Page 2 of Imperfections Seduced
“Watch your mouth, little girl, I’m still your big brother.”
“How can I forget when you’re always reminding me?” I say, rolling my eyes. “Jay, where’s Sasha, that cute niece of mine?”
“My little angel fell asleep waiting for you.”
“Aw, I wanted to see her. I guess I’ll look in on her later. Where are Chris and Kate?” I ask at the same time the doorbell rings.
“They’re running late, but maybe that’s them.”
I turn around and see them walking into the living room, looking nothing like twins at all, but that’s nothing new. I always thought Chris and I should have been twins; we are more alike when it comes to sports and our personalities. He always had time for me, no matter how small or big my problems were. Kate was the opposite of us both; she was into girly stuff when we were younger. She had tons of girlfriends and was basically a social butterfly. She never understood why I wanted to hang out with Chris and Nick.
“Oh my God, Cat!” Kate exclaims when she sees me.
We both rush forward to give each other a hug.
“You look great, Cat, when did you get this hourglass shape? Don’t tell me it’s been that long—or is it because you took my advice and stopped wearing your clothes two sizes too big?“
“Don’t start that, I never wore my clothes two sizes too big, they were just roomy and I was on the thinner side.”
“Well it looks like you’ve gained some weight in all the right places. You look fabulous, and I love this outfit, I’ve never seen you look so sexy.”
“Watch the sexy talk,” Chris says with a grimace. “That’s my baby sister.”
“Chris, please shut up and give me a hug.” I wrap my arms around his neck, and he twirls me around once before putting me back on my feet.
“Your style has changed, and I approve,” Kate says, giving me a nod of approval.
“Yes, my style has changed since you last saw me, and I owe it all to working out four days a week and eating right." I pull out of Chris’s hug and take three steps back, give them my best model pose, with sultry eyes, head-tilt and pouty lip, while both my brothers stare at me, aghast.
Kate looks at me with her almond-shaped dark brown eyes. “Is this new look for anyone in particular?”
“Can’t a girl take care of herself? You know what they say—when you look good you feel good. Besides, sometimes change is good; it gives you a new start. So what’s new, guys?” Kate gives me a wide-eyed look I know well; she definitely has something to say.
“I can’t wait to tell you, Cat; you and everyone else!”
“You mean no one else knows why you’re beaming like a one hundred-watt light bulb?”
“No, we wanted it to be a surprise.”
“We?” Before I can ask who “we” are, the doorbell rings again. “Man, I think they invited the whole neighborhood to welcome me home tonight! Give me your coats—I’ll hang them in the closet while I get the door. You can get Mom and Dad from the kitchen and get everyone together so we can all hear about this surprise.” I walk out of the living room, pull the door in a little and take the quick steps over to the closet door. Putting the coats in, I ask, “Who is it?” I get a welcome surprise from the other side of the door in the form of a deep, smooth voice.
“It’s Nick.”
I lunge for the door and throw it open.
“What are you doing here? Your email said you weren’t going to be able to come over tonight.” I smile up at him, and he’s staring at me like he’s never seen me before. He grabs me and pulls me into his arms, and I throw my arms around his neck as he lifts me off the ground. He smells so good, like I remember—maybe even better. A clean, crisp, fresh scent…all male and sexy. I missed that too.
“Kitty Cat…I would never miss your homecoming,” he whispers in my ear as he slowly lets me slide down his body. Smiling at me, his hand reaches up and gently tugs on one of the curls lying on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re back; I missed you. Don’t stay away that long again.”
He looks even better than I remember: six one, black hair, full lips that are totally kissable, and grayish-blue eyes that I have always found mesmerizing. After all these years, I still can’t figure it out; his eyes are just hauntingly beautiful to me. Add in that killer grin and yeah—this is the boy who’s also my friend, the one I want to be my boyfriend.
Nick
Damn,it’s cold out here. I don’t remember it being this cold earlier this evening. Good thing I don’t have to look for a parking spot. Every time I walk up these stairs it brings me back to my childhood. Some days I spent more time here than at my own house. My mother used to say, “Nicholas, are you going to your second home again? Tell your other mother I said hello.”
I ring the bell and wait. I can’t believe Catherine’s back for good. When she texted me the news, I thought she was joking. Since she left New York, we don’t talk as much as we used to. We might email and text each other once in a while, but it’s nothing like when she lived here. We would hang out at least two or three times a week, doing lunch, lying around my apartment, even hitting the clubs with some of her friends and mine, including her brother, though he often put a cramp in her style.
The door opens, and there she is, looking better than I’ve ever seen her. Her hair is usually long and shiny and straight down to the middle of her back, with a fringe of bangs. No bangs tonight—it’s parted in the middle, with soft bouncing shoulder-length curls. I like it. Now you can see her almond-shaped warm light brown eyes better, framed by her long eyelashes and perfectly arched eyebrows. Delicately high cheekbones, cute little straight nose, full pouty lips, heart- shaped face with a barely noticeable amount of makeup and shiny lip gloss. Damn, I missed her.
