Kate had invited me over for some homemade lunch to catch her up on all she missed. Missed, as in my memories with Adam. She was truly my best friend, besides Caroline. She always knew how to comfort me in the right ways and undeniably understood my humor. "So, tell me about this Adam kid." She says while taking a bit of her loaded BLT. "Okay so he's so sweet, very charming." She nods, just watching me talk about this boy I still can't get enough of. "He kind of reminds me of you, always rizzing girls up." I begin to eat my sandwich and she jolts up in surprise. "Really?" She questions, raising her eyebrow. I nod aggressively. "Don't act like it goes unnoticed. Checking out girls at the gym, when we drive past girls walking, trust." I wink at her and laugh about me completely calling her out. She sets her BLT down and rolls her eyes while leaning against the counter. I can't help but notice the veins starting at her elbows and going all the way down to the knuckles of her fingers. "Hey," she starts, stuttering over how to defend herself, "I'm just trying to keep my options open." Raising her hands up in defense, forcing me to take her hands off my concentration. We laugh about our interaction and continue back to the main topic. "Oh, and he has the tattoos all up his right hand and arm." I move my left hand up my right arm, forcing Kate to imagine the tattoos on him, "Seriously, majestic." I describe him, blushing. She stares deep into my eyes with a slight grin, what seems like she's admiring how I talk about Adam. To be fair, I've only known him for not even 24 hours, so getting my hopes up would be obscure of me. But I feel like a kid in a candy store. I just hope he's talking about me the same way. "Well, what if I got tattoos up my arms? Would girls be drooling over me as much as you are Adam?" She asks playfully. I laugh at her question, "Oh for sure. Tattoos are very eye appealing; in my opinion of course." I say playfully winking, still having the image of Adam's tatted arms around my waist, in my hair, on my body. The girl across from me, breaks me out of my focus, "So, when are you seeing him next?" She asks me. Causing me to blank out and realizing we never discussed that. "That's a great question, Kate."
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It was now around 7:30, Kate and I just finished a bottle of wine and the movie 10 Things I hate About You. We were, at this point, wine drunk and nothing felt better than to be with one of my favorite people. Kate changes the tv to the Spotify channel, allowing her favorite songs to play, filling the apartment with soft music. I grab both of the wine glasses that are nearly stained from the amount of red wine, and I make my way towards her sink, turning the water to hot. "Wha- What are you doin'?" Kate asks me from the black sofa just 50 feet away from me, "Doing dishes, silly." I chuckle at her stupid question. I hear her get up from the sofa and the floor creeks as she walks up behind me. She wraps her arms around my neck loosely, I continue to wash dishes, despite her presence being so close to me. "Mace, you don't have to, I got it," She explains as she tries to reach for one of the wine glasses before I swiftly pull it out of her reach. "Nuh, uh..." I groan with a grin on my face. I hear her sigh before she snakes her hands back, grabbing my hair with on hand and moving it to the side, leaving the right side of neck bare. Feeling her breath right where Adam was kissing just the night before. The tension between the two of us was adamant, very much there. We both knew about each others sexuality's and we were very well aware of the level of attractiveness each of us had, but I couldn't ever date my best friend. Not when her true affection comes out when she's drunk. Breaking me out of my thoughts, my phone is ringing, seeing Adam's name pop up on my phone. Kate notices too, sighing at the moment ending. "Go get em' tiger." A sentence so simple but left something in me, questioning our friendship. "Hey, baby," he says in his deep southern voice as soon as I pick up, "Hey, what's up?" Continuing our conversation, that still felt awkward at times. I had to leave for Kansas in the morning, so while on the phone with Adam, I give Kate a side hug before wave while heading out her door. Leaving her standing there with two hands in her pockets.
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My flight to Kansas City was boring to say the least. Since Iowa City is only four hours from Kansas, the flight was just about an hour.
Getting off the plane and looking around for my parents and brother was so reassuring since they've been so busy with work and my brother hasn't had to reach out to me as much as he used to. Approaching my parents was such a breath of fresh air. Despite the common occurrence of pushing me off and wanting more from me, they're still my parents and have done more than what I've asked. "Hi, sweetheart!" My mom exclaims as she pulls me into her, the signature scent burning my nose. In the best way possible. My dad reaches around my back and pulls me into a tight hug, chuckling with joy. I look over, with tears filling my eyes, meeting them with my little brother, Blake. "Blakey," I say in the baby voice he just hates, before pulling in for a hug; him nearly being taller than me despite being three years younger. I ruffle his black curls that he tries too hard to perfect, and he just rolls his eyes before shoving my head towards my mom. "Whatever, I know you miss me." I make fun of him, he just laughs before grabbing my luggage and backpack with the my name and Iowa Hawkeyes Women's Soccer labeled on the bottom half of the black Nike bag.
Making it into the Dodge Durango we've had since my freshman year of high school, I'm already preparing for the amount of questions from not only my parents, but my brother too. "So, is it everything you imagined? Fields of corn and cows?" My dad playfully jokes. I burst out in a fake laugh, "Funny, funny, dad." I roll my eyes at my brother, who I then notice is looking at my Instagram post. My heart drops, knowing he's going to throw something out about Adam, "I actually have a lot of fun. I've made tons of friends, and the coaches-" I get cut off by my little brother, leaning up to show my parents the picture of Adam and I that I posted, "The friend in question," he starts while laughing. "Sit your ass back down!" I mutter while I grip the back of his shirt and pull him back. "What was that, Blake?" My mom asks as she looks back at us two, I flip off Blake until I see him screenshotting my post. Oh my God. I think to myself. My parents have always been more conservative. Conservative as in, meeting a boy or girl before we do anything. They believe in saving for marriage and don't care about my sexuality, as long as I don't lose all my innocence. Little do they know, Ian caused me to lose that a long time ago.
"Anyways," I start to finish my sentence again, "The coaches are amazing and I can't wait for this season." I breathe out, realizing the topic my brother was trying to bring up was no longer in the picture. My phone pings with a message. A message from Adam.
adam peek
make it home alright?
miss my kansas girl
The thought of a notification from Adam, reminds me of the moments with Kate I had the night before. He doesn't know me like she does, he doesn't know about my life like she does. I think to myself, once I realize he thinks I was born and raised in Kansas.
YOU ARE READING
G O O D L U C K - kate martin
FanfictionA new transfer leaves Kate stuck in her tracks as her new love interest, also her best friend, is falling for a University of Iowa frat boy. She tries not to make it obvious, but her friends know her too well. Is it worth it to ruin a friendship...
