Catching Whitney

by Amy Hale

  He puts his hand on my lower back and leads me to the spot where Caleb is sitting. I don’t have time to respond to his comment about breaking the rules before Rebecca has an arm around Aidan, claiming she needs to speak with him urgently. She hauls him back to the dance floor, and he looks at me apologetically. I give him a smile and turn to Caleb.

  “So how many of those pastry things have you eaten?” I ask, pointing to a whip-cream-filled eclair.

  He licks his fingers as he takes the final bite. “I think I’ve had four. Maybe five.”

  I roll my eyes. “You’re gonna get a stomach ache if you keep going. How about you find something else to do?” I hear the music pick back up and look around the gym. Rebecca has pulled Aidan to the far side of the gym, and she is speaking animatedly. Whatever she’s saying, she doesn’t appear happy. Aidan looks pretty miserable too.

  “Hey, Caleb, what do you say we dance off some of those sweets, huh? This sounds like a fun song. We can show the whole town our awesome moves.”

  He laughs and nods his head enthusiastically. “I’ll go shake my money maker!”

  I manage to choke on air. “Your what?”

  “You know, my butt!”

  I shake my head and work very hard to hold in a laugh. I know I shouldn’t be encouraging this. We walk out on the floor hand in hand. As we start to dance, I feel compelled to ask. “Who told you it was a money maker?”

  He shrugged. “I think I saw it on TV somewhere.”

  “I see.” I should ask Aidan about Caleb’s viewing habits.

  We dance until the end of the song, and I walk Caleb back to a seat not quite as close to the refreshment table. “If you’ll excuse me, Jedi Caleb, I need to go the ladies room.”

  He nods again and is wiggling in his seat to the next song blaring through the speakers above.

  I make my way to the side of the stadium seating where the bathroom and girls’ locker area is situated. The entire area is empty, so I enter the nearest stall. I’ve just locked the door when I hear two other ladies enter. One of them is sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Aw, don’t cry, Rebecca. It’ll work out.”

  Rebecca? Caleb and Aidan’s Rebecca?

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Katie! He’s fallen for that homewrecker!”

  I hear the sound of tissues being pulled from a box, then Rebecca blows her nose.

  “I try so hard to make him happy. I wasn’t even sure I could wear this dress tonight, with the baby and all, but even though it’s a bit uncomfortable, I wore it for him. He used to love it when I dressed like this. He used me and now he’s pushed me aside for that... that... mousy little teacher!”

  “Now, now Rebecca. I’m sure he’s just sowing some wild oats. There is no way he really wants her over you. You know that.”

  Loud sniffles and a hiccup follow. “I know. I just hate that he’s using her to get back at me. We’ve been fighting a lot the last year, but I thought he’d forgiven me for asking for some personal space. I just needed time. Then we... well, you know. The baby. Now he’s rubbing her in my face to show me just how much the space would hurt me.” Her sobs grow in volume again for just a moment before she calms herself.

  I sit on the closed toilet seat, stunned. Aidan and Rebecca are expecting a baby? They are an item, and I’ve been played for a fool. Again. Tears prick my eyes, and I angrily swipe at them but more follow, and I can’t keep up. I hear the ladies wash their hands and then leave. Once I know they are gone, I let out a small sob and place my face in my hands. How could I have been so naive? I knew there was no way he would have chosen me over her. I’m just a tool for revenge.

  I wait until I feel I can exit the bathroom without my emotions being too obvious, then leave realizing I never actually used the toilet. I just step foot outside the ladies’ room door when I feel large hands push me up against the wall. Aidan plants a passionate kiss on my lips, and I’m too stunned to react. He pulls back and starts murmuring about how badly he’d like to take me home. I just catch bits and pieces in my haze of hurt and fury, and then something snaps.

  “You absolute jackass!” I slap him. Hard.

  He steps back in surprise, his hand instinctively going to his now reddened cheek. His eyes narrow. “Excuse me? What the hell was that for?”

  My rage is bubbling to the surface, and I can barely speak. My entire body is shaking from the intensity of it. “How dare you! I thought you were different! I thought you were better than most of the idiotic men I’ve met over the years. But no, you’re worse than all of them put together!”

  I give his chest another hard shove as I pass by him. I hastily jog the short distance to the side doors and leave the gym. The damn Leia hair is giving me a headache, so I toss it on the ground as I exit the front doors of the school and jog down the steps. Damn the hair! Damn the costume! Damn Aidan Walsh!

  I find my car and dig my keys out of the pocket hidden in the folds of the costume. That’s when I hear Aidan behind me.

  “Whitney, please wait! Whitney!”

  I unlock the door and get in, but he reaches me before I can slam the door shut.

  He grabs the door and holds it open. “You mind telling me what the hell just happened?”

  I refuse to speak and only stare at my dashboard.

  “Whitney, please. Was it because I kissed you? After our dance, I got the impression you want me as much as I want you. Was I wrong? Did I cross that damn invisible line again?”

  I turn my face to look up at him. Tears are now flowing freely, and it takes all my willpower not to crumple in a heap right here in my car.

  “No, you weren’t wrong. I wanted you. But I refuse to be a pawn in your sick chess game. If you want to make Rebecca jealous, you’ll need to find some other patsy.”

  “What?” Confusion etches his features, and he runs a hand through his hair in frustration. That gives me the opportunity to jerk the door from his other hand and close it. I start the car as he beats on the roof of Sir B.

  “Whitney, you have to talk to me about this! You can’t run away from what we have!”

  I pull out of the parking spot and take one last look behind me in the rear view mirror. Aidan is standing there with his hands on his hips, watching me drive away.

  I get home and toss the rest of the costume in the trash. I hope I never see another Star Wars anything ever again. I slip into an over-sized t-shirt that I sleep in and pour myself a glass of red wine. Staring at the wall, I contemplate the idiotic decisions that lead me to this point. The weekend away. Pancakes and a one-night stand with Aidan. Caleb teaching me video games so I could be closer to them. Believing I was good enough to be desired over someone like Rebecca. I’m such a loser.

  My cell phone rings, and it’s Lindsey. I hit decline and turn the ringer off. I’m glad tomorrow is Sunday because I plan to do nothing but eat ice cream and drink. Okay, not really, but it sounds like a good idea. I’ll likely sleep and watch old movies until I can’t stand myself anymore.

  I finish off another full glass before I decide to call it quits. I have just washed and put away my wine glass when I hear a loud pounding on my door.

  “Whitney! Open the door. Now!”

  It’s Aidan. Hasn’t he tortured me enough? Why is he so insistent on hurting me? I walk to the door so I don’t have to yell so loud.

  “Go away, Aidan. I wouldn’t open this door if the house were on fire and you had the only extinguisher in existence!”

  He pounds with his fists again. “Dammit, Whitney! I mean it. Open the door!” He listens for a moment, but I don’t reply. “I’ll break it down. Don’t think I won’t.”

  I start to feel desperation. “Why? It’s over, Aidan. Just go home.” I feel tears once more, and my voice cracks as I repeat, “Just go home.”

  “No! We are not over. Never say that!”

  “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

  He beats on the door again, and in anger I unlock and fling it open. He’s standing the
re with mussed hair and anger etched in his features.

  “Why? Because you’re mine, Whitney. You have been since that night at the hotel.” He pushes his way inside, and I slam the door behind him.

  “You’re crazy.” I look around him. “Where’s Caleb?”

  “He’s with Lindsey. And I’m not crazy. I’m a man that knows when he’s got a good thing, and I’ll fight to keep it. To keep you. Until tonight, things were going according to plan.”

  “Plan? I know all about your plan. You can take those intentions and shove them!”

  He runs his hand through his hair again. A small laugh escapes his lips and really start to wonder if he’s losing it. “I don’t know where I went wrong. I was patient and tried to give you time. Sure, I stole a couple of kisses, but I’m only human. You’re just so damn irresistible.”

  I snort in disbelief.

  He stalks toward me, purpose shining in his eyes. “You don’t think so? Do you have any idea what it’s like for me when you walk into a room? It’s like my skin is on fire and can only be soothed by touching yours. The oxygen itself gravitates toward you, and if I’m not close to you, I can’t breathe. Other men look at you, and I want to gouge their eyes out.”

  I understand what he’s saying, because that’s how I feel about him. But that doesn’t change the fact that he has a baby on the way, and he used me to hurt the mother of his unborn child.

  “I can’t, Aidan. Please,” I’m practically begging him now.

  He takes another step closer, and I realize I’m within reach should he want to grab me. I’m not afraid of him. I know he’d never physically hurt me, but his touch would only weaken my resolve to rid him from my life forever.

  “Aidan, I never want to see you again.”

  The hurt and anger in his voice are palpable. “What? Why would you say that? What am I missing?”

  I shake my head. I can’t even repeat what I overheard. I’m afraid if I try he’ll audibly hear my heart breaking. The words are too cruel to repeat.

  He looks me over and realizes I’m wearing nothing but panties and a t-shirt. His smile grows slowly as his eyes travel up my legs, eventually landing on my face. He takes the remaining step forward and puts his hands on my waist. His voice is soft and just above a whisper.

  “You’re so incredibly beautiful. You’re funny and smart. You have an amazing way with kids. How could I help but fall in love with you?”

  I try not to react to his touch or his words, but my body is traitorous, and I feel myself start to lean into him. Did he just say he is in love with me? No, it’s all part of his game to keep me close and available when he calls. I close my eyes and look for the Whitney with a backbone. Last time I needed her, it was to tell him yes. Tonight I have to say no, and it’s the most painful word I’ve ever attempted to utter.

  I place a hand on his chest and can feel his heart beating rapidly. My own is just as erratic.

  “You need to leave, Aidan. I can’t do this anymore.”

  His grip on my waist tightens ever-so-slightly, and he frowns.

  “At least tell me why. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ve been chasing you too long to simply walk away without a reason.” He brings one hand to my face and caresses my cheek. “I’ve been replaying the entire night in my head and...” His voice trails off, and his brow becomes furrowed. “Wait, did you say something about Rebecca back at your car?”

  Just hearing him say her name creates a new wave of pain that rips through my body like a knife. I nod quietly, afraid to attempt speech. My inner thoughts are scrambled. I want to scream at him and ask him why. I want to throw something at him. I want to tell him off in every imaginable way that exists. And the worst thing - I want to kiss him and feel his arms around me even still. Despite it all, I’m still in love with him, and that’s an irony that I can’t shake. I was trying to avoid this very thing when it came to Aidan, but it seems I was lost in him long ago.

  He steps back and lets his hands fall to his sides. A shiver runs through me at the loss of his warmth. He seats himself on my sofa. “What did she say to you?”

  I press my lips together to stop their trembling. “She said nothing to me. But I overheard her in the bathroom.”

  Aidan’s frown becomes more pronounced. “Tell me. Please. I think there may have been a misunderstanding.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “Misunderstanding? That’s an understatement.” Suddenly my inner bad-ass roars to life. I move to sit next to him, trying to school my features and keep my rising anger on a leash. “Is a baby a misunderstanding? Using me to make her jealous - is that simply an accident?”

  His face falls. “Yes, it is.” It dawns on him that what he said didn’t come out correctly. “I mean no! Ah hell. How do I explain this?”

  He angles his body so he’s mostly facing me and reaches for my hand, but I pull away.

  “Whitney, Rebecca is a walking mess. She’s my late wife’s cousin. She’s practically family, so when she offered to help care for Caleb it made sense. What I didn’t know, until recently, is that she has some delusional idea that we are a couple. We were arguing about that very thing at the party tonight. She was irate that I was showing you so much attention. The fight ended with her huffing off in anger, grabbing her friend Katie, and going to the... ladies room.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Damn. Now I understand.”

  “Well I don’t, so please continue.”

  He flashes me a weak smile. “She knew you were in the bathroom, Whitney. She was trying to stir up trouble; make you hate me. Looks like she did a bang up job of it too.”

  My jaw goes slack. “But, she was sobbing, Aidan. Real tears. And her friend was confirming everything she said.”

  He shook his head. “She used to be an actress, Whitney. She can cry on command better than anyone I’ve ever seen. I still don’t know how she didn’t make it to the big time. And some of it may have been real. Before she stormed, off I had to lay it out in no uncertain terms that she and I would never be together. I told her I was in love with you.”

  My eyes snap to his and I search for any sign he might be lying. All I can see is hurt and betrayal in his beautiful brown eyes.

  “What about the baby?”

  He frowns. “The baby isn’t mine. She found out she was pregnant a couple months ago. The father is a local married man and an ex-business partner of mine, so it’s complicated. You might know of him - Jared Mathison. I’ve known him for years. He lied to Rebecca, knocked her up, and embezzled from my sports complex. There is no love lost between us.” He releases a heavy sigh. “I hope she hasn’t been telling people the baby is mine. Lord, what a mess.”

  Ah, so that explains how the Mathison family plays into all this.

  I think back to the conversation in the bathroom. “To be fair, I don’t remember her actually coming out and saying it was yours. She mentioned the baby a couple of times, but didn’t get into detail. Since the rest of the conversation was about you, I assumed – oh, Aidan. I’m so sorry.”

  He shakes his head. “She meant for you to think that. She knew you were too good a person to come between a baby and its father.” He reached for my hand and this time I let him have it. “I swear to you, Whitney Dawson, outside of Caleb, no one is more important to me than you. I mean it when I say I love you.”

  “I’m so confused, Aidan. I love you too, but I don’t know how to reconcile everything that has happened tonight. I feel like I just got off a horrifying roller coaster.”

  His expression changes from sadness to joy. “You love me?”

  “I do. I didn’t want to. I fought it for so long. I wanted to be a happy, independent woman who relies only on herself. But I guess that’s not who I really am.”

  He squeezes my hand. “Of course it’s who you are. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have love too.”

  I give him a tired smile. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  He pulls me into his arms. “Let me stay the night,
Whitney. No sex. I want to fall sleep holding you and wake up with you next to me. I came so close to losing you tonight that I’m afraid to leave. I need you close.”

  I smile and let stray tear of relief roll down my cheek. “I’d like that, Aidan. I’d like that very much.”

  I wake up to the smell of bacon cooking. I stretch and roll over to see the spot where Aidan slept is empty. He was true to his word and only asked to hold me. He’d talked with Lindsey after I left the party and she offered to watch Caleb so he could come after me. That explains how he got my address. Once I agreed to let him spend the night, he called her, and she agreed to let him sleep over at her house. She has a few video games of her own, so I felt sure he was having a great time. It’s amazing to me how protective I’ve become over him. Yes, he’s a student, and I care about all of my pupils, but with Caleb it’s so much more. It’s as if he’s my own.

  I throw back the covers and let my feet hit the cold hardwood floor. I shiver and grab my robe, then quietly sneak into the kitchen. Aidan is standing at the stove in his boxers. He’s flipping pancakes and a smile forms on my lips. I can also hear the bacon sizzling from somewhere in front of him. I lean my body against the door jamb and cross my arms. I wait until he’s flipped the last pancake before I speak.

  “You know, you really shouldn’t fry bacon in your skivvies. You could burn things.”

  He spins around and gives me an adorable smile. “Things?”

  I push myself off the wall and stroll to him, then wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him soundly. “Yes, things. Important things. Things that I eventually want you to use on me again someday.”

  He chuckles. “Don’t you mean thing? I only have one you know. Shouldn’t school teachers know the difference between singular and plural?”

  I smack him on the butt as I go to the cabinet. “I know the difference, but you have more than just... that... down there.” I motion to his general crotch area. I pull a coffee cup from the shelf and smirk. “Shouldn’t you know that if you burn your berries, it’ll be hard to use your twig?” Ah, there’s my inner spaz flying her freak flag. I was wondering where she’d went. I was actually starting to miss her.