Chapter 7 Kit #2
I tapped the circle that allowed Veronica to join our video call.
Veronica’s face popped into the screen, and she started in as if she knew what we were talking about already, “Kit! You should have told me that you were going to be alone for the holidays. You had to drive right past my house in Atlanta when you left the airport and drove home to Creekstone. Why didn’t you just stop and stay with us? ”
Aunt Rita and Veronica broke out into a clamor of agreeing with each other and scolding me.
I let it go on for a minute or so. My eyes flicked up from my phone to William, who was sitting on the other end of the sofa.
He had leaned back and crossed his legs comfortably so that one ankle was resting atop his knee.
He had one arm sprawled along the back cushions of the sofa.
He had clicked off of the movie to a football game he was watching on mute, completely unbothered.
Perhaps he was even enjoying hearing me get scolded.
“I’m not alone.” This brought the scolding to a screeching halt.
“What?” Aunt Rita said.
“Yeah, I’m watching Christmas movies with William,” I said nonchalantly, as if this should have been an expected response.
“Who?” they said in unison, like a pair of shocked owls.
I tapped the button that allowed me to flip to the front facing camera. William was in their full view.
“William? But you ha…” Veronica cut herself off when she saw William appear on her screen.
“Oh, yes. Of course. Hello, William,” Aunt Rita cut in with her usual sing-songy voice. “Merry Christmas!”
William looked over at me holding the phone up. He waved. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” the two hooted in unison.
I flipped the camera to be back on my face. Veronica looked shocked and mouthed, He’s hot.
Aunt Rita said, “Well, I left some food in the freezer. Please help yourselves!”
“Thanks, Aunt Rita,” I said, “How’s the weather down there?”
“Oh, just lovely, dear.” Aunt Rita said. “Harold is like a fish, just out there snorkeling away.”
“Harold? I thought you went with Roger? And what about Hank?” I said, laughing.
“Aunt Rita!” Veronica cried. “Get ya some!”
I made a face. Aunt Rita beamed. “Ladies, I must go. It’s time for the poolside conga line.”
“I have to go, too,” Veronica added. “I need to tell Gus we don’t have to drive all the way up to Creekstone and pick you up. Unless you want us to?”
“Nah,” I said, my eyes flicking up at William who was still watching football. “I think I’m good here. I need some down time.”
Veronica made a face, and I said, “Merry Christmas,” before ending the call. She immediately sent a text that said, He’s hot!
I texted back. Not happening.
I put my phone face down on the coffee table. “Thanks for doing that.”
“Oh, well, we’re even. You just participated in a call with my mom and extended family in the Philippines. I think I can handle being your alibi for being a poor communicator with your aunt and Veronica, who I’m guessing is your best friend.”
I scoffed at William’s annoyingly accurate assessment but, instead of getting defensive, I changed the subject. “You like football?”
“Yeah, I do.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and then back at the game. “How about you?”
“Eh, I don’t watch much NFL, but I do watch a lot of college football,” I said. “It’s pretty big down here in the South.”
“Oh, yeah?” he said.
“It’s hard to escape. Everyone down here loves it,” I said. “Well almost everyone. Matt was never that into it. I always felt like I was dragging him to games, so we just never went.”
“Really? Seems like most guys would kill for a partner to watch football with,” William said in disbelief.
I shook my head. “Yeah, he was more of a golf and tennis guy. His parents were preparing him to be a doctor from day one, and I guess they just assumed those would be the right sports for a doctor.”
William’s eyebrow raised and as if he just realized something, he said, “So, wait, do you watch all the college football bowl games that are on TV between Christmas and New Year’s Day?”
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” I said with a coy smile.
“This might not be such a bad week after all!” William laughed.
We watched football and movies for the rest of the evening.
Then I headed upstairs to take a shower and sleep in my own bed.
William seemed a little disappointed, but I didn’t need to fall asleep on the sofa with him two nights in a row.
I had to admit that I was really enjoying spending time with William.
When he wasn’t trying to buy up half the town, he was actually pretty charming and laid-back, but I knew there were dozens of reasons why it was a bad idea for us to get too friendly.
There was the obvious reason that he was on the other side of a potentially huge business deal for Aunt Rita and me.
Another reason was that I didn’t want to catch feelings for a guy who had just told me he was only interested in casual relationships.
I had just navigated five of the hardest years of my life emotionally, and I was far too familiar with the loneliness of losing someone.
The last thing I wanted to do was to put myself into a situation that could be far worse than being lonely, which was dating someone who was entirely indifferent.
Plus, in my gut I knew that William wasn’t really going to stay in Creekstone, and I was definitely not interested in a long-distance relationship.
I needed to stay focused on my priorities and to keep my boundaries.