Gina looked like she’d been crying. I didn’t mean for her to get caught in the middle.
“I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that I said anything.”
“Oh, honey, don’t worry about it. I want to thank you for letting me know. I was nervous things were going too fast. At least now, I’ll be able to resist her charms. Now quit moping and go have some fun.”
Alan gave me a weak smile as they left. He had his hands full tonight.
Suzanne picked a great movie and all three of us enjoyed it. After the movie, none of us wanted to go home, so we went to a college place that had live music on Saturday nights. We spent the night talking and just being friends. We finally called it a night at 2:00 a.m. when they kicked us out.
I think the best outcome was the relationship between Jim and Suzanne changed. They finally saw that they could be friends and not just brother and sister. There were a few awkward moments when Suzanne showed me affection, but Jim realized that he was fine with his sister spending time with me. Someday she would find someone she loved, and he might as well get used to her being with someone now. At least I wasn’t her forever guy.
Jim took it in stride when Suzanne dragged me into the back seat for the ride home and we had a hot make-out session in full view of her brother. If he was ever going to have a problem with our relationship, it was then. When we got to my place, he just smiled when he drove away. Of course, now I was horny. When I got into my apartment, I took matters in hand and was asleep shortly thereafter.
Sunday November 3
AFTER CHURCH, I WAS helping Greg and Dad get lunch ready when the doorbell rang. I heard Mom talking to a female voice, and when they made it to the kitchen, I saw Kara.
“Are you and she ...?” Greg whispered in my ear.
“Nope, she and I are not.”
She stepped into the kitchen, and Greg turned on the Dawson charm. He took her hand in both of his and caressed it.
“Hi, I’m Greg. I’m sorry; I don’t know your name.”
“Kara.”
My respect for my brother dropped to almost nothing in those twenty seconds. My mom walked up to him and slapped him so hard Angie heard the crack all the way on the third floor. Thank God she wasn’t in the room. I honestly can’t remember the last time Mom hit either of us in anger. My mom gave me a look that said, ‘Get her the hell out of my house.’ I washed my hands and grabbed Kara.
“Come on, I’m taking you to lunch.”
We made it to the living room when Angie came down the stairs with Kyle. I could hear Mom ripping my brother, so I stopped Angie to keep her out of the kitchen.
“Kara, I promised I’d introduce you to my nephew Kyle. This is Greg’s girlfriend Angie. Kyle and Angie, this is Kara.”
“I swear, each time I see you with a girl she’s more beautiful than the one before. I’m not sure you can top this one,” Angie said.
“Thank you,” Kara said as she tried to not act confused. “So, you’re dating Greg?”
“Boy, I hope so. Between this little guy and living in his parents’ house, it would be a little awkward if we weren’t. So how long have you and David been going out?”
“Actually, we’re not. I did a few things to mess that up, and I’m going to try and fix them so we can.”
Angie got a sad look.
“Well, go easy on him. He’s had a rough patch. He’s a special guy, and you’ll be a lucky gal if you can work it out.”
“Hey, I thought your parents and sister were coming?” I asked. “I’d like to meet them.”
Angie put up a good front.
“They can’t today, maybe next week.”
I felt bad for her. I didn’t understand parents who don’t support their children when the going gets rough.
The voices in the kitchen had returned to a normal volume, so we said our goodbyes to Angie.
“Where do you want to go?” Kara asked as we walked out the front door.
“Let’s go to the diner on Main.”
I walked out to find she was driving one of my dream cars, a Dodge Viper SRT. She must not be worried about gas mileage because this beast had a V10 and 640 horsepower under the hood. When she pulled onto our street, she punched it and my head snapped back into the seat. I would forgive her anything if she let me drive.
The breakfast crowd had cleared out, so we were able to get a booth by the window. We ordered, and Kara finally decided it was time to talk.
“You mind if I straighten out a few misunderstandings? I think Gina spoke for me, getting almost none of the information correct.”
“Please. She didn’t paint a pretty picture.”
“First, I broke up with my boyfriend six weeks ago. He called me yesterday afternoon to see me so he could return some of my stuff. We’ve been trying to be friends, so I agreed to go to dinner with him. When you called, he was pushing to get back together. We hadn’t seen each other since the breakup, and I felt like I owed him enough to at least listen.”
Hadn’t I just done the same with Cindy and Suzanne? This wasn’t what Gina had told me.
“The way Gina told the story, you were still going out with him.”
“I normally don’t share details like this with Gina. I made a mistake, talking to her about what we did. She caught me when I got home, and I was excited about spending time with you. I made a bad decision, and I’m sorry.”
“Kara, your timing couldn’t be any worse. I told you, I’m an emotional wreck right now. My position coach walked out on me yesterday, and football’s taking up the lion’s share of my time. I honestly don’t see adding a relationship into the mix.”
“Maybe I can put your mind at ease. There’s a reason I had to crash your lunch today: Monday I leave for four weeks of photo shoots. I’ll be back the week after Thanksgiving. Then my schedule will be mostly quick two- and three-day trips.”
I took a minute and worked through the dates in my head. The timing would be almost perfect. A weight lifted from my shoulders.
“I was going to suggest that we go back to your place and try that friend-with-benefits thing. It’s been over eight weeks since I’ve been with anyone, and I’m a little horny. An afternoon with you might hold me for another month,” she added.
I signaled the server over.
“Can we get our meals to go?”
Kara just giggled. The server brought us a bag with our meals, and I paid our bill. We were out the door in a flash. I appreciated the Viper’s speed getting us back to my apartment. I gave Kara the keys and the food.
“I have to tell my mom that I’m back, or she might give everyone a tour of the apartment.”
I skipped into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Anderson. I swept Mrs. A into my arms and gave her a big kiss. When I let her go, her knees almost buckled. Mom laughed and steadied her. I set my sights on Angie and gave her the same treatment. Greg just shook his head.
“Damn,” Angie moaned.
Beth didn’t wait. She pulled me off Angie to get her turn. After some time, Mr. Anderson cleared his throat, so Beth and I pulled apart. I looked at Mom and her eyes got big.
“Don’t you dare, Mister.”
“What got into you?” Dad asked.
“I think it’s what he’s going to get into,” Greg retorted.
Angie whacked his arm. Poor Greg was getting beat on by all the women in this house. I smiled at everyone.
“If you hear strange noises coming from my apartment, everything’s okay.”
“You owe me a date,” Beth said.
“You name the time and place and I’ll be there,” I replied, grinning.
“If you want anything from him, ask it now. He may never be in a better mood,” Dad announced.
“I need you to babysit on Tuesday,” Angie laughed.
“You got it. I think I’d better leave.”
I grabbed a couple of Gatorade bottles and almost ran to my apartment.