Finally, I spotted a familiar wave of blonde hair with pink streaks, and I stepped back. “Sorry, I just spotted my friend.”
“Really?” The woman frowned. “Will you come back?”
“It was fun, but I don’t think so,” I said, apologetically as I hurried away before she decided to launch herself at me once more. I breathed a sigh of relief when I stepped into Charity’s line of vision. I tried to get her attention, but she was too busy talking animatedly with another woman.
Once I was close enough for her to recognize me, Charity gave a start and waved me over. “Hey, Dean.”
“Hey, Char,” I greeted, casually as I tried not to stare at the mystery woman from the video. She was far more attractive in real life, and I suddenly felt nervous.
“Hey, Dean. What took you so long?” she teased, her eyes glinting mischievously. She had a smug look on her face that I didn’t like, and I slid my gaze over to the mystery girl who had her back turned to me still and was sipping on her drink.
I was waiting for an introduction, but for some reason, Charity wasn’t being obliging as she usually was. I frowned as I shot her a look, and she shrugged as she sipped on her drink.
“So, how was work today?” she asked as she usually did when she got home from the bar, while I was watching TV or reading a book.
“Fine,” I said, pleasantly as I decided to play along. “How about yours?”
“Oh, you know, guys try to hit on girls, so they pay for drinks. Girls dance on the dance floor which makes them thirsty, so they get more drinks. It’s a productive day.”
“That’s good to know,” I responded, confusion lacing my tone. “Meet anyone interesting today?”
I gazed at the attractive brunette pointedly, and Charity’s smile widened.
“A couple. How about you?”
“I work as a vet. I don’t really meet people. I meet animals,” I reminded her as I raised an eyebrow, wondering where she was going with this.
It wasn’t like Charity to stall. Whenever she was wing woman, she wasted no time in introducing me to whoever she struck up a conversation with. Afterwards, she left us to it, and it either panned out, or it didn’t.
Now, for some reason, she wasn’t sticking to the plan, and I wanted to ask her what the hell she was up to. I didn’t like this deviation, it wasn’t working out for me.
“Right, but you meet their owners though,” Charity pointed out as she crossed her arms over her chest.
I pursed my lips, trying not to get annoyed. “Yes, so?”
I hopped onto the chair behind the mystery woman hoping that Charity would get the hint, but instead, she seemed completely clueless. I tried flagging down a waiter before I turned my attention back to Charity.
“Nothing, just wondering if you had anything particular you wanted to share. Oh, by the way, Kaitlyn this is Dean. Dean this is Kaitlyn.”
The brunette turned around, and I felt my heart do this weird sputtering thing inside my chest when I clapped eyes on her. With her long brown hair, and chocolate colored almond shaped eyes, she looked like a more exotic Rachel Bilson.
Yes, I knew who that was.
I had girlfriends who used to love watching her.
Kaitlyn peered up at him, one half of her mouth curling upwards into a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Dean. You have the same name as Dean Winchester from the show Supernatural.”
“Yes, I do,” I smiled. “Are you a fan of the show?”
“I was.” She crinkled her nose. “Then it started getting redundant after season nine. How many times can you kill off the characters and bring them back to life?”
I scratched my chin thoughtfully. “I guess so.”
“I like you,” she proclaimed as she held out her hand. “Everyone calls me Kat.”
Kaitlyn leaned forward in her seat precariously, and she pitched forward dangerously. My hands immediately shot out and wrapped themselves around her waist to keep them in place. She giggled as she glanced down at my hands. I loosened my grip slightly, but kept my hands where they were until I was sure she wouldn’t fall over again.
“Are you okay?” I asked, leaning in towards her ear, and raising my voice a little to be heard over the music.
Kaitlyn smiled, this sexy smirk that made her all the more alluring, and she raised my hand. Next thing I knew, she was patting my cheek.
“Thank you,” she said, cheerfully. “You saved my chair from falling.”
My mouth twitched in amusement. “It was my pleasure.”
I made sure she was sitting properly before I slowly extracted my hands and shoved them in my pockets.
“So, you like Supernatural, huh?”
“I used to,” she corrected as she let out a big sigh. “Now, I just watch other things.”
“Such as?” I prompted, liking her more and more each second.
“Marvel.”
“So, have you seen the latest Ant man movie?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I haven’t, sadly. I should go, once it’s out. I did see the new DeadPool though.”
I smiled. “Did you? And what did you think?”
“In general, I liked it. I thought it was funny, and I really liked the new characters, but my favorite part was the post credits scene,” she revealed.
“You’ve seen all three?”
I was impressed. Not all people who were Marvel fans stayed behind for the credits scenes, and certainly not all of them. This woman knew her stuff.
“Yeah, and I had no idea Ryan Reynolds was so funny.” Her eye lit up in amusement. “This role really suited to him.”
I nodded. “I think so too. How about Iron man?”
“He’s actually my least favorite,” she revealed as she pushed her hair out of her face.
“So who is your favorite?
She paused as she pretended to tap her chin in thought. “Captain America.”
“Interesting choice. Why him?”
“He’s not pretentious or self-centered. He’s honest and noble,” she responded, almost instantly. She smiled wistfully to herself as if what she said was something groundbreaking.
It was cute.
“Who’s your favorite?”
I thought about it for a second before I answered. “Thor.”
She tilted her head to the side and regarded me curiously. “Why?”
“Because he’s a God,” I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. For some reason, my answer made her throw her head back and laugh. When she came back up, she gave me a look that let me know she was interested.
“So, what are you doing in a place like this anyways?” I questioned, curiously.
Suddenly, Kaitlyn straightened, and the look in her eyes was sobering as her lower lip trembled.
Shit.
What did I say?
Tears began to stream down her cheeks steadily, and she wiped her hands across her face, surprised at what was happening.
“I’m sorry.” Her bottom lip quivered, and she gave me a sad look as she shuddered. “I don’t know what’s come over me.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, uneasily.
I hardly knew her well enough for her to share personal details, but she seemed like she was dying to talk to someone.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Not really, no.”
Before I could think of anything to say, she started crying openly. “My sister is getting married, and don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for her. He’s a great guy. But, she was the only one left.”
“Only one left?” I echoed, perplexed.
“The only one left who wasn’t married, like me. All my friends are married. It was just the two of us left. Now, it’s just me. Only one. All I have is a turtle,” she lamented as she hiccoughed through the tears.
“There, there,” I struggled to think of something to say as I patted her hand awkwardly. She stared down at it, sniffing every couple of minutes.
Well, this was not going how I thoug
ht it would.
The last thing I wanted was to get embroiled in drama that wasn’t my own, and Kaitlyn seemed like she had a lot of baggage.
Not what I was looking for.
I wasn’t trying to be a douche or anything, I just hardly knew her, and here she was sharing private details about herself within minutes.
And yet, I was still standing.
Still intrigued.
By all accounts, I should’ve walked away by now.
I easily could’ve, but something kept me rooted to the spot where I was, looking at her and listening intently.
There was something about Kaitlyn Alexander that drew me in.
I couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but it was there. This invisible thread that was weaving between us, and I didn’t seem to mind.
Not one bit.
She was obviously drunk and would be horribly embarrassed in the morning when she realized what she said, and what she did, but for now, she was a not-so-happy drunk.
A hot mess.
Uneasily, I glanced around for Charity, who seemed to have conveniently disappeared. She was nowhere to be seen, and I was going to give her an earful for it later.
For now, I just couldn’t leave Kaitlyn alone. I sighed quietly and made up my mind.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
She squinted her eyes and pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You’re offering to take me home?”
“Yeah, why not?” I shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Do you want to take a cab?”
“Yes.” She nodded and smiled at me gratefully. “That would be nice. I think it’s time I called it a day.”
She threw her weight forward, pressing herself against my chest, and I laughed as I shifted, so that she was nestled comfortably in my side while I grabbed her purse.
“Are your keys in the purse?”
“Yup,” she said, happily. “They are in there.”
I chuckled, “Alright. Let’s get out of here then.”
I tucked her into my side and steered us out of the club and onto the street where she leaned against me as I tried to hail a cab. Unsuccessfully, I tried to flag down a few, but they just sailed right past me, sloshing water in the process.
I scowled as I grumbled under my breath and eventually decided to just get into my own car. It was parked a few blocks away in front of my house, and it was much easier at this point.
“Okay, my car is parked a few blocks away, so if you don’t mind walking, I can take you home,” I offered as I peered at her face, looking for signs of clarity.
She paused. “Okay.”
She rattled off her address, and I committed it to memory as I lead her to my car and carefully deposited her into the seat. My hand brushed against her thigh as I put her seatbelt in place, and I hastily removed it as I reminded myself that she was drunk and sad.
Not a good combo, so I was definitely wasn’t going to make a move on her, no matter how I felt.
I ran around to my side of the car and slammed the door. I turned to face her before I turned the key in the ignition and laughed when I noticed that she had her head leaned against the window and was fast asleep.
Thank God for navigation systems.
I plugged in the information and waited for it to boot up as I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel watching her out of the corner of my eye. There was a softness and vulnerability about her when she slept, and her face mouth was curved into a soft smile.
It made me wonder what she was dreaming about.
I revved the engine and backed up into the street. I merged onto the line and was surprised to see that she wasn’t that far from where I was. I fiddled with the station then decided against music lest it woke her up.
Once I parked outside her apartment, I dangled her keys in one hand and swooped her up into my arms. Her head lay nestled against my chest, and I tried not to jostle her too much as I climbed up the stairs.
I inserted the key into the lock and pushed the door open to her studio apartment. A small place that had a rather quirky sense of style. It was obvious she was particular about her decorations, and I smiled as I gently deposited her onto the couch.
3
Kaitlyn
Urgh, why did it feel like someone was drilling holes into my head?
It was not a landmine up there, so they needed to stop.
I groaned as I rolled over on my side and brought my hands up to my head. I pressed my fingers to my temples and grumbled as I felt the headache pulsing in my forehead.
Today was not going to be my day.
I could already tell. Not just because of the wicked hang over, but also because of the way I felt. My mouth felt dry, and my tongue was glued to the roof. My entire body ached like I’d been run over by a bulldozer, and my head felt like my brain was sloshing around up there.
Experimentally, I peeked one eye open and grimaced when the sunlight hit me directly. I must’ve forgotten to close the curtains last night. I really should consider investing in those remote curtains and make the button next to my bed.
That thought made me ridiculously happy for some odd reason, and I wondered if perhaps there was still some alcohol in my system. That would explain the random thought.
I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly as I swallowed. I arched my back and began to stretch, curious about what time it was. Finally, I flipped over to the other side, and my hand reached across the bed for the clock.
I frowned when my hand connected with something solid. It felt like smooth and naked flesh, and my eyes flew open as I stared in horror at a weird man sleeping in my bed.
A scream bubbled up in my throat as my back hit the headboards, and I bunched up the sheets around myself. The man who was sleeping peacefully with his hands underneath the pillow jolted awake and scrambled out of bed.
His foot got caught in the process, and he sprawled out across my floor with his butt hanging in the air. Cursing, he crawled forward and stood up once he had a pair of boxer shorts on.
His blond hair was sticking up on all ends, and his blue eyes looked unfocused as he took me in.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, softly, his eyes boring into mine. I blinked and glared at him.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked, doing my best not to let him hear the tremor in my voice. I reached for the closest object to use as a weapon, my lamp shade.
It wasn’t much, but it would do.
He gazed at in confusion before he took a step backwards, holding his arms up peacefully as a sign of good will.
Shit.
How on Earth did a strange man get into my apartment? And why were we both naked? Why was my memory coming up short? Was he some kind of thief? Rapist? Both?
If that were the case, why did he sleep over? Surely, he wasn’t stupid enough to do something that horrendous then stick around to get caught.
“I don’t have anything worth stealing here,” I insisted. “But please help yourself to anything you want. Just don’t hurt me.”
His eyes widened in surprise before he shook his head. “You really did have a lot to drink.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, offended by the statement. So what if I did? He didn’t get to pass judgment.
“We met at the bar last night.” he explained. “My name is Dean. Ring any bells?”
I frowned as I scrubbed my hand over my face. “No, not really.”
“My friend introduced us,” he offered, helpfully. “I was just trying to drop you off last night and make sure you got home okay, but you wouldn’t let me leave.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and covered them firmly. “Dean?”
“Yeah?”
“Did we have sex?”
He cleared his throat awkwardly, and I removed my hands to look at his face. He was shifting from one foot to the other and trying his best not to look at me.
I guess that was my answer.
That also explained the pleasant soreness between my legs.
Th
e corners of my mouth split into a grimace as I groaned and smacked my forehead.
I remembered.
I’d gone to Spit to drink away my sorrows. Not the best plan, but I wanted to have fun that night and forget that I was depressed. What better way to do that than to get wasted at a bar and maybe take a random guy home and have crazy wild sex?
My little sister was getting married.
I never thought the day would come. Sure, Tenley and Knight were crazy about each other, but that didn’t mean they had to get married.
In fact, they seemed like the sort who wouldn’t. Like they would just stay the way they were forever, and I was perfectly fine with that.
It meant I still had one more person who wasn’t married.
Besides me, that is.
The thought comforted me oddly enough, but then she called me with the news. She was laughing, and I could hear the smile in her voice as she bubbled over with enthusiasm and gushed about the ring.
I was happy for her, of course I was.
I didn’t want Tenley to be unhappy.
I just didn’t imagine her getting married while I was still living alone with Homer. I remembered picking out his name and thinking it was clever because it was a double entendre. He was named after Homer Simpson, and one of the most famous writers of all time.
How cool was that?
Now, it was just sad. Homer was great company, and I loved the little guy, but he couldn’t take the place of actual human contact. That thought just kept repeating itself in my head as Tenley went on about bridesmaid dresses and themes for the wedding.
I listened half-heartedly and tried to make an effort, but my heart wasn’t really in it. Eventually, I made up an excuse and got off the phone.
After that, my chic studio apartment was too depressing for me to stay in, so I sat on my chair and spun around aimlessly, making myself dizzy.
I sighed as I blew my hair out of my face and stared at the ceiling.
When did my life get to be so…. lonely?
I was the one with cool job. Being an event planner was something I’d wanted to do for a while, and the company I worked for gave me a lot of leeway because of how many clients I’d raked in over the years.
A Baby for the Vet (Boys of Rockford Series Book 4) Page 2