by Anthology
Katie leaned her head against the glass as a sigh escaped her mouth. Anxiety was rushing through her veins and she was beginning to feel claustrophobic. So, she made an executive decision to head downstairs to check out the hotel grounds. After pocketing her key, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.
She hadn’t even made it halfway across the lobby before she saw a familiar face at the check-in desk. Chelle. Her diamond friend.
Joy filled her when she walked up and gave her friend a huge bear hug. Last night was still somewhat of a blur, but she did have clear memories of catching up with her long lost friend.
“Where’s David?” Katie asked, careful not to let the cheerful tone in her voice waver as she pulled back from her hug.
“Oh, he couldn't make it. He had to work at the last minute. But that's okay, because I was able to bum a ride with Eddie so I didn't have to drive by myself.”
“Yay! I’m so glad you’re here!” Katie clapped her hands together and smiled from ear to ear, suddenly feeling like she was back in elementary school. That had been happening a lot over the past couple of days. Katie, honestly, hadn’t realized just how much she’d changed since she’d moved away to college until she’d come back this weekend.
If someone would have asked Katie a year ago, a month ago, or even a week ago, if she was happy, she would have instantly replied, “yes.” But, she was starting to think that she wasn’t, in fact, happy. The life that she’d made for herself was beginning to feel emptier and emptier.
After Chelle finished checking in, she turned to Katie and her big brown eyes looked filled with emotion as she said hesitantly, “There's something that I need to talk to you about.”
“Okay,” Katie agreed readily.
“Umm…maybe we should go sit down,” Chelle motioned to the cozy couches that were positioned in front of a large fireplace with a roaring fire in the lobby.
Katie nodded in agreement and the two girls made their way over to them. On the short trip, something dawned on Katie. Apparently, even smack dab in her very own existential crisis, her Sherlock meter was at high alert. As they sat down, Katie asked excitedly, “Oh my gosh, Chelle! Are you pregnant?”
Chelle laughed nervously and said, “No, I wish that were all it was.”
Katie’s brows tightened in concern at Chelle’s reluctance to tell her. She hated seeing her diamond friend looking so uneasy. “It’s okay, whatever it is, just tell me. I’m a big girl. I’m sure I can handle it.”
Chelle nodded and took a deep breath before diving in, saying, “Look…you know me, I am not about gossip and drama, but I really think you need to know something before you see everyone at the wedding tomorrow.”
Katie nodded as she felt the all-too-familiar knot beginning to form in her stomach.
Chelle plowed forward. “Here's the thing. After you left The Grill last night, I overheard Tiffany and Kylie talking about how awkward it was for them to be taking shots in front of you…when it was about stuff they had done with Nick.” Chelle looked worried and then said quickly, “I’m so sorry you had to find out like this.”
Katie waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t be, I didn’t. I already figured that out and then confirmed it. Apparently Nick cheated quite a lot during our relationship, a fact of which I was blissfully and stupidly unaware.”
“Not stupidly,” Chelle corrected.
Katie appreciated her friend’s support, but it didn’t really change the facts. “Thanks for saying that. I can't help but feel like an idiot. I mean, I’m Sherlock, right? How did I miss that?”
“Because, you trust people you love. And I know that you loved Nick. You guys were together forever. You would have no reason to think that anything was up with him.” Chelle paused for a minute, “No pun intended.”
Katie looked at her friend, who sat with a totally straight face. Katie felt laughter bubble up inside of her as her head fell back and she began laughing harder than she had in a long time. Not only had Katie always thought Chelle was hilarious, she had always had a talent for knowing just what to say to lighten the mood.
As her laughing fit died down, Katie wiped under her eyes that had watered during her hyena impression.
Chelle smiled warmly at her as she asked, “But, seriously are you okay with all of this new breaking decade old news?”
Katie nodded, “Yeah, you know…it was a long time ago. Truthfully, I'm not even that upset at Nick. It’s weird because mostly…I just feel betrayed by Jason. Which is totally ridiculous. Logically, I know he didn’t do anything. But, I don’t know. It’s just…he was my friend, too! He was my friend for a lot longer than he was Nick's, as a matter of fact, and I just can't believe he didn't tell me.”
“Hmmm,” Chelle murmured noncommittally.
“What?” Katie asked.
Chelle shrugged. “It’s just interesting. Even though Nick was the one who cheated on you, the only real emotion you feel about it is directed at Jason.”
“Well, I'm probably just upset with Jason because…well, I mean, Nick is gone. So how can I be mad at him?” Katie tried to reason out her emotional wheel of misfortune that had randomly landed on Jason when she’d stepped up and taken her turn at life.
Chelle looked unconvinced. “I don't know. Last night when you locked yourself in the bathroom, you seemed pretty upset that Jason had been with all those girls. So here’s the real question you need to answer: would it bother you more if it had turned out to be Jason that had messed around with all those girls? Are you relieved that it was Nick?”
Those words hit Katie like an arrow in her chest. Chelle’s question had unwittingly gotten straight to the heart of the matter. The reason she hadn’t spoken to Jason while Nick had lied in that hospital bed. The question whose answer she still hadn’t come to terms with, or had forgiven herself for, since the night her life had turned upside down.
“Was she relieved it was Nick?”
Katie felt raw. Exposed. She opened her mouth to answer and then closed it when nothing came out. She thought for a minute and then opened her mouth again to speak. Still nothing came out, and she closed it, having said nothing.
Concern filled Chelle’s big brown eyes, “Katie....”
Before she was able to finish her thought, Katie’s phone buzzed loudly. More than a little relieved for the distraction from a topic that, it was clear now, needed to be addressed, Katie pulled out her phone and saw that it was Sophie texting to say that all the girls were at the salon and asked where she was.
“Looks like it’s massage time,” Katie explained to Chelle as she texted back that she’d be right there. “We need to get over there.”
Chelle nodded and grabbed her small overnight bag and they headed off across the hotel complex to find the day spa. Katie hoped that maybe a nice, luxurious massage would be just the thing to help her mentally refocus.
As the two girls walked into the upscale day spa, the first people they saw were Jason and Bobby's cousins, the Sloan girls. They were sitting on a long bench talking with a very radiant looking Sophie. When Sophie looked up and saw Katie and Chelle, she squealed.
“Hey, Chelle. Katie. It's gonna be just a few more minutes. Katie, why don't you have a seat so we can grill you on your fabulous life in San Francisco? We haven't really had a chance to yet.”
Haley Sloan interjected cheerfully, “Ooooo, yes. It was so loud at the bar last night we really didn't get to talk. So, Katie, what's it like being a big-time lawyer?” Katie laughed and sat down, as did Chelle.
Katie said, “Um, well, I've already bored Chelle with this, so sorry, diamond friend. You have to sit through it again. I’ll be brief, no pun intended.”
Chelle laughed and Katie smiled as she continued.
“Really, it's not as exciting as it sounds. I'm on the fast track, that's true. But honestly, when I think about making partner lately, it seems less like a dream job and more like, I don't know…prison. It seems like committing to twenty years of having no lif
e. Which is bizarre, because I thought it's what I've always wanted.”
The Quad Squad and Sophie exchanged knowing looks, and Katie said, “What? What was that look?”
Sophie smiled mischievously and said, “Well, maybe you're figuring out that there's something else you've always wanted.”
Katie's eyes widened. She didn't know what to say. They couldn’t possibly be talking about Jason? Right?
She decided to try and play it cool and shrugged, “Maybe. In just the short time I've been home, I've realized how much I've missed everyone all these years. I think I've been really lonely, you know?”
“Oh, we know,” Sophie and The Quad Squad all said in unison, and they all laughed. But Katie couldn't help but feel just a little unsettled that they were alluding to something she was not comfortable talking about. Or even, you know, acknowledging.
Just then, Aunt Wendy and Sophie's mom, Grace, popped their heads into the waiting room.
“Hey there, chickadees,” Aunt Wendy sing-songed. “I just wanted to make sure all my little chickees made it into the coop on time. Are y'all good?”
“We're good,” they all chorused.
“Are you staying for massages?” Sophie asked hopefully.
“Oh, gosh no, honey,” Aunt Wendy waved off that idea. “We've got too much to do. We're busier'n a one-armed paper hanger. We just wanted to check in on you girls.”
With that, the “Aunt Wendy Tornado” blew out again as quickly as it had blown in, Grace along with it.
Just as the two women were headed out, the guys came in.
Katie asked with surprise. “Are you guys getting massages, too?”
Jason laughed. “Kit Kat, did you read your itinerary? Did you even skim it?”
Katie swatted his arm playfully, and she definitely noticed Sophie and the Sloan girls exchanging knowing glances during this little exchange.
Before she was able to suss out exactly what all the covert glances meant, the day spa attendant came out and told the assembled crowd, “Okay, we're going to be calling you back in small groups. So first we have the couples’ massages. That's…”—she consulted her clipboard—“Sophie and Bobby and…let's see…Jason and Katie.”
Katie whipped her head around to look at Jason. “Couples massage?”
Jason put his hands up in a 'not me' gesture and chuckled, “Hey, maybe it's a ‘best man/maid of honor’ thing.”
Sophie placed her hands on Katie's shoulders from behind and pushed her towards the open door to the back. She trilled, “Clerical mix-up, booking snafu, fate… Why overthink it? Just enjoy.”
With that, she sent Katie off after Jason with one final shove.
As Katie walked towards the back, suspicious of the whole thing, she could hear the Quad Squad giggling behind her.
What was going on?
--- ~ ---
Jason didn't know how he was going to make it through this massage. Every time he turned his head, he got another little glimpse of Katie's uncovered flesh. A shoulder here, a thigh there. It was enough to drive a man crazy. His brain was so fogged with lust that he could barely string two coherent thoughts together. Luckily, he didn't have to, because Katie hadn’t stopped talking since they laid down, she was like the nervous chatter Energizer bunny, she kept going and going and going. He had barely had to grunt agreeably every thirty seconds.
Katie’s nonstop talkathon came to an abrupt halt, however, when the massage therapist had intervened, very politely suggesting that their massages might be a more relaxing experience if they were enjoyed in silence.
That was fine with Jason. He was worried that he was going to be held responsible for remembering some tidbit she came out with during that long, nervous monologue because damn, he would never remember one word that was said when he and Katie Lawson were naked, two feet away from each other.
Just the knowledge that nothing separated their bodies but two feet of air and two flimsy sheets… Aw, hell, who was he kidding? He was lying here wondering how he was going to make it through this massage when what he should be wondering is how he was going to make it through this weekend.
Chapter Nineteen
Katie headed back to her room to get ready for the rehearsal and just prayed that she wouldn't run into anyone she knew on the way. She was far too shaky and addle-brained from spending an hour next to Jason Sloan in the buff. Her mind and imagination had been on over-sex-drive.
She shook her head to clear it.
Wow. She found that to be singularly ineffective.
The entire massage, all she had been able to do was think about the fact that Jason was within arm's reach with nothing but a thin sheet covering his naughty bits. It was just too much. She was overheated.
Thankfully, she made it to her room without being stopped and leaned against the inside of the door once she had closed it. Just breathe. She just needed to stop long enough to take a deep breath. Oh, man. She didn't feel like she had really been able to do that since she had arrived.
There was no time for it now either. She had to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner afterward.
Lifting her hands, she rubbed them over her face then pushed off the door and moved to the closet. Katie slipped on a sleek red dress and strappy heels before she freshened her makeup, straightened her hair, and added a delicate gold chain and bracelet to complete the ensemble.
As she looked at her reflection, she realized that she had chosen to wear two things that were red today. Hmmm…could that be a coincidence? Or was she subconsciously deciding to “dress to impress” a certain someone who really liked how she looked in red?
A small smile played on her lips as she remembered an incident that had occurred sophomore year of high school. She had come to school in a new red sweater with a little pep in her step. Katie had always loved the “high” that came with wearing new clothes or shoes.
That high didn’t come close to competing with what she’d felt when she’d walked into English class. Katie would never forget how Jason had stared at her in a way she had never seen him stare at anyone. At first she’d felt uncomfortable and she hadn’t liked it. But then, she sorta did.
When she’d sat down in her seat, Jason had leaned forward and said, “Kit Kat, red is your color.”
Even now, she blushed thinking about how many nights she had played back that exchange in her head during high school. There was something so primal and intimate about the way he had said those six innocent words to her.
It wasn’t even that it was some epic compliment or anything. It wasn’t so much about what he had said. No, it was more about the way he had stared and how he had said it.
Okay, she needed to backburner that mental topic. There was absolutely nothing good that could come from getting herself hot and bothered right now.
Moving on to less arousing, more stressful topics. Yep. That should do the trick. She knew she was going to need to talk to Jason about everything before she left this weekend. She didn't think her mental health could stand another ten solid years of not having some sort of closure.
Mentally, she made a list of everything that was in the clearing-the-air category. First up, she needed to address what went on the night of Nick’s funeral and during the weeks she had ignored him leading up to the funeral. Also, she couldn’t forget the most recent incident in the cab of his truck in the back parking lot of Bella.
She decided that, maybe after the rehearsal dinner, she would ask him to go for a walk or something. That way they could get all of it settled before the wedding so there wouldn't be any weird tension between them.
Proud of herself for making the decision to put her big girl panties on and face Jason, she headed down to the rehearsal with renewed confidence.
Katie arrived at the rehearsal, filled with determination. She could take control of her life. It was possible. Her whole body thrummed with purpose and the vibrant electric current it brought.
She was going to get the Jason situation under co
ntrol tonight, come hell or high water.
She walked into the lobby of the small chapel where the wedding was being held to find a fun atmosphere of barely controlled chaos. The girls were standing together in little groups, chatting and laughing. The guys were joking around, Grandpa J keeping them from taking it too far. The older folks were sitting in the back pews, talking in low tones. Aunt Wendy was moving from one group to another, asking questions, imparting information, and making notes on her ever-present clipboard.
Katie felt a delicious tingle at the small of her back and the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood up.
She whirled around to see who was staring at her—and there was Jason. Smiling devilishly, like the sexy Romeo he was known to be.
His eyes were hungrily taking her in, and she felt her entire body coming to life. Any illusions she had worked up within herself about the prospect of 'taking control' over the effect Jason had over her all disappeared, like a David Blaine trick, with one look from those soulful brown eyes.
They stood there like that, looking at one another, heat burning inside Katie like sun shining through a magnifying glass, until Aunt Wendy clapped her hands loudly and said, “This is it, ladies and gents. Let's get this show on the road. We're starting from the beginning, when the fellas are up at the altar and the ladies are about to walk in. So go ahead and take your places —hens in the back, roosters in the front.”
The crowd began to move around them, but Jason and Katie stood still. Katie felt entranced, mesmerized.
Finally, Jason strode slowly past her, catching her arm as he went. He leaned his mouth close to her ear as he went past and whispered huskily, “Red is definitely your color.”