“No, I’m not. I’m in love with someone else. I always have been.”
Her eyes go wide and she looks out into the crowd. “You can’t be talking about that tomboy.”
“She’s not a tomboy.”
“No, she’s a conniving whore. That’s why she went away with you on our honeymoon. She’s been trying to get you in to her bed for as long as I’ve known you. When I called your room—”
“You called my room?”
The driver climbs in and pulls in to traffic before I can get out. “I wanted to talk to you, to make sure you came to your senses.”
“She didn’t tell me,” I say. Shit, was her change in behavior because Ari had called? “What did you say to her?”
“I just told her that I had a change of heart and wanted you back.”
“Fuck, Ari, why would you do that?”
Her face twists into a cruel grin. “Because I’m sick of her. Sick of the way she looks at you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me that you don’t how much she loves you. Everyone knows it, Luke. It’s rather embarrassing for her. I mean look at her and look at me. There’s no comparison.”
I shake my head, hardly able to believe what I’m hearing. “You’re right, there isn’t.”
That brings a smile to her face, and she snuggles in closer. “Don’t worry about her. I straightened her out and told her that she would never be anything more than your tomboy friend.”
Unable to spend one more minute in this car with her, I look at the driver and say, “Pull over.”
Ari sits up straight. “Don’t you dare, Luke!”
“We’re done, Ari.” Oh, Jesus Christ, this is such a mess. Katee must think I love Ari, and why wouldn’t she? I never should have agreed to Ari’s terms; I should have been honest with Katee right from the beginning. But I was too much of a chicken shit, worried that I’d mess things up between us. But I went right ahead and did that anyway. Fuck man, how the hell am I going to make this right between us?
“I’ll ruin you,” she shouts at me.
“Fine, but if you do anything to hurt Katee, you’ll be sorry.”
16
Katee
Even though it’s the crack of dawn and I’m exhausted, I climb from my bed and walk to the shower. The spray does little to wake me. Then again, nothing has really woken me up from this haze I’ve been in for the last two days, since I returned from Italy. I haven’t heard from Luke, haven’t checked any of the social sites. The last thing I want to do is read Kari’s blog and find out the wedding is back on.
I turn the shower off, and make my way to the kitchen for some much-needed coffee. I press the button and as it percolates, I pinch my eyes shut, and try to dispel the images of Luke and me together at the resort. I still can’t quite figure out how a man in love with another woman could be so passionate, loving and caring in bed with me. That night we made love, well, that was the most beautiful coupling in the world and not something I’m ever going to come back from.
Get it together, Katee, it was just sex.
Then why, oh why, did it feel like so much more? I don’t know, but I can’t dwell on that. I need to get my life in order and find a way to move on. My coffee maker beeps, and I pour a strong cup and drink it black, needing all the caffeine and none of the fillers. Cup in hand, I walk back to my room to get ready for work. I don’t bother with makeup. Heck, who do I have to impress at the clinic anyway? The clients lay on the bed with their eyes closed. It’s not like I’m going to find myself a man that way. Not that I want any other man. But then again, maybe I should seriously start looking. It might be the only way I can move on from Luke.
I dress, and don’t bother with a lunch, since I’m going out with Michelle, a co-worker. She asked me yesterday, and suggested this new, pretty swank place that opened around the corner from our building. We’ve gone out a time or two in the past, but we always just grabbed a sandwich, so the switch to a costly restaurant was a bit of a surprise. Nevertheless, I readily accepted. I need the distraction, and maybe I’ll find a nice businessman at the new oyster bar. Lord knows, I’m off hockey players.
I grab my raincoat, tug it on, and hurry to my car. I jack the tunes to keep my mind busy as I head into work, and everywhere I look, I think I see Luke. I squeeze my car into a parking spot, and greet Nancy at the front counter as I make my way to the back, to my rented space in the clinic. I ready my room for my first client, and get to work. With a packed day to make up for my absence, my morning goes by quickly. Michelle pops her head into my room as I change the bedding for my after-lunch client.
“All ready?” she asks.
I grab my purse, and my raincoat, and head outside, but it’s unusually hot and dry for February. We talk about work as we hurry down the busy sidewalk, and when we reach the new restaurant, I’m quite impressed, although the oyster bar brings back memories of my first night Italy, and my throat tightens. But I don’t want to ruin my friend’s mood, so I plaster on a smile and grab a seat.
“I think we should order champagne,” she says and my head rears back.