It felt right and Julie figured that if they were wrong, Julius would hound them until they looked deeper.
Chapter 16
If Gustavia had been here, she would have told him to trust the universe. He didn’t know if he believed in fate but the fact that he had walked into another of Kat’s unfortunate dates was a coincidence even he could not ignore.
He could tell she didn’t want to be there by her body language. Elbow on the table, shoulders slumped, her cheek resting on her hand, and her eyes were glazed over with boredom while the man across from her droned on.
It was his civic duty to rescue her yet again. Protect and serve. So what if neither of those quite described the current situation.
Zack knew the moment she noticed him standing there. It was evident in the delicate tension that ran through her body. He hoped for more but her only response was a wry twist of the lips and the slightest hint of an eyeball roll.
Unable to resist, Zack made his way to the table. Completely ignoring the man sitting on the other side, he leaned down, grasped Kat’s arm gently and hissed just loud enough for her date to hear, “There’s not much time, follow me.” He glanced behind him as though looking for someone who might be tailing him.
Kat wasted no time jumping into character. She darted a glance left then right and pasted a frightened look on her face as she let him gently drag her to her feet.
With only an apologetic shrug to her erstwhile date, Kat grabbed her coat and purse from the back of the chair and left the restaurant.
“Come with me if you want to live,” Zack pulled her along gently but forcefully.
“Really?” Now she was getting worried, had something happened?
“No,” once outside and around the corner he stopped to grin down at her, “I just always wanted to say that.” Before he could help himself, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers.
Kat trembled before the onslaught of desire overtook her and she kissed him back. What had started out soft and sweet very quickly turned passionate as she wound her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his. He was like molten lava running through her veins, igniting fires in places she never knew existed. Fires that threatened to burn out of control.
A split second of surprise at her response flitted through his mind before he abandoned rational thought and gathered her closer, then closer still and poured the whole of himself into the kiss.
Sparks of electricity raced across her skin, arrowed into her gut until there was no escaping the fact, she wanted—well, she didn’t know what exactly but she knew it was something that only he could give her. “Please,” she whispered.
Thinking she was asking him to stop, he began to pull back slowly from the kiss
He only realized he was wrong, that she was asking for more when she pulled his head back down. Then all rational thought fled as he plundered her lips, tasted the unbearable sweetness that was hers alone, slid his hands down her back to pull her ever closer.
Breath mingling with breath, the sweet tension mounted until Kat pulled back, opened her eyes, and rested her forehead against his to let her racing heart slow back to normal. When she felt in control again, she trapped his face between her hands and let her eyes rove over his features, drinking them in.
“There you are,” she breathed. “Just look at you.” If she never saw another thing, to take that face with her into the darkness would have been enough.
Finally satisfied that she had committed every line and plane, every texture of his skin to memory, with a last caress, Kat let her hands slide away and down to take his hand in hers. She led him the short distance back to her house.
Willingly, Zack followed. There was no other choice; he was too drunk with her presence to do otherwise. She unlocked the door and pulled him inside.
As soon as the door closed, his control slipped. Brushing her coat away with an impatient motion, Zack bent his head and fitted his lips to hers. Kiss after drugging kiss, she returned them all.
Hearts pounding, breath coming faster, he whispered, “your bedroom, where is it?”
“Upstairs,” she murmured against his lips, “But you should know…I’ve never…”
Her words hit him like a blast of cold water.
“What?”
Confused by the sudden change, Kat repeated, “I’ve never…you know.”
“Never?” He released her abruptly and dragged a hand through his hair. He was mortified at the way he had been kissing her, at his lack of control. This was not the way her first time should play out. If he had known, he would have acted differently, held the reins tighter.
She took his self-censure for a lack of interest and instead of being hurt by it she got mad. “Sorrrrry,” she drawled, “I had no idea my lack of experience would be such a turn off.”
He just stared at her, dumbfounded then shook his head. What was happening here? Parts of his body were still on high alert and those parts also had not completely relinquished control of his brain. Turn off? Not hardly.
“I never said that. I didn’t mean—you misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood what? That you draw the line at deflowering virgins? Get out.” She swung past him to wrench open the door and when he didn’t move fast enough, repeated, “Get out. Now.”
_,.-'~'-.,_
The next thing he knew, the door practically slammed on his heels. Zack stood on her front step for a moment to gather his thoughts. In just a few minutes, he’d gone from being on top of the world to so low he would have to look up to see an ant’s belly button.
The whole situation was ridiculous. The smart thing to do would be to walk away.
Instead, he knocked on the door.
She must have been standing right on the other side because she pulled it open immediately. Just look at her, he thought as she stood, blocking the door with scorn in her eyes, she’s beautiful.
“What?” Kat prompted when he stood staring.
Rational thought gone, he opened his mouth, and instead of an eloquent apology, blurted out, “I just wanted to tell you it doesn’t matter. I don’t mind if you’re inexperienced.”
Her eyes widened then narrowed into twin lasers that pinned him in place. “Well, that’s mighty big of you, Zack. I appreciate that you are willing to lower your standards.”
The door slammed again and this time he had the sense to walk away before he made things any worse. If he wasn’t careful, he might call her fat or something.
Chapter 17
If there was anything to make a woman feel like a teenager again, it was the driver’s exam. Kat’s knees felt like jelly, which was probably what had attracted the butterflies currently practicing flight patterns just below her sternum.
“Tell me why I want to do this again.” She ordered Gustavia who had volunteered to drive her to the county courthouse where the test was being held.
“It’s a rite of passage and you have to do it. You know you want to. It’s an hour, max. You’ll do fine. If you get nervous, you can imagine the instructor in his underwear.
“What? Why would I do that?” And now she wouldn’t be able to do anything else. “Is that really a thing?”
“It’s the accepted method for calming stage fright. Evens the playing field.”
“This. Is. Not. Helping.”
“But the butterflies are gone, right?” Gustavia smirked.
“Yes. Satisfied?” Kat grinned and relaxed. She had this.
That optimism stayed with her right up until the instructor opened the door and settled into the passenger seat. Then the butterflies returned and judging by the buzzing in her ears, they had been joined by bees. Thousands of bees.
“So this is what you do in your spare time? Administer driving exams?” Kat asked dryly as Zack buckled his seatbelt.
“Joe has the flu, I offered to stand in.” Trying to keep the conversation to the business at hand, he directed her to pull away from the curb. Mid-day during the time of year when tourists found warmer
places to be meant the only other car on the street was a minivan. Kat pulled out behind it and followed along until Zack asked her to make a right turn while he scribbled something on the clipboard he carried.
The desire to say something personal came off him in waves that washed over her but whatever was on his mind, it was nothing she wanted to hear.
After all the buildup, the driving test was fairly simple, a pass through town, then loop back and run through a series of cones in the municipal parking lot. In spite of everything, Kat performed flawlessly. Even the dreaded parallel parking was a cinch thanks to Gustavia’s generosity in taking her our every day for a week’s worth of lessons.
Throughout the ordeal, she maintained a cool civility forcing Zack to respond in kind. He handed her a temporary license, paused on the verge of speaking again, and then exited the car when she snatched it from him with a perfunctory and dismissive, “Thank you.”
Climbing back into the car, Gustavia thought the temperature had dropped several degrees. Something had happened between Zack and Kat and she was determined to figure out what.
“This calls for a celebration night. Wait, you passed, right? Hard to tell with that mopey expression on your face.”
_,.-'~'-.,_
Given the choice between retail therapy and live karaoke, Kat chose to play and sing. Shopping still wasn’t high on her list of fun things to do. The sheer number of colors and styles provided too much visual stimulation. After a short time, she felt overwhelmed and panicky. Some things would take time to get used to.
Feeling like a child raiding her mother’s makeup drawer, Kat surveyed the one thing she had enjoyed shopping for, a huge supply of cosmetics. A browse through a whole series of YouTube videos made everything look easy so she had let herself indulge. Pots and tubes, sticks and compacts full of color ranged across the table.
So many choices.
Most items looked familiar but the packaging had changed a lot. The last time she had applied anything to her face other than moisturizer, she had been fourteen years old and needed little more than lip gloss, a faint touch of blusher, and a bit of mascara to look fresh and young. This was a whole new experience.
Basics. The video said to begin with some type of foundation so she chose one in powder form. The label said it contained minerals and would give her a flawless face. We’ll see about that, she thought, as she used a fluffy brush to smooth it on then followed with a light dusting of blusher.
Kat angled her face to look at first one side then the other.
Not bad.
Eyes next. A simple, smoky eye. According to the video, that would be easy and foolproof.
First step, dark eyeliner. Following the demonstration, she picked up a tube in a shade of deep gray, almost black liquid form and twisted it open. The supplied brush looked very similar to the one in the video so she tentatively touched it to her outer lash line.
It tickled and she blinked without thinking and turned what was supposed to be a well-defined line was a huge smudge. Clearly, this was harder than it looked. She snatched up a cleansing wipe and cleaned away the mess then reapplied her base.
This time she was prepared for the tickle but not for how easy it was to slip and poke the tiny brush into her eye. Black tears dripped down one cheek as she squinted until the pain subsided.
With a growl of frustration, Kat felt like flinging the tube of eyeliner across the room but settled for giving it a shake instead. Who needed black rings around their eyes anyway?
More wiping, more foundation, and this time, she selected a pencil type of eyeliner. That liquid stuff was way too hard to control.
The pencil went on much easier even if the line was a little more blurred. Close enough. She did the other eye and surveyed the results.
Better.
A sweep of slate gray shadow followed by a hint of sparkling silver on the inside corner and she had to admit her eyes looked dramatic. The darkness on her lids brought out their color and made them seem more deeply blue if that was possible.
Twisting open the cap, she pulled the mascara brush from the tube and breathed in the sharp smell. At least that hadn’t changed in all these years, though the brush looked completely different from the fuzzy tip she remembered.
Surprised how quickly her hands fell back into the appropriate motions, Kat applied a light coat to her lashes and tried not to blink until it dried. She smiled at the heavy, sticky feeling then smoothed on a pretty, pink lip gloss before opening her closet to pick out some clothes.
After so many years of seeing shades of black and gray, Kat’s eye was drawn unerringly to the brightest colors in her wardrobe and settled on a simple but fitted sweater in a bright, electric blue over jeans. Perfect.
She was just about to yank it over her head when it occurred to her that she might smudge the makeup she had just painstakingly applied. Making a mental note to remember the proper order of things next time, Kat eased into the sweater with minimal damage.
This fussing with appearances took up a lot more time than she had expected. Used to throwing on whatever she grabbed out of the closet, checking the buttons and beads to make sure the colors went together but never seeing how she looked had been liberating in some ways. It wasn’t as though she had gone out looking like a slob or anything but, it was a huge difference compared to this new habit of staring in the mirror.
Surveying herself for one final time, she decided that a new cut and maybe some styling lessons were in order but all in all, even with all the extra time, she had enjoyed the experience. Something about it left her feeling more womanly, more sophisticated. A spritz of perfume and Kat was out the door and flying down the stairs feeling lighter than she had in years.
_,.-'~'-.,_
Ten minutes late, Amethyst pulled up in front of Kat’s house and prepared to go inside. Kat bounced out of the house, down the steps to yank open the passenger side door, and slide into the battered, red Honda.
Seeing the exuberance of movement, such a change from the slow and careful steps in the past, brought a lump to Amethyst’s throat. She swallowed hard around it while a fierce grin lit her face. Tonight, they would celebrate for more than one reason.
“Do I look okay?” Kat asked, “It’s the first time I’ve put on makeup in years.”
“You did fine. Better than fine, really. I usually poke myself in the eye with my mascara brush.”
“Liquid eyeliner.” Kat’s laugh rang out and Amethyst cast a sidelong glance at her aura; it was lighter than before, with flickers of yellow. “That stuff is just plain evil and it tickles.”
“Are you getting overwhelmed with all these new experiences? You know you don’t have to try and make up for lost time all at once.”
“I know, but it feels like I’ve been in a time warp and I might never catch up.” Kat’s hands twisted nervously but Amethyst could tell she wasn’t even aware it was happening. Taking one hand off the wheel, she reached over to still their hectic motion and to soothe. “Then you turn to your friends and your family. You talk it out, let us know how you are feeling and you trust yourself to be strong. You’ve got this.”
Turning her hand to clasp Amethyst’s, Kat said, “You make me cry, I’ll end up looking like a raccoon.” The pep talk was one she hadn’t even realized she needed.
In the back seat—her presence shielded from the two women—Estelle felt tears run down her own face. Brushing them away, she slowly let down the barrier and released a small boost of energy causing the door buzzer to sound. She needn’t have bothered, both women felt her there as soon as the shield began to fall.
Amethyst eyed the ghost in the rear view mirror, “Hello, Estelle. What brings you out on this fine night? Have you been eavesdropping long?” While Kat swiveled as far as the seat belt let her.
“Popped in to provide a little moral support but I can see you don’t need me.” She sniffed a little then turned to Kat, “I’m so proud of you.”
“For doing what? It’s mos
tly because of you that my life has changed for the better. All I did was let you talk to Julie.”
Kat remembered that first day when Estelle had just barged in and taken over. She’d been so scared and then amazed because she had seen the world, even if through the eyes of a ghost, for the first time in years. “Technically, I didn’t even do that much since you never asked permission.”
“I’ve apologized for that.” Estelle had the decency to look chagrined.
“Well, stop it. If you had, I would have run like a scared rabbit and nothing would have changed. You’ve inspired me to be more impetuous—which is why, tomorrow, I’m going car shopping. How’s that for moving forward?”
Amethyst got misty-eyed for a second time. Estelle and Julius had had a profound impact on her own life. Thanks to their meddling, she and Reid had gotten a second chance at making their marriage work. Catching Estelle’s eye in the mirror, she mouthed thank you and watched as the spirit brushed away a tear and faded from sight.
“Are you meeting Zack here tonight?”
“No, why? No. There’s nothing going on between us.”
Now that was a bet Amethyst could finally win. “He’ll be here.”
“I doubt it.”
“Ten bucks says he will. Ten more says you’ll dance with him.”
“I can promise that’s not going to happen so even if he shows, I’ll break even. You’re on.”
_,.-'~'-.,_
“This looks nothing like I imagined it,” Kat shouted to be heard over the sheer volume created by two very drunk men singing a nearly unrecognizable rendition of “We Will Rock You.”
Hanging lights dimly illuminated booths and tables in great contrast with the harsh spots that fell on the small stage and glinted off the shining chrome rings of the drum kit.
Somehow, the room seemed both smaller and larger than she had expected as full as it was with laughing people. The sharp tang of beer and bodies overheated from a turn on the dance floor assailed her nostrils the same way it always did but being able to see the press of humanity made the experience richer.
Wherever She Goes (Psychic Seasons Page 12