Page 35 of Spreading Her Wings

Without hesitating, I took off, rushing to my truck and throwing the door open. I was nearly frantic when I turned the key and the engine roared to life. It was all I could do not to make a scene pulling out of the parking lot, but I had to get to Katie. Ineeded to hear her voice, to see her face, to kiss her. Would she answer the door when I got there?

The road purred under my tires as I drove, and I accelerated, hoping there wouldn’t be any hidden speed traps on the two-mile journey. It only took a few minutes to pull into her empty driveway. Her house was dark, with the curtains drawn and the lights off. The porch light was on, but when I rang the doorbell, there was no movement inside the house.

Before disappointment had completely settled in my stomach, I remembered it was Tuesday. Katie had told me she always had dinner with her Aunt June on Tuesdays. I looked at the clock on my phone. 6:30.

They would likely be sitting down to eat, maybe finishing up whatever was on their plates at this point. I shouldn’t have thought to interrupt them, but I couldn’t stop myself from getting back in the car and driving the short distance to her aunt’s house. My truck sat in front of the driveway, and I looked at the gutters, remembering the afternoon spent with her doing the work.

The curtains were open, and Katie leaned over, setting a cardboard box on the table. Her long dark-brown hair hung over her shoulder, and her eyes gleamed when she smiled. She was saying something to her aunt, and when she laughed, my stomach flipped. I could practically hear the high-pitched giggle and snort she’d make when she couldn’t stop.

The roaring of my nerves in my ears increased when I shut the engine off, but I took a deep breath and climbed from the cab. Dusting off the dirt that wasn’t even there from my already-worn-twice jeans, I made my way to the door.

My hands shook when I knocked against the wood. “Coming!” she sang from the dining room. When the door opened, the smile on her face fell. “Auston. What the hell are you doing here?”

“I needed to see you.” I couldn’t mask the near desperation in my voice.

“I can’t right now. I’m having dinner with my aunt. Please, just go.” She looked behind her, her voice lower.

“I can’t do that, kitten.” I put my foot against the threshold to prevent the door from being closed, placing my hand against the wood. “You’re avoiding me.”

Katie opened her mouth, but before she could get the words out, June stepped up behind her. “Oh, Auston. What a pleasant surprise.” As she spoke, Katie cringed. “We were just about to have dinner. Please come in and join us!”

Before Katie could object, I agreed and stepped through the door. The look of shock on her face directly rivaled the pleasant satisfaction her aunt wore. “You’re kidding.” She groaned.

“Stop it. Let the boy come in and eat. If you didn’t want him here, you wouldn’t have that silly blush on your cheeks. Now hush.” June turned to me with a big smile pasted on her face. “Come in, dear. I hope you like pizza.”

Katie fell in line next to her aunt, walking back into the dining room. There was a blush in her cheeks that hadn’t been there earlier, but the carefree smile she’d worn when I was looking through the window had disappeared. Did she want me to leave?

“I love pizza,” I said. “Pepperoni and black olives?”

“Obviously.” Katie and June said it at the same time, turning their heads over their shoulders and looking at me as if it was a stupid question. I could see where Katie got her sarcasm.

Settling at the table next to her, my stomach growled. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the spicy scent of the pepperoni mixed with the sweet smell of the marinara filled my nostrils. Katie lifted a slice of the greasy pizza to her mouth, biting down and running her tongue along her lips to catch any loose drops of grease.

“You showed up just in time, Auston. I was just about to ask Katie about your trip to Vegas!”

Katie choked on the bite in her mouth, coughing and sputtering for breath. She shot me a side-eyed glare, warning me to keep our relationship quiet. I winked at her.

“It was a great time! Katie is quite the lucky charm,” I said. Katie narrowed her eyes at me. “This girl won big on roulette more than once!”

I thought of the way she’d jumped into my arms whenever the ball landed in favor of her bet, usually on the red, and smiled. The butterflies that filled my stomach were reminiscent of the ones that had lived in my throat the entire trip. My fingers tingled with the need to touch her skin, but when I brushed them against the side of her thigh, she pulled her leg away. My stomach sank, and I looked at her from the side of my eye. Why did it hurt so badly?

June looked between Katie and me, a knowing smile on her face. Did she just think we had become more intimate, or did she know more had happened? I glanced at Katie’s hand, half expecting to see the simple diamond ring she’d worn during the trip. When her finger was bare, I frowned, using my thumb to twist the ring resting on my digit.

The rest of dinner was spent with idle conversation about how much Katie loved roulette now or the noise of the strip. June told us stories about her own youthful trips to Vegas and how many times she’d gotten herself in a bit of trouble.

“There was one trip where I almost married a random stranger I met at a craps table. He said that if he rolled one more hard eight, we were getting married. We made it all the way to the chapel, but as soon as I saw Elvis huddled next to the Easter Bunny, I backed out.” June laughed at her story, her face lighting up with the memory. “It was almost the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but I didn’t go through with it. Some days, I wish I had.”

She looked off in thought, and Katie’s face twisted in confusion next to me. What would June say if I told her how we had gotten married? What would Katie say?

I imagined she’d deny the whole thing, at the very least assuring her aunt that the marriage would be fully annulled right away. “Aunt June, don’t be ridiculous. You would’ve never done something so stupid.” Her voice cracked when she said the last word, as if feeling the stabbing pain of her own criticism. Was that what this was?

“Would it have been stupid, or would it have been the best thing to ever happen? Who knows what could’ve happened if we’d done it,” June said, winking at her.

Next to me, Katie’s discomfort radiated off her. The pizza on her plate sat mostly untouched, and she picked at the skin on the side of her nails. Was I mistaken to think tears were pricking her eyes?

I slid my chair back from the table, patting my hand against my leg and standing up. “I… uh… I shouldn’t have interrupted, so I won’t stay past my welcome.” I glanced at Katie, giving her an apologetic half smile. “Thank you for the pizza, June. Pepperoni and olives. It’s my favorite too.”

Katie widened her eyes, and my suspicions were correct. They were glossed over with unshed tears that threatened to paint their way down her cheeks.

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