Risky Business (23 page)

“Well, you would sing, obviously. I’d play rhythm guitar. We’d have to get Ty to play drums and Gabe on bass. Maybe we could even get P.J. on keyboard, but we could do it even if we didn’t have a keyboard.”

“Hmm. Well, it sure sounds interesting. It could be a lot of fun. We’d have to get together and practice to see if we’d sound okay.”

“With that lineup, we couldn’t help but sound great.” Mark exuded complete confidence without a hint of boasting. “But you’re right. So, what are you doing Sunday after church?”

Kate laughed and waggled a finger at him. “You have this set up already, don’t you?”

Mark hung his head in mock shame then chuckled.

“Knowing how bad you are at taking ‘no’ for an answer, I guess I’m practicing with you guys after church. But …” Kate hesitated as she thought of her schedule. “I won’t be able to get too involved in anything like that until December. My swim schedule is about to get really intense over the next month up through the State competition—assuming I qualify, of course.”

Mark rolled his eyes at her humbleness. “Of course you will. But whatever works for you is what we’ll do.”

“So maybe we should look at starting to practice in December but not try to play here until after the New Year.”

“That sounds reasonable. But let’s see how it goes on Sunday. We’ll just have some fun for an hour or two—no pressure—and then I can drive you home.”

It did sound fun. But she tried to imagine squeezing another thing into her already-full schedule. She would go to practice with them on Sunday, but that didn’t mean she’d do it for sure.
I can say no. It’s easy
.

When the waitress came back to see if they wanted something else, Kate said, “Sure, that’s enough mocha for me, though. I’ll have a regular coffee this time.”

“Oh, not me.” Mark shook his head. “I’d be up all night long. Decaf for me, please.”

The rest of the evening passed much like the first part had. They laughed, teased, and enjoyed the music like old friends. Surprised, Kate felt comfortable with Mark and laughed more in that evening than she had in a year … or more. Kate felt very lucky to have been around through Mark’s transformation from goof-off to growing-up. She couldn’t wait to see more …
much
more.

“Trick or treat … trick or treat … trick or treat …,” Kate chanted to the waves at practice the afternoon of Halloween. A distance practice, no sprints. So Kate got settled into a comfortable pace and had plenty of time to think.

If I do well at Sectionals, I’ll qualify to swim at State
, Kate reminded herself every five minutes. For the next two weeks, she planned to put everything else on hold. She would skip practice for the Christmas musical—they wouldn’t be too happy with her, but it couldn’t be helped. She intended to turn down dates with Mark, too—if he asked her out again. No shopping trips with her sister—not that Kate had called to invite her.
Swim. School. Eat. Sleep. Swim
. Sometimes the pressure felt like a crushing weight on her chest.

But she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Trick or treat … trick or treat … trick or treat
…. She continued her strong strokes and stayed in her easy rhythm for the long swim. It felt very much like her swims at the lake. No whistles, no timers, no shouts from the pool deck, no starting blocks or flip turns. No one else.

Just me and my thoughts
.

Olivia
. It had been a full two weeks since she’d talked to her best friend. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell Olivia about her first date. Olivia would be so disappointed when she found out. They had promised each other they wouldn’t let distance come between them, and they’d still share all those special things. But the first important thing happened, and Kate didn’t even call her. How would Kate tell her best friend that she had been too busy to pick up the phone to include her in one of her most important milestones? Olivia would be hurt—Kate could only imagine how she would feel if Liv did that to her. How could she make it up to her? She’d have to find a way.

Stroke … stroke … stroke
…

Julia
. Her baby belly had started to show, so Kate had heard. She hadn’t seen her since the night Julia surprised them with the news aboutthe baby.
It’s not my fault, though
. Julia just didn’t come around very much, and she didn’t come to church with them like she used to. Come to think of it, she’d never even been to a swim meet. But Kate knew she needed to do her part, too. She’d have to call her sister later.

Stroke … stroke … stroke
…. The soothing water washed over her head.

Mom
. Time had served her well. Kate could remember when every single night, her mom would get ready for bed, close the door to her room, then break down. She must have thought Kate couldn’t hear her. But Kate fell asleep to the sounds of her mom weeping more nights than Kate cared to count. Over the years, the crying jags quieted and slowed, and now they only happened once in a while.
It’s been weeks. Mom’s making her peace
.

Mark.. Hmm
. Kate picked up some speed when she thought of him and had to remind herself to slow down. She had a long way to swim and wouldn’t be able to finish if she didn’t pace herself.
Mark
. He really liked her—she had no doubt—and she liked him. But she feared that she didn’t have the time to dedicate herself to the expectations of a new relationship when she barely had time for her old ones. She knew

Mark understood her schedule, but did he really support her commitment to it? Time would tell.

Trick or treat … Trick or treat … Trick or treat
…. Kate cleared her mind of the heavy thoughts and slipped back into the rhythm fueled by her mindless mantra.

Dong!
The broken doorbell chimed only the last half of its announcement. Kate’s knees popped as she unfolded from the couch. She put her biology book face down and hurried to the door.

“Trick or treat!”

“Oh boy! What do we have here? Let’s see, a princess, a cheerleader, a scary monster.” A terrifying roar pierced her ears. “Oh my, how scaaary!” Kate shuddered, playing along with the kids. “And a ballerina, a dinosaur, and a pirate. What a great bunch of costumes, you guys!”

Propping the screen door open with her knee, she held out the candy bowl for them to help themselves. Chubby little hands reached out from their costumes and dug in the bowl for the perfect piece of candy. Each child only took one, so she whispered, “Go ahead, take two, just for being so cute and polite.”

“Thank you!” They hopped off the porch step and ran to their waiting parents. “She gaveus two, Mom,” she heard several say.

One after another, the parade of children continued through the evening. By nine o’clock, the steady flow of kids had slowed to a trickle.

When the phone rang, Kate checked the caller ID. “Hey, Mom. I need to take this. Can you man the door?”

Mom put her magazine down on the arm of the recliner and gave a mock salute. “I’m on it.”

Stepping into the kitchen for privacy, Kate answered the phone. “Hey, Mark. What’s going on?”

“Nothing much here. How about you?”

“Oh, we’re just having fun with the little trick-or-treaters. Have you had many?” Kate peeked out into the family room to make sure Mom couldn’t hear her and then sat on one of the kitchen stools.

“Well, my parents don’t want to support Halloween because of its pagan roots and all that. So we just keep our front lights off, and the kids don’t come here.”

“Oh man, I would hate that. I love seeing their cute little costumes. And they don’t mean anything bad by it.” Kate reached for the doodle pad and pen.

“Oh, I know they don’t, and they definitely are cute. I’m not really sure how I feel about the whole thing. But I guess I can agree with my parents that it’s best not to further any darkness when it’s something you can avoid.”

“So are you saying that if you had kids, you wouldn’t let them wear a costume to school?” She doodled a jack-o’-lantern with question marks for eyes.

“Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that.” He paused for a second. “You know, I don’t think I’d go that far. But I sure wouldn’t let them dress up as anything evil like witches or ghosts. You know?”

“Sure, I think that’s gross when kids do that anyway. They’re little kids. They should be princesses and superheroes.”

“Right.” For several moments Kate listened to the dead air, wondering if Mark was going to speak. Should she say something?

“Well, now that we’ve got that settled …” Mark broke the awkward silence, and they both laughed.

“You mean that’s not why you called?” Kate teased.

“Um … no … although it was interesting. The real reason I’m calling is to see what you’re doing this weekend. Want to go out to a movie on Friday night?”

Kate groaned. “Oh, you’re tempting me. I promised myself I wouldn’t do anything but swim, eat, sleep, and go to school until after the State championships.” She made a quick decision. “But I suppose a movie won’t set me back much.”

“Good! You’ve still got to have a life. I promise I’ll have you home early.”

“Well, this is my life right now.” Kate chuckled.
Take it or leave it
.

“Score!” Mark hooked the empty popcorn carton into the trash.

“That was a decent movie,” Kate said as she stepped through the movie theater door that Mark held open for her.

“I’ll go with decent, but probably not much more than that. Definitely not a re-watcher.” He put his hand on the small of her back as they walked through the parking lot.

A nervous shiver ran through Kate’s body as she felt his touch.

“You cold?” He pulled her closer.

How do I let him know that this is not a first-kiss night? Or is it?

“Want to go to Perkies for a cup of decaf and to check out the band?”

Kate looked at her watch.
Plenty of time
. “Sure, I’m up for that.”

Once they had settled into their favoriteoverstuffed chairs, Mark ordered a decaf mocha.

Kate said, “I’ll have a large, no foam, extra whip, sugar-free vanilla latte with an extra shot.” She laughed at Mark’s chin that had fallen into his lap. “What? You never heard someone order coffee before?”

“Well, Kate, come on. You didn’t just order coffee.” He shook his head and chuckled. “You ordered a four-course meal complete with soup and dessert. In fact, you even told the chef how to make it.” He laughed and then stopped short. “Wait a second. Did I hear you right? Did you ask for extra whip, sugar-free? Don’t they kind of cancel each other out?”

The waitress arrived with their drinks before Kate had a chance to answer. She took a sip and said, “Ah … perfection.” She sat back with a satisfied smile.

“Nothing wrong with perfection, I guess.” Mark looked deeply into her eyes.

Kate broke eye contact by looking away. “I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her purse and went into the restroom. She didn’t need to use it, but she needed to gather her thoughts.
I like him—how could I not?
She stared at her reflection in the mirror.
But
…. Nerves nagged at her—it was happening too fast.
One thing at a time, Kate
.

But she knew she could trust Mark, so, if need be, she could slow him down. For now, she decided she could handle the way things were going. Probably.

After a hot shower, Kate padded barefoot down the hall toward her room, tightening her robe on the way. She hesitated, surprised to see her bedroom door open. Hadn’t she closed it? She brushed off her concern and smiled when she saw that she had a visitor—Mom sat waiting on her bed. Kate’s smile wavered a bit when she noticed her mom’s somber expression and the swim bag on her lap.

“What’s up, Mom? You packing me up and sending me away?” Her voice quivered as she joked. She bent at her waist and flipped her hair over to comb through her thick curls, trying to figure out what could be going on. Why did Mom have her swim bag?
Uh-oh
.

“We need to talk.”

Hearing the seriousness in her mom’s tone, Kate flipped her hair back over and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. “What’s going on?”