Chpater 15- Choices complicate things

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Katie pulled back breathlessly, "I usually hate strangers."

Spencer smiled down at her, "Do you hate me princess?"

Katie shook her head, "No, but I'm no princess." I don't love you either though, I can't love anyone, Katie thought as she tried to push away ideas and thoughts about love in her head that scared her.

"You could be, if you found your prince," Spencer suggested, pulling her back to her feet and wrapping his arms loosely around her waist.

"Maybe." She smiled mysteriously, putting her arms on his shoulders and forcing herself to empty her mind. Spencer spun her a few more times, smiling as they danced. Until Jace finally reached them. Jace was out of breath and desperately trying to figure out why Katie seemed so different.

"Jace" Katie smiled, forgetting her previous anger toward his earlier outburst.

"Katie, you don't even really know this guy, why are you so close to him?!" Jace questioned in an almost hurt yet angry voice.

Katie scoffed, "Why do you even care?!"

"Because I'm in love with you!" Jace burst out without thinking, he quickly closed his mouth, his face draining of color. Oh god I just told her, he thought in panic.

Katie froze, her hands dropping from around Spencer's neck and down to her sides. Her jaw hung a little open, "You do?" She questioned, having been oblivious to all the signs and expressions he'd subtly shown before. Or perhaps only subtle to her because she was all too wrapped up in her own thoughts and fears.

Jace nodded, still looking panicked. Katie smiled at his nervous face. He waited in tortuous silence for her reply, but she just stood there in stunned silence. He loves me, Katie thought with an inward grin.

The silence was almost suffocating to Jace as he kept waiting for her to say something, anything.

Spencer spoke up before Katie could, breaking the silence, "Dude, I was just about to ask her out."

Katie's gaze turned toward spencer, "You were?" Spencer nodded as silence again fell over the three. Katie was caught in the middle.
He loves me, she thought, looking at Jace, he kissed me and was gonna ask me out, she looked at Spencer, he actually knows me, her gaze went back to Jace.

He called me beautiful, she glanced at spencer, but her eyes fell back to Jace, but he loves me.
She took a deep breath, "Do I have to choose now?" Katie asked in a small voice.

Spencer nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

But Jace shook his head in slight defeat, "No, I'd never make you choose if you didn't want to."

Katie looked back and forth between them, but their statements made the choice easy. Grabbing Jace's hand she walked away toward the exit of the club, "Sorry, spencer."

As they waited at the bus stop, Katie stared directly into his sky blue eyes. "Choices make things complicated." she said, bringing back her point that she'd made at breakfast.

Jace nodded, "I remember, that's why I would never make you choose, you've had enough complications."

You're actually different than the rest of them, she smiled inwardly, though unsure if her thought was an observation or a question. Katie took him by surprise, engulfing him in a tight hug, "You were actually listening at breakfast?"

"I'm always listening." Jace admitted, hugging her back as the tension in him melted.

/*\*/*\*/*\*/

Still smiling, they jogged into the lake house, Katie picked up tux, scratching him behind the ears. The stray purred, swishing his tail happily behind him. Dropping the cat back to the floor, Katie went upstairs and put her normal clothes back on.

"Jace?" She called as she jogged downstairs.

He sat up on the couch, "Yeah?"

"How the heck do I get makeup off?" Katie asked, looking puzzled as she took a seat next to him.

Jace laughed, "Lucky for you I thought of that while we were at the mall." he handed her a pack of makeup remover wipes.

"Thank god." Katie mumbled, taking the wipes and removing her makeup.

Smiling Jace grabbed one of the remover wipes, "You missed a spot." he reached over, wiping the remaining blush off her cheek.

"Thanks," she grinned, "can you help me take my hair down, this braid is getting annoying."

"Sure," Jace said with a laugh as she turned her back to him. Carefully, he unbraided her hair letting it fall around her face again.

She shook her hair, "So much better." Katie gave him one last smile before jogging upstairs.

Jace stretched out again on the couch, petting Tux as he scampered past. She never said whether or not she loved me, does she? Jace thought as he tried to sleep. The question kept him awake till 3 AM when his eyes could no longer stay open.

Katie was awoken by the sharp feeling of Tux jumping onto her stomach. She groaned, lifting the cat off her and untangling his claws from her clothes. "Morning to you too, Tux." Katie grumbled, gently tossing the cat back to the floor. He landed on his feet, as cats always do, and trotted down the hall.

Katie pulled on her old sweatshirt, jogging down stairs. Jace was still asleep on the couch so she left him there as she jogged outside to sit on the dock.

The soft breeze rustled Katie thick mane of hair as she dangled her feet off the edge of the dock.
I know he's not James but I just don't know if I can let myself trust him, Katie thought as she remembered Jace's abrupt statement, do I even really know what him loving me means? I never had parents to show me and the first person I thought would show me ended up breaking my heart. So what's the point?

She thought about her past and all the reasons she liked being a loner and not letting anyone in, but Katie couldn't help remembering the times with James when it was perfect and there was a point. Though her inner monologue was disrupted when she saw a car pulling up the driveway of the house she and Jace we're currently staying at.

"Oh crap." Katie eyes widen as the car pulled up to the house, opening the garage and driving inside. She got up, running toward the house. She and Jace had probably overstayed their illegal welcome in the lake house.

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