Kiss Me Katie (Complete)

Chapter 9

Katie

Did I mention that Riley Stone was the most annoyingly confusing guy I'd ever met? Yeah, well, those adjectives didn't even come close to explaining what he was doing to my head! Every time I thought I had Riley figured out, he did or said something so far out of left field I was left staggering.

I sat down at the table next to Annie as Joel slipped into the chair opposite. I needed to claw my way back to some semblance of normality before I said or did something stupid. Yeah right! That would require me to stop thinking about him, something that had apparently become beyond the realms of possibility. Every time I was around him, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Pretending to focus on unwrapping my sandwich, I snuck a glance toward where I knew Riley would be standing. Of course he was looking this way, scowling when his stormy blue eyes landed on mine. What the hell was he scowling about now? And then the scowl lifted, and he smiled, turning my insides to mush.

How the hell did I end up a passenger on what could only end as an emotional train wreck? My brain was yelling 'Stop, I wanna get off' while my stupid heart refused to even acknowledge the impending disaster.

And since when did I sprout all this philosophical bullshit?

I tore my eyes away and went back to unwrapping my sandwich, wanting to kick myself for my reaction to that smile.

Stop it! It's perfectly normal for friends to smile at each other.

So, even though I wanted to rip my hair out for doing it, I snuck another peek in his direction. The smile on my face froze. Of course he was talking and laughing with the two 'hot chicks' in the queue in front of him. Why wouldn't he be? Those girls were potential hook-ups, I was just the friend.

So why did that thought hurt so much?

"What do you think, Katie? Sounds like fun, eh?" I looked up from my sandwich to find Annie and Joel both looking at me. Great, I had no idea what they'd been talking about, and now Annie was asking me to agree to whatever it was.

"Ummm... sorry, I was miles away. What did I miss?" Well, not exactly miles. More like stalking the lunch queue on the other side of the room.

Annie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Joel was just saying they were thinking about booking a rehearsal studio for a jam after classes this afternoon. He asked if we'd come play. We'd love to... right?"

Seriously? More time around Riley? Just what I didn't need. But Annie's eyes were literally pleading with me to agree.

Stuff it, I could do this. Maybe if I spent some time around the guy, while sharing our common interest, my heart might go back to listening to my head. "Yeah, sounds great. Time to see what you guys can do." I winked at Joel, smiling at Annie's obvious relief.

Joel wore a huge grin. "Cool. We'll try to get the studio we were in earlier. Is that okay? There's a keyboard in there, and it's where all our gear is stored. You could just grab your mic. from your locker Katie?"

"Sounds awesome," Annie said, her eyes shining with excitement.

"What sounds awesome?" Riley slid into the chair opposite mine, and butterflies swarmed in my stomach. It should be illegal to be that gorgeous. He smiled and lifted an eyebrow, waiting for someone to answer his question.

Joel was still grinning. "We're on for the jam this afternoon. Now we just have to hope the studio's free."

Riley's smile faltered for just a second, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.