Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series)

by Keahey, Robin

  “I know that, and I hope they do too now. What did he say?” I asked hesitantly. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know.

  “He wanted to know my intentions towards you and if you’d told me about your ex-boyfriend. He also wanted to know where I went to church and how often I went,” he said with a smile.

  “Thank you for being so nice about it.” I reached over and squeezed his hand.

  He gave me a cocky grin. “No problem, pumpkin.”

  I groaned and closed my eyes. “I guess I’ll never outgrow that name.”

  “I hope not. I think it’s cute. Now, is this doctor appointment about your cramps?”

  “Yes,” I whined, embarrassed to be discussing this once again with him.

  “I’m glad. You needed to go. Just come to work when you’re done.”

  My stomach growled loudly, reminding me I hadn’t eaten in a while. “Sounds like somebody’s hungry,” he said and pulled me up from the table. “I promise you’ll like my chili. If you can’t get the image of Bambi out of your head, you could always try and think of it as Elsie the Cow instead.”

  “You’re terrible! I hadn’t thought of that. Now I’ll have her sweet cow face in my head every time I eat beef,” I replied, a teasing smile on my lips.

  After a tasty dinner filled with relaxing conversation, I helped him clean up the kitchen. I had homework waiting to be done, and told him I needed to head on home. We didn’t speak as we walked along the walkway. As we reached my car, he turned to face me. “I know we’re just friends, but I’d really like to kiss you. Is that okay?”

  I nodded my head and sucked in a breath as he leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. It was a short, gentle kiss, but I felt it all the way to my toes. He reached over and tucked my hair behind my ear, letting his fingers trail down my neck. Chill bumps erupted on my arms, and my heart rate increased. His fingers continued their gentle journey over my shoulder and down my arm. He’d never touched me like this before, and I was lost in the feeling. An owl hooted loudly overhead, startling both of us. Levi cleared his throat and took a step back. The moment was over but my heart continued to feel as if it would pound out of my chest at any second. I reached up and placed a hand over it, trying to make sure it didn’t. His eyes drifted to my hand then back to my face. “I can look at you right now and know you feel more for me than just friendship,” he said, his voice sounding husky.

  “I do, but it doesn’t change anything. I can’t be more to you.” I whispered.

  “Why not?” he asked, and I heard the pain in his voice.

  With tears in my eyes, I told him the truth for once. “Because I’ll break your heart.”

  He watched in silence as I got in my car, and was still standing there as I pulled onto the road. I cried all the way home for what I wanted but could never have.

  ***

  The next day, I walked into the front office and found Levi behind the counter. I tensed, unsure of how things were between us now. He looked up from the computer and smiled. It seemed like he was going to pretend our scene by my car hadn’t happened, and that was fine with me.

  “What are you doing out here?” I asked, confused to see him in my work area.

  “I’m covering for you.”

  I frowned. “Levi, you’re the boss. You shouldn’t be out here doing my job. You should have called me. I would have rescheduled my appointment.”

  “No way, you needed to go. I don’t care that I had to work the counter. I did it for years growing up. Now what did the doctor say?”

  “He said everything was fine,” I said casually and looked away.

  “Uh uh. Tell me what he said- all of it.” I whipped my head back around and seeing the scowl on his face, knew he wasn’t going to let it go.

  Giving in to his demand, I went around the counter so our conversation would be a little more private. “He really did say I was okay right now. He wants me to take some medication every day to see if it helps, and if not, I could have a small surgery done.” I watched as he swallowed before running his hand down his face. “Levi, stop it. It’s nothing serious. I would tell you if it was, okay?” I said, placing my hand on his muscular forearm.

  He let out a deep breath. “Okay. It’s just the word surgery makes me nervous.”

  “It’s minor surgery. More like a procedure really, and he doesn’t think I’ll end up needing it. He thinks this medication will work.”

  My words sinking in, he finally smiled, and I watched as his whole body relaxed. “Did you get your prescription filled yet?”

  “No. I didn’t get a chance to.”

  He held out his hand. “I’m going right past the pharmacy on College Street to check a job sight. I’ll drop it off for you then pick it up on my way back. I probably won’t be done until after five, so I’ll just bring it to you at your apartment. Do you want me to bring some burgers too?” he asked and wiggled his brow.

  I laughed. He wasn’t very subtle. “That would be awesome. Thank you.”

  I dug the prescription out of my purse and handed it over. He looked down at it. “What does this even say?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. I don’t remember what he said it was, just to take it every day.”

  He left, and I waited on several customers that had come in. The rest of the afternoon went smoothly, and I headed home thinking of burgers and Levi. He had sent me a text asking what I wanted, and I couldn’t wait to taste my bacon, mushroom burger. I had a thing for hamburgers, though I didn’t eat them very often.

  He came through the apartment door carrying a paper sack from the local burger place in one hand and a pharmacy bag in the other. He set the food down on the kitchen table and dug my prescription sack from the pharmacy bag. He handed it over and I checked the receipt. I pulled my wallet from my purse and tried to hand him some money, but he brushed my hand away. Tossing the money and the unopened prescription sack on the counter, I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?” I asked, trying to sound firm but seeing the cute grin on his face made it nearly impossible.

  He closed the distance between us and grasped my arms, uncrossing them. “You know you love it. Now come on, let’s eat. I’m wasting away here.”

  I pulled him towards the table. “Well, we can’t have that. I’d hate to see all those big muscles disappear,” I replied with a smirk. He chuckled, but I noticed a slight pinkness to his cheeks. Oh my gosh! I’d actually made him blush.

  We sat down at the table, and I bowed my head but didn’t actually pray. I had recently begun to bow my head when Levi did. I would peek up at him through my lashes and when I’d see him lift his head, I would lift mine too. I never thought I was fooling him and that wasn’t my intentions. I did it more out of respect.

  As I sat there with my head bowed, he did something he’d never done before. He began to pray out loud. He didn’t recite some prayer he’d learned as a kid either. He actually spoke to God from his heart, thanking Him for specific things in his life, including me. I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that. I’m not a blessing. I’m a curse, and eventually he would see it. He said amen, and I lifted my head. I smiled when our eyes met, but knew it looked forced. He smiled back, a genuine smile that reached his eyes and it erased the drab feeling that had tried to overtake me.

  We dug into our yummy smelling burgers, but I was only able to finish half of mine. Levi, of course, ate all of his. “Can I have the rest of yours?” he asked when he noticed I was finished.

  “Sure. If you don’t mind eating after me.”

  “Why would that bother me? I’ve kissed you before.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “That’s different.”

  He picked up my burger, took his napkin and wiped off where I’d eaten it. “Is that better?” he asked before he took a big bite.

  I rolled my eyes and laughed. He was such a goof. I watched in shock as he polished off my burger and the rest of the fries. “How are you not fat?”

/>   “I work out, a lot actually,” he replied.

  I assumed he did something but now that he’d mentioned it, I was confused. “Okay, two questions. One, when do you find the time? And two, why do you work out so much? I mean, obviously you know you’re attractive, but you don’t seem like the type of person who would invest so much time in their appearance.”

  He grinned. “I’m attractive, huh?” I sighed loudly and crossed my arms. “Okay, okay, settle down. I’ll be serious. I used to go after work but since I’ve met you, I’ve had to adjust my schedule. Now, I either go early in the morning or late at night. As for the why, that’s personal, but it has nothing to do with me wanting to look a certain way.”

  Okay then, I guess he’s not going to tell me. Why is he being so secretive about it? I realized how absurd my thoughts were and almost laughed. How could I get upset at him considering I was the queen of secrets? “Oh, okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry into your personal business. And as far as you changing your workout schedule, you didn’t have to do that. We don’t have to hang out all the time.” I couldn’t believe how much it hurt to even say those words to him. It made me want to cry just thinking about not spending time with him anymore.

  He shook his head. “Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. I will tell you my reason one day, but now is not the right time. And if you think I care for one second that I had to change my schedule, then you don’t know how much spending time with you means to me. You’re stuck with me, Katie.” I smiled, thrilled with his reply and began to gather up our trash.

  With everything cleaned up, I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. He followed behind me, snatching a new toothbrush from the pharmacy bag as he passed by it. “What are you doing?” I asked, eyeing his new toothbrush suspiciously.

  “Just going to brush my teeth. I want to have good dental hygiene too.” He gave me a look that said he was sincere, but I knew better.

  “Uh huh, you think you might get to kiss me again, don’t you?”

  He held up his hand, feigning shock. “Katie, we’re just friends. Friends don’t kiss but if that’s what you want, I’ll see what I can do.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. Somehow he had turned this conversation around to where it seemed like I wanted him to kiss me. Which I did, but that wasn’t the point. I scooted out of the way and gestured towards the sink, letting him go first. He brushed his teeth while I patiently waited my turn. As I watched him finish up, I realized it didn’t even feel weird to have him in my tiny bathroom brushing his teeth. He turned and kissed my forehead with a loud smack before squeezing past me. I couldn’t help but smile as I brushed my teeth.

  I strolled out to the living room and saw him sprawled out on the couch flipping through the TV channels. I picked up my prescription sack from the counter and perched on the arm rest of the couch. He sat up, making room for me, and pulled me down beside him. He watched over my shoulder as I opened the sack. I pulled out a round case and after opening it, I froze. What in the world?!

  Levi studied the tiny ring of pills inside the case, chuckling when he realized what it was. “He put you on birth control for your cramps.”

  I was mortified, as if witnessing my embarrassing episode with cramps wasn’t enough, he’d actually gone to the pharmacy and bought my birth control.

  I groaned. “Not only is this completely embarrassing, but what if someone at the pharmacy knows you and there you were, dropping off my prescription of birth control and picking it back up. I don’t want them to think anything like that about you, Levi. I’m so sorry.”

  He gently turned my face towards his. “Hey, we haven’t done anything wrong. We aren’t having sex, and that’s not even what the birth control is for. We know that and God knows that, so that’s all that matters, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said softly and gave him a small smile. “It’s still embarrassing though. You know way too much about me.”

  He laughed. “I could never know too much about you. How about I make you a deal? The next time I have something embarrassing I need to buy, I’ll call you. You can pick it up, and then we’ll be even.” I swatted at his arm, but he was ready this time and dodged it. As we settled in to watch TV, he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side. “What? Friends can cuddle,” he said when he noticed the look I shot him.

  I sighed but leaned my head against his chest. He was always so warm and the steady beat of his heart relaxed me. A little while later, I yawned and he noticed. “I’ll let you get to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I got up and walked him to the door. I handed him the money for the prescription. “You aren’t paying for that,” I said firmly.

  He took the money and shoved it in his pocket before leaning down to kiss me on the cheek. “Goodnight,” he said softly.

  “Goodnight and thanks for everything, really,” I said and gave him a sincere smile.

  I climbed into bed a little later and for the second night in a row- went to sleep with a heavy heart.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next morning, I woke up to a text from Levi asking me to go out to dinner with him after work. At first I’d texted back no, making an excuse about loads of homework, but the reality was I felt like I needed some distance from him. By the time I got to work though, my desire to spend time with him had managed to change my mind, and I agreed to go.

  He chose a new seafood restaurant out by the lake. Neither one of us had been there before, but he said he’d heard it was good. After driving several miles down a long and winding road, we finally made it. It was a rustic looking place with an outside seating area overlooking the lake. We ordered our food and when it arrived, Levi begged me to try the fried clams he’d chosen, but I refused. Plain old fish was all I could handle. We had a great time, and I was so happy to have Levi as a friend. He was a wonderful guy and if I wasn’t so messed up, I could easily picture a future with him.

  After dinner, he drove me back to the nursery where I’d left my car. He pulled me into his arms and kissed my cheek before telling me to text him when I got home. I assured him I would and drove away with a full belly and a giant smile.

  I texted him as soon as I walked through the apartment door to let him know I’d made it home safe. We spent a few minutes texting back and forth before I told him I had to go. I finished up some homework I’d been neglecting and took a shower before crawling under the covers. It was after eleven o’clock, and I was exhausted. I had just closed my eyes when I heard my cell phone ringing. Startled, I sat up. Who is calling me this late? Oh my gosh! I hope Asher is okay. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and answered it, not even looking to see who it was. “Hello,” I cried.

  “Katie, are you sick?”

  What? Levi? “No. I’m not sick. Why are you?” I heard him groan and took that as a yes. “Oh, Levi, how bad is it?”

  He groaned again. “Bad. I’ve got to go.”

  He hung up before I could say anything else. I lay back down on my pillow but couldn’t stop worrying about him. He lives alone. What if he needs help? I had to do something. There was no way I could just go to sleep knowing he was sick, and he’d sounded very sick. I made up my mind; I was going over there. I jumped out of bed and didn’t even stop to get dressed. I ran out to my car in pajama pants and a hoodie. Thankfully, I remembered to grab my tennis shoes but still ended up driving barefoot all the way to his house.

  I pulled into his driveway, and noticed his house looked dark. His truck was parked out front, so I knew he was home. I opened my door and shoved my feet into my shoes. I ran up the porch steps and knocked hard on the door. He didn’t answer, so I knocked again. I waited a minute or two before calling his phone. It rang until it went to voicemail. I was beginning to panic. I raised my fist to knock one more time when the door opened. I didn’t see him, so I stepped inside. I found him sitting on the floor slumped against the wall by the door. I closed the door behind me and knelt down beside him. He wore paja
ma pants and a t-shirt. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat and his whole body shook. “G-go away, Katie,” he croaked out.

  “No way. I’m not leaving you like this. I think you might have food poisoning.”

  I ran to the kitchen and wet a rag. I sat down next to him and wiped his face. “You’ve got to go to the hospital, Levi. You look really sick and it’s scaring me.”

  He tried to argue but didn’t have the strength and finally agreed. I got up to find his jacket and shoes. After I got him ready, I leaned in close to his face and noticed his eyes looked glassy. I wrapped my arms under his and tried to pull him up but couldn’t budge him. “Come on. I need you to help me. I’m not strong enough to get you up by myself.”

  He used his hands to push himself up as I pulled and finally got him to his feet. “Good grief you’re heavy,” I said with a grunt. He tried to smile but couldn’t, and it broke my heart to see my strong friend like that.

  I leaned him against the wall and helped him into his jacket. I remembered to grab his wallet from the counter before we set off to my car. The walk was long and tiresome for both of us. He had to put a lot of his weight on me, and I was a little worried that I would be hurting later. We finally made it, and I somehow managed to get him in the seat. I reached over him to grab the seat belt and when our eyes met, he gave me a faint smile.

  “You’re going to be fine.” I brushed his sweaty hair from his forehead and kissed it. I pulled away quickly and got in my seat.

  On the drive there, I had to pull over twice for him to be sick on the side of the road. He was so weak by the time we got to the hospital that I just parked in the ER drive and jumped out to get some help. There was no way I could get him out of the car on my own. I found two male nurses and informed them they would definitely need a wheelchair. They wrestled Levi into the chair and wheeled him into the ER while I looked for a parking spot.

  I didn’t see him when I finally made my way in. I gave a nurse his name, and she led me to his room. I went in and sat in the chair beside his bed. They already had him hooked to an IV and had bags of fluid and medication hanging. I began to cry as I saw him lying there in that hospital bed, pale and shaking. He didn’t look anything like the strong Levi I knew and seeing him like that made me finally admit I loved him- and not just as a friend.