My Soul For You

by Morgana Phoenix

  She would have happily stayed there and let him keep kissing her, but she pulled away and threw open her door. She scrambled out, careful not to trip on her skirt. With a wave, she hurried around the front hood and darted into the shop.

  “Aunt Hannah?” she called as she crossed to the back. “I’m home!” In the kitchen, she stripped off her sandals and started up the stairs with them dangling from her fingers. “Aunt Hannah?”

  “Katie?” Aunt Hannah appeared at the top of the stairs, a book in hand. “How was it?”

  “Good.” She said, reaching the top. “Why are you up here? The shop’s open.”

  Aunt Hannah waved her hand. “No one’s been here all morning. The snow is keeping everyone away. Why didn’t you call me? I would have come to get you.”

  Carefully avoiding her aunt’s eye, Katie maneuvered her way towards her bedroom. “I had a friend drive me,” she said, hoping, but knowing her aunt wouldn’t just let it end there.

  “Friend? Which friend?”

  It was no surprise when Aunt Hannah followed her to the bedroom. Katie prolonged her response by tossing her sandals unceremoniously into the closet where they struck the back wall and cluttered noisily to the ground. She reached for the ribbons on her dress next, trying not to think how Kaleb helped tie her up, knowing there would be no way to conceal her blush if she went there.

  Her aunt knew she’d had sex. Her aunt was the one to take her to the clinic for a checkup and pills after Dylan. Yet the whole situation with Kaleb was so delicate. Katie had no illusions that they would fall madly in love and get married, but when all was said and done, she’d slept with a teacher. True they were both legal, consenting adults and if she hadn’t missed that year of school, they would have been free to do whatever they wanted, but the facts remained. Her aunt would definitely freak. Still, lying wasn’t an option either.

  “Kaleb,” she mumbled, keeping her back turned.

  “The man from last night?”

  “He’s not…” Okay, he was a man. “Yes, him.”

  “Katie, how old is he?”

  Flustered, Katie turned to her aunt. “Not that old! Geez.” When her aunt merely raised a brow, Katie sighed. “He’s twenty-one, okay? I’m going to be nineteen in like two months. That’s like a two year difference, so can you please not make him sound like some creepy pedophile?”

  Aunt Hannah shook her head. “You’re right. I’m sorry. He seemed very nice.”

  “He is,” she said.

  “Do you … like him?”

  Katie chuckled. “Yes, I like him.”

  Satisfied, Aunt Hannah moved deeper into the room, motioning for Katie to turn around. “Well, so long as you’re careful.” She tugged on the ribbons, unraveling the corset. “Speaking of careful, a gentleman called for you.”

  “A gentleman? Have we been transported to a Jane Austin novel?” she teased as she hurried to her dresser with one hand holding up her dress. “Who was it?”

  “He didn’t give a name, but he left you a message. It’s downstairs on the counter.”

  Flannel bottoms and t-shirt in hand, Katie ducked behind the privacy screen tucked away in the corner of her room. “And what did this nameless gentleman say he wanted?”

  “Only that he was looking for you.”

  Not feeling overly concerned about the caller, Katie let the matter drop as she dressed.

  “Shouldn’t you take a shower before you put on clean clothes?”

  Katie laughed at the embarrassed, uncertain look on her aunt’s face. “I took one this morning before I left the hotel.”

  “Oh! Well…” Her aunt cleared her throat. “Good. All right then. Do you want to take over downstairs while I clean up around here?”

  Katie agreed, but only because she had to finish organizing the back shelves and she didn’t trust her aunt to do it. At least not without sneaking stuff upstairs.

  She went to the counter first and plucked up the folded piece of paper. She smoothed it open and peered at the single line.

  Sorry to have missed you, but will get in touch again soon.

  There was no return number, or even a time when he would try to contact her again.

  “Huh,” she said aloud.

  Tucking the paper into her pocket, she made her way to the shelves. She reached for several cracked dishes and lowered them off the shelf. She set everything on a nearby table and turned to locate an abandoned box.

  By the end of the night, Katie was exhausted. Her muscles were sore, not just from her night with Kaleb, although he’d certainly kept to his promise about making sure she remembered him, but from hefting boxes and lugging them from one corner of the store to the other. She practically threw herself into a hot bath before bed. She could hear her aunt watching Jay Leno in the next room as Katie washed up and tried to wind her brain down. The mundane routine took her through the steps of moisturizing and slipping into an oversized t-shirt. She padded to her nightstand and plugged in her phone. No sooner had she set it down on the table when it beeped, signaling an incoming text.

  “Sleeping?” It read.

  Katie slipped under the covers before responding. “Not yet. Who is this?”

  The response was almost instant. “Wow. Was I that unmemorable? I feel like I should be insulted, or demand a do-over.”

  Grinning, Katie chuckled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to program your number. How are you?”

  “Exhausted. I’m ready to pass out for a month.”

  Rolling onto her side, she drew the sheets more securely around herself. “I know what you mean.”

  “How are you?”

  “Exhausted.” Katie sighed to herself. “I kind of wish it was still last night.”

  “Me too. If I wasn’t so pooped, I would ask what you were wearing.”

  Katie laughed. “Hey, that was my question.”

  “Oh well, begging your pardon. As it so happens, I haven’t worn clothes to bed since I was fifteen.”

  The phone dropped. It bounced once on the mattress before plummeting over the edge to clutter across the floor. Cursing, she scrambled to retrieve it. There were two new messages waiting for her when she managed to shake the image of his tall, lean frame, naked and beautiful across rumpled sheets from her mind and switched it back on.

  “I started doing it because it pissed off my stepmom. Now I do it because I like it. Katie?”

  Snapping her mouth closed, Katie quickly responded, “I’m here.”

  “Excellent. So, what are you wearing?”

  Her lips twitched. “I thought you were exhausted.”

  “Never too exhausted for that.”

  Stomach doing a delicious little flutter, Katie bit her lip. “What exactly is that?”

  She snuggled beneath the sheets while she waited for his response. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen, too excited to look away. When the phone jumped to life in her hand, vibrating and breaking out in a loud rendition of I Will Survive, Katie nearly dropped her phone again. Her thumb struck every button twice before finding the talk button and pressing the device to her ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey.”

  Her stomach muscles did that excited flutter thing again at the rich, warm sound of his voice.

  “Hi.”

  “I wanted to hear your voice when you described what you were wearing.”

  Katie chuckled. “A parka.”

  “Mm, already sounds sexy. Keep going.”

  “You’re so weird.” She closed her eyes. “T-shirt.”

  “Nothing else?”

  “Panties.”

  “Black?”

  “Pink.”

  He hummed softly. “Lacy?”

  “No, but there’s a white bow on the front.”

  He exhaled. “God, I love bows.”

  Katie laughed.

  “They remind me of a present,” he went on in that low murmur of his. “I wish you were here, Katie. Tired or not, I would unwrap you slowly and taste every inc
h of you.”

  The breath that left her was shaky and laced with longing. “Me too.”

  She heard sheets rustle and bedsprings jingle as weight was adjusted.

  “I missed you today,” he said quietly. “Is that wrong?”

  Katie sucked in a breath. “I don’t know, but I missed you, too.”

  He gave a soft chuckle. “I shouldn’t be so happy to hear that, but I am.” He paused. “I should go take a shower, but I’ll text you in the morning.”

  “Okay. Kaleb?”

  “Yeah?”

  Not sure what she’d been about to say, she shook her head. “Nothing. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, Katie.”

  She disconnected first and set the phone down on the nightstand. She pulled the covers to her ears and shut her eyes, but her body continued to hum long after.

  By Wednesday, the store front was a maze of packed boxes waiting to be delivered to storage. Each one was labeled and placed with items in the same category. Katie studied the fifty or so cartons with a sense of accomplishment. It had taken her almost three weeks, but the store was finally void of the usual thrift store clutter. It almost looked chic and new. The only thing remaining was to haul it all to her aunt’s SUV and get it to storage. She knew she could do it. She had a dolly. It was the motivation that was lacking, and the upper body strength.

  “Aunt Hannah!” she called, never looking away from the mountain of a task before her. “I’m making a run to the storage unit!”

  From the back room where Katie had blackmailed her aunt into staying, a tactic to keep the older woman from rummaging, Aunt Hannah called something back that was stifled by the jingle of the front door swinging open. Blocked from view, the newcomer let the door close behind them.

  “Hi! Sorry,” Katie called. “Just doing some cleaning up. There’s a path on your left if you would like to come in.” It was a narrow path, but it was the best she could do.

  There was some rustling, some grunting, followed by an exhalation of triumph as the figure broke around the towers and came towards her.

  Katie stiffened even as her heart jittered in her chest. “Kaleb?”

  He was sweaty. His gray t-shirt clung to his lean frame with dark patches running down the front of his chest and beneath his arms. His dark hair was damp and plastered to his face. He looked gorgeous.

  Aside from their texts and late night chats, she hadn’t seen him since the night of the gala; she hadn’t realized how much she wanted to until he was standing before her.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He gestured with his iPod bearing hand towards the door. His headphone cord swung with the gesture. “I was out for my morning run. I thought I would drop by. Is that all right?”

  Pushing away her surprise, Katie shook her head. “No, of course it’s all right. Hi.”

  His face turned up in a grin. “Hey.” He closed the distance between them and lowered his head for a knee dissolving kiss.

  Katie sighed as everything inside her melted and she swayed into him. The intense heat coming off him burned through her clothes. She moaned.

  He chuckled against her mouth. “I’m sweaty.”

  She opened her eyes a slit and met his. “I’ve felt you sweaty in my arms before, O’Reilly. Now kiss me.”

  She watched his eyes turn opaque before his mouth returned to hers. His arms folded her crushingly into his chest. Her own arms slipped around his shoulders and her fingers slid into his hair. Her entire body curved into him, fitting in all the places that had ached for him the last four days.

  There was a clutter of something dropping at their feet, but it was overshadowed by the blunt fingers moving to bite into her sides as he pressed her closer. “Katie—”

  “Katie, is someone here?” Aunt Hannah hurried through the racks. “I thought I heard the door … oh!”

  The two quickly pulled apart and turned to face the flushed and embarrassed woman behind them.

  “Aunt Hannah!” Katie smoothed a hand down her front. “You remember Kaleb.”

  Aunt Hannah nodded. “Yes, of course. Nice to see you again.” She cleared her throat and looked at Katie. “I’m going to go finish in the kitchen.”

  Without waiting for either of them, Aunt Hannah hurried away back the way she’d come. Katie, licking Kaleb from her lips, turned to the man next to her and grinned.

  “Sorry about that,” She said.

  He shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry about.” His gaze swung over the mountain of boxes. “So, what’s going on here?”

  Katie exhaled. “Spring cleaning,” she said. “I finally convinced Aunt Hannah to let me organize the place. I was just on my way to take it to storage.”

  Bending down, he scooped up the iPod he’d dropped and nimbly wound the earbud cord around the device, all the while studying the boxes. “Is someone coming to help you? That’s a lot of boxes.”

  “Nope.” She puffed out another lungful of air. “I have a dolly. It’ll be a few trips, but…”

  A pink tongue poked out and slid lazily across his bottom lip before it was drawn in between his teeth. He rapped the iPod against his palm while he chewed over whatever he was deliberating.

  “I can help,” he said finally. “I have a few spare hours.”

  “Oh!” Katie shook her head. “No, no, you don’t have to—”

  He set his iPod down on the counter. “I don’t mind. I mean, I’m already sweaty and filthy.”

  Biting her lip, Katie shrugged. “If you’re sure…”

  His response was to move to where she’d set the dolly. He transferred several boxes onto it and maneuvered it towards the door.

  “Show me where, boss.”

  Chuckling, she hurried past him and pushed the door open. She held it as he dragged his load through.

  They worked like a well-oiled machine. She held the door and he hauled everything out. Then, when the SUV was packed to capacity, he drove with her to the storage unit and unloaded everything. This went on for a solid three hours, and nearly thirteen trips, before they were done.

  “That was the last of it,” Kaleb said as they stood surveying the newly cleared shop front.

  Katie rocked her head in disbelief at the sight. “I didn’t think we would ever finish.” She turned to him. “Thank you for your help. I really couldn’t have done it without you.”

  He snorted. “Yes, you could have.” He grinned. “But I’m glad I could help.” He stole a peek at his watch. “With time to spare.” He scooped his iPod off the counter and stuffed it into the pocket of his shorts. “I would like to run home and shower, but I also think we need to talk. Have coffee with me?”

  Surprised by the request, Katie nodded. “Sure. Meet back here in twenty?”

  “Perfect.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss to her cheek. Then, with a wave, he disappeared through the door.

  True to his promise, twenty minutes later, the bells above the door jingled and Kaleb stepped into the shop, showered and dressed in black jeans and a black sweater beneath a dark coat.

  He grinned at her. “Hey.”

  Stuffing her keys and phone into her jean pocket, Katie returned the smile.

  “Hey back.” Turning, she looked to the back of the shop. “Aunt Hannah! I’m going out for a few minutes!”

  There was a pause where she wasn’t sure her aunt had heard her, then came, “Katie, wait!”

  Bemused, Katie watched as her aunt hurried towards them, jacket on, purse clutched in her hand.

  “I have some errands to run,” her aunt said. “I won’t be gone long, but if you’re leaving, I’ll just lock up. Do you have your keys?”

  Katie patted her pocket. “Got them.”

  Together, the three left the shop. Her aunt locked the door as Katie took Kaleb to Mrs. Broil’s bakery.

  “Best muffins on the planet,” she told him as she shouldered the door open.

  Kaleb chuckled as they stepped into the sweet scent of melted caramel and sugar frost
ing. Mrs. Broil looked up from behind a display case of cookies and cakes and smiled when she spotted Katie.

  “Hello Katie!” Her face drew together in confusion. “Didn’t I already feed your caffeine addiction this morning?”

  Katie laughed. “You did. Thank you. But I’m here with a friend. Kaleb, this is Mrs. Broil. She owns the bakery and is secretly my dealer for all things coffee and sweet.”

  Kaleb inclined his head politely. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Mrs. Broil’s eyes widened as she took him in. “Oh, He’s handsome!” she declared, like Kaleb wasn’t standing right there. “Looks just like my Teddy. God rest his soul, but he was such a lady’s man when he was alive. That cheating bastard.”

  “Uh, thank you?” Kaleb said uncertainly.

  Katie wisely smothered her laugh by turning towards the display. “Is that carrot cake, Mrs. Broil?” she asked, pointing to the cake.

  “It is. Just made it this morning.”

  “I’ll take one of those and a coffee,” Katie said. She looked to Kaleb. “Want anything?”

  “A muffin,” he said very decisively. “I’ve heard so much about them that I feel like I need to try one, and a coffee, black. Please.”

  She had no idea how he managed to pull money out so fast, but he had already passed the bill to Mrs. Broil before Katie could even fish into her pocket.

  “You didn’t have to pay for me,” she said, slightly embarrassed.

  “Of course he did,” Mrs. Broil squeaked as she passed him back change, to which he waved away. “He’s a gentleman. Gentlemen always pay.”

  Katie ignored her. “Let me pay you back.”

  Kaleb stopped her. “You’ll dishonor me as a gentleman if you do.”

  Not sure what to say, she smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  They stood in silence while they waited for Mrs. Broil to put their order together. They each took their plate and mug to a corner table and sat.

  “Ashlee and I come here every morning before school,” Katie told him. “I don’t think I could have passed high school without Mrs. Broil’s coffee.”

  Kaleb chuckled. “How is your friend?”

  “Ashlee? She’s fine. Grounded, of course.” She paused and looked up at him. “I don’t know if I thanked you for that night. I don’t know what would have happened to her if you hadn’t been there to help.”