To Kiss Kate

prologue

Katiya Carpenter:

The door slammed behind me as I finally left Duke's, the diner where I waitressed, after a long Sunday shift. I paused outside the door and shut my eyes, letting the sun land on me and my skin feel the warm breeze. I let out a sigh and pulled my hair tie out of my hair as I walked to my car. It was a beautiful day in Hamilton, especially for how early in the summer it was.  But, the warm weather had caused a major increase in the summer townies, much earlier than expected. This had caused a busy day at Duke's.

I rolled down the windows in my car and began the drive home, watching the flood of cars and people go in the opposite direction as they moved into their summer homes.

My house where I lived with my dad was a little bit out of town, not too far, but not too close to the bustle of summer tourists or the beach. The perfect ways away in my opinion. It was smaller than our old house, but I honestly liked it more. It was cozier, and felt more like home. Hamilton got busy in the summer, comparatively to it's usual deadness every other season. I was used to it, as I had grown up here and spent my whole life waiting for the summer traffic to see my summer friends friends at the beach, and as I got older, find new parties. Nothing too exciting ever happened in Hamilton, but I'm sure everyone says that about their small town.

At least it was pretty, I thought as I turned into my driveway. My dad was outside, working on something on the front of the house, he waved as I stepped out of the car.

"Hi, Kate!" He gave me a warm smile. "How was work?" He asked sincerely.

"Good, it was busy. Mr. Bonner is in town until next Tuesday, he told me to tell you to stop by."  My dad nodded in acknowledgment.

"Thanks. I made a few burgers, I left one on the table for you. I'll be in soon." I sent him a smile and went into the house, my phone vibrating in my pocket.

Emma Marcey 5:02pm
What'd u get for #14 on the calc?

I groaned internally and set my phone down. Picking up the plate with a burger on it and pushing start on the microwave, I thought about my homework and the 7 days of school I had left until graduation. I was looking so forward to being done. To not ever having to set foot in Matthew Johnson High School again. Don't get me wrong, high school was fun, but I was sick of it. I sent Emma a quick text back and scrolled through Instagram until my burger dinged in the microwave.

I sat down to begin eating, and planned my week in my head. Tonight, homework. Monday was going to be a long day. Tuesday, better, but not by much. Wednesday would be tolerable, but Thursday would be hell. There was a party on Friday that I was looking forward to, so that helped.

I finished my burger leisurely, procrastinating my work and preparation for the week. Finally, I went upstairs to settle in.

—

I woke up to a text from Jason, my sometimes ex boyfriend. We dated for almost a year, and then he cheated on me. I hadn't forgiven him, but I was entertaining the idea after a few months of separation. I think I was just bored. He had been begging for me back, and I was allowing him to do so.

Jason  6:12am
Good morning. Have a good day, see you later!

I responded smoothly.

Good morning. You too, I work 3-7.

I pushed myself up out of bed and got into the shower. My dad was already at work, his shift started at 6 each day, so I knew he wasn't home, just like every morning.

I got ready for school and got in my car to make the 30 minute drive to school. Hamilton was small, and the nearest high school, Johnson, was in Rocky Harbor. I liked the drive to school each day, it was peaceful, and pretty, if nothing else. It was also a huge waste of gas.

I had tried carpooling with the other Hamilton kids, like we had in elementary school, but without their parents they were always late or early or inconsistent, and it was frustrating.

My spot had a few kids standing in it when I got to the parking lot, and I drove slowly until they moved, unbothered. Annoying. I got out of the car and grabbed my bag out of the backseat.

"Carpenter!" Someone yelled, I turned my head to look who it was. Hendricks Windham and my best friend, Genny Willowbrook. Genny, short for Genevieve, a name she absolutely hated. I smiled in their direction and walked towards their spot next to the door.

"You working tonight?" Hendricks asked, I nodded.

"Sweet. I'm gonna come in with Andy. I've been craving Duke's pizza all fucking weekend." Genny rolled her eyes and smiled at me.

"Are you ready for this final today?" She asked concernedly. I shrugged.

"Of course she's ready. She's always ready for this shit." Hendricks said, now rolling his eyes. Genny looked at him in agreement.

"Whatever guys, sorry some of us really have to bank on our grades to get into college." Genny looked at me with a little sympathy, but Hendricks had already moved on to other things with his eyes. Genny slapped his arm, laughing, and we headed inside.

—

After school I was rushed to make it to work on time at 3. School got out at 2:25, and no matter how hard I tried, getting out of the lot within 5 minutes was virtually impossible. I took pride in my punctuality, but I was always a few minutes late to my 3 o'clock shifts after school. Amy, my boss, understood. School is important.

I pulled into the Duke's lot. It was already busy, and I groaned. I pushed the door open and smiled wide.

"Kate. Thank goodness you're here. Table 5 is ready, I didn't want to take their order because I knew you were coming. Can you also grab some stuff for Amber after? Ugh." My coworker, Jess said excitedly. She spoke fast, it was clear she seemed stressed, and the diner was loud.

"Got it. Just breathe, Jess." I said, putting a hand on her shoulder and wrapping my apron around my waist. She let out a sigh and I squeezed past her, heading to table 5, taking their order and then going to the register where there was a line. I typed my employee ID into the register, and reached for the guys check without even looking up. I typed his total, $19.98 into the register and looked up.

I froze. Standing in front of me was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. His eyes locked with mine, neither of us even noticing the people waiting behind him. He smiled, sending my heart somewhere even farther. I snapped out of it, shaking my head and taking a long blink.

"Nineteen dollars and ninety-eight cents." I said, smiling and reaching for the twenty dollar bill he handed me. His eyes roamed and landed on the donation jar.

"What's this for?" He asked, pointing to it.

"Audrey Smith. She's a little girl with cancer." It was the same jar they had used for my mom. When she died, they made it a tradition. I hoped this one would change for other reasons. Everyone knew Audrey in town, which led to me realize this was a tourist, since I had also never seen him before in Hamilton. He slid a ten dollar bill into the slit of the donation jar.

"Where are you from?" I asked, not really sure why.

"Brooklyn. My parents just bought a house on Evan's street." Evan's street was right on the beach, right where all of the rich, fancy people lived. My smile faltered a little, but I still fed him one. It was then that I noticed his clothes were primarily designer and frat-esque. I nodded and handed him his receipt and two pennies, which he shoved in his pocket.

"Thanks. Have a good day." He turned.

"You too." My shoulders released their tension and I let out a breath. I sent a silent prayer that I would see that boy again this summer.

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