Page 56 of Right Place, Right Time (Second Chances)
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jay
The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind. Casey underwent open heart surgery and received a new heart the day after she and Kate reconciled. She’s recovering well and Kate has been visiting her in the hospital nearly every day. I’ve gotten to know Decker a little bit as we’ve been spending time together in the cafeteria while the girls have their girl time, doing whatever it is girls do—or whatever they manage to do within the confines of a hospital room. He’s a pretty cool guy, and I think I can call him a friend now.
It’s kind of weird…making new friends. It just goes to show you that life does go on, despite what has been thrown at you…what you’ve been through. Now, in addition to Sean, I’ve got Tom, Johnny, and Decker; a small, but very decent, group of people to choose from when I need a distraction from missing Kate.
And I do miss her…a lot. Since she’s adamant about changing majors, she dropped her classes for the new semester. A fact that would send her parents on the attack if they actually were involved in her life. Instead of school, she’s taken on more hours at Five, wanting to pad her bank account for when she’s inevitably cut off by her parents. She’s also been spending a lot of time researching and applying to teaching programs for the fall. I’m so proud of her for finally following her passion.
And passionate she is. We spend every night together now at either her place or mine. Since making her peace with Casey, and Casey’s positive health reports, she hasn’t been as scared of being in her apartment. It’s as though she’s finally able to let go of the fear of walking in and finding her roommate unconscious. Itisa little awkward with Casey’s mom sleeping in the next room though. So on the nights where she really needs to let loose, Kate insists we go to my place. I don’t argue. Not at all. My girl can get loud, and it turns me on like you wouldn’t believe when she can’t contain herself.
Tonight, I’m taking her out on a real date. I got a pretty awesome cash tip from a customer, and I can’t think of anything—or anyone—that I want to spend it on more. Kate has stood by my side, not just since I’ve been in California, but for years. She’s given me a second chance. She’s believed in me. I want to take her out to a nice dinner to show her my appreciation. Plus, she can use a nice night out. She’s been working herself to the bone, and with Casey being released next week and her parents’ visit shortly after, she’s going to be stressed. She needs this. I only wish I could do more.
I arrive at her apartment complex to pick her up at five o’clock on the dot and park my bike in the lot, hurriedly climbing the stairs to her apartment. When we made the date, I’d told her I wanted to take her car. I don’t want to drive to San Francisco with her on my bike, especially when she’ll be dressed up all nice. I’d made reservations at this little Italian place in San Francisco Decker had raved about. It’s about an hour drive, and I’d built in an extra thirty minutes to allow for traffic, parking, and walking.
My mouth drops when she opens the door. She looks beautiful, and it’s as if I’m taking a walk down memory lane because she’s wearing a white sundress and white sandals, just like she’d had on the day we first met. I can’t be sure—because my memory isn’tthatgreat—but it may even be the exact same ones. Her golden locks gently touch her shoulders and her brown eyes are sparkling.
She smiles at my speechlessness and leans in to kiss me on my cheek. “Hey, handsome,” she says, pulling back and grabbing a small purse from the table just inside the door. “You clean up nice…not sure I’ve ever seen you in anything other than jeans.”
I shrug, looking down at myself. Yeah, I dressed up for this date. I’m wearing khaki pants—which thankfully hadn’t caught any road grime on the ride over—and a black button down shirt.
“You look beautiful,” I finally say, taking her hand and weaving my fingers with hers.
She blushes, looking down at the ground. I’ve seen her naked and said many dirty things to her in the throes of passion, yet she still blushes like a schoolgirl when I call her beautiful. That alone is endearing to me.
“Come on, I made reservations. If we’re late they may give our table away.” I tug her out of the doorway, waiting as she locks up behind her.
“You made reservations?” she asks with surprise in her voice.
“My girl deserves the very best for our first date,” I tell her with a wink, and then I smile as her blush deepens. So beautiful.
As we approach her BMW, she tosses me the keys, and I use the fob to unlock the doors. Like a gentleman, I open the passenger door for her and kiss her cheek once she’s settled inside. She gives me a shy smile as I close the door, and, out of the corner of my eye, I see her watching me curiously as I walk around the front of the car and let myself in to the driver’s side.
Once my seat belt is secured, I look over at her. She’s still eyeing me with a puzzled expression on her face. “What?”
“What’s up with you tonight?” she asks.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re all dressed up, making dinner reservations, opening my door…”
I frown. Am I doing something wrong? Granted, I’ve never been on a real date before, but I thought this is how the guys did it in the movies.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she says quickly, placing her hand on my arm. “This is all very nice, very…special.”
“So what’s the problem?” I ask with some unintentional bite in my tone.
I inwardly curse as Kate winces back. Two minutes into our date, and I’m already fucking it up.
“There’s no problem,” she says quietly…cautiously. “It’s just that I like the real you, Jay. I appreciate all this,” she says, gesturing around us, “but I don’t want you to feel as though you have to do stuff like this all the time.”
I sigh. “I’m sorry, Kate. I just wanted to do something special for you. We’ve never been on a real date, and I wanted to do something nice.”
She shakes her head. “No. I’m sorry. I’m screwing this up. Of course you can do something nice for me. I don’t mean to seem ungrateful. You just seem so…uncomfortable?”
I let out a laugh and run a finger between my collar and my neck. “Yeah…I can’t imagine if I’d ever have to wear a suit.” She laughs, too, and just like that, the tension is broken. I look into her eyes, sobering up. “I’d do it for you, though, Kate. I’m pretty sure I’d do anything for you.”
Kate leans over the console and places her warm hands on my face. “I’m pretty sure I’d do anything for you, too.” Then she presses her lips against mine.
Heaven. This girl is my heaven.
