Sports Romance: Feeling The Heat

by Michelle Roberts

  키아라는 모든 것이 그녀를 위해 예상치 못한 밝혀졌다,말을이었다.

  "어떻게 당신의 턱에 무슨 일?"

  그는 "마크는 나에게 내가 여기에 도착하는 순간 펀치."생각을 마사지

  "그는하지 않았다."

  "나는 그것을받을 자격이,걱정하지 마십시오."

  "아직도…"

  그 후,키스로 그녀의 걱정은 침묵을 지켰 말했다 "나는 내일 결혼하고 싶어."

  Bonus Book #1

  Heartbeat

  She was in love. Kathryn “Katie” Hunter knew she was in love with her stepbrother the moment they had been introduced. That had been two years ago and the silly notion of actually liking her stepbrother turned out to be something quite serious; and it was something she kept secret, even from her own twin sister, Katrina.

  It didn’t help that their father was a prominent benefactor at their exclusive prep school and she and Katrina, and their stepbrother Brent had to act their best behavior all the time. It exhausted her sometimes, to pretend that she was an upstanding person when she was just mediocre. Katrina was the smarter twin, and even if they were identical, people still said it was Katrina who was the more attractive one. That didn’t help at all, people whispered behind her back and only a few friends stuck up to her; the rest just pretended to, because they were a powerful and successful family.

  The day’s New York Morning was cold and she was awake before Katrina was, in their upscale townhouse with a good view of Central Park.

  She rolled in bed, determined to get up after hitting the snooze button on her bedside alarm twice. It sounded off for the third time and she huffed, finally flinging off the maroon hued comforter that had been so devoted to her last night. She wished she could be as devoted to stay in bed. She couldn’t be late for school, not when she had something to do at the start of the first bell.

  She cautiously stepped on the dark, wooden floors, missing out on the carpet much to her vexation. The floor was a bit chilly to touch. Perhaps Katrina turned down the heater again. She stood up and stretched, feeling her muscles still quite sore from the training she had at school yesterday. She looked at her sister after a good stretch and smiled. Katrina was and she was a damn heavy sleeper. She heard her sister give off a faint snore, probably tired from staying up late because of a date. Katrina had the dates and she didn’t.

  The soreness she had felt was a good kind of pain, she knew it. It meant she worked hard and loved what she was doing, one of the few things she excelled in. She had been a member of the school’s Lacrosse team for two years. She had lost a significant amount of weight since, disliking how she was the ‘fatter’ twin. She loved playing lacrosse. It gave her focus in high school amidst a sea of gossip and cliques and teenage uncertainties.

  Katie Hunter attended Briar School, an ivy-league preparatory institute that had less than a thousand students, these were enrollees that mostly belonged to old money and or had aristocratic stature. It was a hundred and ten year old institution that had all the trappings of luxury and codes with preppy uniforms and chauffeurs to match. Her grandfather used to say how lucky he was to have attended Briar School, and how lucky she and Kat were to have been admitted too. Her grandfather didn’t mention he had heavily contributed to the school when he made his first million at the age of twenty-eight, but Katie already had an idea by the time she turned seven years old.

  To keep up with her sister, she studied longer and harder than her, and she had good grades and a good performances for extracurricular activities, something Kat didn’t bother with. Kat liked makeup and guys and she won various beauty and prom awards. Katie wasn’t prom queen and she knew she would never become one and she was fine with that. Her mother had once told her she was plump and ugly and that she was going to end up just like her someday, a former great beauty, divorced from one of New York’s richest men and living off on alimony. Kat told her not to mind their mother. There was a reason their father divorced her because she had been a huge bitch, Kat would remind her.

  Her mother had been a great, beauty once, according to her estranged mother’s sister and the twins’ only aunt. Their mother had a coming out to society party where she had met Wesley Hunter III. It was a fairy-tale courtship that took New York society by storm. And that had been almost twenty years ago.

  Now they barely saw their mother, and when they did, Melissa Henderson (formerly Hunter), was barely sober and if she was, she didn’t do much to help with her teenage daughters. Katie thought Kat was doing fine, better than she was. She had insecurities, Kat, it seemed, didn’t.

  Katie passed by a full length mirror and ignored it, her thoughts aimed for a hot shower before the day actually started. Her bathroom had sandstone colored Italian tiles (non-skid) and bronze fixtures, a bathtub that could fit two people and a separate shower area. It was adjacent to a large walk-in closet which she felt she didn’t really need. It did suit to their mother’s vanity early on and she didn’t have much say in the redesign of their suite in the decades old townhouse down 20 East 78th Street.

  She took time to lather the liquid soap up, keeping her hair in a bun to avoid the tips from excess drying. A harsh winter was coming, so she assumed because last winter was ruthless- and she wanted to avoid chopping her hair off once more because of it. Besides, having long hair made her face look thinner. Kat always insisted they have long hair, as it looked better in the pictures.

  They both were of average height with brunette hair that fell down to their shoulder blades. She didn’t bother styling it much but Kat always had hers with loose curls. They also had beautiful dark green eyes (some teased them in grade school, saying that it belonged to a cat) and short but thick eyelashes that gave them an air of mystery, well, it was more of her air of mystery. Kat was like an open book as she was the more outgoing one.

  As trying as it was, Katie grew up to be a sociable yet introverted person. She was pleasant to nearly all but she could lash out easily if cornered, her mother was not spared, even Kat but it had only happened twice in their whole lives together.

  She got out of the shower and headed for their vanity, a hand carved solid oak desk with intricate carvings of roses at the corners. A large mirror hung in front and she looked at herself without really looking. She had learned to keep a blind eye to this, looking at the mirror intently would only hurt her self-esteem.

  The endless tirade of name calling and teasing didn’t go away until junior year when she got into the lacrosse team. That was when she knew she could be something other than be the quieter, less prettier twin.

  It had been accidental, her applying for the lacrosse team. While the school didn’t have a large number of enrollees, it did have large grounds despite the limited island size of New York City, allowing lacrosse, tennis, swimming and soccer to flourish in the school. She wasn’t team captain now that she was in senior year, but she was an excellent team player and second in command. With lacrosse, her confidence had vastly improved and her teammates respected her skills. There was no name calling here or discrimination. Katie felt she had found her high school calling with the sport. Briar School’s lacrosse team excelled, winning interschool championships and qualifying for international ones; she hoped to have a championship before she graduated.

  “Katie?” a muffled voice called out.

  “Yeah?” Kat was awake but still in bed.

  “Are you leaving early today?”

  Katie didn’t want to shout back and forth so she stopped drying her hair and went to their bedroom. She saw her twin hugging her pillow. This was the only time Kat looked like a child. It was a transformation when she walked out of the bedroom.

  “Yes.”

  “Practice again? Why can’t you guys do it after school? We haven’t gone to school together in weeks.”

  “You know I have other things to do, Kat.”

  “Like what? I have the school paper and the Math team.”

&nb
sp; “You don’t sweat,” Katie laughed.

  There was also another reason why she didn’t want to go with Kat. It meant that Joshua Caldwell was going to be with them. Kat got along easily with their stepbrother even if he was a jerk. She stayed silent, ever since the three of them went to school together and he would tease her for it. She was easily affected with teasing, and even more so when it came from Josh.

  “I’ll run ahead first,” Katie told her twin.

  Kat nodded and slipped back under the covers, knowing she still had an hour before her actual wake up time.

  Katie walked for their breakfast room, expecting to be alone at six in the morning. She wasn’t. From across, she saw a sandy haired teenager with a small scar on his eyebrow, still wearing sweatpants; fresh from sleep. He always had this sly smile she disliked and liked at the same time.

  “Hey, Katie,” Josh greeted her.

  “Hi,” she said quietly and she sat down a chair, thankful that eggs benedict was being served. It was good protein to start off.

  They ate in silence, with the constant tinkering of cutlery against ceramic plates and the clanging of the teaspoons in their mugs. Josh drank coffee, one cup a day. Just like her stepdad. They both liked investing and stocks, too. It was probably why they got along quite well. And their current stepmother no longer got along with their father. There were whispers that they were getting a divorce after a mere two years of marriage. Katie didn’t want that. She liked her stepmother, Deborah. Deborah was quirky, yet classy, and loved to read; just like Katie and Kat. She however, also loved plastic surgery and was addicted to shopping, which was probably why their father became distant, as she was becoming reminiscent of his previous wife.

  “Where’s Thomas?” Josh asked casually.

  She shrugged. Josh still didn’t call their father as dad or anything close to it, it was just Thomas, like they were the same age or were co-workers. “Why can’t you call him dad?” she suddenly said.

  Josh looked surprised. The normally quiet Katie Hunter had asked a question. “Well,” he began, biting off a piece of bread, “he isn’t my dad. My dad’s a dick. Your dad’s cool. I wish he was my dad though.”

  “Legally, you could be. Deb’s like my mom.”

  “But you still don’t call her mom. Besides, I’m no Hunter. I just carry my mom’s maiden name.”

  She was quiet for a moment and finished the last of her orange juice. “You live with us.”

  “I act like Westley Hunter,” he said with an impish grin, “except for earning millions in a week. Still working on that.”

  She wondered why she liked him. He was annoying. He was talkative. “Excuse me,” she said, standing up.

  “What? You’ll leave me alone again? Like Kat? You’re thin already, don’t work on it too much,” he teased.

  Her eyes narrowed and she wanted to say something sarcastic but she stopped herself. It wasn’t a good way to start the morning. She saw that Kat was still asleep, snoring faintly once more as she brushed her teeth. At six-thirty, the chauffeur was driving her down to her school, less than five blocks away. When she arrived at the field, she saw the lacrosse team was almost complete.

  “Hurry up,” the team captain, Anessa called out.

  She felt her game was a bit aggressive today; realizing she was affected by what Josh said. Thirty minutes later, she was sweating like an NFL player and her mind was swearing that she wasn’t going to let what Josh said ruin her day. Peer pressure? Crushing on someone pressure? She was becoming too juvenile. Kat didn’t even think about what boys said. They thought about what she said. Why couldn’t she be like Kat?

  Josh’s face lingered in her mind as she ran across the field. She wished he wasn’t in her thoughts.

  Classes had gone along pretty well, with midterms coming up. The seniors had more time to study or cut classes if they wanted to. Kat was using that time to work on their yearbook so Katie was alone for that afternoon. The library was large, a copy of one of those castles in England with its arched windows and warm lamps. The school housed thousands of books, some vintage and hardbound, which needed special care. She had done her notes for the day and was looking for a good read. The library was almost devoid of people, which she liked.

  “How is it that you can manage to be alone so often without your twin?” a voice interrupted her as she picked a hardbound copy of Greek Mythology.

  She looked sideways to see Josh. She liked looking at him while he wore his uniform. It made him look dashing, with a bit of that devil-may-care attitude she had come to know well.

  Joshua was smiling, looking at her before he interrupted her. He liked looking at her, concentrated on her books. He saw her fingers skim through the titles and knew she was a bigger nerd than Kat. Kat was highly likeable, Katie needed to work on her people skills, but he saw something in her that was a rare quality. This twin in front of him was far more resilient and a hard worker. She didn’t bother dressing up too much and barely wore makeup, which he also liked.

  “She’s busy. So I’m relaxing with my free hour,” she replied, walking past him and taking a seat beside a window.

  Sunlight filtered through it, casting a glow on her that made her look ethereal. His head cocked sideways without him meaning to, just to appreciate what he was seeing. “I don’t get why they say Kat is prettier. I think you’re prettier,” he suddenly said.

  Katie blinked, stopping midair and about to turn a page. Did she just hear right? Was he complimenting her now? Or he was about to tease her again? He was always a huge dick and he liked it when her face reddened, which happened quite easily. “If you’re here to annoy me-“

  “It isn’t the place?” he cut her off.

  She said nothing at first. He walked up to her table and sat across her. “I’m trying to read here,” she muttered.

  “I can see that. I just want to sit.”

  “There are other chairs.”

  “I don’t want other chairs.”

  She sighed and put her book down, ready to leave the table. His hand shot out for her wrist, which surprised her even if it was a gentle grasp.

  “What?” she snapped at him. She didn’t mean to sound harsh, but he was getting on her nerves.

  He let go of her wrist and stood up to face her, towering over her by at least seven inches. Her heart was hammering in her chest. What the hell was going on?

  Without warning, Josh leaned in, cupped her chin with one hand and kissed her.

  ~

  She could feel his lips on hers and she couldn’t resist. She didn’t pull away. From a millisecond of shock and surprise, she felt herself kissing him back. Was it obvious that she liked him, now that she was kissing him?

  It was soft, long, kiss and she pulled away after realizing he was holding onto her back already. She kissed him! No, he kissed her! How could he-? Why did he even do that? Her heart pounded erratically, wondering if he could hear her heart- the blood rushing was so loud in her ears, she was afraid she’d bleed through every hole in her body.

  She stared at him, her eyes turning steely. Her breathing was heavy, like something had been barricading her lungs. “Why did you do that?” her mouth trembled.

  “Because I wanted to know what it would be like to kiss you,” he replied calmly.

  “You don’t do that to-“

  “What? My sister? You’re not really my sister, now are you?” his eyes narrowed and he grinned.

  “We live in the same house,” she reasoned, “You’re family-“

  “I don’t see you as family,” he told her. “It’s just this incredible convenience of getting to see you nearly every day.”

  “You’re sick,” she breathed out.

  He shrugged. “You kissed me back. You could have slapped me.”

  “I think I will.”

  “Isn’t that reaction a little too late? What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”

  “I’m telling your-“

  “Our parents?” he pretended to loo
k scandalized, “like you’d let them know you enjoyed it.”

  “I didn’t enjoy it.”

  “Your mouth proved otherwise.”

  Katie’s face reddened as soon as she heard it.

  “See? It’s so easy to tell if you’re lying or not.”

  “I didn’t like what you did.”

  “Why? Because it wasn’t a romantic setting? Or there were no butterflies and shit flying around us? Oh wait, you wanted more of it.”

  He was an asshole. But it was true. She almost didn’t want it to stop. Almost. She was just afraid she’d be too obvious or that someone might see her.

  “Someone could have seen us,” she whispered.

  “I checked before I did something this drastic,” Josh told her, “I’m not that stupid to have gossip milling about when this is a sensitive issue.”

  “Now you know what it’s like, you can leave me alone,” Katie told him, grabbing her book and returning it to the shelf.

  She left him standing alone by the window and she didn’t turn back to look at him, for fear she might become vulnerable.

  “Are you okay?” Kat asked her as they walked down the steps of the school, heading for their waiting Mercedes on the curb. A wind picked up and they hugged their coats around them tighter.

  “Huh? Uh, yeah.”

  “You seem a bit off. Lacrosse not up to your par today?” Kat pressed on.

  “I’m just stressed about the exams. I wonder if I’ll get into Harvard,” Katie admitted. It had been boggling her, and she didn’t want to be separated from Kat.

  “Oh we’ll get in,” her twin assured her. “I can’t imagine not being in the same state with you, let alone the same school. Besides, Dad doesn’t want us too far away.”

  Katie saw Josh coming up to them. “I think I’ll just walk for a while,” she suddenly said.