by E. L. Todd
She stopped sipping her milkshake and turned her full gaze on me. “That impresses me.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to get some respect once in a while.”
“What’s this lady like?”
“The one in the retirement home?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, her husband passed away twenty years ago and she doesn’t have any kids. She pays me to be her grandson. I spend holidays with her sometimes too. She’s very nice, just lonely.”
“I didn’t realize you guys did other things.”
“Yeah, a friend of mine plays checkers with an old man at the park every Sunday. He says it’s actually pretty fun. A few months ago I posed as a groomsmen for a guy who didn’t have many friends.”
“And I bet you slept with a few of the bridesmaids,” she teased.
“All three of them, actually,” I said honestly.
She chuckled. “It sounds like a dream job.”
“Yeah, I like it a lot. Like all jobs, it has its cons.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Psycho ex’s that want to kill me, girls that get too clingy and want something more, girls who try to drug me and sleep with me…things like that.”
“Girls drug you?” she asked incredulously.
“Unfortunately.”
She shook her head in disgust. “That’s terrible.”
“It’s a job hazard and I try not to think about it too much.”
“They should serve prison time for that.”
I changed the subject because this topic made me upset. “I have one client that has been paying me to pose as her husband for years. That’s interesting.”
“Her husband?” she asked incredulously. “How does she manage that?”
“I just go with her to family functions and wear a ring.”
“But why does she need that kind of service?”
“Her husband passed away years ago and people kept harassing her to move on with someone new. She refuses to remarry or even date someone. This is just a way to give her peace and I understand that.”
Katarina turned to me and stared at me intently. Her milkshake was abandoned, and she looked at me with new eyes, like she never really noticed me before.
“What?” Did I miss something?
“I didn’t know you guys provided services like that…”
“We pretty much do everything,” I said. “Anything you can think of, we’ve probably done it.”
She scratched the Styrofoam of her cup and fell into silence. She seemed to be elsewhere, her thoughts unknown.
I wasn’t sure what I said to make her so subdued but I obviously said something. “Did I offend you in some way?”
She snapped out of her reverie. “No, I just drifted for a moment there…”
There was obviously something on her mind. I’d give anything to know what it was.
I walked her to her door. “I had a good time tonight. Thank you for spending the evening with me.”
“Thank you for dinner,” she said politely. “And the milkshake I shouldn’t have finished.”
“Hey, you can afford a few extra calories,” I said with a smile.
She smiled slightly but didn’t respond.
“I’m really glad we went out. And I’m glad you and I are friends.”
“Me too,” she said. “Listening to you insult me left and right got old…” There was a teasing note in her voice.
“Yeah…sorry about that.”
“I really wish I knew what your problem was.” She looked to me for an answer, silently hoping I would finally tell her.
It was best to leave the past where it belonged. She was opening up to me and I didn’t want to make it awkward. Hopefully, she would realize it on her own. If not, maybe I could have a second chance anyway. Now that she relaxed around me, it reminded me why I liked her so much to begin with, and not just because she was beautiful. “You remind me of someone I used to know.” That was all I said.
“Well, I’m glad your unfair prejudice is over.”
“Yeah.” I moved in and hugged her without permission.
She stiffened at the touch, clearly not expecting it, and then she returned the embrace.
She felt exactly the same as before. She fit into my body perfectly, and her face barely reached my shoulders. The smell of vanilla came into my nose and her soft hair brushed my shoulder. I’d give anything to touch it, to fist it once more.
The hug lasted longer than I expected and I didn’t want it to end.
She eventually pulled away. “Good night, Cato.”
“Good night, K.”
She turned to me. “K?”
That was what she left in the note on my nightstand. I used it now without thinking. “It just slipped out.”
She didn’t question it. “I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” I watched her close the door.
Once she was gone from my sight, hope burned through me. That playful and fun relationship was back. Maybe we could recapture that night. But this time, I would see her the following morning.
6
Katarina
My parents invited me for dinner, and of course, they wanted me to take Cato along. They were still shocked I was seeing him and they weren’t sure what to make of it. They wanted me to be happy, but at the same time, they wanted me to be with the man they preferred. It would unify our families and only make us stronger.
Being married to Joey wouldn’t be terrible. We were great friends and we respected each other. He was extremely handsome, so a physical relationship would probably be satisfying.
But I didn’t love him.
When Cato told me he would pose as a husband, that really caught my attention. It would be perfect. I would never have to worry about hurting him because he was only doing it for a paycheck. He would come along and see my family at my beck and call. And everyone would get off my back and stop telling me to move on.
It was perfect.
And Cato wasn’t as much of a jackass as I thought. After he apologized and we started to get along, I realized he was someone I genuinely enjoyed being around. He was friendly and charismatic, and of course, he was easy on the eyes. I’d take him on my sheets if there weren’t so many complications with it. Meaningless and detached sex was the only type of flings I had.
No love was ever involved. Ever.
It was all I could give.
When I came home from work, I called Cato. “Hey.”
“Hey, Milkshake.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Sorry?”
“Milkshake. That’s your nickname.”
“Do I get any say in this?”
“Nope. So, what can I do for you?”
“I need your services.”
“Superman to the rescue,” he said dramatically. “What do you need?”
“Dinner with my family tomorrow night.”
“I can do that,” he said. “Just tell me what you want me to wear.”
“I get to decide?” I asked incredulously.
“Yep.”
“Wow…money well spent.”
He chuckled. “I’d let you dress me up even if you weren’t paying me—or undress me.”
I smirked even though I wished I wouldn’t. “You went from hating me every second to hitting on me every second.”
“I like to keep you on your toes.”
“Slacks and a collared shirt,” I said. “That should be fine.”
“What color?”
“That’s your discretion,” I said.
“Okay, Milkshake.”
“Are you seriously going to call me that?” I demanded.
“Yep. It’s cute.”
“Cute?” I smiled against my will.
“Yeah, you’re sweet and delicious.”
“How would you know?” I countered.
There was a long pause. “I can just tell.”
I rolled my eyes then sighed into the phone. “I’ll see you tomo
rrow.”
“You want to go indoor skydiving?”
I flinched at his words. Did he just ask what I think he asked? “Sorry, come again?”
“Oh, I could make you come again.”
I rolled my eyes. “I never knew you were such a pervert.”
“Well, you make it so easy.”
“Did you just ask me to go indoor skydiving?”
“Yeah. You’ve never been?”
“Uh…no.” I cocked an eyebrow because it sounded ludicrous.
“Then we have to go. I’ll pick you up in half an hour.”
“Whoa…hold on, buddy.” If he thought I was going to jump off a ledge toward the ground he was smoking something. “I never said I wanted to go.”
“Come on. Don’t be a pussy, Milkshake.”
“I’m not a pussy,” I snapped.
“Then let’s go. You scared?”
“I’m not scared of anything. I already told you that.”
“Then I’ll be there in half an hour. Wear jeans.”
I opened my mouth to argue. “But—”
Cato hung up.
“Goddammit.”
Cato arrived at my door in jeans and a t-shirt. His arms were thick and noticeable, and his hair was a little messy, but in a sexy way. “You ready to have a good time?”
I put one hand on my hip. “I never agreed to this.”
“Yet, you’re wearing jeans and a top like I asked.” He gave me a cocky smirk. His blue eyes were bright like the ocean. Sometimes I wanted to swim in its depths.
“I was already wearing this.” I lied. I was wearing work attire when we spoke on the phone.
“You’re full of it,” he said with a laugh. “Now let’s go. I promise you’ll like it.”
“How can you make a promise like that?”
“Because I can.” He grabbed my arm and yanked me out the door.
“Why do you want to do this with me anyway?” I demanded.
“You’re cool to hang out with. And we’re friends, right?”
“Well, of course but…”
“No buts. Let’s go.”
I growled. “Fine. If I die I’ll be pissed.”
“If you die, there’s a good chance I’ll die too. So you can kick my ass when we’re in heaven.”
“How is that possible?” I asked. “I know I’ll be in heaven. But you…not so sure.”
He gave me a glare but there was a slight smile on his lips so I knew he was amused, not irritated. “You’re brat, you know that?”
“No, I’m sweet and delicious. Remember?”
A serious look came onto his face. “Oh, I remember.”
After we put on our jumpsuits we approached the ledge and looked down to the bottom of the building.
“Why don’t we have parachutes…?” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice. I double-checked my helmet three times to make sure it was on correctly.
Cato wore a red jumpsuit with a blue line down the side. Even in that, he somehow looked hot. Only a truly handsome man could pull that off. A helmet covered his hair and flattened it but he rocked it. “Because it’s a vertical wind tunnel. It blows air at the exact speed of a falling object. So the closer you get to the bottom, the more it slows you down.”
“Oh…” So only wind was stopping me from splattering all over the ground?
He caught my unease. “You’ll be fine.”
“What if there’s a power outage?”
He shrugged. “It’s a pretty cool way to go…”
“And I wouldn’t mind if I was old. But I’m not.”
“Milkshake, it’s all good.” He patted my shoulder. “Think about it this way. If you die, I die too. So, we’ll be together.”
“How comforting,” I said sarcastically.
“You want me to hold your hand?” he asked seriously.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then shut the hell up and let’s do this.”
“You shut the hell up.”
He grabbed the front of my jumpsuit then yanked me to his chest. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips, crushing me hard against him. Then he abruptly released me.
I was dizzy because I was so caught off guard.
“Just in case I die.” He winked at me then pulled me over the ledge.
“Oh my god…” We fell down fast, reaching the ground floor of the tall building. But we slowed down the closer we came to it. When we stopped and hung in mid-air, the adrenaline evaporated from my body and I could breathe again.
Cato flipped in the air. “Man, that was sick.”
I gripped my chest while I hovered like an astronaut. “You didn’t even tell me we were going to jump.”
He was upside down when he looked at me. “Exactly. It made it more fun.”
I tried to smack him but he floated away.
He laughed. “Good luck with that.”
I rolled my eyes then enjoyed the freestyle air system. It was really cool after the immediate danger passed. When Cato kissed me, I felt a spark, but it didn’t last enough for me to really enjoy it. But I had a feeling he could do wonders with his tongue. “I can’t believe you kissed me.”
“Hey, I might have died. I wanted the last thing I did on this earth to be kissing a beautiful woman. You can’t hold that against me. And don’t you dare act like you didn’t like it.”
“Last time I checked, kissing was a breach of contract.”
He smirked, making a dimple form in each cheek. “Don’t ask, don’t tell, right?”
“No, we aren’t two gay officers in the Army.”
“Same rules apply.”
Our turn was up and we were pulled from the air system. We changed out of our jumpsuits then left the building.
Cato walked beside me with his hands in his pockets. “It was fun, right?”
“Actually, it was.”
“See, told you.” He nudged me in the side then kept walking.
“It was nice to do something different.”
He reached into his pocket and handed me a picture.
I examined it and realized it was a candid picture of us as we fell. I grinned then looked at him. “How did you get this?”
“I paid for it ahead of time then grabbed it on the way out.” He pointed at me in the picture. I was smiling with my arms on either side of me. “That girl looks like she’s having a good time.”
I grinned while I looked at the picture. “It does…” I hadn’t had a good time in a while. It was hard for me to experience the world in a joyful way. Some scars run so deep that you can never escape them.
“You better put that in a frame on your nightstand.”
“On my nightstand?” I asked. “That’s a little weird…”
“Well, it better not go in the bathroom. That’s a little weird.”
“You don’t wan to keep it?” I asked, handing it back to him.
He pushed it back toward me. “No, you keep it.”
“Okay.” I stuck it in my purse.
“Now what?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Where are we going to eat?”
“You’re hungry after almost plummeting to your death?” I asked incredulously.
“You aren’t? Almost dying always makes me hungry.” He stopped when we reached a pizza parlor. “Pizza sounds good. Let’s get some grub.”
“Sure,” I said with a shrug. “I’ll eat—”
“Anything. Yes, I know.” He held the door open and allowed me to walk inside first.
I gave him a smile, liking the fact he finished my sentence. “Thanks for getting me out of the house. Sometimes I forget to live my life.” I didn’t mean to become so serious. It just came out.
He picked up on the emotion. “My pleasure, Milkshake.”
Cato appeared at my door wearing dark slacks and a gray collared shirt. His shoulders looked broad and powerful, and his narrow hips looked appetizing in his slacks. If I saw him on the street, he would definitely get my attention
. “Checking me out?” A playful grin was on his face.
“No,” I lied. “Just making sure you look okay.”
“Okay?” he asked in mock offense. “Milkshake, we both know I look damn fine.”
“Man, you’re full of yourself.”
“And you wish you were full of me.”
I turned to him and gave him a playful smack on the arm. “Watch that dirty mouth of yours.”
“Did it feel dirty when you kissed it?” he asked as he leaned in.
For just a moment, I wanted to close the gap and press my mouth against his. “I don’t know what I felt. I was too afraid of dying to notice anything.”
“Yeah…sure.”
“I don’t remember you being this cocky.”
“And I don’t remember you playing hard to get.”
“What?” I asked. “I’ve never played hard to get before.”
“I guess we remember history very differently.”
I didn’t know what that meant but I didn’t ask. “Let’s go before we’re late.”
“Whoa, hold on.” He grabbed my shoulders then positioned me in front of him.
“What?” I asked, feeling anxious to get on the road.
“Now I need to check you out.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You aren’t even going to be discreet about it?”
“Why would I be?” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked me up and down. “You look great.”
“Thank you.”
“Now turn around so I can see your ass.”
I smacked him on the arm. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Let me prove just how accurate that statement really is,” he said with a dark voice.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll double your rate if you stop talking.”
He grinned then walked out the door. “Good thing I don’t care about the money.”