by Becca Taylor
Kat’s Meow,
I’ve been sitting here all night, just staring at your picture. My heart feels bruised. There is so much to say, I don’t know where to begin. We were together for so long and you’re not here anymore. I’m alone without you. This time away has made me realize I want more. I had a dream the other night. Do you know what it was about? I dreamed of you. Every night I dream of you. A life together with you. Last night’s dream was the best so far. I dreamed of us Christmas morning. We were sitting side by side, watching our children open presents. And it was beautiful. I never realized before that I want that. But you know what, Kat, I really want that. I want it with you. Come back to me. I need you more than you know. Give me another chance.
The letter goes on and on for three long pages about promises, him trying to change, and talk of our wedding day. Inside he put a picture of the two of us singing karaoke. Staring at the picture, I feel tears in my eyes. The tears are not because I want to get back together with him. They are from looking at the picture and remembering how hopeful I was back then. I really thought he was the one. It also reminds me of how lost, and lonely I was for those six years, constantly doubting myself.
Another thing I notice, there is nothing written in the letter that he loves me. Now that I think about it, we never said the words love to each other. His letter didn’t change anything. It just made me realize all the dreams I had that never came to be. Now, I have new dreams. Dreams that are for me and my life; becoming the woman I always wanted to be, and never thought I would.
I rip up the picture and did something I should have a long time ago. I go through every inch of my apartment, erasing all traces of Travis. Grabbing a huge empty box, I gather all the pictures, t-shirts, jewelry, and the letter. I box it all up and put it in the laundry room. Then I do what I really don’t want to. Deciding on text instead of a call, I give my answer to Travis.
Me- I’m sorry Travis, but it’s over for good.
Within seconds my phone pings.
Travis—No, Kat, it’s not over
Me—This is the last time I will reply. I’ve moved on. My answer is NO.
Travis—It won’t be the last you will hear from me. I will prove I’ve changed. You and I will be together again.
I don’t answer.
Travis—Please Kat, don’t leave me
I still don’t answer.
Travis—He isn’t right for you. I will prove that too.
Nothing.
Travis—I need you Kat. And I will win you back.
With that, I block his number. I read enough. Ready for another glass of wine, I head to the kitchen. I call Caleb, needing to hear his voice. He answers after one ring.
“Hey, baby. How was your day?” I can hear the smile in his voice. God, I miss him tonight. I really need to start looking into moving closer to downtown, find a new place to call home.
“It was good. How about yours?”
“Just got better. What are you doing?”
Looking down at my empty glass, debating on a refill, “Well, I’m trying to decide if I should go for my third glass of wine.”
“Class went that well? Did they throw spitballs at you or something? Do I need to go down there and kick someone’s ass for being rude to the teacher? I can do that.”
He makes me laugh. “My hero, but no. Class was great. I just really need to get out of this place.” This town to be more precise.
“You want me to come get you?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” It really wasn’t, but I’m thinking about changing my mind. “I need a new apartment, or a house. I’m too far away from my friends. I’m really hate it here.”
“Ok baby, we’ll start looking next weekend.”
“Thanks Caleb, you’re the best. I’m going to go veg out for a while.” I sit on the sofa, curling up under my favorite blanket with my third glass of wine.
“Alright, baby girl, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Dream of me.”
“Always do. Night, Caleb.”
After hanging up, I debated on calling Aly to tell her what happened today. I’m not ready to talk about it, yet. Instead, I send her a text.
Me- When are you officially moving?
Aly- I brought a few boxes today.
Me—Really, already? I can help you on Friday.
Aly—Yes, please.
Me—Ok I will let you know when I get out of work. I’ll bring something to celebrate too.
Aly—Even better, see ya then chica.
Me—Later, little lady.
For the rest of the night, I watch mindless television, trying to forget about all about the douche. The wine definitely helped with that.
Caleb
I’VE BEEN WAITING all week to see my girl again. Kat said she would try to come for lunch if she could get away from the office. I keep checking my phone every few minutes to make sure I didn’t miss her call. It’s been the longest week of my life not being able to see her.
A little after one, I get her text. Here. I drop what I’m doing, and tell Hunter I was taking a break. Bentley’s here in the back. I don’t wait for an answer, just run out the front door. I can see Kat getting out of her car, so I break into a jog to get to her, grab around her waist, and press my lips to hers. She tastes fucking amazing. Breaking the kiss, I nuzzle her neck to inhale her scent. “Missed you, baby.” Because I did . . . I can’t believe that I am this pussy whipped. I’m not really sure where this is going yet. What I do know is that when I see Kat my heart thumps a little louder. My body wants to be close to her and not let her go.
She looks up into my eyes, “Hello to you too.”
I grab her hand leading her inside. “You hungry?”
“Starved, but not for food.”
A groan erupts from my throat. “Baby, you have no idea. But you will need food for what I have in mind later.”
“Oh, what do you have in mind?” She says while squeezing my hand a little tighter.
Spinning her around, I press her body to the side of the building, “Well, it will involve lots of sweating. Maybe some drinking, and a whole lot of grunting.”
She moans, rubbing her hands up the side of my shirt. “Sounds good to me. And where will this sweating and grunting take place?”
Leaning in close to her, breathing in her scent, I lick my lips, “Aly and Bentley’s. We are helping her move today.”
She smacks my ass. No woman has ever smacked my ass before. “Tease. Why are you helping though?”
“Because Bentley told me that’s what you are doing tonight. So I’m offering up my services, and my truck if you need it.”
“And what do you charge for these services?” Now she is licking her lips.
“Oh, I’ll be collecting later tonight, don’t you worry.” I entwine our fingers, as we walk inside. Bentley brings us our food without me even telling him what we want.
“Hey, beautiful. What time should we come by Aly’s?”
She gives him a hug, “I’m heading over straight from here. Aly wants to get as much out before Mike gets home.” Bentley grunts at the mention of Mike’s name.
“Cal and I will come, as soon as Tristan gets here to relieve us. He should be here soon.”
“Thanks guys, I’ll let Aly know. I’m sure she will be happy to get it done as soon as possible.”
Bent stands up to go help the couple that just walked in. Looking at Kat, I ask, “Is there something we need to know about Mike? Is he going to cause trouble for your girl?”
She squints at me. “No, I don’t think so. I think she just doesn’t want a scene with him. He’s not exactly thrilled she’s moving out. It shouldn’t take too long. She said she’s not bringing much furniture, just some kitchen stuff, lots of clothes and shoes.” I am not sure about Aly’s relationship with her guy. It’s not really my business, as long as he does not cause a problem. What I do know, is that Kat loves her girl, so I will keep a watchful eye on him. I know Bentley will too.
Onc
e we finish our lunch, Kat gets ready to head out to Aly’s old place. Before she leaves, I hand her some of the listings I found. “Here’s the places I think you will like. We can look through them later. You call me if there is any problem. We should be done here in about an hour, at the most.”
She kisses my cheek, “Thanks for this. We will be fine. He’s not a dangerous guy, just an ass. See you guys soon. It’s all good, Caleb.” Blowing me a kiss, she drives away.
Katerina
ALY AND I HAVE been finishing packing up for an hour now. Aly looks at her phone, “Bentley and Caleb are on their way.”
She’s smiling at another message she gets. “What’s got you smiling over there?”
“Nothing, Bentley said there better be beer or he’s making us lift the heavy boxes.” Thankfully, I already had stopped to pick up some provisions for the evening. Beer, snacks, and a bottle of champagne for once we get to the new apartment. In my car I have a set of crystal glasses I bought as a housewarming gift.
Twenty minutes later, I hear Caleb’s truck pull in the driveway. They knock on the front door, “Aly Kat, it’s us.” Bentley uses our nickname to call for us.
“It’s open, we’re in the back. Be right there,” Aly yells from the bedroom. We each grab a box, making our way out to the living room. The guys grab the boxes from us.
“Now I can see why you wanted to move, this place doesn’t suit you, Aly. Seven hundred a month is too much for this place. It looks like my grandpa’s basement. Alright, let’s get this shit done.”
She hits him on the arm, “I know, you jerk. Thanks for pointing out the shitiness of this place. Now get loading, you only have an hour before Mike gets here. And I’d rather avoid that.” Clapping his hands, Bentley starts grabbing boxes, loading them in the truck. Between my SUV and Caleb’s truck, everything fits with no problem.
With the music blasting at an ungodly level in my car, I follow Caleb to Bentley and Aly’s house. Mike still wasn’t home when we left, and I was glad. I had a feeling Caleb and Bentley helping us out would not go over well with him.
We pull into the driveway to start unloading. After helping Aly move today, I seriously am considering hiring someone to move all my stuff for me. Caleb jumps out of his truck, “You ladies go upstairs. We’ll unload everything, and you two can unpack the boxes.” I grab everything I bought for the night, and make my way upstairs.
When we open the door, Aly gasps. On the kitchen island there is a huge vase filled with flowers. Running over to them, she inhales the scent, and reads the little card. “They’re from Bentley. No one’s ever bought me flowers, except for you.” I hand her the bag with the champagne and glasses. Now she’s jumping up and down. “More gifts for me? Thanks Kats, you didn’t have to do anything!”
“Of course I did. This is big, Aly. This is your first place on your own. Now open it, so we can dig in!” On top, I had a little cooler bag with chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered pretzels that I had made last night.
She opens the cooler and smiles. “My favorite! Thanks, Kats.” She opens the rest, pulling out the bottle of champagne. Good ole’ Asti Spumante.
“Nothing but the best for my bestie.” She laughs.
We never had expensive taste in wine or champagne. But, I did splurge on the Waterford crystal glasses in purple, her favorite color. “Oh my god, these are beautiful.” She hugs me as the boys come in with the first set of boxes.
Aly lets go of me, runs over to Bentley, and kisses him on the cheek. “Thanks for the flowers, Bents. I love them.”
He touches his cheek. “I’ll bring you flowers all the time if I can get one of those of kisses every day.”
She playfully slaps him on the arm. “I’m not that easy. You’ll have to up your game if you want another kiss.”
He winks at her, “Duly noted.”
It took a good three hours to finish up. We decided nachos for dinner. It goes good with the beer I brought, and they’re simple to make. We ate on the floor picnic style since the only furniture Aly brought was her king sized pillow top bed. We popped open the champagne, toasting to new homes and new friendships. I really think Aly will be much happier here.
Bentley went upstairs, quickly returning with his guitar. He began strumming some music. We’re all a little buzzed on champagne and beer. Caleb pulled me so I was sitting between his legs. I’m feeling completely at ease around everyone, so I sing along to what Bentley was strumming. When we hit the chorus, Bentley harmonizes with me. He has a great voice, and we sounded pretty good together.
After a few songs Caleb asks, “Where did you get your music taste from?”
Thinking about my childhood, there was always music in my house. “My parents mostly. They always were encouraging my brother and me to play an instrument or sing. He’s a lot more musically inclined than me. My father brought me up to love Alternative music. Taking me to concerts and such.” A memory of my first concert with him has me chuckling. “The first concert I remember going to was an Earth Day bash.”
Aly chimes in. “I almost forgot about that.”
“Dad braved it, and brought Aly and me. We were maybe ten or eleven. It was the best day too. Creed, that band that Bob Dillon’s son played in . . .”
Bentley interrupts me. “The Wallflowers.”
“Yes, them and a bunch of other bands. I remember asking my dad, if this was about Earth Day, why were people throwing so much garbage around?”
Aly laughs, “Kat gets the brilliant idea to walk around with a trash bag, collecting everyone’s garbage. I think we missed half the show.”
“Sorry Aly, but it was awesome when one of the bands acknowledged us. They gave each of us an autographed t-shirt. My dad was so proud! He took us to Six Flags Great Adventure and that was fun.”
“Yeah, your dad rocks. Still does.” He’s not your typical suit wearing father. My pops rocks shoulder length hair, a handlebar mustache, and pierced ears.
“Aly Kat, more than just good looks—good for the planet.” Bentley says with a smirk.
After we finish eating, Caleb stands, pulling me up off the floor with him. Aly and Bentley are talking, doing the whole get to know your neighbor thing. Leading me outside, he sits on the porch swing pulling me down so I straddle his legs. “Alone at last.”
My hands rest on his chest, as he grinds his growing erection against me. “We’re not alone, we’re just outside.”
“Come home with me then. Bentley’s staying here tonight.”
Circling my hips, I slowly start kissing his neck. Nibbling from one side to the other. Caleb throws his head back, drawing me closer, rocking himself onto my now wet pussy. He has me panting against him.
“I can’t. I promised Aly I would stay tonight. She wants me here when her furniture delivery comes.” Every word comes out in a soft whisper. “Oh god, Caleb, that feels so good.” He kisses me to catch my moans. Needing more friction, I grind on his hips faster feeling my orgasm growing. A thin pair of yoga pants is all that covers my lower body, and his zipper rubs right where I need it to. Rolling his hips a few more times, my climax hits me. His hands grip my head tighter, kissing me deeper. I can feel him pulsing in his jeans as he groans in my mouth.
“Baby girl, I’m not sure what you’re doing to me. I’ve haven’t come like that since middle school gym class.” I move so I am sitting next to him on the swing. He removes his shirt, pulls off the tank he had on underneath, and unbuttons his jeans. He begins cleaning himself as best as he can. As he stands, he puts his t-shirt back on, throwing the tank top over the balcony so it lands in the dumpster in Bentley’s driveway. I cover my mouth to hide my laugh. “You think that’s funny, huh?” And I did. He kisses me, pulling me up from the swing. “You sure you have to stay?”
I really wanted to say goodbye to Aly and go, but she is my best friend. “Yes, I have to stay. Tomorrow night, I’m all yours. I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that, Katerina. I have something speci
al planned for you tomorrow. I’m cooking tomorrow. Now, walk me down to my car. I need to go home and shower.”
Before we head downstairs, Caleb pops his head inside the door, “Later, Bent. Night, Aly. I’m out.” They say their goodbyes. Once we reach Caleb’s truck, he climbs in, opening the window. He palms my cheek, kissing me gently on my lips. “Night, baby girl.”
Aly meets me in her kitchen as I walk in the door. “I’m so tired, Aly. I think I’m hitting the hay.” I yawn as the exhaustion finally catches up to me. Yep, I am definitely hiring movers.
“Me too, Kats. Let’s hit the sack. We still have lots to do tomorrow.”
I groan, “Don’t remind me.” Since there is only one bed, we share it for the night. I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
The next morning when the smell of coffee hits my nose, I open my eyes. I make out someone carrying a takeout tray of coffee cups. “Good morning, ladies. Care if I join you? It’s always been a fantasy of mine to be with two women in bed.” Bentley climbs between us, handing out the coffee.
“My hero.” Aly says.
“My pleasure. Your delivery should be here in an hour. You left your phone upstairs. I charged it for you upstairs since it was dark down here. Mike has been blowing up your phone all morning.” Bentley says as he’s holding her phone in his hands. She looks at it in disgust, takes it and then tosses it to the foot of the bed.
Looking past Bentley, I say to Aly, “Mind if I shower now?”
She waves me off, “Go, I’ll take mine after you. You know where the towels are. Shampoo and everything else is still boxed up.” I jump out of bed, taking my coffee with me. Bentley and Aly are in bed, just talking. They look comfortable together, and I know they will make good roommates. Secretly, I am hoping it will become more. Aly deserves so much better than Mike.