Unraveling (13 page)

“Better?” he asked, and there was genuine concern in his voice. He wasn’t asking, because it was the right thing to do, he was asking because he genuinely
wanted
to know.

“Yeah, thanks,” I stood and tossed the paper towel in the trashcan. “Well,” I put my hands on my hips. “I think I’ve kept you from your training long enough.”

He chuckled. “
You
can keep me from my training, anytime.”

I grabbed my purse, “I better be getting home. I have a ton of homework to do. Every time
, I think I’m going to get caught up, I get assigned another paper.”

“I would ask you out tonight, what with it being Friday, but my sister has a ballet recital.”

“Wait… I thought your sister was sixteen?” I questioned, sliding my purse up to rest on my shoulder. It was a huge purse; like the kind you could fit a sink in, and cobalt blue. It was my favorite though, and despite its years of abuse, it was holding up well.

“She is,” Jared said, moving across the room
to the weights. I followed him and watched as he picked one up. The muscles in his arms and shoulders rippled.

“But she still does ballet? Isn’t that something for younger kids?”

He shrugged. “She loves it, always has. It’s been an escape for her, just like fighting has been for me. She’s really good. A couple schools in New York already have their eye on her.”

“Really?” I raised a brow in shock. “That’s incredible. I’d love to see her perform.”

“You would?” he dropped the weight he had been using on the ground and grabbed a heavier one.

“Oh gosh! I wasn’t trying to invite myself!” I blushed.

Jared laughed. “I know. I didn’t ask, because I figured you wouldn’t be interested. But…” he met my eyes, “if you want to go, I’d love for you to come. Plus, you’ll get to meet my sister.”

“Do you want me to meet your sister?”
I nervously swayed back and forth.

“Of course,” he answered without hesitation.

“Um… yeah, I’ll go.”

A smile stole across his face. “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“I can meet you there,” I looked at the ground.

He sighed. “Katy, I’m not going to break into your house and kill you, if that’s what you’re afraid of. This is just
me, being a nice guy, wanting to pick up his girl.”

“
Your
girl?” I raised a brow.

He stood, so that he towered over me, making me feel like a small fairy in his presence. “You are most definitely
my
girl, even if you don’t know it yet.”

I swallowed and squeaked, “Oh.”

“Seven,” he pointed at me. “Text me your address.”

“O-o-
kay,” I knew there was no point in arguing with Jared.

I turned around and was almost out the door when he said, “Katy?”

“Yeah,” I turned around.

“They said this is a semi-formal event, whatever that means,” he shrugged. “So you’ll need to wear a dress.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll –uh- see you at seven.”

He grinned and went back to his workout.

When I got in my car, I looked at the clock. I had approximately three hours to shower, do my hair, and find a dress.

I was so screwed.

I pulled my phone out and called Piper, “I need your help.”

~***~

“Tomorrow,” Piper warned, traipsing into my condo, “we are going shopping. No questions asked. Did you shower?” she asked, closing the door.

“Showered and dried my hair.”

“Good,” she said. “Then it shouldn’t take me long to have you looking decent. You know,” she dropped her bag and a dress down on the couch, “this is starting to become a habit.”

“What can I sa
y? I haven’t had a need to buy dress clothes.”

Piper shook her head. “You
are
going to the mall tomorrow, even if I have to shackle myself to you.”

“Hey, I wasn’t arguing. In fact, I was going to ask you if we could go. I need your opinion
when it comes to fashion. Everything I own is tees, leggings, jeans, and more tees.”

“Alright, stop chit-chatting,” Piper said. “I need to curl your hair. And look,” she grabbed something out of her bag, “I even brought a curling wand. That thing you call a curling iron is prehistoric.”

I laughed. “Just make me look pretty.”

Piper rolled her eyes and dragged me into the bathroom by the sleeve of my t-shirt.

In no time, she had my hair curled with half of it pulled back, and a few shorter pieces framing my face.

She left me to do my make-up
.

It hadn’t escaped my attention that she’d grabbed my shirt earlier and hadn’t touched my bare skin. I figured Rollo had clued her in.

I dusted some purple eye shadow onto my lids and decided to just ask her.

“Did –uh-
Rollo, say anything to you, about me?” I asked, hesitantly.

“He just told me you don’t like to be touched. He didn’t tell me why, i
f that’s what you’re wondering. Use the magenta lip stain,” she pointed to the different makeup items I had cluttered around the countertop. I put down the peach one I was going to use and grabbed the magenta instead.

“And you don’t think I’m weird?”
I probed.

She laughed. “No, everyone has their quirks, Katy. You don’t like to be touched, big deal.
”

Relief flooded through my system and I smiled at Piper. She smiled back.

“You better get a move on, Jared’s going to be here soon,” she warned.

“Oh crap!” I dropped the lip stain onto the counter. I ran to the living room and grabbed the dress, before dashing back into my room and changing.

I opened my bedroom door and Piper was standing there. She looked me up down several times, before saying, “You look gorgeous, Katy.”

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing my
black blazer off the back of my desk chair. It was supposed to be colder tonight and I didn’t want to end up freezing in the short dress.

I smoothed the bottom of it down; a bit uncomfortable with the short length, but it was a gorgeous dress. It was white, with a flower design, and the bottom of it flared out.

“How long do we have before Jared gets here?” Piper asked.

I looked at my watch, it was Michael
Kors and a gift from my mother, despite my hatred of most things she purchased for me, I actually liked the watch. It was a gift for my high school graduation. I was still shocked she’d actually remembered my graduation. It wasn’t unusual for her to forget my birthday.

“He should be here in twenty minutes,” I said, I had text Jared my address while I was getting dressed.

“Good! That’s plenty of time to paint your nails,” she scurried out to my living room and began rummaging through her purse.

“I hate to tell you
, I don’t have any nail polish,” I informed her.

“I figured as much,” she rolled her eyes. “Which is why I brought my own.
” She held up a bottle of lavender nail polish. “Sit,” she pointed at the couch, while she perched on the end of the coffee table.

I did as she told me and grabbed a stack of magazines to rest my hands on.

Piper was careful not to touch me while she applied the polish.

I blew on my nails in the hopes of speeding up the drying process.

“I just want to thank you, again, for coming over,” I looked up at Piper.

“It’s not a problem, Katy. I was just doing homework. You and Rollo are pretty much the only people I know here, so my Frid
ay’s are pretty boring. At least I have shopping to forward to, tomorrow,” she grinned. “I’m in need of some new shoes.”

“Shoes!” I exclaimed. “Oh crap!”

Piper laughed. “Did you really think I’d forget shoes?” she pulled a pair of black pumps from her purse.

“J
eez, what are you going to pull out of there next?” I asked with widened eyes.

“Nothing interesting, I assure you,” she handed me the shoes.

I’d barely put them on, when someone knocked on the door.

Piper grinned. “Sounds like Mr. Sex-on-a-stick
is here.”

I shushed her. “He’ll hear you!”

“I don’t care,” she giggled. “It’s true and I’m sure he knows it.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to tell him,” I hissed, just as Jared knocked on the door again.

I almost tripped on my way to the door. It had been a while since I’d worn heels.

I swung the door open and was in no way prepared for the Jared that stood before me.

He wore a white button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, and the top three buttons undone, showing off a bit of his tanned chest. The shirt was then tucked into a pair of gray slacks that hung on him, like they were tailor made. The belt he wore was black, and held, no pun intended, the look together.

“Damn,” Piper whispered under her breath from somewhere behind me.

Jared chuckled and I finally looked at his face. He was freshly shaved; just a hint of stubble still visible, and his hair was slightly damp but brushed back from his face.

“Are you ready?” he asked me. “I don’t want to be late. If I am, Karlie will kill me.”

“Uh-yeah, I’m ready,” I stuttered, grabbing my purse.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Piper
said, brushing by Jared and me, and heading down the hallway.

“Bye,” I called to her retreating back.

She threw her hand up in a wave.

I locked the door behind us.

“Looks like a nice place,” Jared said, as we made our way down the hallway to the elevator.

“It is, just a bit small, but it has enough space for just me. Rollo ends up staying over a lot, and then it’s kind of a tight squeeze. Plus, he eats all my food,” I laughed.

“Don’t you know, that’s what best friends do,” Jared laughed as he pushed the button for the lobby level of the building. “I swear, when Holden comes over he eats everything.”

“I like the company though, so I try not to complain too much,” I clutched the handles of my purse tighter.

“You’re really lonely, aren’t you?” He looked down at me.

“I- well, it’s my own fault,” I stammered.

He chuckled. “I guess it is, you don’t like to let anyone in.”

Except for Jared. He was slowly breaking down every wall I had built around myself. Soon, I’d be bare to him, and I was afraid when he found out the root of my problems
, he’d run the other way.

Jared led me to his car, his hand hovering over the small of my back, but not touching
. I liked the fact that he seemed to want to touch me, but knew I wasn’t ready. He was respectful of my needs, and that helped me to trust him.

I hoisted myself into his massive vehicle, and this time I didn’t struggle as much. Jared chuckled from behind me; I blushed, figuring I’d probably given him a shot of my pale pink underwear.

“Where is the ballet recital?” I asked, when Jared got on the highway.

“Not far out of Greenville,” he said.
“It’s only about a twenty minute drive, if that.” He fidgeted in his seat and then said, “So, do you feel better?”

“Huh?”
I asked, confused.

“After you punched the crap out of my punching bag, do you feel better?”
He glanced at me.

“Oh, um, yeah,” I tucked my hair behind my
ear and gave him a small smile. “A lot better.”

“Good,” he grinned, and it was the crooked one that I was growing more accustomed to. “Would you be up to
doing it again?”

“Definitely,” I replied, playing with my purse
strap. I was getting really nervous about meeting Jared’s sister. I could tell she meant a lot to him, and I was afraid she wouldn’t like me.

“Monday?”
he asked.

“It’s a date,” I smiled, and then that smile faded when I realized my words. “No! I didn’t mean like a date-date. I don’t-”

“You don’t date, I know, Katy. It’s okay. Shit!” Jared exclaimed, suddenly, making me jump.

“What?” I asked, afraid he was mad at me over something.

“I forgot to get flowers for Karlie! Damn it!” He cursed, smacking the heel of his hand against the steering wheel.

“It’s okay, Jared,” I said, calmly. “I’m sure there’s bound to be a florist along the way.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” he said, and I could tell he was calming down. He didn’t clench the steering wheel so tightly and his jaw wasn’t firm. “Could you do a search on your phone?”

“Sure,” I said, already bringing the Internet up. In no time
, I was directing him to a nearby florist.

He pulled in front of the flower shop and hopped out of the car.

He came out with a bundle of sunflowers. “They didn’t have her favorite,” he grumbled, handing me the flowers.