For A Reason

by T. N. Cole

  “I don’t give a shit about your roommate, Kate. I only care about you.” I cursed inwardly as the words slipped out and wondered how she might interpret the words.

  She yawned and then whispered, “No, I’m okay. Can you just stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?”

  I exhaled a sharp breath and nodded until I remembered that she couldn’t see me. “Of course, I will,” I murmured. I left my closet and went back to lay in my bed, placing the picture carefully on the nightstand after one more glance at it. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come over? I could run there again,” I offered as I turned the lights off.

  She managed a small laugh. “No, Tristan. No more running to my apartment. It’s too far. This is good enough.”

  “You deserve way more than ‘good enough,’ Kate,” I growled into the phone.

  “Did you just growl at me? That’s kinda hot,” she teased.

  I was more than glad that I was able to lighten the mood again. “You haven’t seen anything yet. I can show you hot, babe,” I replied seductively.

  “Oh yeah, just take me now,” she sarcastically moaned.

  It was my turn to chuckle. “Well, I would… If you would just let me come over there. You know what; screw it. I’m coming over now.”

  “No, no!” She was really laughing now. “Here, why don’t we video chat? Would that make you feel better, caveman?”

  Before I could respond, my phone started vibrating with an invitation to video chat with her. I reached over to turn the lights back on before I hit accept.

  She was laying on her stomach on her bed, one arm under her chin and the other holding the phone up. Her lights were also on, and she beamed at me through the video. “Hey you,” she breathed.

  “Hey you back.” I couldn’t think of anything better to say as I not so subtly let my eyes roam her appearance. Her hair was pulled up messily. She was in a white tank top that showed off her toned arms. My chest tightened when I finally got to her red-rimmed eyes. “Were you crying or are you just tired?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  She smiled ruefully. “I don’t cry, Tristan. I’m just tired, I guess. I know I must look like a crazy mess right now.”

  “You’re beautiful,” was my automatic response. Apparently, the speaking without thinking was going to be a theme for tonight.

  She giggled and I randomly thought of how it was going to be my goal to hear her make that sound every day. What the hell? Where did that come from? “Wow. I think you need more sleep than I do, silly.”

  I didn’t trust myself to talk anymore, so instead, I smiled and shook my head at her denial. “Just take the compliment, Kate.”

  She adorably buried her head in her arm to hide her shyness. She peeked up to look at me, and instead of saying thank you as I had expected her to, she changed the subject like she couldn’t help herself. “You sleep shirtless.” She muttered it as a statement instead of a question.

  I grinned cockily. “Do you need me to sit up so you can get a better view of me in all my shirtless glory?” She rolled her eyes and dropped her head to her arm again. “Oh come on, I think this is the shyest I’ve ever seen you.” I paused and then asked seriously, “Was your dream really that bad?”

  She shook her head vehemently and then met my eyes once again. That same unreadable emotion I saw before she shut the door on me earlier was back on her face. I waited for her to elaborate. “It wasn’t just the dream,” she said carefully. “It was the call after you left, last night, everything. I’m just overwhelmed.”

  I noticed she didn’t say anything specifically about the kiss or any of the other intimate moments we’d shared since yesterday. I took this to be a good sign. “Do you want to talk about it?” I wanted to ask her about the call, but I knew she was like me. And it was hard for me to just talk about things.

  She sighed heavily, her eyes unfocused as she thought. “Maybe I should have let you come over to distract me.” Her eyes widened in shock. Huh, maybe I wasn’t the only one having a problem with my brain to mouth filter.

  I wanted to groan at her words, but instead I swallowed hard. “Don’t say things you don’t mean,” I rasped.

  “Who said I didn’t mean it?” she challenged. Feisty Kate seemed to be coming back.

  “It’s not too late,” I warned. I started to push off my stomach, intending to get dressed.

  “Wait!” She held out her hand in a stop gesture.

  I stopped and arched my brow, leaning on my arms. She pulled out her other arm from under her and moved her hand off-screen. “What are you doing?”

  “There.” She put her arm back. “I just took a screenshot of that. New screensaver.”

  I laughed. “Seriously?” She nodded and giggled again. “No fair. I want one.”

  “I’m not taking off my shirt for you, dude,” she deadpanned.

  I let my groan escape this time. “Of course, you won’t,” I replied dryly.

  Kate smiled, and she covered her mouth with the bed sheet as she yawned.

  “I’m supposed to be helping you sleep,” I pointed out.

  In response, she reached to turn off the lights before she flipped to her side and pulled the covers up to her chin—sadly denying me an excellent view of her cleavage pushed together. I mimicked her, turning off the lights and getting under the covers.

  “I still think this would be much better if I was there,” I couldn’t help myself from saying one more time.

  She smiled as her eyes drifted closed. “Next time.”

  I couldn’t close my eyes. I was exhausted before, but now instead of sleeping, I just wanted to watch her. “Stop staring at me,” she ordered without opening her eyes. “I can feel it, and I can’t sleep if you keep doing that.”

  The only way I could stop was if we switched back to a regular phone call, but of course, I wasn’t going to say that. Instead, I whispered, “Sweet dreams, Kate.”

  She opened her eyes for a brief second to smile sleepily at me. “Good night, Tristan. Thank you for this.”

  I didn't bother telling her that it should be the other way around. I should be the one thanking her. It wasn’t long before my eyes closed against my will and I succumbed to the darkness.

  I WAS TORN. I didn’t know if I was supposed to reach out to Kate or not. I was being a pussy; I knew I was. But there was that panicky feeling that I had when she was in the ER and I didn’t know if she was okay or not. Then, there was that indescribable kiss. And after that, she asked for space. Except then, she had called me that same night when she couldn’t sleep and she had acted like everything was back to normal. If there was such a thing as a normal for us.

  I just wanted to know how she was feeling—she just got out of the hospital, for Christ’s sake. But should I care? Fuck, I was turning into a girl.

  I thought about it all day as I went about my normal routine. It wasn’t until I got to the gym later that I had an answer to my dilemma.

  Katelyn: Tristan! Isn’t your mom’s bf’s birthday dinner tomorrow night?!

  I had completely forgotten about the damn thing. With everything else that had happened since then, I was surprised that she had even remembered.

  Tristan: Uhhh. Yeah. I guess. Why?

  Katelyn: I’m supposed to go with you! I promised you I would.

  Tristan: You don’t have to… You just got out of the hospital yesterday, Kate.

  Katelyn: But I know you don’t want to go by yourself… I knew it. You don’t want your mom to see me all banged up and ugly like this. I get it.

  What the hell? Really? Feeling impatient, I clicked call as I strode angrily out of the free weights area. Screw the workout—I was done anyway. She picked up after one ring. “Tristan?”

  “I’m coming over there now,” I hissed into the phone. “Kick your roommate out or do whatever the hell else you need to do. I’ll be there in ten.” I didn’t even wait for a reply as I ended the call and yanked my gym bag out of my locker, slamming the little door
shut behind me.

  I was still damp with sweat from my workout when I knocked on her door ten minutes later. I listened and heard light steps running to the door. But then the door didn’t open.

  “Kate...” I warned. “Open the door.”

  “Why are you here?” she asked in the most timid voice I had ever heard her use.

  “Just open the door.”

  “No.”

  “Why? Are you scared?” I taunted.

  It worked, just as I knew it would. The door flung open and Kate had her hands on her hips as she glared at me. I froze, momentarily stunned, and the corner of my mouth turned up as I appraised her in her leg-accentuating short shorts and an oversized blue sweater.

  “Did you really storm over here just to stare at me? They’re just legs.” She rolled her eyes.

  No on both counts—I did not come here just to stare at her. And those were not just legs. “You drive me fucking crazy,” I growled as I reached for her. In two moves, I had stepped into her apartment and spun her so she was once again between the wall and me. She gasped as my lips crashed into hers, and I immediately took advantage, sweeping my tongue in to duel with hers.

  She recovered quickly and wrapped herself around me. Arms looped around my head and hands plunged into my hair, she widened her legs and pulled me against her as she wrapped her leg around my hip. I groaned and pressed harder into her, all thoughts of any injuries she might still have forgotten. One of my hands fisted in her hair against her neck, and the other smoothed up and down her bare leg, stopping at the hem of her shorts.

  She moaned when I broke away to kiss down her neck. “Tristan,” she panted. “Couch. Behind you. Now.”

  I ignored her, continuing to explore her neck with my lips and tongue, enjoying her panting breaths. I kissed the spot where I could feel her pulse quickly thrumming. It was good to know that I could elicit the same physical reaction from her that she seemed to unleash on me whenever she was around. That knowledge gave me a heady power.

  I nipped at her neck and collarbone. I didn’t think I could stop—I didn’t think I could get enough of her taste. Until she ground herself against me. “Shit,” I muttered before moving back up to meet her mouth. It was my turn to groan when she bit my bottom lip, then instantly soothed the spot with her tongue.

  With our mouths fused together, she let go of my head to push off the wall. I grinned around the kiss and finally obliged, carrying her to the same couch where she first fell on top of me, oh so long ago. This time I was the one pressing her against the cushions.

  Kate moaned and her mouth became more aggressive. Suddenly, it was a fierce battle of who was going to put a stop to this first—after all, we were supposed to be thinking about what we wanted. She rubbed herself against my cock, and in response, I thrust up, right against her sensitive spot. Our hard breaths and groans became indistinguishable as we moved against each other. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t dare venture under her clothes—I didn’t want her to freak out and stop whatever we were doing.

  “Kate,” I warned, pulling back slightly when she slipped her hands up the front of my shirt. She arched up into me and lightly scraped her nails against my chest. Out of breath, I shuddered at the sensation, and in return, I pushed my dick hard against her clit. She cried out and clawed at my abs, thrashing against me. I repeated the motion in quick succession a few more times and watched in fascination as the orgasm consumed her. She screamed my name and dug her nails into my back as she unraveled under me.

  When she went limp under me, I leaned down to give her a soft kiss before I moved our bodies to a more comfortable position—me pressed against the back of the couch as Kate burrowed herself into me. I waited for our breathing to slow down before I murmured, “You okay?”

  A small laugh escaped her. “Am I okay?” She shifted a little so she could see my expression. Her eyes were twinkling. “I’m fantastic. I should be the one asking if you’re okay.” She arched a brow and cast a quick, suggestive look at my dick.

  I laughed. “I’ll be fine.” Then my tone quickly turned serious. I pushed her hair away from her face and softly said, “I want you to go with me. I just don’t want you to overexert yourself after what happened this weekend.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m perfectly fine?”

  I sighed and rubbed one hand over my face.

  “Besides, if you thought I was actually injured, would you have attacked me like you just did today? Oh, and yesterday? ”

  The corner of my mouth quirked up. “I suppose not.”

  “You suppose?” She arched one brow.

  “Hey, I didn’t hear any complaints.”

  “Yeah, there’s a reason for that… You and your walls.” She shook her head in amusement.

  I shrugged. “I guess they come in handy.”

  She touched the bandage on her forehead. “Are you sure you won’t mind me coming to the dinner?”

  I couldn’t help but kiss her again. “I want you there,” I confessed against her mouth. “And I’m sorry,” I added before I retreated and rested my forehead on hers.

  “Sorry for what?” she whispered.

  “Sorry I did that even though you said you needed—we needed—space to think about what was happening between us.”

  She brought herself closer to me, tangling our legs together and pressing herself against me. “I decided that I don’t want space anymore.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I couldn’t help but smile as I wrapped my arms around her.

  “Nope. I don’t want to overthink what we have. I’m just going to go with what feels right. Or what feels good. And what we just did definitely felt good.” She giggled.

  “Good? Just good?”

  She smirked. “Yup. Good.”

  I shook my head. “Stop baiting me. You’re not stealing any more of my virtue today, woman.”

  “Virtue?” She burst out laughing.

  “Hey now, my virtue is not a joke.”

  She shoved at me playfully, forgetting that we were crammed on a tiny couch. She yelped, almost falling off the edge, until I grabbed her and pulled her on top of me.

  “Hi,” she breathed out as she braced herself on my torso, her hair surrounding us like a curtain.

  I couldn’t respond, as I found myself mesmerized by her brown eyes.

  You two are adorable, Mel sneered.

  Exhaling sharply through my nose, I quickly sat up, moving Kate so that she was sitting next to me. “I’m hungry!” Kate jumped up and headed for the kitchen. “You want anything? Did you just come from the gym? You need to eat. And shower.”

  “Are you saying I smell?” I joked, standing up and stretching before I followed her.

  As I turned, I spotted a manila envelope being shoved under the door. What the hell? I darted to the door and snatched it while it was only halfway in. It was unmarked—just like the rest of the messages I had been getting. I heard a girl say, “Shit,” on the other side of the door, followed by running footsteps.

  I flung open the door and ran out of Kate’s apartment toward the stairs. There was a girl with straight brown hair flying down the steps. “Hey!” I yelled as I tore after her. By the time I got to the bottom of the steps, she was nowhere to be found. I swore and slammed my hand on the wall. Who was she and what did she want from me?

  You left the envelope upstairs, Mel reminded me.

  Shit, I didn’t want Kate to open it. I ran back up the stairs. The door was still open, and I tried to look calm as I walked back into the apartment. Kate was sitting on the couch with one hand over her mouth. The open envelope was on the coffee table, and Kate was holding what I assumed to be the contents. “Kate,” I murmured.

  She spun around, eyes wide. “Tristan, what is this?” she asked in a scared voice.

  I let my eyes close for a second, and then I made my way over to her. I sat close to her and she wordlessly handed them over. They were pictures, but this time they weren’t from my past—nor were t
hey of Mel and me. They were pictures of Kate and me from this weekend. There was one shot of the two assholes holding Kate. Then, there was one of me yelling at them while Logan had a restraining hand on my shoulder. The next picture was of me running for Kate. Another showed me carrying Kate while Ryan and Caisey followed close behind. The last one was a picture of me putting Kate on a gurney at the hospital. With shaking fingers, I opened the folded paper.

  I dropped the pictures and the note to the coffee table and buried my face in my hands. I heard rather than saw Kate move to sit on the coffee table in front of me. “Tristan,” she pleaded, pulling my hands away to hold them in both of hers. “Talk to me. What’s going on?” I kept my head down. “I don’t want to bombard you with questions. I’ve already told you that I’ll understand whatever it is that you’re hiding. And this isn’t the first envelope I’ve seen you get.” My head snapped up. “Remember? I saw the one on your car when we went to eat at Jess’. Why are you getting these?” I couldn’t do anything but stare at Kate helplessly.

  She sighed and released my hands. She searched my blank face before standing and starting toward the kitchen. “Wait.” I grabbed her hand before she walked away. “Do you trust me?” I asked her, tilting my head up to meet her eyes. She nodded vigorously. I exhaled forcefully. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six. The dinner is at seven and it’s in Dallas.” I stood and pulled her against me so I could kiss her forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. I’ll get you out of this mess that is my life.”

  I stepped around her to grab my things so I could leave. Before I could make it out of the door, Katelyn called, “Wait.”

  I turned and she was right there wrapping her arms around my torso and burying her face in my chest. I breathed out shakily and hugged her back. “Don’t be scared. I’ll fix this,” I said into her hair.

  She shook her head and pulled back enough to rest her chin on my chest so that she was looking up at me. “I’m not scared for me. I’m scared for you, Tristan. I don’t know what any of this means, but I don’t like it. And it’s making you pull away from me again.”