Katie
“You have so much explaining to do,” Sarah hisses the second I shut my bedroom door.
Out in the living room, Michael and Luca are sitting on my couch.
For fifteen minutes, we were trapped in painfully awkward small talk while Michael watched me like he’s was deciding whether to kiss me or strangle me.
Every few seconds his hands clenched and unclenched against the thighs of his ridiculously expensive pants.
Sarah folds her arms and waits. I start changing since that’s the reason I told Michael and Luca we were coming in here.
I explain how my car refused to start two nights ago, Michael giving me a ride home, waking up yesterday morning to find it fixed, the date last night, and the part where he stayed.
I skip several details for the sake of my dignity.
Her expression shifts through disbelief, concern, and finally impressed horror.
“How old is he?” she asks.
I exhale and don’t make eye contact. “Thirty-six.”
She gets up and smacks my arm.
“Bitch, I can’t believe you didn’t text me,” she says.
“I was a little preoccupied.”
Her eyebrows climb higher and higher.
“Wait,” she says. “Does that mean there are no more virgins in this room?”
“Still a virgin,” I say, and then I give her a pointed look. “I’m just not sure for how much longer.”
“Oh my god. This is the best thing that’s happened to you in like, well, ever.” She falls back on my bed.
“He’s kind of an ass,” I say, falling down next to her.
“But a really hot one.”
We look at each other and lose it laughing.
“I was this close.” I hold up my thumb and index finger super close to one another. “To having sex with him last night.”
“You slut,” she says, laughing.
I roll over onto my stomach. “I like him.”
“Obviously. You’ve never even had a man spend the night with you.”
“Shh,” I tell her. “He doesn’t know that.”
She sits up. “Wait. Does he know you’re a virgin?”
I shake my head. “And I’m not telling him.”
“That is dangerous, Katie,” she says.
I ignore her.
“Come on. We’d better get back out there.”
I leave her staring. She chases after me, grabbing my arm in the hallway.
“You can’t say that and then run,” she hisses.
I shake her off and keep walking. She’s trying to drag me back toward the bedroom when we step into the living room. Michael and Luca both look up the second we appear. She’s still whisper-arguing with me when I clear my throat. She follows my gaze and freezes. Then she straightens.
“Oh—hey guys,” she says.
“I should order the pizzas,” I say, heading toward the kitchen.
“I’ll help,” Sarah says.
Michael rises from his seat.
“Why don’t you sit down,” he says, the edge in his voice impossible to miss, and his gaze lands on me. “I need to talk to Katie.”
Sarah glances between the two of us before quietly moving to the chair beside the couch. Luca leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and gives her a small smile when she sits down. Michael doesn’t say a word.
He grabs my elbow and pulls me toward the front door. I stumble after him as he pushes it open and ushers me onto the porch. A second later the door shuts behind us, and he turns me to face him.
“Katie, what the fuck are you trying to pull?”
I tilt my head up at him.
“You don’t know me well enough to speak to me that way.”
He breathes in through his nose, the muscles in his jaw tightening. I know I’m getting dangerously close to the edge of his patience.
“What is this?” He motions to Luca and Sarah inside.
“Are you incapable of just hanging out?” I ask. “Or are you only interested in fucking me?”
“Katie,” he says, the anger draining from his face.
“What?” I say, my voice sharper now. “Because that’s what it feels like.”
“Katie, that’s not what this is,” he says, stepping closer.
“You could have fooled me,” I say, swallowing.
His hands come up and cup my face.
“I want you to be my girl,” he says. “Not just because I want to fuck you. I do—that part’s not exactly a secret, but I also want to hold your hand. I want you falling asleep curled up next to me. I want to sit and listen to you talk for hours.”
His thumb brushes along my cheek.
“And I want to be the one who makes you laugh.”
Fuck.
I then do the absolute dumbest thing imaginable. I step forward, wrap my arms around his waist, and hide my face in his shirt that probably costs three hundred dollars.
“Why’d you have to say all that shit?” I mutter.
His head falls back as he laughs. My cheek presses against his chest, and the vibration of it makes my smile break loose before I can stop it.
Traitor.
He lifts my chin and gives me the softest kiss imaginable, and I melt into it. He pulls back and looks at me.
“Kiss me again,” I say.
He doesn’t even hesitate.
“Uno!” I shout, dropping my card onto the pile.
“What?” Luca barks from across the table. “You had, like, ten cards two seconds ago.”
I waggle my eyebrows at him.
“She’s sneaky,” Sarah says, shaking her head.
I glance to my right. Michael is looking at me and smiling. Ten minutes ago his leg brushed against mine under the table. It could’ve been accidental, but I wrapped my calf around his anyway. Neither of us has moved since.
The counter is littered with empty pizza boxes, soda cans, and the chaotic remains of several board games. Over the past several hours, we’ve worked through Farkle, a very inappropriate round of Cards Against Humanity, and now Uno.
Michael glances down at his watch.
“Doll,” he says, looking back up at me, “I think we better get going.”
“What?” The word slips out, and the disappointment in my voice is painfully obvious.
His eyes soften for a second, but he exchanges a look with Luca across the coffee table.
“You know,” Sarah says, leaning forward. “I could drop Luca off wherever he needs to go.”
Luca shakes his head. “That’s unnecessary.”
“I don’t mind,” she says, already sitting up straighter. “Seriously. It’s not a big deal.”
“Katie, let me talk to you for a moment,” Michael says, tilting his head toward my room.
I push back from the table. “Okay.”
We walk down the short hallway, the sound of Sarah and Luca talking behind us. Once the bedroom door shuts, the house feels strangely quiet.
“Doll, I would love to stay,” he says gently, “but I have business I need to get to.”
“It’s Sunday,” I say automatically.
“I know.” He smiles faintly, but there’s regret in it. “Unfortunately my job doesn’t care what day it is.”
“Please,” I say.
I know I sound desperate, but the truth sits heavy in my chest. Falling asleep next to him last night had felt too easy. It was like something I’d been missing without even realizing it, and the idea of him leaving makes the room feel colder.
“You can’t say please and look at me like that and expect me to say no,” he murmurs, his voice dropping as his fingers slide through mine. Our hands fit together.
I tip my head back and give him a mischievous smile. “Remember,” I say, tapping our joined hands against his chest, “I do outrank you.”
His mouth curves. He steps forward, closing the small space between us until my back bumps the wall. One arm slips around my waist, pulling me flush against him.
“You love that, don’t you?” he says, his voice warm with amusement.
I don’t even try to hide it. I nod, grinning up at him. “You have no idea.”