[Featured on @YARomance, @NA, @Teenfiction, @Contemporarylit]
"I feel him lean closer towards me and softly whispers into my ear, 'I just want the best for you.' I almost shiver at the rumbles his deep voice sends down my back, before he releases th...
We enter the kitchen and I can tell Katie is trying to control her reaction. She doesn't say anything, but I notice her eyes widen again, as she sees the size of the kitchen and all of the appliances. "So what should we make?" I ask her.
"Well what do you have ingredients for?" she asks.
I haven't even gone grocery shopping yet since I moved in here. "Honestly, not much. There's a grocery store nearby though."
We end up settling on lasagna. Seems easy enough.
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"Oh god my arms are dying," Katie groans, putting down the grocery bags full of ingredients onto the kitchen counter. I did not expect lasagna to actually need this many ingredients.
I put my bags onto the counter with ease. I notice her slightly eyeing my arms.
I clear my throat and her face turns a bit red. "So where do we begin?"
Katie honestly ends up being a really good teacher. She's kind, patient, helpful, and encouraging. We have a lot of fun, laughing and talking.
"You're good at this," I smile, "teaching."
She laughs. "Thanks, I used to work with kids."
"So I'm like a child?" I say, pretending to be offended.
"Totally," she teases. I'm not used to seeing this carefree attitude of hers.
After a bit of chaos assembling the lasagna, we get it into the oven and set a timer. I notice some of Katie's hair has slipped out of her ponytail. I reach and tuck it behind her ear, my hands linger a bit on her face. She looks up at me, biting her lip, looking a bit nervous.
I turn away and clear my throat, "Here, let me give you a tour of the penthouse."
I show her the living room, dining room, guest bedrooms, pool, balconies, office, entertainment room, theater, and gym. "This is insane," she says, as we return to the kitchen, just in time to take out the lasagna.
We go into the dining room, and sit near the middle of the long table. The layers of the lasagna are a bit uneven because I didn't measure the amounts correctly, but it tastes amazing anyways.
After we finish, I invite Katie out onto the living room balcony. We sit on a soft outdoor sofa, and I turn on the electric marble fire pit in front of us. It's a bit cloudy, but the clouds are sparse enough to see the bright moon and stars, and I notice her gazing at them.
"Thanks a lot for coming over," I say, "it's been a while since I've had someone at my place."
She gives me a small smile. "No problem, I had fun. I haven't been having many happy days since Lincoln and I broke up." I can hear the pain in her voice when she says that.
"Do you still have feelings for him?" I ask softly.
"I don't want to answer that," she whispers.
There's silence for a bit.
I notice her shiver a little. I grab a throw blanket nearby and drape it around her. "Aren't you cold?" she asks, "It's October and night time. You're just wearing one layer."
"You saw through my tough guy act," I laugh, "I'm kind of cold." I decide not to tell her I have space heaters out here.
I'm surprised when she offers half the blanket. I take it, and pull her closer to me, keeping my arm around her. She tucks her legs up to her side and leans against me. She smells sweet, and feels so soft and warm.
Katie
I hope Jason can't feel how quickly my heart is pounding right now. We sit in silence, since we're so high up, the sound of traffic is barely noticeable. The warmth from the fire, blanket, and Jason is comforting. I sneak a glance at him, he looks very relaxed. He looks down at me.
"Katie?" he whispers.
"Jason." I whisper even more quietly.
He carefully tucks my hair behind my ear and strokes my cheek. My hand rests on his lap. He uses his thumb and index finger to hold my chin and tilt my face upwards. Oh my god what's happening and why do I like it. He leans in closer until our lips meet and he captures me in a kiss.
He's gentle and holds me close, pressing his hand against my lower back, his other hand holds my cheek. The feeling of him is intoxicating. Before anything else happens, he pulls away.
He turns away. "Alright, um, I think it's time I dropped you off at home."
Too stunned to say anything, I just nod and follow him.
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The ride home is a bit odd. Jason just talks to me as if nothing just happened. I'm not sure how to acknowledge it, so I just go along with it. Is there something going on between us?
"Have a good night, see you around," Jason smiles when we reach campus. I wave and head back to my dorm, still a bit dazed.
After showering, I walk back into my room, and sit on my bed. I take out my phone, and absentmindedly swipe through Instagram stories. I pause when I see Jason's though. It's from around 30 minutes ago. It looks like he's at a bar, and there's someone sitting across him at his table. Their face is cropped out, but I assume it's a female. She has long black hair, and is wearing a low cut crop top, showing off..a lot.
I'm not sure how I feel about it. Was the kiss a mistake? It's obvious he's not interested in dating me, he's literally on a date right now. I don't know whether I'm into him, or I'm just lonely and desperate without Lincoln.
I place my fingers on my lips, still remembering the feeling of his soft ones on mine.
I play some music to relax a bit as I get dressed. As if the universe is mocking me, my music starts playing where I last paused it.
You say we're just friends
But friends don't know the way you taste
I groan and stop the music before I toss my phone onto my bed.
A while later, I get a text, it's from Jason.
J: Hey, are you busy on Saturday?
K: Nope, what's up?
J: I'm going with my little sister to adopt a puppy
K: That's sweet
J: Could you come along? I'd really like for you to be there :)
He'd like for me to be there? My heart beat quickens at his words.
J: You said you've worked with kids before right?
I can't help but feel a bit disappointed.
K: Yeah, I'd love to come.
For the rest of the week, we text everyday, and even face time a couple times. We're just becoming close friends, I tell myself.
