Chapter 5 – Kat
FIVE
KAT
Marcus looks our way without hesitation, his warm brown eyes reflecting the sparkle of adoration in Jenna’s. I’ve never known another man who has such unadulterated admiration for a woman he was interested in from the get-go.
He strides confidently toward us, disregarding whoever he had been waiting for in the bathroom. His pace increases and a broad grin spreads across his face, exposing a charming dimple in his left cheek.
“Hey, you.” He winks as he approaches Jenna.
I’ve seen a lot of guys over the years blow girls off the morning after. Not Marcus.
He pulls Jenna into a tight embrace, her head cradled in the crook of his neck. Her hands gently grasp his arms and she looks up at him with a smile that lights up her eyes, her joy mirrored in his expression.
“Marcus Delgado. I’m guessing you’re Kat?” He turns toward me and extends his hand to shake mine, the formality of it all feeling weird .
“Nice to meet you, Marcus—yes, I’m Kat. Um, Katarina Marritt.”
“Great to meet you, Kat,” Marcus says with a wide grin. “Sorry for stealing your roommate last night.” He chuckles as he reaches up to ruffle the hair atop Jenna’s head. Her perfect curls from last night now lay in a tangled mess of a bun.
Unlike Jenna and me, Marcus looks immaculate. How men can wake up after a night of drinking and still look like the picture of health is beyond me. His deep curls are styled perfectly, yet still manage to look effortlessly tousled in a way that screams “ I didn’t try too hard, it just comes naturally. ”
Last night is weird to think about. While objectively I know I was at their wedding, the more time that goes by, the less real it feels. I distinctly remember walking back to our dorm last night despite having memories of an entirely different evening. I remember throwing my shoes under my desk and cuddling up next to the trash can, but I also remember Elijah walking me back to my hotel room.
It’s the most bizarre feeling.
I also remember Jenna ditching me at the party, but I’m not going to turn that into a thing. In the grand scheme of things, it truly doesn’t matter.
The scent of Marcus’s cologne wafts subtly through the air as he shifts slightly on his feet, seemingly at ease despite his late-night escapades. Where Jenna and I both look like the walking dead, our sickly pale skin from the night of drinking is only polarized by the tanned tone of Marcus’s, his pearly white smile present to provide even more contrast.
The three of us chat for a while, discussing the courses we intend to take this semester as well as our plans for tonight. The Saturday before classes start always has some of the best parties. The house parties tend to go a little harder than they should, while the bars tend to be a little livelier.
“What did you guys get?” Marcus asks as he peeks down at the empty paper box in my hand that previously housed a bagel.
“Oh, we got Einstein’s. Needed the bread to soak up all that liquor from last night,” Jenna laughs, and Marcus welcomes her amusement with a chuckle of his own.
Despite the conversation including all of us, I don’t miss the way Marcus’s eyes don’t leave Jenna the entire time. It’s adorable.
If only they knew.
My attention drifts away from them as they continue their borderline gag-inducing flirting, and that is when I notice him.
Elijah.
Gorgeous waves of dark brown hair move toward us. My stomach is jumbled in knots as he approaches, but I don’t miss the way he doesn’t look at me.
Actually, I’m not even sure he’s walking toward Marcus at all.
I watch as Elijah’s tall frame shifts toward the Chinese food place next to Einstein’s Bagels. He settles into the long line.
While I try not to let the disappointment of him not coming over here show too obviously, I completely miss Tanner as he approaches Marcus. In a swift and unexpected move, Tanner punches Marcus in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.
Hunched over, gasping for air, Marcus growls through clenched teeth, “What the hell, man?” His fists ball at his sides, knuckles turning white.
“That was a dick move this morning,” Tanner laughs, the mask of his outrage slipping.
It becomes evident what previously looked like a fight about to break out in the student center is just a weird game between friends. I let out a nervous chuckle and relax my shoulders.
“I didn’t do shit.” Marcus bites back a laugh as he continues to force air into his lungs.
“Bullshit,” Tanner responds. “Now she won’t stop blowing up my phone. All because you wouldn’t shut up about how in love I was with her. You and I both know I don’t have shit for feelings for Rebecca. She knows that—well, she did…until you decided it would be funny to get her hopes up and make me look like the bad guy.”
“Who’s Rebecca?” I ask.
Tanner glances at me and his expression changes instantly. He grins before extending his hand and saying, “Absolutely no one important. I’m Tanner Adler.”
“Kat.” I grin up at him as I take his hand.
“Katarina, actually,” Marcus chimes in, finally finding enough air to string together a sentence.
“ Katarina .” Tanner chuckles, his tone warm and teasing. His grip on my hand tightens and I can feel his eyes studying my face.
“Just…Kat.” I laugh nervously, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. My family always calls me Katarina, but with friends and in social settings, I go by Kat. I can’t control what my family calls me, but I’ve never liked my name.
“Kat it is.” He squeezes my hand one last time before letting it go. I don’t miss the way the warmth leaving feels…ba d. His eyes linger on me for longer than I anticipate—I can’t remember how this happened before.
I’ll be honest, I don’t remember meeting Tanner at all. So much of my memory about today revolved around meeting Elijah later at the party. But as I stand here with this boy who I know will grow to be a lifelong friend, I realize there are gaps in my memory from today that I can’t explain.
I met two of my closest friends today, yet all I remember in five years is Elijah.
“Are you guys going tonight?” Marcus asks, pulling Tanner’s attention away from me.
“Yes, we are!” Jenna’s voice is significantly more enthusiastic than it was minutes ago—before Marcus came over.
I almost start questioning what they’re talking about…and then I remember.
The Lambda party.
The party I meet Elijah at. Suddenly my enthusiasm matches Jenna’s.
“Sounds great,” Marcus says as he smiles down at Jenna, clearly not that concerned with my attendance.
Tanner’s usually bright and wide smile is missing, replaced with a tight-lipped frown. His usual exuberance for parties is nowhere to be seen as he stands next to his friend. Marcus elbows him in the ribs, causing Tanner to grab his side on instinct.
“Rude,” he mumbles.
“Gotta rally, man. I don’t care that you didn’t get much sleep.”
“I didn’t get much sleep because Rebecca wouldn’t leave this morning. Do you remember why she wouldn’t leave this morning?” The glare he shoots Marcus has me suppressing a laugh, enjoying the tension between them.
“Touché.” Marcus then presses his lips to Jenna’s cheek before whispering something inaudible to her. She simply nods her head before looking over at me.
We exchange pleasantries and the guys disappear toward the bookstore, Tanner going on and on about how he needs to try to get his hands on a used copy of a book for his International Marketing class.
“So?” Jenna smacks my arm with a cheesy grin.
“What?”
“Tanner,” she says as she rolls her eyes.
“What about Tanner?” While I know where she’s going with this, I can’t for the life of me figure out why.
“He’s cute.”
“There are lots of cute guys on campus…”
“Yeah, but this cute guy seems interested.”
“One: no, he’s not. Two: I’m not interested.” I glare at her and a pause settles between us.
She finally cracks. A huff passes her lips. “Ugh, fine. One day we will find you a guy that actually keeps your interest for longer than two seconds.”
Little does she know that is exactly what is going to happen.
Tonight.