Stitches and Scars (15 page)

“I’m not letting you walk away this time.”

“But I—”

He placed his finger to her mouth. “I mean, I’m not letting you walk away without a kiss and a promise that I will see you again soon.” Ethan smiled down at her, enjoying the flush of color on her cheeks and flash of emotion he saw in her eyes.

“All right then, I promise.” Kate smirked. “I take it you found my number?”

“I pretty sure I broke every HIPAA prohibition possible, but I got it.” He lifted his eyebrows playfully.

“Good, then I’ll be waiting for your call.” Kate leaned forward pressing her body firmly against his as she kissed him one last time, committing his taste to memory. Then carefully opening her door, she climbed in.

“I’ll call you later,” he said, and then he closed her door.

They looked at each other through the glass of the car window for another moment before Kate pulled away. She had just barely made it out of the parking lot and onto the street when she heard her phone signaling that she’d received a text.

Immediately assuming it was Scott, she groaned. She didn’t feel like dealing with him at the moment. Wanting to end the night on a positive note, she grabbed her phone and was just about to shut it off when she changed her mind. Flipping her phone open, she clicked on the inbox.

Is it later yet?

Chapter 13

Penny Walk

K
ate held her phone in hand and stared at those four little words.
Is it later yet? Is he serious?
she thought, her heart racing. The blaring sound of a horn made her realize that she’d come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. Cringing in embarrassment, she quickly tossed her phone on the seat beside her. Maneuvering her car to the side of the road, she slipped it into park and took a calming breath before grabbing her phone again.

She re-read the message probably twenty times, analyzing every possible meaning. Dropping her head back on the headrest, she focused on the gray fabric ceiling of the car and thought about how best to respond. After a minute of planning, she flipped her phone open and pushed reply.

Yes it’s later. Where r u? ~ K

She pushed the send button and squealed internally as she awaited a response. It didn’t take long.

In the restaurant parking lot. Where r u?- E

Reading his message quickly, she smiled, imagining him sitting in his car doing the same thing she was.

Where do u want me? ~ K

Fairmount Park. do u have a penny?- E

A penny?
Kate wondered.
What does he want with a penny?
She shook her head when she realized it didn’t matter what he wanted. She would go anyway.

Got one, c u in 15 ~ K

She quickly tossed her phone down and slammed on the gas, fighting her way through the city streets. Her adrenaline pumped through her veins, and she turned up the volume on her radio, hoping the music would help calm her.

It took her less time than she thought it would. Arriving at the park, she felt embarrassed for rushing, but as soon as she pulled in, she noticed Ethan leaning against the outside of his car, his legs crossed at the ankle and his arms wrapped lazily across himself. Realizing he must have sped even faster than she had, she smiled and her embarrassment faded.

Kate put the car in park and killed the engine. The song she had been listening to stopped abruptly and left a ringing sensation in her ears. Ethan was at her door and opened it before she had a chance to reach for the handle.

He greeted her with a huge smile. “Love You Madly?” he asked.

“What?” she gaped, her mind a jumbled mess.

“The song, ‘Love You Madly.’ It’s a good one.”

Kate scrambled for a response, laughing at herself for being so thrown off by his comment. She nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“I like the one about the girl in a long jacket and a short skirt.”

“So, you’re saying you like that sort of thing?” Kate said with raised brows. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.” She winked.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he took a step forward, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down and Kate was certain he was going to kiss her. But instead, at the last second, he turned his head to the side and nuzzled into her neck. Ethan inhaled slowly, enjoying the natural scent of her skin and watched as goose bumps covered her flesh. He kissed the base of her neck and worked his way higher.

“You could wear anything, Kate, and I’d still devour you.” Kate’s knees went weak and her head filled with thoughts of Ethan. She swallowed slowly and heard him chuckle softly in her ear. “Do you have that penny I asked for?” He leaned back and looked down at her.

“Uh-huh,” she mumbled, still not able to form coherent sentences.

“Good. Let me go grab my flashlight.”

As he turned away, Kate watched him with curious eyes.

“What are we doing, anyway? I mean, what could we possibly be doing with a penny and a flashlight?”

Ethan quickly returned from his car, flashlight in hand, and laughed at the tone of her voice, full of doubt and confusion. “You’ll see,” he said with his arm outstretched. She looked down at his open hand and gently placed her small hand in his. The satisfaction he felt at that one moment was enough to make his chest tight. He smiled to himself happily as they began walking, hand in hand. When they reached a tee in the path, Ethan held out his other hand. Kate still had no idea what he was doing, but she placed the penny in his open palm nonetheless.

She watched in silence as he flipped the penny in the air and switched on the flashlight. A few feet away, facing heads up, was the coin.

“Heads means we go right, tails means we go left,” Ethan said, bending down to retrieve the coin.

“What?” she asked still confused.

He shrugged his shoulders and gave Kate an innocent smirk. “It’s called a penny walk.”

“A penny walk?”

“Yes. Every time we come to a crossing, we flip the coin. Whichever way it lands is the direction we go. Heads we go right and tails we go left. You simply walk and talk. The one rule is that you have to follow whatever the penny tells you. You almost never end up back where you started, so basically it means you can end up walking forever, which in turn means you can end up talking forever.”

“So you
want
to get lost?”

“No.” He reached out and placed his hand on Kate’s face, gently rubbing her cheek with his thumb. “I want to talk to you and not have to think about it ever ending.”

She almost laughed and looked into his eyes, expecting to see humor, but instead saw the most sincere, honest face she’d ever seen. He was being serious. Kate allowed herself to breathe and to actually consider that what he’d just said to her was true. “All right.” She paused. “Let’s go.” She grabbed hold of his hand and waited for his move. At this point, they hadn’t talked very much and Kate wasn’t sure how to start their conversation.

She was slightly nervous at the thought of opening up to someone. Kate tended to be a private person, and other than Soph, Elle, Logan, and her family, there weren’t many people who knew the real her.
Other than Scott, of course,
she thought, then quickly pushed it aside. She wanted tonight to be only about her and Ethan, and right now, he wanted to get to know the real her. She smiled as she realized that just maybe he wanted to know her as much as she wanted to know him.

“What are you smiling about?” Ethan asked, when he noticed her smile.

“Nothing,” she lied.

Ethan stopped walking. “I forgot to mention one other rule of the penny walk.”

“Oh really? And would that be?”

“You’re not allowed to lie.”

Kate rolled her eyes and knew she’d been caught. His comment reminded Kate of something from earlier that evening.

“Speaking of telling the truth, how did you know I was upset at the restaurant?”

“I could just … tell,” he said hesitantly.

Kate raised a brow. “Now,
that
didn’t sound very truthful.”

“You are trying to change the subject. I asked you first,” he stated.

“Fine.” She gave in with a sigh. “I was smiling earlier because I was excited that you actually wanted to get to know me, just as much as I want to get to know you.” She closed her eyes, dropping her head in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

“Kate,” he said, his voice deep and rich. “Please look at me.” She opened her eyes and met his. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that.” He paused for a moment, holding her gaze. “And the only reason I knew something was wrong tonight was because I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. And there was something in your eyes. I don’t know, I could just tell.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Plus,” he continued, “if anyone else had been that observant, I’m sure they would have noticed.” He made the statement sound so obvious, like it was no big deal. But to Kate it was.

“Thank you for noticing,” she said with a smile. “It was an interesting night, to say the least, and it could have gone a lot worse than it did.”

“I should be the one thanking you. If you hadn’t gotten up to leave, I never would have followed you,” he said with a wink.

Kate smiled at the memory and took a step closer to Ethan as they began walking again. He was the first one to ask questions. He wanted to know everything. He already knew that she grew up in Virginia, but he wanted to hear all the details of her childhood. He asked if she’d had any make-believe friends, what her favorite cartoons were, what music she enjoyed, when she’d decided to be a photographer, what teachers inspired her.

He asked about her parents, what they were like, and if being an only child was the same as it was for him. He wanted to hear all about her friendship with Sophie, Elle, and Logan. He bombarded her with question after question, some as simple as favorite foods, some more intimate like religious views and political stances.

It wasn’t until he asked about her first crushes and past boyfriends that she grew nervous.

“I didn’t … umm … I didn’t really have a lot of boyfriends,” she mumbled.

“Kate, I thought we were being honest with each other,” he said teasingly.

“I am being honest.”

He chuckled quietly. “Somehow I find it very difficult to believe that
you
,” he looked at her with eyebrows lifted, “didn’t have many boyfriends.”

“Look, there was one guy I dated in high school. His name was Mark and he broke my heart. And then there was Scott and well …” She trailed off attempting to find the words to describe what he’d done to her. “Break her heart” didn’t seem fitting. It was more like he broke her spirit. She felt her eyes well up with tears with the mere thought of him. She couldn’t understand why he still had such a hold on her. It was as if no matter how badly she wanted to move on, he always found a way back in.

Ethan noticed the same sad look in Kate’s eyes that he had earlier at the restaurant—the same hollow look that he’d told himself he never wanted to see again. Quickly turning to face her, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry I made you think of him.” His voice was so quiet and kind, it made Kate’s heart melt.

“It’s not your fault. I just get so mad at myself sometimes for letting him affect me.”

“He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

“I guess so.” She shrugged.

“Is it weird of me to hate him for that?” he asked.

Kate looked at him with squinted eyes, not fully understanding him. He saw her confusion and continued to explain.

“I mean, I don’t know you that well, something which I hope changes very soon,” he said, smiling. “But I can’t help but hate this guy for hurting you so much.” He placed his hand on her cheek. “I would never hurt you, Kate. I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, you barely know me, but I’m more than willing to show you. There’s something here, between us. I know it. So I’ll take whatever you can give. However you want me in your life right now, I’ll be it.”

Kate had a sudden onset of guilt. Up until this point, she hadn’t realized how much her past relationship with Scott could hold her back. Everything ending between them was the hardest thing in her life, but she’d thought once she found someone else she would be able to move on, to forget all about him. But it hadn’t happened that way. Would it get better? How would she know if the wound Scott left behind was fully healed, and how could she ask Ethan to wait around until she figured it out?

“That’s not fair,” she whispered.

“Why don’t you let me decide what’s fair?”

“I can’t do that. I’m the one who has issues, not you. And to be honest, I don’t think I could handle it happening to me again.” She confessed, dropping her head, a wave of sadness overwhelming her. Just the thought of having her heart broken again was more than Kate could handle.

Ethan knew what she was doing. He knew that she was talking herself out of giving them a chance because she was afraid. He racked his brain trying to think of what he could say or do to make her realize he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Do you want me here?” he asked, plain and simple.

“Yes,” she hesitated. “But that doesn’t mean you should want to be here or that I’m not scared of getting hurt again.”

He smiled. “All I need to know is that you want me here. I’ve already told you I won’t hurt you. I won’t leave you with another scar.” He started to laugh. “After all, didn’t I tell you at the hospital that I’m a skilled doctor? I don’t leave scars,” he said with a wink, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Kate laughed and remembered their conversation at the hospital. She couldn’t believe that only one week had passed and now here she was with him. The whole situation was starting to get a little overwhelming, so she was more than happy to accept the change in subject.

“Why, yes, Doctor, I believe you did tell me I wouldn’t scar,” Kate said in a flirty tone that even Elle would be proud of.

“And did you?” he asked with raised eyebrows.