We get to my car. Jack holds my door open for me and I climb in. I turn the key. It won’t start. Seriously?
“Jack, did you plan this?” I blow out a breath and giggle. I honestly can’t believe my luck.
“Of course not. Though a little more time with you might have been worth a maniacal act on my part, but remember, I save you from car tragedies. I don’t induce them.” We wait for AAA to arrive, and it turns out I have a failed alternator. Great. The guy tells me I have to have it towed. I pick a shop near my house.
“How about I drive you home?” Jack asks. “It’s not that big of a deal if I get back to my place an hour later. I don’t want you to have to Uber from here.”
I hate to put him out, but I am stuck. “You sure?”
“Yep. I’m sure.” I grab my bag and we walk over to his car. He holds the passenger door to his car open and I step down to get in. He brushes a kiss across my forehead. Whew. Chills run straight down my spine – from a kiss on the forehead. I really am out of practice. Either that or Jack has a direct line to my nervous system. I give Jack my address and text Patrice while he drives.
Katrina: Hey, It’s me. In Santa Monica.
Patrice: You need me to call and bail you out?
Katrina: Not even close. We kissed. Well, he kissed me. But I kissed back and … wow. So, no. No bailing. Just my car died, so he’s driving me home.
Patrice: Well, woohoo! Girl! That’s awesome. About the kiss, not the car.
Katrina: Yeah. It is. … I don’t know. Men. He’s a man. Right? Anyway, I want you to pick up my car at the shop when it’s ready while I’m in Europe. I’ll pay your expenses to do it. And first cup of coffee is on me when I get back – or lunch – whatever. Can you do it?
Patrice: You sure you need a man fast? Kat this sounds pretty good. But it’s not for me to say, so I’m zipping it over here. Anyway, yes. Of course I’ll pick up your car. And no, don’t pay me, but I’ll take free coffee any day, so latte on you and we’re even.
Katrina: Definite man-fast. It resumes after tonight. I’m getting one goodnight kiss. That’s for sure. He’s pretty amazing, Patrice. But, that’s first date talk. Right? They’re all amazing on the first date.
Patrice: You are too young to be jaded. Get that kiss. And reconsider the fast. That’s all I’m saying.
Katrina: Thanks, friend.
As I set my phone back in my bag, I look over at Jack. He’s smiling softly. “That was my friend, Patrice. She wanted to know if she needed to save me from you.”
He looks puzzled and then grins a little. “Wow. I must have given a great impression.”
“No. Yes. I mean, you definitely did. She was going to bail me out if you turned out to be an axe murderer or something.” Agh.
He fully laughs. “Well, good thing I passed the axe murderer test, right?”
“You definitely passed that.” His smile grows. I lean my head back and look out the window at the city passing by.
On the drive home I must have fallen asleep. I wake when the car stops. Jack looks over and says, “You’re home.”
He jumps out and opens my door. I don’t always appreciate men opening my door. Some of them do it in a way that makes me feel like they think I’m incompetent. After all, I grew up in Texas where men are raised to have manners. It’s just that not all of them have the heart behind the actions.
Jack is different. When he opens a door, I can tell he’s trying to cherish me. I step out past him and we walk together to my door. We aren’t standing there for more than a few seconds when Jack steps forward and kisses me again. I wrap my arms around his neck and swirl my fingers through the short waves at the back of his neck. His kiss is warm and comfortable but tinged with longing.
All of a sudden, my thoughts start firing off. What are you doing, Kat? You are supposed to be putting some distance between you and men. What about the fast? What about the mantra? Talk about a buzzkill. I try to shut down the warring voices in my head and just enjoy being kissed by Jack. I pull away gently and press another soft kiss on his lips.
I don’t want to reject him. I also don’t want to send him the wrong message when I’m so confused inside. This day has been amazing. Still, I’m off to Europe. I got to know Jack a lot better today, but I don’t really know him, and my track record says that days like today are bound to be followed by some serious letdown. You know what they say: The taller they are the harder they fall. Well, I’m pretty high on Jack Anders right now, so that fall is going to be brutal.
I step back slowly and take one last look in those beautiful hazel eyes of Jack’s. “I’d better go in. I leave tomorrow and I want to get some sleep before my trip. Thanks for everything, Jack. This day was one I won’t soon forget.”
“Me either. I’m so glad you said yes. Have a safe trip.”
“You too. I mean, you take care. By the way, you can call me Kat. All my friends do.”
“Well then I’m calling you Katrina. Because I’m pretty sure friends don’t kiss on their porches at the end of a day at the beach. So, goodnight, Katrina.”
“ ‘Night.” I turn and go into my house. I step over to the front window to watch Jack walk down the walkway and get into his car. Whew. He might want more than friendship. That puts a twist on things. He’s no ordinary man, for sure. What I’m going to do about it is still very much up in the air.
chapter eight
Jack
My day with Katrina can’t really be summed up in words. I meet Brett at the gym before work and he asks me about her. “So, Katrina, huh? She seems like a good match for you, Jack. Did you plan anything with her after the wedding?”
“Actually, I took her to Santa Monica yesterday.” I can’t help but smile.
Brett looks over with an approving glance. “Okay. Now we’re talking. Jack and a woman. Back in the action.”
“Yeah. She’s special for sure.”
“Oh. You’ve got it bad already. I know that look. So, deets man. Spill. What did you two do?”
“We went to the stairs in Santa Monica, ran up and down, you know. Laughed a lot. Rented bikes. Ran in the ocean. We had some really nice talks.” I picture each part of our day as I recount the events to Brett.
“Talks. Bro? Your game has slipped.”
“My game hasn’t slipped. It’s called respect.”
“Touché”
“Anyway, I did kiss her on top of the Ferris wheel.” That kiss.
Brett grins. “That’s more like it. And …”
“And that’s all you’re getting from me.”
Brett snaps his workout towel at me and says, “Oh, that’s all I’m getting, huh? So, Jack Anders doesn’t kiss and tell? Well, good for you, man. I’m happy for you. When are you seeing her again?”
“That’s the problem. I forgot to get her number. Can you believe it? I have her full name and her address. But no number. I just forgot to get it and then after I drove away there was no way to go back and get it from her without looking like the dork I am, so I’m stuck for now. Anyway, she’s off to Europe for a shoot for a month. I wouldn’t see her until after that anyway.”