Chapter 12 William #3
Matt snapped his fingers of his other hand as if remembering something.
“Oh yeah, William. You’re that little Christmas movie friend.
Kit told me about that.” Matt gave me a knowing grin, then continued.
“Rita told me you’d be the perfect distraction so all her real friends could get ready to surprise Kit.
” He patted my shoulder with his free hand. “Thanks.”
Little Christmas movie friend? Is that how Kit described me to people?
Kit joined us. As soon as she was near, Matt let go of my hand and wrapped an arm around her. Kit managed to wriggle out of his hold and said, “I think you just met Matt.”
“We’ve met.” I shoved a hand in my pocket and took a deep breath.
“This is Veronica, my best friend from college, and her husband, Gus,” Kit said, pointing to a tall, thin woman holding hands with a man about my age as they appeared next to us.
“Nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you,” I said to Veronica.
“Happy thirtieth birthday, Kitty,” Matt said playfully, squeezing Kit again. I wanted to barf.
“I can’t believe you all came out here just for this,” Kit said, looking up at Matt, Veronica, and Gus.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Kitten,” Matt cooed. Veronica and Gus agreed.
KitKat? Kitty? Kitten? I excused myself and walked away. I couldn’t watch this. I headed straight for the bar. I took a seat. Ray looked at me and nodded. He brought me a beer.
Over the next hour, I stayed posted up at the bar. A few people came over to chat with me, but then Kit appeared next to me. I could tell she had been drinking by how flush her cheeks were.
“You can’t just sit here all night. Let’s dance!” she said, pulling me off the barstool.
A group of Kit’s friends had cleared a space and started dancing.
Kit must have sensed my hesitation, because she never let go of my hand, even when we reached the dance floor.
She gave me a sultry smile, and I couldn’t resist her.
I pulled her close to me. There was a mischievous sparkle in her eye.
I let my hand find its way to her hips and she smiled up at me as we danced.
When the first song ended, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Matt. “Hey, can I cut in?” He winked at Kit and looked back at me. “Do you mind?”
I stepped back and nodded. Kit had a surprised look, but I gave her a reassuring smile because, as soon as I stepped away, Matt stepped between us.
I saw Kit try to peek around him as dancing friends closed in around them.
I sighed and headed back to the bar. I was kidding myself if I thought I could handle being just friends with Kit in situations like this.
Soon after, Aunt Rita appeared in the middle of the crowd with a large cake that said “Happy 30th Birthday, Kit!” The crowd broke out into song.
Kit was glowing as she waited for the song to finish so she could blow out her candles.
The whole time Matt stood next to her with his hand gently pressed against her lower back.
When Kit leaned forward and blew out the candles, Matt spun her around and hugged her again.
I caught a glimpse of Kit’s face, and she looked happy.
Maybe this is what she wanted all along—to find her way back to Matt.
The thought crushed me. It was more than I could handle.
I turned and headed back to the bar, I asked Ray to close out my tab.
When he brought me my bill, Ray, a man who almost never spoke, paused, and said in a gruff voice, “Have you thought about telling her how you feel?”
“Nah, man. It wouldn’t do any good.” I dropped bills onto the bar, nodded goodbye to him, and left without looking back.
I could feel myself slipping into a mood, and I knew I just needed to be alone.
I didn’t want to ruin Kit’s night. I headed back to the house.
When I finally got up to my room, I was surprised by how cold it was.
Even though it was March, there was a chill in the night air, and this old house felt like an icebox.
I changed into some sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt to try and warm up, but the room was still chilly.
I sighed and went back downstairs to the kitchen to get firewood off the back porch.
I picked three logs off the top of the pile of firewood. When I got back into the kitchen, Kit was standing by the island waiting on me.
“Hey,” she said softly. “Can I help you with that?”
“Kit, is everything okay?” I looked around to see if she was alone. “Why aren’t you at your party?”
“Party was over.” Kit shrugged. “We had cut the cake, done all that. I saw you leave. I wondered if everything was okay. Veronica gave me a ride home.”
“Oh, what about Matt?” I tried not to sound salty. “You two aren’t hanging out tonight?”
“Um, no,” Kit said cautiously, as if picking up on my jealousy.
“I’m sure he didn’t like that. He seemed pretty determined tonight.” I shut the door to the back porch with my foot and stood at the bottom of the kitchen stairs.
“Maybe,” Kit shrugged. “I talked to Matt. He does want to get back together, but he knows I’m not interested in anything serious right now.”
“Got it,” I said, trying not to seem cold.
“Want help starting that fire?” she asked. “It does get pretty cold at night.”
Kit opened a kitchen drawer and pulled out a box of extra-long matches. At which point, I realized what Kit already seemed to know; I needed help starting this fire. I just shrugged. “If you want to.”
Kit followed me up the back stairs and down the hall. I pushed my door open with my hip. The room was still dark. I crossed the room to put the firewood in the rack. I had only brought up a few pieces.
“It’s really cold for March.” Kit shivered as she knelt by the fireplace and suggested, “Maybe you could go get three or four more logs. I’ll get these started.
” I listened to Kit. I needed the space.
When I got back to my room, Kit was still kneeling by the fireplace.
A warm, orange light flickered across the walls in the room as she adjusted the logs with a black iron stoker.
“Thanks, this is great,” I said as I put the extra logs into the firewood rack. I leaned against the mantel. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to get it started on my own.”
Kit moved one of the logs onto the fire. We were quiet while we watched the bark on the log turn black then amber and eventually catch fire.
Kit shifted slightly. She kept her eyes on the fire and asked, “Is everything okay? You seem mad.”
“I’m not,” I said, rubbing my brow.
“Well, I just wanted to tell you thanks for helping make the surprise birthday party happen. I was really surprised,” Kit said.
She stood up and stepped closer to me. She looked gorgeous by the glow of the fireplace.
When I didn’t move away, she put her hand on my chest. I could feel my heart pounding.
Kit making a move was something I had fantasized about since Christmas Eve.
I wanted more than anything to kiss her, but instead I blew a little air out of my mouth and said, “Kit, I can’t. ”
“You can’t?” Kit’s expression immediately changed to one of confusion. She stepped back.
I scrambled to undo the hurt. “I know you’re enjoying not being tied down and casually dating, but I can’t be casually involved with you, Kit.”
“What do you mean? You can casually date everyone in town, but not me?” Kit huffed. She crossed her arms.
“That’s rich. I haven’t even been on a date since I met you. You’re the one going out on dozens of dates,” I retorted. Kit’s jaw dropped. She turned to leave but I put my hand out and caught her. “That was out of line. I’m sorry.”
Kit crossed her arms and looked down at the floor. Without looking at me she said, “I just don’t understand. If you aren’t interested in me, then why would you be so nice to me? What’s wrong with me?”
I said softly. “Kit, look at me.” I gently lifted her chin so that we were looking at each other.
Her eyes were sad. I felt a pang in my chest. I took a deep breath and said, “The reason I don’t want to have a casual thing with you isn’t because you aren’t wonderful.
Kit, you’re absolutely perfect. And it’s not because you aren’t beautiful, because you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. ”