious. I almost wish she had. That would have made my night. Who gets on top of people’s furniture at our age? What bitches!” Maddie shouted, her volume a little loud for the cozy confines of the car.

“I know. You’d think they would show a little more class than that. It just goes to show you can have money, but you can still act trashy…Just like those housewives shows,” Izzie said.

“Is it just me or did it seem like half the chicks in her neighborhood had fake racks?” Katrine asked. They all agreed. Not that it was any different from the city. Women loved plastic surgery in this town.
 

Izzie and Maddie had been dropped off and they finally made their way to Katrine’s. It seemed like this leg of the outing took hours. She was tired, and when she looked at the time illuminated on the dashboard, she groaned.
 

“Ugghh, one-thirty, I haven’t been out this late in ages. This is gonna leave a mark. Thank you so much for driving us, Marcus. That was so nice of you. I bet you haven’t had that much crazy in the car in a long time.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. You girls are entertaining as hell.” Katrine smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then one for Jane.

“Night, Trine.”

“Night, guys. I’ll call you soon, friend.”

She peeled off her clothes and trudged to the bathroom to wash up. She yawned as she wiped the mascara off of her bleary eyes.
 

“I look like I’m up past my bedtime.”

Her phone chimed as she was brushing her teeth. She walked into her bedroom and checked the message.
 

Did you get home ok? I didn’t get to say goodbye

She smiled.
 

Yes, thanks for checking

She crawled into bed and her phone rang.

“Hey,” she whispered. Why was she whispering? At two a.m. it just seemed appropriate.

“Goodnight. There, now I said it,” Ian said with a hint of a smile in his quiet voice.

“Oh good,
now
I’ll sleep better.”
 

She didn’t hang up and neither did he. Silence hung between them.

“Are we okay? You seemed, I don’t know, different tonight. I know it’s late, but it was going to bother me until I asked.”

“Amber’s not sleeping right by you while you’re talking to me, is she?”

“No, god no, that would be weird. I took her home after the party. So are you going to answer my question? I know when you’re avoiding, by the way.”

She grinned in the dark, buried in her covers with the phone against her ear. He knew her so well. But when the thought of him taking another woman into his arms and giving her a passionate good night kiss crossed her mind, the grin faded.

What do I say? I wish you’d kissed me tonight and not her.
 

Try again.
 

I really want you to stay single in case I decide I want to date you. Thanks!

No, definitely not.

It sounded so selfish no matter how she spun it. Even if that’s how she truly felt, she could never tell him. She hated half truths, but in this instance it was necessary. Maybe one day she’d ‘fess up.

“We’re okay.”
 

Kind of.
 

“
Sorry if I was acting differently towards you. I guess I just feel territorial when it comes to my friends.”
 

Especially the ones I want to kiss.
 

“I’ll act totally normal next time, I promise.”

 
Fingers crossed.

“Okay, if you’re sure that’s it.” He didn’t sound like he bought her explanation, but thankfully he didn’t press or try to call her out. “Well, again, good night. And sweet dreams.”

“Night, Ian.”

She pulled the covers up to her chin and snuggled into her body pillow. Maybe the whole becoming friends first thing had some merit. But wasn’t that the fun part of dating? Getting to know each other. When that part is already taken care of, what do you do? She guessed it was like starting the relationship after the tenth date. “I know everything about you, so I guess the only thing left is to get naked.” That was one approach. She was no closer to figuring it out when she fell asleep.

Freelance Whales, nah.
 

The Shins, maybe later.
 

Kitten, don’t mind if I do.

“Cut it out” started in her ears buds and she took off. The air was cold, but she knew in ten minutes she would be toasty inside her winter running gear. She had been running two to three times a week since summer ended. She had packed on a few with all of the eating out she’d done with
him…
 

She let her mind go there today. The times she didn’t have the energy to fight it she just let the memories wash over her. Sometimes it felt like a warm spring shower and other times like a bucket of ice water.
 

Her friends had no idea she still thought about him. Well, if they did they never talked about it. Maybe they thought if he was never mentioned then it never happened or they could just pretend he didn’t exist, like a phantom they had a vague memory of. She and Maddie had a few talks about it, but never for too long. Maddie didn’t think he deserved the air time. But here, on the pavement and in her mind, she could think about him as long as she wanted. Sometimes she didn’t think of him at all. But the fact that he might one day become a distant memory made her a bit nervous. She didn’t want the memory of that summer to fade. She didn’t want his face to become a shadow—like in those frustrating dreams where she couldn’t quite get the details of the face to solidify.
 

He’d come to mean so much to her in such a short time. Now that the hurt was not asphyxiating, she could look back on their time together with fondness instead of anger. Well, most of the time, anyway. Never having contact with him helped with the anger aspect. So did that mean she still had feelings for Xander? Alone, in her head, she could admit it.
 

Maybe that too would fade if she opened herself up to someone new, which made her think of Ian. Something held her back from going down that road. It might sound cliché, but she didn’t want to jeopardize the friendship that had become so dear to her. So why was she so bothered by his new love interest? It wasn’t a surprise that Ian had started dating. Katrine knew things couldn’t stay in limbo forever. She wasn’t sure she wanted him that way, but she sure as shit didn’t want anyone else to have him.
 

With that thought lingering, she picked up her pace. Maybe the wintry air burning in her lungs would clear her head, maybe even cleanse her selfishness. She rounded the corner, wrapping up her eight mile run as Teddy got out of his father’s car. Running right up to her son, she engulfed him in a huge bear hug.

“Hi, baby, I’ve missed you! Did you have fun?”

“Hi, Momma, it was awesome! Uh, Mom, you’re kinda sweaty.”

“Sorry. Now let’s get you inside, your little ears are like ice cubes.” She glanced over at David, who was standing by the driver-side door.

“Hey, David, how ya doing?”

“Good, Katrine. Still running, I see.”

“Of course. I’ll run until my knees get other ideas.” She smiled at him and then kissed Teddy on the top of his head. She wouldn’t be able to do that much longer. He would be doing it to her in no time.

“Okay, champ, I’ll see you on Wednesday. Love you, bud.”

“Sounds good, Dad, love you too.”

“I’ll talk to you later about my schedule for the next few weeks.”

“Okay, just shoot me an email and we’ll work it out.”

They waved and she snuggled her son into her side as they walked up the steps to their place.

“Right hand, yellow.” Grunt, grunt.
 

“Uh, left foot grrrreeeen.”
 

“Aaaaahhhh.” Thud and giggles.

“Momma, I think we need more than two people to play this game. You can’t play and spin. You’re gonna break something.”

“Hey, I was doing pretty good until you stuck your little bum in my face.”

“Left foot green, Mom. Not my fault.”

“Okay, let’s retire Twister for a while and play cards. I think we’ll be safer.” Teddy put up the game as Katrine checked on dinner. The heat from the oven almost singed her eyebrows off, but it looked like the lasagna was right on schedule. She removed the foil and closed the door. “Should be done in about fifteen minutes, sweetie. Do you want to help me make the salad? We can play cards after dinner.”

He nodded eagerly. Teddy loved to help her in the kitchen. He had assembled tonight’s lasagna while wearing his man-apron. Katrine had found him a dark blue Yankees one online. He didn’t bat an eye about wearing the apron and wore it with pride. He was always game for things and she liked that in a person, kid or grown-up. She chopped and he loaded their bowls. “Ranch or vinaigrette?” He gave her an “are you kidding me” look.

 
“Ranch. Of course. How could I have been so stupid?” she teased, grabbing both. They sat side by side on the barstools. The white cheese pulled into a string as Teddy took his first bite. “Oooh, Momma, that’s so good.”

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you like it. I put extra meat and baby bellas in the sauce.”

“I love portobello mushrooms!”

“That’s why I put them in there, squirt.” She winked and knocked shoulders with him, taking a huge cheesy bite for herself.

Life was good. Anything beyond this was just icing.

Chapter 8

Katrine plopped into her chair and by some miracle her coffee stayed in the confines of its white cardboard cup.
 

“Hey, Mila, how ya doing this fine Monday morning?”

“Good, I had the best weekend.” After a month of sitting together in class and working on the group project, her shy neighbor had really come out of her shell. She filled Katrine in on a great first date she went on and a birthday dinner for her best friend.

“Wow, that does sound like a great weekend.” Katrine smiled at her as she removed her notes from her bag.

“Who had a great weekend?” Hayden asked as he sat down beside Katrine.

“That would be me,” Mila said with enthusiasm.
 

It must have been some date.
 

Bet she got her some. Would like to get me some…

Katrine grinned and shook her head. “What’s so funny?” Hayden whispered against her cheek. He smelled like cold air and soap. She really smiled and turned towards him and whispered, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Would I ever.”

Sit around and pine for unavailable guy or have a little tongue fun with younger hottie? Umm, survey says, B.

Pining just wasn’t her style, so Katrine decided right then and there to give Hayden a chance. She wasn’t going to marry the guy, but she wasn’t opposed to hanging out. She knew Hayden could handle it. As for the handsome research assistant, alas, she was not his type. Or any woman, for that matter, she was disappointed to discover the week prior.
 

Their group conversed for a brief moment about the project assignments for the week as Professor Darwin took the podium. Katrine took a healthy gulp of her coffee, hoping the caffeine would fortify her for the next two hours of lecture.

“Katrine, wait up.” Hayden was jogging toward her on the sidewalk. She slowed and allowed him to catch up with her, then they continued towards the parking lot. “I was wondering if you were interested in being my date Friday night?.”

“Date to what?” She raised her eyebrow.

“My parents are hosting an event at a gallery downtown.”

“Oh? Who’s the artist?”

“My cousin Kimberly, actually. She’s a student at the Art Institute and a few of her pieces were featured in the school’s exhibition. When my parents heard, they wanted to throw her a party and display her art. Invite their fancy friends, etcetera etcetera,” he said, waving his hand around.
 

So far the two men she had met that came from wealthy families didn’t seem too keen on their parents. Well, one loved his mom… It made her glad she grew up in a middle class neighborhood. Her folks weren’t rich, but they were always comfortable. She and Maddie were always well dressed and totally content. But when she thought about it, Teddy grew up in a wealthy household and it was warm and loving, even after the divorce. So she figured it wasn’t money that made people assholes. Assholes were assholes, despite their monetary situation.

“Sounds fun. My son will be at a sleepover with his hockey team, so I’m free.”

“You have a kid?”
 

“Yes, is that a problem?”
 

 
“No, of course not. I was just surprised. You never mentioned him.” She found that odd.
 

“Teddy ring any bells?”

“Oh yeah, yeah, I’ve heard you talk about him. I guess I just missed the son part of the conversation.” He gave her a contrite smile.

“It’s okay, and don’t worry; I’m not in the new daddy market. He has a very dedicated dad, so rest easy.” She smiled and patted him on the arm, letting him know it was no biggie.

“So is that still a yes?”

“Hayden, that sounds like a perfect way to spend a Friday night.”

“Okay, so text me your address and I’ll pick you up around seven.”

She fastened the deep emerald buttons on the narrow cuffs of her dress. The silk material was a lighter shade of green, but just slightly so. The neck was high and hit right on her collar bone. The bodice was fitted, sash at the waist, and the hem hit mid-calf.