Page 13 of Loving the Coach

I glare at him, “she does, so how do I make her realize it.” I’m in no man’s land right now. I have no idea how to get Katie back in my arms. She’s not the girl I left behind, instead, she’s this sexy, confident, vulnerable woman who I love even more than I remember.

“Wine and dine her. You fucked up,” I narrow my eyes at him, and he holds up his hand to stop me from telling him to fuck off. “You did, we both know it, so don’t deny it.”

“He’s right.” I turn to see the piercing blue eyes of Will Anderson, he’s grinning from ear to ear and I groan, just what I need, even more people to insert themselves into my love life. Or lack of. “You know you messed up and you want to fix it. That’s where to start. So take her out to dinner, show her why you love her.”

My brows creep upward toward my hairline. “Oh and how do you know that?”

He grins, he’s got a shit-eating grin and I grind my teeth. “Because I have the love of my life and you’re standing here wondering how you’re going to get yours back. So, take her out, wine and dine her, show her why she should give you another chance. Let her know just how much you love her and vow to never make the same mistake again.”

I take a deep breath, he’s right. “Shit. I hate wearing a suit.”

Will laughs, “But she’ll love you in it.”

Peters grins, “He’s right. Now, go get your girl.”

I turn without saying a word, my stride purposeful, I reach the parking lot just as I see Katie stopping by her car. “Katie.” I yell and watch as she stops, slowly turns, those beautiful green eyes are wide. I take the steps to reach her, “tomorrow night, I want to take you out for dinner.”

I didn’t think it would be possible, but her gorgeous eyes widen even further. “What?” She breaths.

“Dinner, tomorrow night. It’s time for us to talk, to put it all on the line. I’m all in with you Katie, and I want you to know that. No matter what happens, I love you.” I lean forward and place a chaste kiss against her cheek. “Tomorrow at seven.” I walk away and grin, I’ve left her speechless and I’m taking that as a win.

* * *

God, she looks gorgeous. Picking her up from her apartment I was speechless, the dark green dress hugs her curves in all the right places. I couldn’t breathe, I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.

“So, you wanted to talk…” She tells me as she reaches for her glass. Both of us are drinking water. I want a clear head while we talk and I know that Katie doesn’t drink much, from the little that I’ve gathered, her mom turned to alcohol after Dean died and hasn't stopped since.

We’ve made it through dinner without talking about anything heavy, just random shit that is meaningless and I know that I should have started off by getting out of the way and hoping that we’ll be able to have dinner in happiness, but I’m a chickenshit and I had no idea where to even begin.

I nod, “I do, I’ve been open with my intentions Kitty Kat, I want you. I want you in my bed, in my life, and in my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, showing you just how beautiful and special you are.”

Her eyes soften and her lips tilt, “Garret,” she whispers.

“But I have no idea what you want. You haven’t told me. I’m in limbo here Kitty Kat.”

She sucks in her bottom lip and closes her eyes, almost as if she’s in pain.

“Do you love me?” I ask, this is the one question that I’ve been dreading. What if she no longer does?

“With all my heart. I never stopped,” she confesses quietly.

I’m able to breathe, for the first time in three years, I’m able to breathe fully. “Thank fuck.” I mutter, I needed to hear that, needed it more than anything in this world. “Do you want us?”

She nods, her eyes bright with tears.

“Tell me Kitty Kat, tell me what I can do to make us, us?” I’ll do whatever it takes.

She’s quiet for a moment, “I worked so hard for this. It was tough, Dean was….” she shakes her head, “gone, you were gone, mom was there but she wasn’t. She checked out, preferring to drown her grief than facing it.” The tears that coated her eyes fall and I reach out and capture them on my thumb. “I lost everyone I loved within weeks. It took everything I had to move on, move forward. I pushed past the pain and worked hard to get my new dream. To be a cheerleader, I’m good at it, Garret. I’m so fucking good. I love my life. For the first time in three years, I was happy.” She wipes away the tears, “then you crash back into my life and I’m right back there. I’m that girl you left. I’m scared. I love you, I really do but I’m so frightened that you’ll leave. If you do, you’ll shatter me and I don’t think I can come back from that.”

I’m quiet for a moment, trying to absorb everything she said. “I’m not going to say sorry for coming back into your life. I’ve loved you for years Kitty Kat and that’s never going to change. Ever. You’re the only woman I’ll love, I promise you that I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay, watching Dean die, it changed me. I thought you’d blame me and I couldn’t stand to see the pain in your eyes, the accusations in them so I left. It was a shitty thing to do and I’ve regretted it every day since.” I take a deep breath and let it all out. “I should have saved him. He was my best friend, my brother and I failed him. Failed you both.”

She shakes her head, “you didn’t fail him. I didn’t even know how much he was hurting. If I’d known, I could have stopped him.”

“I know there’s nothing I can say that will make you see otherwise.” I know that I won’t see it any other way. I should have saved him. He’s dead because I couldn’t. “Tell me Kitty Kat, can you forgive me? For it all, everything I’ve done to hurt you. I need to know can you forgive me?”

She gives me her million dollar smile, “I already did.”

Happiness washes through me and I can’t help but smile. God, this woman is fucking amazing. “I love you, I fucking do.”

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