Chapter 9 Kit
I stood in front of the full-length mirror in our bathroom.
I turned to see if I looked somewhat decent.
I knew I was just going out to The Pub, but I did want to look cute, mostly because William had agreed to come.
Over the last week, I had spent a lot of time with William.
At first, I was just glad not to be alone on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
I told myself that this was what I was feeling, but as the week went on, I started to think about William all the time.
I started to wonder if he was thinking and feeling what I was feeling, and I knew that this could be dangerous.
William had already told me that he only wanted casual relationships, and I kept having to remind myself that I didn't want that. I sighed.
I settled on the outfit I was wearing: a pair of bootcut jeans and a low-cut black top. I went back to my room and started looking for a pair of hoop earrings when my phone rang. It was Veronica.
“Happy New Year!” Veronica said. I looked down at the screen and Baby Preston’s fat rosy cheeks filled the screen. He gurgled and cooed at the phone.
“Happy New Year, you cute little thing!” I cried, picking up my phone to get a better look at him.
“Why, thank you. Thank you very much!” Veronica said, flipping the camera back to her face.
I laughed. “Well, you look less cute, hot mama.”
“Ugh, I wish. Preston gave us a terrible stomach bug, and it pretty much wiped-out Gus. It’s not pretty over here. That’s why I’m calling so early. There is no way I’m making it to midnight to say Happy New Year,” Veronica lamented into the phone.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that!” I said as I propped up my phone on my dresser. I started clipping my hoop earrings in as we talked.
“Speaking of hot mama, where are you going? Your makeup and hair look great.”
“It’s not too much?” I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“Not at all. Are you getting this hot to meet a Creekstone townie?” Veronica asked.
“It’s for me,” I said with a bit of a righteous tone as I looked at myself in the mirror. Then I looked back at the phone and laughed. “I’m kidding. I just don’t want to always look like a librarian. Trent said people think I’ve turned into a hermit.”
“Uh huh.” Veronica said. “So, this has nothing to do with a certain super-hot real estate developer who you’ve been spending your entire week of vacation with?”
Veronica’s face radiated skepticism. I said, “Look, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think William was hot, but the guy told me he only dates casually, and I don’t even think he likes me like that.”
“Kit, this man has spent an entire week watching Christmas movies and football with you. He could have been anywhere this week,” Veronica said.
“We’re just friends,” I said.
I thought I was pretty convincing, but Veronica said, “Honestly, I think you should go out and have the best time in the world. This might be the exact thing you need. You said you don’t think William is going to stay in Creekstone, so maybe you should lean into this causal relationship thing?
And since you loathe what he’s doing for work, it will be even easier to cut him off when you’re ready to move on. ”
“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly. “I’m not sure I can do casual.”
“Girl,” Veronica said with a flat voice. “You’re doing it again. You always try to do things a certain way. Just relax and let fun happen to you.”
I sighed. “Well, it’s silly to even think about this. Nothing’s going to happen. I don’t think he likes me.”
“You’re delusional if you think you can look that good and any man isn’t going to try something. If that happens, we need a refresher on how to run game, my girl.”
“Thanks, I think?” I said with a chuckle.
“Everything doesn’t have to be so serious all the time, Kit. You have permission to enjoy yourself just for the sake of enjoying yourself,” Veronica said.
Preston started gurgling and Veronica said, “I have to run. Have a good time! Happy New Year’s Eve.”
Veronica was probably right. I had to admit that this week I’d spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to kiss William. Maybe I could find out if I could just relax a little and let go of the pretense that every date needed to have the potential to lead somewhere.
I checked the time. I made my way downstairs. Instead of taking the back stairs, I went down the second-floor hallway, down the front steps to the foyer, and into the front room, where William was sitting, reading something on his phone. When I walked in the room, he stood up.
“Wow, you look beautiful,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, the way he did when he was feeling a little nervous. I felt a flutter in my stomach when our eyes met. Maybe Veronica was right. Maybe William did like me.
“You look handsome, too,” I said. William always looked handsome.
When I first met him, I thought he only owned business casual clothes, but this week, I was able to see a different side of William.
He was wearing a black A Tribe Called Quest T-shirt, a pair of relaxed jeans, and Converse.
The shirt was tight across his chest and around his biceps.
He pulled on a black zip-up hoodie. “Ready to go?”
We decided to walk to The Pub. By the time we got there, it was already busy.
The bar was warm, and William and I immediately shed our jackets.
People were crowded around the bar ordering drinks.
A DJ was setting up in the corner, and the many televisions were showing a combo of sports coverage and NYE countdowns.
Trent, Sasha, Nick, and Melissa were at a table at the back of the bar. As soon as we approached them, Melissa jumped down and gave me a hug. “Hey, hot stuff!” I could tell she had been drinking because her cheeks were rosier than usual.
Sasha and Melissa both bubbled the usual “Hello,” and “How was your holiday?”
Before I could answer, I felt a hand press gently on my lower back, and I turned to see William holding a drink for me. “Thanks,” I said. William smiled at me and joined Nick and Trent on the other side of the table. The place where he had touched my back still tingled with an electric hum.
When I turned back, Sasha and Melissa were both staring at me with wide eyes. “What’s going on there?” Melissa asked.
“Mm-hmm,” Sasha hummed with a smile. “Trent said he saw the two of you jogging together the other day.”
“Just hanging out with my housemate. Just friends,” I said.
Melissa chortled, “Friends with benefits, I hope!”
I shook my head and laughed, but I wondered if Melissa had a point. Maybe we could just be friends with benefits? I tried to change the subject.
“I love the decorations.”
“There’s a lot of mistletoe hanging around here tonight,” Melissa winked.
I pointed to the DJ table. “A DJ? That’s fun!”
“I heard she’s great,” Sasha offered. “Plays the perfect mix of pop, hip hop, country, and reggaeton music.”
“Nick helped Ray find the DJ. It’s part of the new push to attract more young adults to stay in Creekstone. I think your friend, William, has been helping Nick start all kinds of programs,” Melissa said with a grin.
Sasha, Melissa, and I played a few rounds of pool.
Sasha was an unbelievable pool player, so it was mostly just rounds of Melissa and me waiting for Sasha to sink all her shots.
Occasionally, I’d look up to see William listening to Trent and Nick.
Sometimes, he would look over and watch us playing pool.
I felt his gaze linger a little longer than necessary on me.
By the third drink, Melissa was sharing stories about holiday ER patients. Mostly Christmas decoration mishaps and holiday cooking gone wrong. Suddenly, Melissa’s eyes widened and she pointed at Nick.
I looked over to where Melissa was pointing. Nick was standing between Trent and William. Nick looked like he was giving a campaign speech. William had his arms folded across his chest as he listened. He was nodding along as Nick talked.
“I can tell he’s talking about work. Let me go and bail Trent and William out.” Melissa bounced around and over to Nick. She shook a finger at him. “No work tonight! You promised.”
Nick looked like a kid whose hand had been caught in a cookie jar. Melissa tugged at Nick’s arm. “Let’s dance.”
Trent and Sasha followed Nick and Melissa out onto a spot where the tables had been cleared away for dancing. William walked over to me, and he shoved one of his hands in his pockets. We stood awkwardly for a moment, and finally William said, “Wanna dance?”
Maybe if I hadn’t had three strong mixed drinks I would have responded differently, but at that moment, all I could really think about was being close to William again.
William was a surprisingly good dancer. He struck the perfect balance of dancing close enough to me so that other guys didn’t try to cut in, but far enough away that I wasn’t creeped out. After a while, I was sweating, and I motioned to William that I was going to the bar to get a drink.
The bar was crowded. I waved at Ray behind the bar, and he gave me a nod. I leaned on the bar and turned to watch everyone as I waited for my drink.
A tall, skinny guy with a backwards baseball cap appeared next to me at the bar. “Hey, I was watching you play pool earlier. I’m Brett. What’s your name?”
“Annie,” I muttered.
“Annie. You wanna dance?”
I turned to see Ray bringing me my drink. Just in time, I thought.
“No, thanks,” I said, waiting for the drink to arrive.
“Aww, come on,” the guy said. He took a step closer to me, and before I could say anything else, William stepped behind me.
“I was looking for you,” William said to me but looking directly at Brett, who stepped back and held up both hands.
William motioned to Ray to bring him another drink. I turned toward the bar and looked over my shoulder at William, who was watching Brett skulk off.