He needed to return home and shower. He needed to get his head on straight because starting tomorrow, he was going to do better. He was going to be the man that Kate deserved.
SIXTEEN
KATE
Kate was out with her group of friends from work, waiting in line to get tickets forLes Miserables. Dana stood to the right of her, and Tasha on her left. Dana had been going on about something, but she wasn't keeping up. Her head was still in the clouds after her entire fiasco with Devlin.
He hadn't called or texted her. He hadn't emailed or tried to see her at work. It was worrying her. To be honest, she enjoyed her time with Devlin and had hoped that maybe they could talk like civilized people instead of arguing. She had hoped when she spoke to him in his panther form, maybe things would be a little different.
"Hey." Dana waved a hand. "Are you listening? I've been waiting for you to answer, and you're standing here looking off into space."
She frowned. Shit. She had lost track of the conversation again. "I'm sorry. Dana, I'm really trying to listen."
Dana tilted her head. "Is your head in the clouds?"
She nodded, rubbing at her eyes. She was exhausted. "You could say that."
"We don't have to see the show," Tasha said, giving her a sad smile. "We can all just go home. We can order in food and watch a movie."
"No." She wanted to see the show. She needed to get herself out of her apartment where she would just fester. If she went back to that, who knew how long it would be before she came back out. "I want to see the show."
She needed to see the show. She hadn't been out of her house in a few days, and she had grown ripe. She could hardly sleep, let alone eat. She needed this like she needed air.
Dana was the one that called her and told her to come out. They could get in line early and enjoy the show. She had hoped it would help with her mood. She told herself she would fake it if she had to.
They stepped a little farther up the line, and she looked around, surveying the area. It seemed a lot of people were looking forward to attending the show. She didn't realize it was that popular. She just hoped they were here early enough.
Dana leaned in closer to her. "We're almost there."
She watched as there were only three more people in front of them. She took a deep breath in, ready to finally relax for a while. She could turn her brain off and just enjoy the show. She could eat a little popcorn and have some wine. Maybe a girl's night out was the answer to her problems.
"Tickets are sold out," the man said, pulling a sign up and plastering it onto the booth window. Her shoulders dropped. Just her luck. There were only three people ahead of them, and they would have gotten in.
"Fuck," Dana grumbled. "That's just great. Now, what are we going to do?"
She watched Tasha frown, and she sighed. Well, maybe she wasn't going to sit back and relax and take in the show like she thought.
She rubbed her eyes and looked away, but her eyes landed on something even worse. She watched as Phil came around the corner. She wanted to quickly hide, but there was no time. His eyes landed on her, and his creepy smile slipped over his face.
"Kate, what a surprise seeing you here."
She wished she had turned Dana down and stayed home now. She would at least be in her bed, able to stay as far away from Phil as she could possibly get.
"Just out with friends." She hoped maybe that would deter him. But it seemed nothing she ever said did.
"Were you guys going to see the show?"
Dana nodded her head. "We were, but the show is out of tickets now."
He looked from the girls back to her. "Well, I have a spare ticket. You wanna join me?"
She frowned. How could this man not get it through his thick skull that she wasn't interested in her? Did she need to write it out in bright, bold letters?
Dana frowned. "Phil, she's out with us. No, she isn't going to go join you at the show."
Tasha nodded her head, backing up Dana. She internally smiled, liking that they had her back on this. Phil frowned, frustrated. "I have a spare ticket. You guys wouldn't want it to go to waste, would you?"
Dana narrowed her eyes, looking irritated now. She tried to think of what to say, somehow safely letting him down without getting herself fired in the process. Just as she started to think, a limo pulled up, catching everyone's attention.