“What?” I’m sure that if I weren’t holding on to her hand, she’d stagger back.
Didn’t see that one coming, now did you, sweetheart?
“Yup.” My grin grows wider as I nod decisively. This is what she needs? Fine, I can wait, give her time to adjust, get her to fall. “I’ll wait for you, Kitty, but you’re going to be the one to make the first move.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll wait for you to kiss me first.”
“I-I’m…”
I place my finger against her lips, effectively shushing her.
“But once you do, all bets are off.”
With one final slide over her lip—for now—I pull back.
“It won’t happen,” she says with such conviction I almost believe her. Almost, but not quite.
Because what Kate doesn’t know is that when I play, I play to win. Nothing else is an option.
Letting go of her, I cross my arms over my chest. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?” I look up when I see the movement behind her. “Oh, look, Becky and Miguel are here.”
KATHERINE
“What was that?” Becky’s wide eyes meet mine as we pile into her Jeep, and she starts the car.
“What was what?” I ask innocently, looking out the window.
The party is still in full swing, but when I was in Emmett’s truck, it felt like it was just the two of us. It’s dangerous. The way he can make me forget about everything around me and just concentrate on him.
His hands.
His voice.
His mouth.
“Don’t play like you don’t know. I’m talking about you and Emmett!”
“We were just waiting for you to show back up after disappearing with Miguel only God knows where.” I turn to look pointedly at her. “Which took an awful lot of time, if I might add.”
“We were fighting.” Her voice is steady, but I can see a blush creeping up her neck.
“And it was important for him to smear your lipstick and ruffle your hair during that fight?” I lift my brow. “Plus, it’s dark, but I believe I can see a hickey at the base of your neck, just barely covered by your shirt. You might want to take care of that before you get back home.”
“Katherine!”
“Yes, Becky?”
She peeks at the rearview mirror. “God, I hate when you’re right.”
We both laugh at that.
“So, I presume the make-up went well?”
“I…” There is a brief pause as she makes a turn to the main road. “I don’t know. We’re friends. And then we piss each other off with something. Then we get angry. Then we try to talk, which leads to more yelling until we just burst from all this pent-up tension, and we kiss. But when the kiss ends, the reality and doubt set in.”
I’m not sure who she’s trying to convince because I’m fairly certain it isn’t her who has doubts.
“But we weren’t talking about me! We were talking about you, and what exactly we walked into earlier?”
“It was nothing.”
“It ain’t looking like nothing.”
“Emmett has this weird obsession with me, and he thinks that he can get me to feel the same.”
“What you mean is he likes you.” She gives me an I-told-you-so look before returning her attention to the road just to take the turn onto Mabel’s street. Well, my street, technically.
“What I mean is, he thinks he likes me. I’ve only been here for a few weeks. He doesn’t even know me.”
“Love doesn’t know a timeframe.”
“My skepticism does.” I sigh in relief when I see my house, the only light on the one illuminating the front porch.
Becky parks in front of my house and turns to look at me. “Just promise me something.”
“What?” I ask carefully.
“Whatever happens, don’t break his heart.”
Her words ring in the space around us, making my throat close up.
“He’s a good guy, Kate, and I’d ha—”
I cover my hand with hers. “I know, Becky. I’ll try my best. The last thing I want to do is hurt anybody.”
A small smile appears on her lips, and she nods.
“See you at school on Monday?”
“Sure thing.”
We say our goodbyes, and I get out of the car. Becky lifts her hand and waves before driving off. I climb the few steps onto the porch and pull the key out of my bag to open the door.
The house is quiet, so I slowly toe off my shoes, not wanting to wake up anybody.
“Fun night?”
I jump a little, completely startled. My hand covers my chest to calm my fast-beating heart as I turn around.
“Aunt Mabel! You scared me.”
She’s dressed in her pajamas and robe, her glasses perched on her nose.
“I was watching TV.” The living room faces toward the backyard, which explains me not noticing the light. “Plus, somebody decided to stay out late.”
Looking down at my phone, I notice it’s past midnight. “Sorry if I kept you waiting.”
The words feel foreign on my tongue. I don’t remember a time Mom waited up for me to see if I got home okay.
Mabel looks at me for a moment but finally waves me off. “Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, I did. Becky just dropped me off.” I scratch the nape of my neck. “Anyway, I think I better go off to bed. Night, Aunt Mabel.”
“Night, Kate.”
Chapter Twelve
EMMETT
“Hey, is that the new girl?” John asks, narrowing his eyes somewhere over my shoulder.
I turn around, my eyes landing on Kate instantly. It’s like my body knows she’s there even before I see her.
“Katherine,” I correct immediately. “Seems like it. But who’s that with her?”
Kate’s walking in front of a bench where a blonde girl with a dog is sitting, a few bags next to her. She’s wearing another pair of jean shorts that leave all that skin exposed. Seriously, doesn’t this girl have anything else in her closet?
Nico doesn’t even bother to look her way. “Who the fuck cares? You guys coming or what?”
There are grunts of agreement, but I don’t move my eyes from Katherine. Her mouth is moving a mile a minute, but she’s too far away for me to decipher what she’s saying.
“Emmett?”
“Huh?” I look back to see the guys already walking down the street.
“You coming or what?”
I shake my head no. “I’m good, I promised my dad I’d bring him some stuff for the ranch.”
“Whatever man. Later.”
We say our goodbyes, and I look at the road, making sure there isn’t anybody around before I run to the other side.
Kate has stopped in front of the bench and is texting something on her phone. Her back is to me, so she doesn’t see me coming, which gives me a moment to listen in before she realizes I’m there.
My body buzzes with anticipation as I get closer.
It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I last saw her. Last touched her. I didn’t want to let her go yesterday, but I knew it was the right choice. I don’t know her story, but I can see her reluctance to get close to people. Even just as friends. I know she has to be the one to make the first move. But fuck it, I’m not used to waiting.