Just as she started to walk toward the subway station, she felt a hand grab her elbow and spin her around. Before she could react, she felt her body being pushed against a wall as he crushed his lips to hers. Instead of the soft lingering kisses that she was used to from Patrick, this one was hard and full of lust. As his tongue invaded her mouth, her body began to react of its own free will. She was taken off guard as his hips pinned her against the wall and his hands roamed frantically over her shoulders and arms. As he brought his hand up to cup her cheek, he groaned, and nipped her lower lip.
When Katie realized what was happening, she pushed roughly against his chest and shoved him away.
“What are you doing?!” she screeched as she worked to calm her body down. She was trembling from the assault that Zach had just unleashed on her.
“I still have feelings for you. I know you feel it too. I saw it on your face in there,” he pointed to the door to the coffee shop. “You want this as much as I do.”
Katie quickly tried to distance herself from him, “Zach we can’t do this. I have a boyfriend whom I’m in love with, and you have a girlfriend who is also my roommate and a good friend.”
As she stepped back, he moved forward once again, invading her personal space. “Katie you can’t tell me that you didn’t feel anything just now,” his eyes pleaded with her. “That kiss…that meant something. I know it meant something,” he demanded.
Her mind was reeling. Why was this happening now? “No Zach, you’re wrong. I can’t do this,” she turned and jogged down the sidewalk toward the subway, leaving him in her wake.
She needed to get away. She needed to call Patrick. She needed a reminder of why he was the one she wanted and not Zach.
***
Zach ran his palms down his face and sighed as he hung his head and walked back into the coffee shop. He needed to make sure that Eden had not seen what had just happened outside. He was going to finish the evening with her and then end things. He wanted to be with Katie. He knew that now. He just needed for her to remember how good they were together, how good they could be again.
Yes, he would make her see and remember if it took everything he had.
Chapter 12
After sending a quick text to Eden stating that she wasn’t coming back to the dorms for the weekend, Katie called Hannah.
“Hey, can I come stay with you tonight?” Katie’s voice trembled.
“Yeah, sure. Are you ok?” Hannah questioned.
“No, not really. I’ll tell you about it when I get there. I’m on my way now,” Katie sighed as she fought to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.
***
After several train changes, Katie arrived near the edge of NYU’s campus. She walked briskly across the quad until she came to Hannah’s dorm.
Hannah was waiting at the door when she arrived, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know where to start,” Katie began to cry as she threw herself into her sister’s arms.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Hannah nodded in the direction of the stairwell and wrapped her arm around Katie’s shoulders. As the two walked up the steps, Katie began to tell Hannah about everything that had happened with Eden and Zach.
“He said he still loved me, and then he kissed me. I don’t know what to do,” Katie had tears streaming down her face.
“How do you feel about him?” Hannah cocked her head to the side. “Do you still love him?”
“No…yes…I don’t know. I love Patrick,” Katie sobbed. “I’m not supposed to feel this way. I’m not supposed to want another guy.”
“When he left, you two didn‘t break up,” Hannah rubbed circles on Katie’s back as they sat together on her bed.
“I know, but we agreed to let go…to move on,” Katie wiped her eyes. “He told me not to wait for him, so I didn’t. Why’d he have to come back now? Now that I’m happy with someone else.”
“I don’t know,” Hannah sighed. “Only Zach can answer that. You need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel.”
“I have,” Katie sobbed. “He asked me out for coffee the other day. I told him about Patrick and he acted like he understood,” Katie whined.
“Well obviously he’s not going to give up without a fight,” Hannah huffed. “You need to talk to him. Tell him you’re not interested, and more importantly…if he keeps this up…you need to tell Eden. It’s not fair to her.”
“I know,” Katie sighed. She flopped back on the bed and tossed her arm over her eyes. “Thank you for letting me stay here tonight.”
“You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want, but I think you need to face this or it’s not going to get any easier for you. Grace went home for the weekend so you can sleep on her bed, she won’t care,” Hannah smiled.
“Thanks,” Katie gave a half smile. “You’ve got the perfect roommate. You guys are so much alike. I mean…other than being shy, Gracelynn is another version of you.”
“Yeah, she’s sweet. Something’s been up with her lately, though. I don’t know what it is, but she’s been really closed off,” Hannah shrugged. “Oh well, that’s a problem for another day.”
“I need to call Patrick,” Katie sighed.
“You’re not going to tell him, are you?” Hannah’s eyes went wide.
“No, but I do want to hear his voice. I miss him so much, and talking to him will help, I just know it,” Katie rolled to her side and pulled her cell out of her back pocket.
“I’m going to grab us some food. I’ll give you some privacy,” Hannah left with a wave and headed to the sub shop around the corner.
As Katie watched Hannah leave, her cell vibrated in her hand signaling an incoming text.
Unknown number: What happened to you? Are you mad at me?
BoSoxBabe: Yes, I’m mad. You knew I had a boyfriend!!!!
Unknown number: I know…I still wanna be with you. It’s different now.
BoSoxBabe: It IS different now. I’m with Patrick, not YOU!!!!
Unknown number: Please just give me a chance. We were good together. We can be good again…
BoSoxBabe: No…I love Patrick. I can’t be with you. I don’t even think I can be friends with you. Please don’t contact me again.
Unknown number: I’m dating your roommate. It’s gonna be kinda hard to stay away ;)
BoSoxBabe: If you don’t stop with the flirting…I’m gonna tell Eden exactly what you did. Leave me ALONE!!!!
Before Zach could respond, Katie turned her cell off. She looked over to see Hannah’s phone sitting on her desk. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed it and dialed Patrick.
“What’s up?” Patrick answered cheerfully.
Katie took a deep breath willing her nerves to calm.
The pause on the line caused Patrick to begin to panic, “Hannah…everything ok? You’re scaring me.”
“Everything’s fine,” Katie’s voice trembled slightly.
“Hey babe, you scared me. Why are you on Hannah’s phone?” Patrick questioned.
“My battery’s dead,” Katie lied.
“Oh, well what’s up?” he tried again.
“Nothing,” she began to sob. “I just miss you really bad and I wanted to hear your voice.”
“Are you sure you’re ok?” Patrick’s voice began to trail off like he was trying to figure out if she was truly alright.
“Yeah…Patrick I...I love you,” she sobbed.
“I love you, too, baby. Are you sure you’re alright? Do I need to come to New York this weekend?” Patrick had a slight panic in his voice now.
“I’m fine. Don’t come here. You’ve got too much going on right now. We’ll see each other soon over break,” Katie reassured him. “Hannah’s going to be back soon with some food. I’ll call tomorrow, ok?”
“Ok…well you know if you need anything you can call anytime, right?” Patrick sighed.
“Yeah, and I will,” Katie sniffed. “I love you…so much.”
“Love you, too.
Bye,” Patrick disconnected.
She tossed the phone on Hannah’s desk and flopped back on the bed. Just then Hannah walked in and tossed a sandwich at her.
“Eat up,” she teased. “You look like road kill after the night you’ve had.”
***
The rest of the weekend went by faster than Katie would have liked. She and Hannah hadn’t spent time like this together since the summer. She missed her sister and had hoped that they would be closer than they were. With both at different schools and busy with their studies, it left little time for hanging out the way they used to. Katie had met up with her in the city to do things together, but nothing like they had in high school.
***
The two weeks of school that were left before Spring Break flew by. Patrick called several times over the week to set up plans for their trip. He promised the girls that they wouldn’t need to pay for anything; he was taking care of it. Katie had asked Hannah to join them, too. I’m going to be the odd man out Hannah complained. Please Katie begged I‘ll ask Patrick to invite Matt, too. She reasoned that she needed someone to talk to, and she couldn’t tell Eden what was going on between her and the guys. Hannah had finally given in and agreed that if Matt were going, she would, too.
Katie had no idea what was going on with Eden and Zach. They were still seeing one another and Eden hadn’t mentioned the night in the coffee shop. Katie figured that he was trying to work things out with her.
Little did she know, he was hoping that by being with Eden he would have more of a chance to see Katie...
***
Friday afternoon finally arrived and Katie was frantically trying to get her bags packed.
“Hurry up,” she called to Eden. “He’s going to be here any minute to pick us up.”
“I was thinking of asking Zach to drive, too,” Eden smiled. “It would give us alone time and we wouldn’t be so crowded.”
Katie had mixed feelings on this. She wanted as much space as possible between herself and Zach, but she also wanted him to see that she was happy with Patrick. She hadn’t known that Eden was talking about Zach when she asked Katie if she could bring her boyfriend on this trip. Katie had simply answered with a yes, trying to be friendly toward her new friend. Now that Katie knew who ‘said boyfriend’ was, she was hugely second-guessing her decision.
“Whatever, but Patrick’s bringing his dad’s SUV. We’ll have plenty of room,” Katie shrugged.
“Well, ok,” Eden smirked. “I didn’t know if he minded a little touchy feely going on in the backseat.”
“Ewwww, I don’t want to know about that,” Katie shuttered.
She often wondered if they were sleeping together. She knew Eden had been with guys before, and after dating Zach in high school she knew he was experienced. Zach had never been back to their room though. She didn’t know if that was Zach or Eden’s decision.
Just then Katie’s phone chimed…IceKing: I’m here, do you need help bringing your things down?
BoSoxBabe: Sure
Eden rolled her eyes as she gathered her bag and began to trudge down the stairs as Katie continued to make a pile with her stuff.
“I’m going to head down, give you guys a little time for your reunion,” she giggled.
As she was closing the door behind her Patrick was coming up the steps two at a time. He waved and then burst through the door. Katie had her back to him as she was bent over her bed, trying to zip her bag. Patrick came racing up behind her, and she turned at the last second, only to be tackled to the bed. She laughed as her arms wound around his neck. It had been a month since they’d seen each other, and it was killing her. He plied kisses to her face and neck, interspersed with, “I,” kiss, “missed,” kiss, “you,” kiss, “so,” kiss, “much!”
She giggled as she ran her hands through his hair and placed a deep kiss to his lips. He groaned as his hands slid up her sides.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this week with you,” he mumbled as he continued to let his hands roam.
He brought his lips back to hers and deepened the kiss. His tongue snaked out of his mouth and begged for entrance. She gasped as she felt his left hand caress her breast through her shirt. When her lips parted, he plunged his tongue into her mouth. The kiss was hungry and deep. Katie pulled her knee up and wrapped her leg around his hip pulling him into her closer. She could feel his arousal pulsing against her. The kiss spiraled deeper as her hands roamed over his chest. She didn’t want to get out of control, but it felt so good to be close to him again. She knew he was fighting with himself when she heard him moan as he slid his body against hers. He pulled back gasping for breath, and rolled to the side, throwing his arm over his eyes.
“Patrick? Are you ok?” she panted.
“Yeah, just give me a minute,” he gasped.
She laughed and rolled to her side pulling his arm away from his face. He looked over at her with a confused look in his eyes.
She giggled, “I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder.”
“Not funny,” he chuckled as he adjusted his shorts.
He rolled to his side and placed a quick kiss to her neck.
“I guess we better get your bags down to the car before somebody comes looking for us,” he smiled as he moved to a sitting position. “Besides, I left Matt waiting. No telling what your friends have been filling his head with. He knows some pretty personal things about me. Might make for an interesting weekend.”
Katie blushed, “Nothing bad I hope.”
“No, he did promise to be on his best behavior since Hannah’s coming. I think he might have a thing for her,” Patrick smirked.
He stood up and pulled her with him. She smiled as she grabbed her purse and camera off her desk. Patrick grabbed her bag, and they headed down to the waiting car.
***
When they emerged from the dorm, Eden and Zach were leaning against the car immersed in conversation with Matt.
“Nice wheels,” Zach praised.
“Thanks,” Patrick shrugged. “It’s my dad’s. My car’s not big enough for this many people.”
Patrick walked around to the back of the silver Audi Q5 and lifted the back door. He tossed Katie’s bag in as if it weighed nothing, then came back around to open her door. Eden and Zach climbed in the backseat with Matt.
“So, it took you long enough to get down here,” Eden giggled. “Did you need to check and make sure you had everything you needed?”
Katie blushed and turned in her seat to shoot Eden a glare.
“I haven’t seen him in a month,” she whisper shouted.
“Relax,” Eden rolled her eyes.
Katie turned back around just as Zach started snickering and Eden gave him an elbow to the ribs.
“We just have to pick up Hannah, and we’re out of here,” Patrick called as he jumped into the driver’s seat.
***
The five rode in comfortable silence as Patrick navigated the streets of New York to head toward NYU. He wasn’t sure of Katie’s insistence on Hannah coming, but it didn’t really matter one way or the other to him. Matt seemed happy enough with the prospect of seeing her, and he always had a good time when they hung out together. He did notice, however; the looks that Eden’s boyfriend kept sending Katie’s way. He had that look in his eyes like a panther stalking its prey.
Patrick reached across the middle of the car and placed his hand on Katie’s knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. She jumped at first, but then leaned into him putting her hand on top of his. She missed the closeness that they had shared over the summer and was looking forward to five days with him. She, too, had noticed Zach’s stare, but had decided to ignore it. If he truly wanted her to be happy, he would keep his distance and respect her wishes. When they pulled up to Hannah’s dorm, Katie jumped out, and ran up to get her. Zach, Eden, Matt, and Patrick remained behind.
***
Patrick looked up into the rearview mirror, making eye contact with Zach. “You w
anna tell me what’s going on that I don’t know about?”
The Boy Next Door Page 11