by Kris Bryant
“I saw this the other day and had to have it,” she says. “Come in, both of you.” Maddox jumps around and finds a comfortable place on the couch. I’m just about ready to yell at him to get down, but Kate reaches out and touches my arm. “It’s okay. I don’t mind at all.”
“You should. He already knows you’re a softy.” I give Maddox a look and his ears go back.
Kate playfully scolds me and reaches for the bottle of wine I’m clutching. “Would you like a glass?” She’s very smooth. Sometimes, it’s hard to believe she’s only twenty-four.
“That would be great. Whatever you’re cooking, it smells fantastic,” I say.
“Well, since Maddox is looking to shed a few pounds, I thought I’d bake chicken for us. You and I can indulge in the red potatoes and asparagus, but he’s only getting the chicken.”
“Thanks for thinking of him, too,” I say. Hot Mindy from Hunter’s Fourth of July pool party pops into my mind. Kate would never have screamed or reacted the way she did with Maddox. She loved him the second she met him.
“I’ve missed him,” she says. She looks at him and he wags his tail at her. He’s already hooked. He’s not making this easy for me.
“So what have you been working on at school this semester?” I ask. I need to change the subject. She’s very comfortable around the kitchen and I remember she’s been on her own for six years. Certain things you’re forced to learn quickly. I offer my help, but she shoos me away with her chopping knife. She’s graceful and fast cutting up vegetables for the salad. She seems so calm, so poised. I’m still quivering inside.
“Well, I didn’t lose a lot of time, believe it or not. When you’re sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, it’s amazing what you can accomplish. I wrote my papers, read a lot, and I even turned in a video of the tornadoes we saw. I kept busy. I only have a few more hours until I get my Master’s degree. Woohoo.” She celebrates by playfully lifting up the salad tongs in the air.
I smile. “That’s a great accomplishment for a twenty-four year old.”
“Well, I’m twenty-five now. My birthday was last month,” she says.
I didn’t know that. “Happy belated birthday, then.” I raise my wineglass to hers and we clink them together. I watch her lips touch the glass and swallow hard when I see her tongue flick out to catch a small drop of wine on the rim. My body starts tingling as I remember our few nights together and how her mouth brought me pleasure over and over. This is going to be harder than I thought.
“It was a good birthday. First one I spent with my family in a long time.” She smiles and her eyes get a faraway look as she remembers something pleasant. “Yeah, it was nice. Not as nice as yours…” She trails off. I look down at my glass. I’m not ready for this conversation. I can’t even make eye contact. I know that if I do, I will be lost in her again.
“I’m glad it was nice. You deserve it.” I ignore her comment. I casually walk over to Maddox and sit down next to him. I need distance from her. This is too powerful for me. My eyes are constantly drawn to her, her graceful movements, her calming demeanor. Her hair is down and pulled over one shoulder. It’s wavy and lighter than I remember. I want to plunge my hands into it and bring her full lips to my mouth and kiss her again. I miss her warmth and passion and that scares me. This is confusing me. I should still be angry at her, but I’m not.
“Are you sure I can’t help?” I ask. She shoots me a lopsided grin.
“It’s ready now.” She cuts up a giant piece of chicken into smaller bite size pieces and throws the plate in the refrigerator. “For Maddox. It’s too warm now.” I’m melting. I don’t want to fall for her again.
“Maddox is never going to want to leave here.”
“He’s perfect. I would keep him. Except an apartment really isn’t the best place for a dog.”
“I did take him for a quick walk around here. It’s a cute place. He just doesn’t like being on a leash,” I say.
“Do you have a large yard?” she asks. We sit down and start eating. Maddox patiently waits beside me for his food.
“I have a house just outside of town with about three acres. It’s perfect for him. It’s an older farm house that I’ve been working on for the last couple of years.”
“That sounds nice. I’m not very handy. If something breaks around here, I just need to call the manager,” she says.
“I’m sure you would be great at any restoration project. It’s not that hard. Whenever I get stuck, I call Hunter. She’s helped me out of so many sticky situations. Her dad is an electrician. He and I are practically best friends. He’s always over. I have yet to finish an electrical problem without needing him. I know he rolls his eyes whenever he sees that I am calling.” Kate laughs. “It seems most of my problems are electrical. I can’t seem to figure that part out. I can paint anything, nail anything, cut, trim, but I can’t stop blowing fuses.”
“Maybe it’s just really old wiring,” she says. She excuses herself to get Maddox’s dinner from the refrigerator. He couldn’t be happier right now.
“Yeah, we are in the process of switching it all out. I’m happy I know Hunter’s dad because if not, this would cost me a fortune.”
“I’d like to see it someday,” she says.
I look at her and nod. “Maybe next time I’ll cook. Or have something very delicious delivered.” I’m trying to keep it light. This means that there will be a next date, assuming this is one, too. Surprisingly, the rest of the dinner the conversation flows smoothly. I have agreed to be a resource on her final video project, we like opposing sports teams, she is afraid of spiders and small spaces, and I’ve shared my secret love of the Harry Potter saga. Before we know it, it’s almost midnight.
“It’s getting late. Maddox and I should get going. We have a long drive ahead of us.” This is the part I don’t like. The distance. Even if we start something, then we’ll have to face long drives every week. I drive a ton during the chasing season so that doesn’t bother me, but not being close does.
“Next time, you can come up and see us,” I say. She tucks my hair behind my ear and, just when I think she’s going to kiss me, something makes her change her mind and she slowly takes a step back.
“Just say when.” She closes the door as Maddox and I walk down the stairs. I climb into the Jeep and Maddox takes the seat next to me.
“That was a good night, huh, boy?” Maddox looks at me and leans over to kiss me. Yeah, we both had a good night. This is the way it’s supposed to be. The whole build up, the anticipation, the communication. Now we need to work on trust again and maybe we can get back to where we were.
Chapter Twenty-three
“Hey, Dr. Williams wants to see you,” Hunter says. Her eyes are wide with a mixture of fear and something else. I stop grading papers and look at her.
“Why do you look worried?” I ask. Now, I’m starting to panic. Hunter never loses her cool. “Do you know something? Do you know what he wants?”
“No. But he seemed tense when he asked me to collect you.” She makes quote marks with her fingers after saying collect. That’s never good. I rewind my week in my head and I don’t remember saying anything inappropriate in class or to a student. All of my paperwork has been turned in on time. I don’t know what he could possibly want. I shrug at Hunter and she shrugs back. She walks with me to his office.
“Dr. Williams?” I say, knocking on his door.
“Come in, Tristan,” he says. He greets me with a smile, something I’m not expecting at all. Hunter gives me an encouraging thumbs-up and continues walking. I close the door behind me and sit down. Dr. Williams hands me a folder. “This came yesterday. Thought you should take a look at it.” I open up the folder and glance through the first few pages. I’m confused.
“Wait. Is this money for our department?” I look through the file again. It sure looks like money for the department. “Is this one hundred thousand dollars?” I’m in disbelief. “What is this? Where did it come from?”
“I have no idea. I contacted almost everybody within the tri-state area, but nobody promised me anything concrete. This is crazy. I can’t believe this.” I’m staring at the paperwork, but not really seeing anything. My mind is racing through everybody I reached out to, but I’m coming up empty. This is more money than the MWSE grant.
“Well, whatever you did, thank you.” He’s smiling at me. He never smiles.
I’m in shock. “Who knows about this?” I ask.
“Nobody yet. Just the dean, me, and you. I thought I would let you break the news to your colleagues.”
“We should probably cash it first to make sure it’s legit. I mean, who sends an anonymous cashier’s check? Can we call this bank? Don’t most people want the notoriety?” Dr. Williams chuckles. “Okay, so what now?” I ask. I don’t know what to do with this.
“Come up with a budget of sorts. A way to allocate the funds to the different areas you think we need help with. We can meet next week to finalize it.” He laughs at that. I’m still very serious. Who does that?
“Okay. I’ll work on it.” I stand up, and he reaches out and shakes my hand. I’m stunned. I leave his office and head for mine because I know Hunter is there waiting.
“What happened? Are you okay?” she asks when I open the door. I sit down and stare at her. “Oh, my God. Did you get fired? You’re white as a ghost.”
“No, no. You aren’t going to believe this, but we got a hundred grand.” She looks as confused as I am. “Yeah, I know. It doesn’t make sense. Somebody, we don’t know who, donated that money to our department. My name is the only name on the grant or donation or whatever this is.”
“Are you shitting me right now?” Hunter jumps up. “What the hell, Tris? We have money? Like money that will keep us here and we can chase next year and all that kind of money?” She’s getting more and more excited. She grabs me and suddenly we’re both jumping up and down squealing like little girls.
“Yeah, I told Williams he should make sure it clears before we tell everybody. I have no idea who sent it and why they did it anonymously. So let’s not celebrate until it clears, okay?”
“Can the two of us at least celebrate tonight? Just in case it’s real? I really need this. I’ve been bummed thinking we weren’t going to be able to chase next season.”
I smile at her. “Yes, but let’s do it at the house. I’ve got to drop off Maddox. And we don’t need to drink and drive. Oh, let’s grill. Invite James, too.”
“Nah, he’s got practice tonight. Okay, I’ll swing by the grocery store, pick up some stuff, and be over about five. Is that good?”
“Perfect. See you then,” I say. She hugs me one more time and leaves. I still have one more class to teach this afternoon. I’m pretty sure I’m floating right now. I want to blow off class, but I’m the responsible teacher now. I buckle down and head to class. I have to stop myself from skipping. In high heels.
Chapter Twenty-four
The fire pit is warding off the early fall chill as Hunter and I drink beer and eat burgers dripping with cheddar cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and all the condiments I can find in the refrigerator. It is the perfect Friday night. Even Maddox is eating barbecue with us. We aren’t trapped in a car with him so he can eat what he wants.
“I still can’t believe we got that money. Who did you call? And what or who did you do for that?” Hunter says. I flip her off. We both laugh.
“I love my job, but I’m not doing that to keep it. Well, unless it’s somebody from my top five list,” I say. Hunter and I have very different lists of famous people we would have sex with if given the opportunity. Hers is littered with musicians, and mine is a compilation of actresses, musicians, and models.
“I just think the whole thing is crazy. That’s a lot of money to just give somebody. Hell, even the military has their name plastered all over their grants and theirs isn’t nearly that amount. Would your parents or grandparents have done something like this?”
I scoff. “Nobody in my family has that kind of money just lying around. And trust me, I would have to give them at least two or three grandkids before that happens.”
“Well, you aren’t getting any younger,” Hunter says.
“You sound just like my mother.”
“Your mother is a smart woman. And speaking of dating, what are your plans for Kate tomorrow?” Hunter asks.
“That so wasn’t smooth.”
She grins at me and finishes off her beer. “Well?”
“I’m going to cook dinner and just show her around.” I’m trying to downplay my emotions, but Hunter knows me better than that.
“Hmmm. And what else? Have you two talked about what’s happening?” Hunter knows about last weekend’s sort of date.
“We spoke a bit yesterday. I texted her my address and then she called me.”
“Have you forgiven her yet?”
“I think I have. I just want to take it slow. There’s also the trust thing. Maybe I’m clinging to it, but that hurt. For the first time in a long time, I trusted somebody and she hurt me. Yes, I’m getting over it and I do understand why she did what she did…”
“Then what’s the problem? She’s beautiful, smart, she speaks our weather language, likes tornadoes, loves Maddox, is great in bed, available, likes you. I just don’t understand.” Hunter’s right. I’m trying to find fault with this fledgling relationship and there really isn’t any.
“I’m just nervous I guess. I really like her, but I’m scared that I’ll get hurt again. The last four months have sucked.” For the first time, I’m honest with Hunter. We always have emotional talks drinking beer around a fire.
“Well, don’t let her hurt you. Throw it all out there, tell her you want this to work, but she better make damn sure she doesn’t hide something like that again.” I lean my head back and look up at the stars.
“Why can’t you just have the talk with her first, and then I can have the fun?” I have never done well with heart to heart talks. I get nervous and always say the wrong things.
“Because this is your relationship, not mine.” That silences me. Again, she’s right.
“Tomorrow should be interesting then.” Waiting is the hardest part. All week I’ve been waiting. I’ve stopped myself from sending texts because I don’t want her to know that I’m thinking about her all of the time. I feel like one of my students. I have my phone on me at all times just in case she calls. During class, department meetings, next to my bed. True to her word, Kate has kept her distance. I’m tired of fighting this thing between us. I need to really forgive and get us back to where we should be. It’s nice that Hunter knows her and can give me solid advice. “Do you think we can make this work?”
“The question is do you want to? I think she’s everything you’ve ever wanted. So what that she lives over an hour away? She won’t always live far. One day, she’ll get her degree and maybe things will be good between you two and she’ll move up here.”
“Woah, woah. Slow down. Let’s get to our second date first before you have us moving in together,” I say.
“So get rid of all of the negative energy you’re harboring about the whole thing, especially since we have money now, and have a fantastic time tomorrow. I expect a phone call first thing Sunday. Well, not too early because James has a show that I’m going to. High noon. Call me.” We clink long necks to seal the deal. I will definitely call her after the date.
“Now that we’re done with all of your drama, we need to focus on what’s important here. We need to focus on how we’re going to spend all of that money,” Hunter says. We both laugh. It’s still so unbelievable.
“Okay, let’s make a list.”
“I want a new truck. We destroyed the SUV,” Hunter says.
“No. That will take up our whole budget. We really need a minivan,” I say.
Hunter spews out her beer. “Oh, my God, no. I’m not driving one of those. We won’t be able to drive in and out of ditches. I’ll look like a soccer mom. And we’ll maybe get to sixty miles per hour. We will never be able to outrun any tornado.” She thinks I’m serious.
“Well, we’re going to upgrade our equipment and there aren’t any SUVs that will house everything I’m looking at. Only a minivan will.” The look of shock on Hunter’s face is too much and I bust out laughing. “I’m kidding. Thankfully, the better equipment is smaller so we won’t have to worry about space. Too bad they don’t have a sporty four-by-four minivan.”
“You, my friend, would be driving it all by yourself.”
“Let’s get together early next week before I meet with Williams to figure out what we want and what we can live without. It might be a good idea to set some money aside just in case this is a one time deal. So start thinking of things we need.” We are quiet for a moment, each of us spending the money frivolously in our minds.
“If you think I’m going to wear a uniform, think again,” Hunter says. I stare at her and wonder how the hell she knows what I’m thinking. I thought Kate’s T-shirt with the tornado was cute and was already designing something for us. “No, Tris.” I love that she knows me so well.