Page 28 of Dangerous

But for now, I’d soak up every minute of the time we did have together.

21

Katy/Katherine

“Are you taking the car today?” Mom took the mug of coffee I handed her, taking a big sip before releasing a loud sigh. She’d been working long hours lately and it was beginning to show. I only hoped that she wouldn’t be called in today to fill in as she needed these few days off to catch up on her sleep.

“No. Thought I’d leave it for you in case you needed to go anywhere. Maybe get your haircut.” I couldn’t remember the last time mom was able to do something for herself. I’d purchased her gift card for some spa treatments ages ago that were still unused. Maybe she’d be able to now since tourist season was winding down for the fall before the slight uptick during Christmas and once the lake froze enough for ice fishing and ice racing, meaning she’d be able to get a last minute or even same-day appointment if she wanted.

“Is Peter taking you?”

I shook my head as I finished packaging the dessert bars I’d baked yesterday into a travel container. These were a thank yougift for Mr. Taylor. For the first week of school, he’d put up with having Liam in class with me since he refused to stay in the daycare for the afternoons because his gums were bothering him. Then, for the second week of school, he allowed me to come to class late so I could get Liam to sleep after his noon bottle. That seemed to work, allowing him to stay for the entire day without me having to go get him. “Ethan is stopping by.”

Her eyebrows rose at that, but she didn’t pry. I’d spent too many evenings and nights over the past two weeks attheirhouse, helping with Liam since mom was working nights. It was hard, being there with them, wanting them while still overwhelmed and confused. None of it gave me the time and space I needed to sort through everything I was feeling. But with Liam doing better and mom on days off before starting two weeks of day shifts, I was wanting to put some space between me and them. Give myself some time to get my feet back under me.

My phone beeped, letting me know Ethan was on his way. I shoved my lunch in my bag, gave mom a peck on the cheek, and headed to the door, wanting to be outside, ready, and waiting when Ethan arrived.

As I stepped outside, I heard Peter’s door shut. I couldn’t help myself, watching him exit with Liam in his car seat. He glanced up, noticing me. A smile lit up his face. “Katy, want a ride to school? Liam and I would love the company.”

I had to give him credit. He asked this nearly every morning even though I refused every time, choosing to take mom’s car since she was home sleeping or getting Ethan to pick me up if she was working overtime. He never got angry or upset even if his smile always dimmed when I said no. It made me feel nice, wanted, maybe even a little special when he didn’t stop. A big change for him. Not like he’d been self-centred before, but he hadn’t always stopped to really think about how his actions would affect those around him, those he cared about. Andsince Liam came into his care, the changes he’d already been putting into place after finally announcing to everyone about his relationship with Jarrod, intensified.

It almost me wish I could take him up on his offer… almost. Reaching for my backbone, I stood still, looking him in the eye. If I was going to refuse him again, I would do it without cowering. “Thanks, but Ethan’s picking me.”

He nodded, keeping his smile in place, but I could see how it tightened around his lips. “Glad you’ve made a new friend. He seems nice.” His gaze dropped to the container in my hand. “Did you do some baking? I swear I could smell something sweet, cooking yesterday, but Jarrod told me my nose had to be broken since I’d just been changing Liam. And I can tell you, he hadn’t been sweet. Poor Jason told the Little Guy that he was worse than some of his crew after chilli day.”

Laughter bubbled up and out until tears threatened to fall. After having changed a couple of Liam’s dirty diapers, I could completely understand. It was something they were going to discuss with Old Dr. Bishop because we wondered if some of his earlier problems weren’t all teething, but rather related to his formula. As I tried to calm down, I told him that he’d been correct, I’d been baking and that, yes, I did have some set aside for them that I’d drop off later today. That seemed to brighten his smile as he secured Liam’s seat in his car.

“See you in English,” he called before closing his door. He pulled out of his driveway as Ethan arrived and nodded to him before driving off.

Once Ethan’s car stopped moving, I opened the passenger door. “Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem.” He grinned as I settled into the seat, and finishing buckling the seat belt. “Besides, I needed to ask you a huge favour and I can’t ask it at school.”

I turned slightly to face him, wondering what he wanted that couldn’t be said at school. Was it about Liam? Peter? We didn’t really talk about that night, the one where he watched out for me when I’d gotten drunk at the party. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder what he thought when he discovered that one of the men who’d picked me up was a teacher at our school. Had he’d seen something between Jarrod and I or maybe Peter and I that made him suspicious? Knowing that it was pointless to speculate, I did the only possible thing I could do and asked, “What is it?”

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, nearly turning white from the strength of his grip. “You know how I told you there were conditions to me staying with my uncle, so I’d be close to my team?” I nodded. “Well, one of them was that I needed to show my parents that I was willing to have a normal high school experience. Soccer has always been my focus. Sometimes to the detriment of my schooling.” Again, I nodded. I knew how focussed he was, wanting to try and go pro over in Europe. Even while he was off injured, he spent a chunk of his summer travelling with his team so he could watch the games live and learn their plays and strategies.

“And you’re correcting that by signing up for and taking AP classes.”

He glanced at me while stopped at the four-way stop. “I am, but that’s not all that my parents want.” He took a deep breath before letting it out slowing, forcing his muscles to relax and his grip on the wheel to loosen. “It’s silly really. I don’t even know why they want it considering the reputation of many athletes, but mom and dad feel that I should be dating. They feel it would show that I’m broadening my horizons and not focussing solely on soccer.”

“O-kay?” I split the word into two syllables, not fully understanding why he was telling me this. Or maybe I did and just didn’t want to acknowledge it. Between everything thathappened with Mason, I really didn’t want to lose another friend because they liked me as more than a friend. Add to that all the crap I was personally going through and I really didn’t know how I’d cope if I had to do this all by myself. It wasn’t as if my friendship with Sasha and Deena had grown any closer. Not when I was holding back since all they seemed to want to talk about was Peter, his relationships with Jarrod and Jason, and Liam. Oh, and Mr. Taylor since he was still single.

The car came to a stop. I glanced around, surprised to discover we were already at school. Ethan turned the car off, undid his seatbelt, and turned to face me. “They want me to start dating.” I held my breath not sure where he was going with this. “But I really don’t want to be with any of the girls I’ve met here. After what they’ve done and have been saying about Liam, you, and even Mr. Evans, even if I’d felt an ounce of attraction to one of them, I wouldn’t go there. I don’t like bullies and gossipers. And that’s what they all seem to be.”

I couldn’t disagree with him, couldn’t defend my friends because everything he said was true. It might not have been malicious since gossip was currency in this town, but like how Peter used to be, what they were saying, were doing was hurting people. It’s why I’d always been selective of my friends even if I was friendly with everyone. Only Sasha and Deena had been allowed to get closer than the others, but even they were being held back now because I didn’t like how they seemed to be questioning me. They knew I hadn’t secretly given birth to Liam, but that still didn’t stop them from asking me if I’d had a secret boyfriend—which I did have, making it hard to lie to them—or if I’d slept with someone without telling them. It made me question every interaction and secret I’d ever shared with them.

“So, what I’m asking is”—he swallowed, hard—“would you be willing to be my fake girlfriend?”

I stared at him, not knowing what to say. I mean, what did he mean by fake girlfriend? Would we kiss and hold hands or just go on dates?

He reached for my hand, taking it in his. Not something new as he’d held my hand in passing before when I needed help, but this time, I wasn’t sure what it meant, making me tense. “It wouldn’t mean anything. But it would help. It would protect me from the girls who’ve been harassing me.” He shrugged as his eyes twinkled, losing their haunted and timid look. “I mean, being your baby daddy seems to have increased my appeal.”

I pulled my hand away as I hunched over laughing. It wasn’t really that funny, but I couldn’t stop the hysterics.Oh crap, what’s wrong with me?Too many things, too many big emotions that I’d been shoving down for weeks, possibly months, needed an escape. And at least it was laughter instead of tears because I’d shed too many of those into my pillow at night. Why it all came out now, I didn’t know. Maybe the idea that someone was benefitting from my pain and misery ended up being the tipping point. Because it certainly wasn’t like all the crap, I was putting up with at school had ended. Despite two high profile breakups in the senior year, my name was still being whispered at the start of week three. It was so bad that I kept waiting for the summons from the school councillor for an emergency appointment to either see how I was handling all the rumours or to discuss if there was any validity to them. It was probably only the fact that the staff all knew Liam was Peter’s biological father and that I wasn’t the mother that kept her from calling me in.

“I’m hoping you’re laughing at what I said and not at me,” Ethan huffed, but even I heard the suppressed chuckles in his voice.

“Oh, I’m definitely laughing at you,” I assured him as I sat upright, wiping my eyes as I pushed all emotions back into theirbox for another time. I needed to be strong if I wanted to get through the school day unscathed. “Who would have thought that the only way you’d catch a woman was to be thought of as a baby daddy. Not your height, your hair, your eyes, your body, or the fact that one day you’ll be making millions playing professional soccer.”

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