Twenty
TWENTY
Graham
When I arrived home from work on Friday, I’d been eager to hop in the shower quickly and wash my day away in preparation for my weekend.
Afterward, I intended to clean up a few things and get dinner started, because Kat was coming over to spend the night. She’d bragged nightly about how she’d been able to smell me on her sheets all week long. When I noted how unfair it was and just how many weeks it had been since she’d been in my bed, Kat had agreed to give me the opportunity to experience it again.
After spending the night at her place on Sunday night, Kat and I didn’t see each other throughout the week. It wasn’t that we were necessarily against it, but we both seemed to enjoy touching base over the phone the previous week and had decided to try that out again. I was certain it would only be a matter of time before that ended and we got together on more than just the weekends.
Suffice it to say, I was all geared up to see her tonight.
But I’d barely gotten inside and closed my door when I passed by a window that looked out toward the front of the house and halted in my tracks. Turning into my driveway was Kat’s car.
My brows knit together as a hint of worry washed over me. She wasn’t supposed to be arriving this early.
I moved to the front door, unlocked it, and stepped outside just as she’d turned off her car. I’d made it to the driveway after she’d gotten out and rounded the vehicle to the passenger’s side. She stopped there, yanked open the door, and reached inside. And by the time she was upright again, I was right by her side.
Kat beamed at me and lifted onto her toes to offer her mouth to me. I leaned down and kissed her. “Hi, Graham.”
“Hi, Kat. What are you doing here so early?” I asked, taking her overnight bag from her hands.
She closed her door and locked it. A sheepish grin washed over her. “I’m sorry. It’s just that it feels like it’s been far too long since I last saw you, and I didn’t want to wait. You don’t mind that I came early, do you?”
I took her by the hand and led her toward the front door. “Not at all. But I have to apologize now, because I just got home. I was going to take a shower before starting on dinner.”
“Oh, I’m in no rush for dinner. I’m just happy to see you. It feels like it’s been weeks since I last saw you, instead of only a few days.”
There was no evidence that Kat was scheming—I didn’t think she was that kind of woman anyway—but I wondered if she knew precisely what to say to me to make me feel so good. Did she know how much it meant to me to hear her admit how much she missed me that she needed to come early, because merely talking to me over the phone throughout the week simply wasn’t enough?
We made it inside, and I sent an appreciative smile her way. If I was honest, I missed her tremendously, too. “We’ll have to see to it that you don’t feel deprived of me next week.”
“Really? You won’t mind getting together at least once during the week?”
I chuckled. “Not at all. In fact, as soon as I came inside, I was thinking about how us seeing each other only on the weekend was sure not to last.”
Relief swept through her. “I’m so glad you feel the same. Is there anything you want me to do to help since I’m here early?”
Using my free hand, I reached for one of hers again. I stepped close, leaned down, and whispered, “There is one thing.”
Kat’s body shivered with the closeness. “Anything you need.” There was such promise in her tone, and I liked how she was easily that willing to do whatever I wanted without even knowing what it was.
“You can join me in the shower.”
Another shiver. “I don’t want to intrude. Plus, I already showered before coming here.”
My mouth curved into a smile just before my lips grazed her cheek. I squeezed her fingers, kissed her, and said, “You wouldn’t be intruding when you’ve received an invitation. And there’s nothing wrong with more than one shower. I’ll wash your back for you.”
Without giving her the chance to respond, I took Kat by the hand and led her upstairs, where we stripped out of our clothes and walked into the bathroom together.
I might have planned to come home and take a fast shower in preparation of seeing her, but now that she was here, there was no need to rush. Kat and I took our time, finding ways to get our weekend together off to a great start.
It was much later than I had anticipated it being by the time we descended the stairs and made our way to the kitchen.
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?” Kat asked.
“I’m positive. I promised to cook dinner for you, and that’s what I’m going to do. If you want to head into the living room and pick out a movie to watch tonight, that’ll work.”
Kat moved toward me, wrapped her arms around my waist, and pressed her cheek against my chest. She squeezed. “Do you have any preference for genre tonight?”
“You already gave me all that help I wanted in the shower, so I’m cool with whatever you want to watch tonight.”
Keeping her arms around me, Kat tipped her head back to look at me. “In all fairness, it wasn’t like I didn’t get anything out of that shower.”
“And I’ll get something out of watching a movie you choose, because you’ll be cuddling close, so I think we’ll be even.”
Her eyes roamed over my face. “You really are a romantic guy, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “I warned you.”
With a smile of contentment on her face, Kat released her hold on me and walked off toward the living room. I got back to making dinner. I’d been so focused on doing that, it hadn’t dawned on me that she’d been gone so long.
It wasn’t until I was nearly finished with the food and had looked up to see her standing a few feet away with tears in her eyes. Instantly, I stopped what I was doing and went to her. “Are you okay? What happened?”
She held her hand up between us, a piece of paper between her fingertips. “I found these.”
I didn’t have to see what was on the paper to know what it was. One of the things I’d planned to do before she arrived was clean up the living room. When she showed up early, I was so happy to see her, and I wound up forgetting about the leather-bound sketchbook I’d left out on the coffee table for days now.
All my life, I’ve always needed the creative outlet. Tattooing all day long certainly gave me what I needed, so when I was home, I didn’t find myself feeling such an overwhelming urge to draw.
But that changed with her, particularly after we’d ended things between us.
And every night I wasn’t with Kat, I’d been drawing.
My drawings had been of her—her eyes, her lips, her face. But I knew it wasn’t any of those images on the sheet she had in her hand now. In fact, I was willing to bet money that I knew what I’d find on that paper if she flipped it over.
“I don’t think it should come as a surprise that I have a creative side. It’s why I became a tattoo artist. But sometimes, I find myself with a need to do some of that creating outside of work.” I paused for a moment, giving both myself and Kat the time to prepare for what would happen when I shared the rest with her. “I started this collection a few weeks ago when you and I had ended our arrangement. I thought getting lost in something like this would help me forget you, but it only made me crave you more than I already did.”
She held my stare for a long while, her expression not giving me one indication of what was going on inside her head. “These are me.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
Kat glanced down at the image in her hand, her eyes roaming over every bit of it. “This is a lot of me.”
She wasn’t referring to the number of pages she’d found with her on them—though there was a significant amount of them. Kat was pointing out how much of her physical form was present on just a single sheet.
“It is.”
“Is this… Do you… Was this drawn from memory, or did you make it up?”
Other than knowing she was curious for more details about this, Kat still hadn’t given away anything to indicate how she felt about finding the drawings.
I took a deep swallow and confessed, “I wanted to preserve certain moments I’d experienced with you. I’m a visual man, Kat. And I know it probably didn’t seem that way at the time, but I remembered everything about the way you looked in these moments.”
She looked down at the paper again, and I could have sworn it was more of an expression of disbelief I saw than anything else. With each second of silence that passed, I grew more and more concerned that something terrible had just happened, something that might tear Kat away from me.
“I’m dying to know what’s going through your mind.”
The tears were back in her eyes. “These are beautiful, Graham. I look beautiful.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
I waited for more, but it never came. If anything, Kat was looking at me like she expected me to elaborate.
“You are beautiful, Kat. Honestly, you made it easy for me to create every one of these pieces.”
“This is how you see me?”
I smiled at her, lifting my hand to the side of her face to swipe at the tear that had fallen. “That’s how you are. You look stunning, always, even right now. But there’s something so captivating about the way you look when you and I are together like that.”
Kat pressed her cheek into my palm. “I don’t think I want to watch a movie tonight.”
Damn it.
I thought she’d been okay with this, but I’d obviously misjudged her emotional response.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I never meant to upset you like this. I’m sorry if these bother you. I can promise you that nobody else has ever seen them. Only me. It’ll kill me to get rid of them, but if that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”
Kat quietly assessed me, her eyes roaming over my face. Was she trying to figure out if I was being honest with her?
“I’d never ask you to destroy these, Graham. Never. And I’d be heartbroken if you got rid of them. God, I knew you were an artist, but I never imagined this level of talent. You’re incredible.”
Okay.
So, that was good.
“But you no longer want to watch a movie with me tonight? Are you planning to leave before dinner?”
“I wasn’t planning to leave at all,” she informed me. “I don’t want to watch a movie, because I’d really love it if you’d take some time to go through all of these with me. I want to know what you were thinking about when you drew each one. Because I’m mesmerized by the way you see me.”
Part of me wanted to tell her it wasn’t just seeing her like I did in the pictures I’d drawn of her. That when I was drawing them, I’d realized just how much I wanted her. And now that we were trying this out for real, with each day that passed, the way I felt for her only grew stronger. I’d since fallen for her. And now, I saw Kat as something more than just a girlfriend.
Kat had made it possible for me to start dreaming about a future again, about the things I wanted. And in every vision that I had about that future, she was right by my side.
But since she hadn’t asked for me to reveal that yet, I thought I’d be able to give her a clue by giving her what she did ask for. “I’d love to show you the entire collection and tell you about each one.”
Her face lit with joy. “Is dinner ready?”
“I just finished it.”
“I’ll go put this back on the coffee table so we can eat first.”
Before she could walk away, I pulled Kat into my arms and kissed her. Only after the sense of foreboding I’d been feeling about how this whole scene could have gone down had faded, I released her.
Then I got our dinner plated while she returned the drawing of her to the open sketchbook.
And after we ate, I did as I promised I would. I told her about each piece, what they meant to me, and what inspired me to draw them all while Kat gave me what I’d been looking forward to doing tonight by cuddling close throughout.
Best of all, when she was particularly moved by a specific drawing or the story I told about it, she’d offer up a kiss or two of appreciation.
Kat
Three weeks later
Fairytales aren’t real.
That’s what I’d been taught to believe, even if everything inside me had wanted to have precisely that all my life.
But after such a devastating heartbreak, I believed it was no longer worth seeking that happy ending.
Then I made a bold move, met Graham, and everything changed.
Sure, we’d had a bit of a rocky start, but ever since we came together and decided to do things the right way, Graham made me want to take that risk again.
And for more than a month now, we’d been living an absolute fairytale. The last three weeks were just as magical as the previous two, maybe even more so.
Because where those initial two weeks had been filled with days upon days of us taking the time to get to know each other better, the most recent weeks had been about bringing others into the fold. We were genuinely commingling our lives.
My sisters came back to town, and Graham and I had taken them out for dinner, so they could all get to know each other. They’d been tough on him for roughly twenty minutes before they realized they no longer had any reason to be concerned. We wound up having a great night together.
Graham and I had also gone on a double date with his best friend, Andy, and Andy’s girlfriend, Eliza. I hadn’t known what to expect, but Andy and Eliza were both great. I never felt like an outsider in a group that had known each other for years, and we were planning to get together again in two weeks.
Finally, I’d gone to Bell they couldn’t ignore it. Shiloh claimed they didn’t have to know anything about me to know they liked what I’d done for Graham. All I could think to do in that moment was thank her for being so kind and reassure her that he’d changed my life, too.
The only people left who I’d been eager to have an introduction with were my parents. I wanted Graham to meet them, and when I expressed it to him, he insisted he was ready to take the trip back to Pawtucket. So, we were heading back there next weekend. It was safe to say my parents were just as excited about meeting Graham as I was about introducing him to them. I had no worries about that meeting, either. I knew they’d adore him.
In addition to all the meetings we’d set up over the last few weeks, Graham and I had time alone with each other, too. We talked and laughed and played. He even drew more pictures of me, which only led to me crying every single time. I’d still go to play tennis on Saturday morning, and sometimes, he stayed to watch me. Other times, I’d go on my own. But in the best times, he’d be there and offer to stay and play a match or two with me, even though tennis wasn’t really his thing.
We were finding our way as a couple, settling into a new rhythm, and I loved everything about it.
Tonight, we’d opted for a quiet night in. It was Friday evening, and after so much time having been spent entertaining and enjoying our friends, we wanted some time together that was just the two of us.
And since we wanted to enjoy every last second with one another without having to worry about additional tasks, Graham and I had ordered in.
We’d been waiting for the food to arrive and scrolling through to find a movie to watch when my doorbell rang.
Graham planted a hand on my thigh just above my knee and ordered, “You stay here. I’ll get it.”
I stayed put, happy to let him take on the task. But no sooner had he opened the door, a familiar voice seethed, “Who the hell are you?”
“Pardon?” Graham returned.
“Where’s Kat?”
I was up and moving.
But since Graham didn’t know that, he countered, “Who’s asking?”
“Charlie.”
I was still just a few feet away when Graham replied. “Yeah, I hate to tell you this, but you’re not going to see Kat.”
I halted my movements.
“Excuse me?”
“Kat’s done with you. She’s moved on.”
Charlie apparently thought it was wise to be purposely obtuse. “I think I’ll wait to hear that from her.”
“You could have called,” Graham noted.
“It seems my number has been blocked, which is why I came here to talk in person.”
“I’m guessing you got your answer then. If she blocked you, then she’s not interested in speaking to you.”
Charlie let out a frustrated sigh. “Man, just get Kat for me.”
“I’m not going to do?—”
I placed my hand on Graham’s arm. I didn’t even look up at him as I declared, “Leave. There’s nothing left for you here. I want nothing to do with you.”
“I told her the truth. I told her about you. She’s filing for divorce.”
Good for her.
I didn’t know her, but she obviously deserved better than him.
“That’s not my problem.”
“I did it for you.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t want you to do anything for me. We’re done. It’s over. And I’ve moved on. I’m happier than ever, so you need to leave me alone.”
Charlie took a step forward and reached for me. “Kat, wait?—”
Graham’s hand was on Charlie before my ex even had the chance to lay a finger on me. And his voice was lethal when he spoke. “Do not ever try to touch her again. She’s asked you to leave; you need to leave. You might not like it, but you screwed Kat over. She deserved way better than you from the start, and now she’s got it with a man who puts her first and loves her far more than you ever claimed to.”
I gasped.
Love.
Graham had just admitted he loved me.
My heart exploded in my chest, warmth moving through my body.
I needed us to have this moment, so I looked at Charlie and said, “If you ever come back here again, I’ll call the police and have you arrested for trespassing. If you try to contact me ever again, I’ll file charges for harassment. We’re done here.”
I tugged on Graham’s arm and urged him to close the door.
He did.
And when he turned around, I said, “I love you, too.”
The tension eased out of his frame, his shoulders relaxing. He wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my neck, where he pressed several kisses. “That wasn’t exactly how I planned to say it to you.”
“You technically didn’t say it to me yet, so you can do it now.”
He lifted his face from my neck and smiled at me. “I love you, Kat. I love you so much.”
I beamed at him. “I love you, too.”
Graham kissed me, and the two of us truly had some time to celebrate our moment. But afterward, he asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m better than okay.”
“Are you sure?”
I stroked my thumb along his cheek. “You not only admitted you loved me, but you also protected me from him. I’m confident I’m okay, big guy.”
“I’d never let anyone hurt you, little lady.”
“I know. It’s because you love me.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
A moment later, the doorbell rang again.
This time, it was our food delivery.
And even though Charlie’s arrival had the potential to ruin our night, I was glad that it had merely been a blip. Because once Graham closed the door on him, Charlie had been forgotten.
Graham and I spent the rest of our night living our own real-life fairytale.