Not that the Yard was an ideal setting for that.
“All right, guys,” Max said. “Remember to drop robes in unison at the end of the countdown. Everyone has to do at least one lap. Then we can head back to the Wolf Club for the party.”
The other housemates cheered and whooped, but David merely nodded in acknowledgement. They might have been able to make him participate in the run, but they could never make him enjoy it. Still, he couldn’t deny that there was something . . . well, primal about the whole event that was giving him the smallest of shivers.
“Oh, hey,” Zeke said suddenly, with a wave and a smile directed not at David, but at the crowd. “There they are.”
David looked over to see Katy and Cassie standing together beneath an oak tree on the edge of the crowd, just about twenty yards away. He wouldn’t have noticed them at all, since they were masked, but Katy had removed her mask and was bent at the waist, clutching her chest and breathing hard. David squinted in confusion. Was she all right?
The girls didn’t seem to notice Zeke or David, but David continued to watch them with concern. Katy looked like she wasn’t feeling well, or maybe she was trying to calm herself down. Cassie was standing beside her, patting her back.
“I think something’s wrong,” David said. He started forward as the man with the loudspeaker started his countdown.
“TEN.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, man. Where do you think you’re going?” Max asked, placing a hand on David’s bicep.
“NINE.”
“My friend is in trouble,” David said, jerking his arm away.
“EIGHT.”
“What’s wrong?” Zeke asked, noticing Katy’s distress.
“SEVEN.”
“Dude, check on her afterward. This is a tradition. You’re not breaking it,” Max said strongly.
“SIX.”
“Bugger off, man,” David replied, starting toward Katy again.
“FIVE.”
Max’s hand shot forward and grabbed at David again. This time, he pushed it away.
“FOUR.”
“What’s going on over here?” Seb asked, elbowing his way toward them.
“THREE.”
“He’s trying to sneak out of it!” Max cried.
“TWO.”
David looked at Seb and then back to Max. He didn’t try to say anything, just gazed into his face intensely for a moment, then offered a curt nod and turned back to face Katy. They were good guys at heart—David hoped they would understand. But traditions be damned. If Katy was really in distress, nothing would be worth keeping him from her side.
“ONE.”
“Katy!” David called out, rushing toward her, leaving the Wolf Club behind.
A bullhorn sounded, and suddenly the Yard was full of naked people. The crowd ran forward en masse, leaving Katy and Cassie standing still at the tree, while David ran in the wrong direction toward them, weaving his way through the stragglers.
“What’s wrong?” David asked as he reached them, struggling to be heard through the sound of cheers and hoots.
Cassie looked up and saw him for the first time. But she quickly looked back down at Katy and continued rubbing her back. “I think she’s having a panic attack. I tried to get her to walk back to the house, but she won’t go.”
David knelt down to look in Katy’s face. She was bent over with her eyes closed, her long hair falling into her face, and she was hyperventilating, her breaths coming out shrill, almost whimpers.
“Katy?” he asked gently.
Katy opened her eyes and looked over at him, her breath still whooshing in and out far too fast.
“David,” she said tightly between rapid breaths. She was shivering against the cold, her body seeming out of her control.
“Katy, maybe we should get you to the infirmary,” David said. He took Katy’s shoulders and gently pulled her upright, wrapping his arm around her to keep her steady.
“Please,” she choked out between gasps. “Just take me home.”
David paused. He didn’t know anything about panic attacks. Did she need a doctor? Or just alone time? Whatever the case was, he wanted to get her away from the crowd. He was inclined to listen to Katy, even if she looked like she needed medical attention now; he made a mental promise to himself that if she still seemed just as bad by the time she was home, well, then he’d just pick her up and take her to the campus health center instead.
“Okay,” he replied, pointing the both of them toward her house.
“Thanks, David,” Cassie said. “I’ll help.”
But when Cassie tried to put her arm around Katy’s waist, Katy suddenly took a deep, shuddering breath in and straightened her shoulders, attempting to fend off David’s arm, too.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice shaky. “Don’t let me ruin your tradition. You guys stay. I can get back home.”
“No, I want to help,” David replied. There was no way he’d send Katy home alone when she was obviously in distress.
“Yeah, there’s always next year,” Cassie added. But her voice was heavy with an obvious longing.
“Cassie, please,” Katy said, her voice small and weak. “Don’t let me ruin this for you. Go. David can take me home.”
Cassie furrowed her brow and looked at David.
“Don’t worry,” David assured her. “I’ll make sure she gets back all right.”
“But what about the rest of the Wolf Club?” Cassie asked.
“They’ll be distracted with their big afterparty,” David said. And truthfully, if they couldn’t understand why this was more important than streaking, then David didn’t care what they had to say.
Cassie kicked a nearby rock with her foot. “Yeah, we were planning on going to that . . . ”
“Cassie, you go,” Katy said. She still had her hand to her chest, as if she was willing herself to be calm. “Please. I’ll feel so guilty if you don’t. I already feel guilty enough.”
Cassie looked from Katy to David and then back to Katy. “Are you sure? I mean, I would definitely come back with you if that’s what you want.”
Katy shook her head. “Go have fun. I’m just going to go home and go to sleep. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it.”
David felt her sway on her feet and tightened his arm around her shoulders.
“Well, if you’re sure,” Cassie said. She began to walk backward in the direction of the crowd, many of whom were coming back toward them, about to start a second lap. “I’ll go with Michelle. But text me if you need anything and I’ll come right back!”
Katy nodded and David waved. Cassie took off to join the crowd, untying her robe as she went. David respectfully turned before she dropped it.
“Come on, Katy,” David said when the next wave of runners had passed. “Let’s get you home.”
“Thank you,” Katy said. Her breathing had calmed since he had first come up to her, but it was still too labored for his tastes. He figured she needed the safety and comfort of her own home before things would get back to normal.
David held Katy around the waist as they walked, helping keep her steady, careful not to grab any parts that weren’t as protected by clothing as they normally were. But Katy seemed not to mind at all. She leaned her head against David, clearly focused just on breathing and walking, for the long minutes back to her house. The experience had obviously taken quite a toll on her.
When they got to her house, he walked her in and up the stairs. But when they reached the top, he realized that he didn’t know where her room was.
“Second on the left,” Katy murmured.
He led Katy to the room and opened the door for her. The spacious room had two queen-sized beds; Cassie probably bunked there with Katy.
“Thank you,” Katy said, gingerly pulling out of David’s grasp. She took a few awkward steps forward and then collapsed onto her bed. David watched her from the doorway, unsure of what to do next. But then an idea sprang unbidden into his head.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
He jogged back downstairs to the kitchen and rifled through a few cabinets until he found what he was looking for: an electric kettle, which he set to boil while he picked through the kitchen for other necessities. Within a few minutes, he had a cup of tea steeping in a Harvard mug.
He walked back up the stairs, balancing the tea in one hand and a teddy-bear shaped bottle of honey in the other. When he entered her room, Katy was still splayed out on the bed, but she turned her head toward him.
“I hope your flat mates will understand if the tea and honey don’t belong to you,” David joked, setting the tea on the nightstand next to Katy’s bed.
Katy smiled weakly in response and rolled over onto her back, clutching her robe at her neck to make sure it was still closed. Then, carefully, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and sat up.
“Thank you,” she said, grabbing the mug and pulling it under her nose. She took a deep, calming breath, steam curling up into her face. “For everything.”
A little smile lingered on her lips as Katy took a sip of the hot brew and then exhaled. But when she turned to look at David again, she looked unhappy.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what happened back there. It just . . . all of a sudden felt like I couldn’t breathe. I even started getting tunnel vision. It was terrifying.”
David sat beside Katy on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t be sorry. I’m happy to help.”
Am I too close to her? Neither one of us is wearing underwear and I just sat on her bed in my robe. Is this weird? David had started to pull away, worried, when Katy leaned against him, pressing her face exhaustedly against his chest. He exhaled. Perhaps he had made a good decision after all.
“I’m just so embarrassed,” she went on, her voice muffled slightly by his robe. “I shouldn’t have even gone. But no one thought I could do it, and I just wanted so badly to prove that I could. Guess everyone else was right.”
She took another small sip of her tea, still resting against David. Her closeness somehow made him simultaneously confident and anxious.
“Katy, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone,” David said. “Running naked in a crowd doesn’t make you brave. Being brave is standing up for yourself and what you want, even when everyone else wants you to do something else.”
Katy pulled away and looked at David. He met her gaze, noticing in his indirect vision that her robe had just begun to part at the top, leaving a tantalizing trail open down her chest. David took a deep breath and kept his gaze focused on her eyes. It wasn’t as hard as he might have expected. The look on her face held him enraptured.
She was dangerously close, closer perhaps than she had ever been to him. He could smell the sweet tea leaves on her breath and see every long, individual eyelash in the full fan that framed each of her brilliant green eyes.
I should kiss her. She obviously likes me. And we’re finally together and close and alone. Kiss her!
But, just a few minutes ago Katy had needed someone to help her home. She’d needed assistance and trusted him to come up into her room while she was barely dressed and vulnerable. Would she feel taken advantage of?
David swallowed hard and, reluctantly, took his arm off Katy’s shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and feel her lips against his. But it just wasn’t the right time for that, and he didn’t want Katy to go from one high-pressure situation right into another.
Katy looked down as he pulled away. Was that a flash of disappointment crossing her face?
“I guess I should get dressed,” she said slowly.
David sighed. Great. I missed my chance. Now she’s kicking me out because she feels rejected. Way to go! But he still felt like he had done the right thing, even if it wasn’t exactly what he had wanted.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he said, standing. He tightened the belt on his robe and prepared to go to the door. But, to his surprise, Katy grabbed him by the hand before he could take a step.
“Actually,” she started, “while I have you here, maybe you could help me with something?”
David stilled, pleasantly shocked by Katy’s warm, slender hand wrapping around his own. “Anything,” he finally managed.
Katy released his hand and pointed at her scalp. “Want to help me dye my hair? It’s best to do it in a robe or towels anyway so you don’t stain your clothes. And you said yourself that I need to take care of it before my disguise is ruined.”
She was looking up at him expectantly. Her robe was still open just slightly, and David was still willing himself not to steal a peek. Was he really going to sign himself up for another hour or two of sexual tension?
David grinned. “Bring on the dye.”
33
Katy
Katy tightened the belt of her robe with plastic-gloved hands as she stood over the kitchen sink. The cotton feel of the robe against her bare skin reminded her just how little fabric was currently separating her from David. It excited her in a way that she couldn’t remember ever feeling before. If she so chose, she could drop her robe in less than a second and stand in front of David completely exposed. The thought itself sent fizzing spirals of giddiness through her limbs, totally different from the panic she’d been feeling only a little while earlier.
But, of course, that would be crazy. Even if a part of her really wanted to.
“So what are you doing now?” David asked, standing a few feet behind her and watching her work.
“You have to squeeze the dye cream into this bottle,” Katy replied, finishing up the task. “There’s peroxide in here that opens up the hair cuticle to accept color. Then you shake it to combine.”
Katy placed her finger over the open tip of the bottle and shook its contents well. The dark dye filled the bottle, poised to disguise Katy’s blonde roots again.
When Katy felt she’d shaken it enough, she inspected the mixed color through the bottle and nodded in approval. “And voilà.”
“How can I help?” David asked.
Katy turned to face him. His broad chest was partially exposed with the parting of his robe, and Katy tried hard to keep her eyes off his smooth, tan skin. With his bow tie and top hat off, sitting comfortably on her nightstand, he suddenly looked a lot less silly. Which made things feel more . . . intimate. What am I doing? She just hadn’t wanted David to leave yet, so she’d blurted out the first idea that came to mind. But now that they were doing this together—and were barely dressed—things were feeling a lot more real.
She tried to act casual, hoping he wouldn’t notice her nervousness. “I can get the front of my head pretty well,” she replied, holding the squeeze bottle in her hand. “But the back takes a lot of time and effort. If I show you how to do it, do you think you could dye the parts of my roots that I can’t see?”
“Sure I won’t mess anything up?” David asked. “I’ve never done this before.”
“It’s fairly simple. And if you do mess it up, I’ll just shave my head,” Katy said. Maybe if she was chipper enough, David would think that this was actually effortless and breezy for her, and in a way, the flirting actually was.
David’s eyes bulged.
“I’m kidding. You can’t mess this up. If there are blonde spots leftover I’ll have Cassie help me later. And I can wash the dye out of my robe or off my skin if it drips. It won’t stain for too long.”
David exhaled with a smile. “All right. But for the record, I’m sure you could rock a bald head.”
He took a step toward Katy, moving in so close that Katy could feel his robe brushing against her own. So close, yet so far.
“Show me how it’s done,” David said. His rich, silken voice carried an innuendo that almost made Katy blush.
Katy nodded and turned back to the mirror, unable to think of a witty response with the current of desire rippling through her chest and up her throat. Once her brain stopped short-circuiting, she gav
e the bottle one last shake and raised it above her head to squeeze drops along her part, smoothing the dye down with her other hand.
She worked deftly, quickly covering the front of her head. Katy took pride in her work, since she had figured out how to do it all by herself. Back in Lorria, she would never have been allowed to do something as “tacky” as dyeing her hair; her mother would’ve had a heart attack. When she was sixteen, she had used a temporary pink dye on her ends one summer to emulate a popular musical artist. And even though Katy had protested that it would wash out with a single shampoo, her mother had immediately called a stylist to come to their palace and “correct” the issue, lest anyone see the shameful thing that Katy had done.
But Katy was at Harvard now, and she could do as she pleased.
Well, mostly.
“All right,” Katy said as she finished the first half of the bottle. “Think you can take over from here?”
“I should be able to do it. It’s just like painting a house,” David replied.
Katy whipped around to jokingly glare in his direction. “A house?”
David chuckled. “I mean, your head isn’t that big. But the technique is similar. Except I don’t get to use a roller.”
“Not sure I see the similarities, but whatever helps you work.” She handed the bottle back to David over her shoulder. He took it and looked down at it. Despite his jokes, he still appeared a bit . . . intimidated.
“Do you want me to sit down?” Katy asked.
David shook his head. “You’re fine the way you are. I’ve got a great view from up here.”
Katy suppressed a laugh. In hindsight, it was a silly question. David towered over her; obviously he didn’t need her to sit.
He took another step toward Katy, and this time, she felt his body press against her, his warmth radiating toward her even through both their robes. She inhaled swiftly, trying her best to keep quiet so David wouldn’t hear her surprise.
But either he did notice, or he felt a similar worry. “I’m sorry,” he said, taking a step back. “Am I too close? I can do it from back here.”
“No, you’re fine,” Katy replied. She was enjoying the closeness more than she’d like to admit. The perfect excuse! “I’d rather you were close enough to see what you’re doing.”
A Love that Endures Page 29