by Lori Folkman
“Right,” Ben had said. “And not kiss in public,” he added.
“Like on the side of a busy parkway?” she had teased. Somehow that included an invitation for him to kiss her again, because he did.
He had moaned again, and said, “Car kisses are the best. I’m really, really going to miss that.”
Yeah. Ben had a serious case of Autotism. So of course that was his favorite place to kiss. But … he drove so many different cars. And he often wore disguises. So really, no one would ever know that it was Ben she was kissing, would they? It should be perfectly safe to car kiss, shouldn’t it? Besides, if they couldn’t car kiss … where would they kiss? This was disappointing news indeed.
“We just need to be cautious, Kat,” he said, answering her unspoken questions. “We’ll have to make sure that we’re not being watched. And if we know that it’s safe … well then,” he gave her another small peck, “we’ll be free to kiss as much as we want,” he said with a mischievous smile.
She was finally able to smile a little, although it was partially fake. She wasn’t entirely reassured. It sounded like their kissing days were over. Which would mean they really would be just friends. Ick.
It was at this point in the conversation that Ben had looked out the back window and saw that a State Trooper had just pulled in behind them. Ben swore. “Open the glove box,” he ordered. He had her pull out a blonde wig. He’d just gotten it adjusted on his head when the trooper got out of his car and began his approach.
Ben rolled down the window and the trooper asked if they were having an emergency. Because the shoulder was to be used for emergencies only. The trooper gestured to the sign not more than ten feet in front of them.
“Uh,” Ben began.
But apparently Kat’s brain worked quicker than Ben’s (which was a first) and she interjected, “Yes. I was choking. On a throat lozenge.”
She saw Ben’s eyebrow rise slightly. She couldn’t gauge the trooper’s response. But she thought she better make it realistic. So she gave a little cough and then cleared her throat. But it backfired. She actually choked as she tried to swallow. Her throat must have still been tight from Ben’s near break up. Her saliva got stuck somewhere. So she gave a few good—real—coughs to try to clear it.
Ben looked concerned. Or astonished. She couldn’t really tell which. She coughed some more. Not that she wanted to—she just couldn’t stop. “But, I think,” cough, cough, “it’s gone down,” she gestured to the area around her sternum. “It’s not,” cough, cough, cough, “up here anymore,” then she gestured to her throat, where the lozenge had supposedly been stuck.
The trooper took off his dark glasses. “Are you alright? I can dispatch an ambulance.”
“No!” she said a little too forcefully. He squinted at her. “That would be,” cough, “totally embarrassing. To have to go in an ambulance,” uh-oh, all the talking wasn’t helping. Major cough attack. Cough … cough … and finally one of those big, nasty-sounding hacks. “I’m okay,” she said, her voice cracking. “I think it just went the rest of the way down.”
“Do you have something for her to drink?” the trooper had asked Ben.
Ben had glanced around the car and responded, “No, I don’t think so.”
The trooper ran … seriously … he ran back to his car. Like this was a true emergency. Ben looked bewildered. “Are you … okay?”
“I just choked … on … my … spit,” she had replied. She was so embarrassed that she had just said the word “spit” to Ben that all she could do was laugh. And laughing made her choke some more.
“Here he comes,” Ben had muttered as he reached behind Kat to give her a few spurious pounds on her back.
The trooper handed her a bottle of water, which she promptly guzzled. She cleared her throat a few times. “Thank you.” Her voice sounded better. “I think it’s dissolving.”
“Your coloring is better. But I still think you should go get checked out.” The trooper had then instructed Ben to take her to the nearest ER.
“This is so embarrassing,” Kat said, and then coughed again. Really, she was dying of humiliation. It was horrifying to have this happen in front of Ben.
“Don’t let embarrassment stop you from getting proper medical care,” the trooper said. “You really need a doctor to look at you. If you don’t go to the ER, you should go to the closest Urgent Care. Would you like me to help you find one?”
“I can use my GPS,” Ben had said. He started typing it in on the touch screen.
“Alright. Good luck.” The trooper stepped away from the car, but then turned back, almost as an afterthought and tapped on the roof of the Shelby. “But I’m not giving you permission to speed.”
They were driving on the parkway again. And they were both having fits of laughter. The more they would laugh, the more Kat would choke. And that would make them laugh more.
“That was quite the performance,” Ben had said. “I didn’t know you could lie like that,” he was still laughing.
Kat wanted to stop laughing. But she let out a fake laugh so he wouldn’t read what she was thinking. What was she thinking? Crap. That whole Jackson lie thing. Ben was going to think that she was a chronic liar. She had to lie a few more times to keep her cover about her and Jackson. Especially that night of the party. Ben had wanted to know how Taylor was Kat’s full sister. So she’d said that their parents had gotten back together. And Ben had said, “Who’s parents? Yours, or Jackson’s?”
And regrettably, she’d replied that they both had. Which caused him look at her skeptically, like he didn’t believe her. She had to think quickly. So she’d said that their parents had swapped spouses. It was just a temporary thing. Only lasted about a year. And then they all realized their mistake and swapped back. Yeah, it was lame. But it explained everything. And he’d bought it. Jackson was furious when she told him about it … but what could she do? She couldn’t take her words back. And she couldn’t let Ben find out that she really was that good of a liar.
By the time they had reached the office building, she was still coughing, but only slightly. But she coughed as they passed the receptionist, who then offered Kat a throat lozenge. Which made her and Ben start laughing again. Which brought back more coughs. So she took the lozenge, at which Ben warned her not to choke on it.
She guzzled another bottle of water, also a contribution from the receptionist, and they took the elevator up to the fourth floor. Ben gave her a tight squeeze. And then, since they were in private, he kissed her once for good measure. Elevator kisses proved to be as good as car kisses. Except for the kiss had to come to an abrupt end when Kat coughed again.
“You crack me up,” Ben had said as they were leaving the elevator. And then he held her hand, even though they were no longer alone. Ben had held her hand like it was a trophy or something, not being a bit worried about the twelve other people in the conference room. Including Jackson. And Paul. She wished she had Ben’s guts.
That was a week ago. And being “just friends” had not been a downer in any way, like she had expected it would be. This past week had been … A. Maze. Ing.
Since Kat couldn’t see Ben as much as she had in the prior weeks, she was able to get back to a normal schedule. No skipping things. No little lies. She didn’t realize that little bricks of burden had been placed on her shoulders those past few weeks, but she definitely noticed it when they were gone. She felt lighter.
And in place of all the face to face with Ben (which yes, included the kissing), she and Ben now spent a great deal of time on the phone. Talking. It was incredible. They could talk about anything. She was glad to know that they had substance to their relationship. That it wasn’t just infatuation. Or passion. They really were friends. She hadn’t realized how important that was.
Also this past week was the release of the video. That launch party at the school was huge. Way huge. The kids at school would remember it their entire lives. They had come face to face with Ben Wilder. He’d
signed autographs for an hour. He’d talk to them. Told a few jokes. The girls were swooning over him. Seriously, swooning. Which is almost like fainting, but without hitting the floor. It was incredible to see the power that Ben had over a crowd.
And the video? Wow. It had gone blockbuster. It was all the media talked about. “The Thriller of this century,” it’d already been dubbed. Kat had fallen back in Ms. Stella’s good graces. In fact, Ms. Stella said that Katrina had caused a surge in attendance. Girls across the valley wanted to learn to dance like Katrina. She felt like a goddess walking through the dance studio: the younger girls would stop whatever they were doing and gawk at Kat with this look of awe. They were worshiping her. Weird! And it wasn’t just at the dance studio that Kat got this kind of treatment. People everywhere were recognizing Kat. Asking her for her autograph. It was a little bewildering. Like Ben had said, she was getting her fifteen minutes of fame. And she loved every second of it.
Well, except for the fact that her mom was none too thrilled about it. Her parents were getting scores of phone calls from the media asking for interviews with Kat. Kat’s mom had put the kibosh on that immediately. She had their number changed and then unlisted. Kat was told that she could not talk to the press, under any circumstances. This bugged Kat to no end. She wanted an interview. She wanted a magazine cover. Not like she was vain or anything … but how cool would that be to see her name in print? It would make her presence in the video more concrete … she’d have her place in history. But no. Her mom thought that it would be the end of their privacy. That once Kat talked, all the rest of the press would come knocking on the door for their turn. Kat’s mom thought that if they were quiet, that all this commotion would leave quickly. Which it needed to. How could Kat grow up to be a humble, unpretentious person if she had this spotlight following her accomplishments?
But, not to end things on a negative note, Kat had also had the most incredible week at school. She was it. The most popular girl in school. Even more popular than the seniors. Which never happened.
When people had found out weeks ago that she had worked with Ben, she saw herself rise in popularity. People who had never talked to her before said “hi” in the halls and sat by her in class. But now … after the release of the video, she wasn’t just a person who had met a celebrity, she was the celebrity. The crowds in the halls literally parted when she walked through. It was surreal. Almost like she was royalty.
Also on a positive note, Kat had a date tonight. Well, sort of. She was taking Ben bowling (cause he’d never been to a public bowling alley, just ones in the basements of various mansions). And Jackson was coming along.
Ben had thought that it might help to maintain the “friendship” illusion if another friend came along. Kat didn’t know how Ben had persuaded Jack to come, because when she’d asked him, he’d said that there was no way, no how, that he would ever tag along on a date with Ben and Kat.
But Kat was excited that Jack had agreed. She’d spent next to zero time with him since the video wrapped. He’d been too busy for her. And for a while there, she’d been too busy for him. Plus, they never got to talk at school like they used to. There was always someone else budging in. Their lunch table had been overrun with other “elite” juniors who always turned the conversation toward Ben or the video. And Jackson wasn’t any too excited to rehash details for the thousandth time. Especially when there was so little they could actually say about the video. “It was great. Neat.” And not much more. Paul had warned them how quickly people twist words … take things out of context. So they had to be safe. And say literally nothing.
……
I’m alone. I don’t know where. I can’t see anything. I’m surrounded by a bright light. I squint against it. I feel warm. Peaceful.
A man comes into view. Then my heart starts to race. I begin to feel afraid. Panicked.
He comes toward me, his hands reaching for me. I see that his hands are covered in blood. He falls, taking me down with him. I struggle to get out from under him, but I keep slipping. Falling into pools of blood. I start to scream.
“Help me,” he groans, his voice raspy.
I know it’s too late. I can’t help. He’s already dead. I feel something around my leg. I look down. His fingers are wrapped around my ankle, pulling me down, making me his companion in death. “No!” I yell, over and over again.
I feel my body flinch. I am wet, sweaty. The heaviness is lifting off me. I wonder if I yelled out loud this time.
……
Bowling. Yippee. Jackson could hardly wait. He stunk at the sport. At all sports, actually. But tossing a couple of gutter balls wasn’t what he dreaded. It was the company he was required to keep. Not that he disliked either Kat or Ben. It was just the idea of being with them—together—that made him want to find a garbage can to retch in.
Jackson drove today, as Kat was currently grounded from her car for some reason or another. Most likely, the reason had something to do with Ben. Kat showed Jackson the designated parking garage where they were to meet Ben. Evidently, Kat frequently met him here, safe within this private, guarded tower. And then they would leave together in one of Ben’s many cars; dark windows veiling their faces. It was how they were able to keep ahead of the paparazzi. Evidently, it was working. They had yet to be photographed together as a couple. Which made Jackson wonder why exactly he was required to accompany them tonight. If no one was going to see Ben and Kat out together, why make certain this looked like just a friendly excursion? But Ben insisted that Jack was along for fun: not out of appearances. Whatever.
The first thing Ben did when Jackson parked in the garage was laugh. At Jackson’s car. “You drive a Geo? Crap, Jack. That thing’s pathetic.”
“Really? I think it’s pretty sweet. All it needs is racing stripes.” Yes, this was a direct rip on a few of Ben’s cars. He seemed to like stripes. And spoilers. And anything else aftermarket. Ben probably spent just as much money tuning his cars as Jackson had spent to buy his entire vehicle. And it had taken Jackson three years working a paper route to save up for it. Which meant he appreciated his car more than Ben appreciated any of his. In theory.
The second thing Ben did after Jackson had parked was rush to Kat’s side and plant a big wet one on her. Like Jackson wanted to see that. He didn’t hesitate to reprimand Ben. “You said I wouldn’t have to watch any kissy-face.”
“I was just saying hello,” Ben replied.
Of course. That meant that Jackson would also have to watch a goodbye. And intermittent gum freshness checks. And any other excuses Ben came up with to kiss Kat.
Ben must have seen Jackson’s disapproval, because he said, “Don’t worry, Jack. We’ll be out in public in a few minutes.”
They left the garage in a four-door Jeep. Jackson hadn’t seen this one before. It didn’t have stripes. Or a spoiler. It was rather bland for a Wilder vehicle. Which was an odd thought for a beautiful SUV in aqua marine. It matched Ben’s eyes. Wait a sec … contacts? It should have matched Ben’s eyes, except he’d opted for brown today. It took Jack a while to get used to it: Ben just didn’t look right without his blue eyes. Not as … powerful. But that must have been the point.
As they cruised through the streets of town, Jackson found himself watching Ben’s hat. He was wearing a white hat with a team logo, and the bill of the cap pointed at Kat more than the road. It was unnerving. Especially considering the speeds at which they were traveling. This was a suicide mission. Jackson should have known better than to go out with these two—even if their lips stayed separate. He decided that since he’d been asked to come along as a chaperone, he had better act the part. “Hey, turn up this song,” he called from the backseat. He urged Ben to increase the volume until Jackson could feel the thumping of the stereo through the seat. It worked: the conversation stopped between Ben and Kat. Ben’s bill stayed facing the road. They were safe—for the time being.
A few miles down the road, Kat turned down the volume and asked, �
��Can we stop at the mall real quick?”
“No!” Jackson yelled from the backseat. He knew that “mall” and “real quick” were the antithesis of one another. It wouldn’t happen.
“I just need some shoes, Jack,” she said defensively.
“Bowling shoes?” Ben asked. “You can’t get those at the mall. I ordered mine online.”
“You bought your own bowling shoes?” Jackson asked. As far as he understood, this was just a one-time thing. They weren’t joining a league or anything.
Ben snickered. “Well, yeah. I’m not going to rent them. That’s disgusting.”
Jackson saw Kat blink. Her mouth opened, then shut again. She was probably trying to figure out where she could go to buy her bowling shoes if they didn’t have them at the mall. She would rather die than have Ben think her feet were disgusting. But when she opened her mouth again, she said, “Not bowling shoes. I just need some new church shoes. I got a new skirt.”
“No, no, no. You do not need new church shoes.” Jackson should know. He’d seen her closet before. She had enough shoes—enough clothes period—to outfit the entire church choir.
“Yes, I do. I don’t have any that match this skirt.”
“Then wear something different,” Jackson said.
Kat turned her head to Ben. “Please. It will just take a sec. I know what I’m looking for.”
Ben shrugged. He looked in the rearview mirror, catching Jackson’s eye. “I’m fine with it,” Ben said to Jackson. “We’re not in a hurry or anything.”
Jackson shook his head as Ben pulled into the parking lot of the mall. “You’re going to regret this,” he muttered under his breath.
So obviously after that statement, Jackson had to make certain to keep track of the time. “It’s been ten minutes since we arrived at the mall …” and “It’s been twenty-two minutes since we arrived at the mall …” and “this is the fourth shoe store we’ve been in since arriving at the mall.” Yeah, he was annoying the heck out of Kat, but that was his job. He was going to make sure he was never invited back on another date.