Page 2 of Waste Some Time
“She drove in Christmas Eve, a day later than she’d planned,” he said, closing his locker and waiting for her to finish retrieving her things. “You could have come either way, though. You know that.”
“I know. But it was Rachel’s friends at that party, so lots of people I didn’t know. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet someone.”
“You mean an opportunity to meet THE one.”
Katie closed her locker and shrugged. “Yeah, that.”
“So, did you meet someone? Spill. I was promised details in exchange for you skipping out on Mom’s catfish courtbouillon.”
It had been hard to turn that down, along with missing out on the warmth of his family, but she’d get other opportunities for that. A party filled with people she didn’t know was a rarer find. Even if it had been a very low-key event.
“You didn’t miss much. It was pretty chill.”
“I don’t care about the party. Did you accomplish your mission? Meet the woman of your dreams? Or did you snub my invitation for nothing?”
Katie slipped her bag over one shoulder and bit her lip. “I wouldn’t say for nothing.”
Stephen raised an eyebrow at that. “So you did meet someone.”
“Someone,” Katie said. “Not the one.”
“How do you know? You only met her that one night, right?”
“Yeah, but she’s not it. We have nothing in common, even in the brief bit of time we spent talking.”
Nothing in common but thoroughly enjoying the taste of each other’s mouths. Katie had wanted to taste more of her, but she could tell it wouldn’t go any further than that. She was kicking off her New Year’s resolution early. No more wasting time on relationships that clearly weren’t going anywhere. If she wanted something that would last, she needed to make sure she was available to spot that person when they showed up.
“What if they just had awkward party vibes? You’re going to cut out the potential love of your life because she didn’t fit a couple things on your compatibility checklist?”
“We didn’t even get to the checklist,” Katie said. “She’s an accountant.”
Stephen narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong with accountants? My sister’s an accountant.”
“And I’m sure she’s a lovely person.”
The woman Katie made out with certainly was. At least her mouth was the most lovely thing Katie had explored in a long time, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was they didn’t fit. Plain and simple. Katie refused to waste any more time on doomed relationships.
“Speaking of Sydney,” Stephen said as they headed toward the rear exit together. “She’s meeting me here in a minute. You should have dinner with us. She’s only in town for a few days.”
“Nope. Nuh-uh. You are not setting me up with your sister, who’s going to bounce in a few days. You know I’m only accepting serious prospects from now on.”
“It’s only dinner, I swear,” Stephen said. “It’s my sister who just got divorced, for crying out loud. I wouldn’t set her up with anyone yet, and if I did, it would be with another guy. And yes, I know your rule.”
He said that last word with an eye roll and an annoyed tone.
Katie didn’t know anything about his siblings except that there were four of them and they all had S names. She always imagined his parents were really into snakes or something, and she’d originally avoided hanging out with them to not ruin that image. She vaguely remembered him mentioning his sister from San Diego finalizing a divorce last month, but that was all she knew about her. That was enough to cross her off Katie’s potential prospects list.
Stephen’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket.
“She’s waiting outside.” He tucked his phone away again. “You can at least meet her before you turn down yet another of my offers.”
Not that Katie didn’t want to hang out with Stephen. And she didn’t know this sister, so she didn’t have anything against her. She just hadn’t been in a hanging-out mood lately. Christmas festivities were exhausting to go through alone, and she was dreading another New Year’s Eve without a partner.
All she wanted to do was cave out in her apartment with Benjamin, her fluffy orange tabby. Read some books. Take a lot of baths. Hide.
Next year would be her year. She just had to be patient and wait for it.
But maybe one dinner with her best friend wouldn’t be so bad. Besides, if his sister had just gotten divorced, at least Katie would be spared a bunch of relationship talk to make her jealous of.
