One of the Guys (16 page)

The
fire finally caught, and soon, Lucy and Jackson were snuggled on a blanket
surrounded by Lucy’s parents, her sister and brother-in-law, and Kevin and Kate.
They passed around a plate of leftover sandwiches and it seemed like every time
someone got up, they came back with a couple cans of beer. With a full belly,
warm, toasty feet, and the moon shining down brightly on the ocean, Kate
couldn’t help but feel her mood lifting. Lucy and Jackson looked so happy;
everyone was smiling and laughing…

And
then Kate realized who was missing. Chris wasn’t sitting around the fire. When
did he leave?
 
Where did he go?
 
She dug in her pocket for her phone and
looked at the screen. No messages. No phone calls.
Hmm.
Well, Chris had said he wanted to leave. He obviously was planning on leaving
whether Kate went with him or not.

Max
had left with the blonde girl. Chris had disappeared. She was all by herself.

Boys were
stupid.

Suddenly
everyone was looking at her. “Did I just say that out loud?” she asked, clamping
her hand over her mouth, her cheeks flushing.

“
All
boys?”
Jackson asked.

“Present
company excluded,” she hiccupped, deciding that maybe it would be best if she
kept her mouth shut for the rest of the evening.

After
awhile, Lucy’s family members got to their feet and shook the sand out of their
blankets. Maggie and Mrs. Wheeler folded up the blankets and Mr. Wheeler
stretched. Kate waved goodbye as Mark wrapped his arm around Maggie’s shoulder
and escorted her back up the stairs to the house. Lucy, Jackson, and Mr. and
Mrs. Wheeler followed behind them, chattering in excitement about the beautiful
house and future wedding.

“I
hope I didn’t offend Lucy’s dad,” Kate said to no one in particular. “I didn’t
mean all boys are dumb.
Just some of them.”

Kevin,
the only one still sitting by the fire with her, chuckled. “Are you okay?”

“No.
No, I’m not,” Kate said, rubbing her full stomach. Before she could feel too
sorry for herself, she shook her head. “Actually, wait a minute. I’m fine.”

Kevin
raised an eyebrow at her.

“I
mean it. I’m fine.
I’m
fine,” she
repeated, poking herself in the chest. “I’m not the one with a problem. They’re
the ones with a problem.”

Kevin
continued to look at her blankly, as she continued on with her tirade.

“I
mean… I said I didn’t want anything serious, but then one acts like he does and
the other acts like he doesn’t and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why I
bothered. And then blonde girl comes along and he leaves and…” She looked
across the fire at Kevin and blinked.
“Just dumb.
You
know what I mean?”

“I
have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Kate
took a deep breath. Did she really want to get into it?
 
Should she spill the beans?
 
She’d discussed her situation with Lucy,
sure, but Lucy was a girl. Kevin, on the other hand, was a boy, and boys were…
No, Kevin wasn’t stupid. He probably knew that something was going on with Max…
and Chris…
Both of them.

“I’m
just tired of people asking me when I’m going to get married. I don’t know if I
even want to. I mean, it’s not like I’ve got a lot to choose from,” she rambled.
“It’s not like I have anybody like Jackson. Those two… Man. Made for each
other.”

“Are
you talking about us?” Lucy asked, coming back and plopping down on the blanket
next to her. Jackson dropped down next to Kevin.

“I
was just saying that you guys are made for each other. And I will never find
anybody like that. Because the guys I seem to hook up with are all jerks.”

Lucy
looked at her in surprise.
“Really?”

“Oh,
don’t start. I know you didn’t like him from the beginning. You were probably
right. But he’s so cute. But he’s such a jerk…”

Jackson
and Kevin exchanged puzzled glances.

“And
the other one.
So cute.
What
is it with these guys?
Cute and jerks.
Jerks.”

“I
think she’s had enough,” Jackson said.

“I
have
had enough.
Enough
of the jerks!”

Kevin
got to his feet and held out his hands. “Come on, you,” he said. “I think you
need to get home.”

“I
wanted to go home with him tonight, but he didn’t say hardly ten words to me,”
Kate mumbled, taking his hands and rising unsteadily to her feet. “So I told
him not to bother and he left with somebody else. I mean… No. That was the
other one. But he left.
Didn’t even say goodbye.”

“I
think it’s time for
you
to say
goodbye,” Jackson said. He and Lucy got up and started tossing sand on the fire
to douse it.

“What?
 
Okay. Goodbye!” Kate said, throwing her arms
around Jackson and Lucy and drawing both of them in close for a big hug. “I
love you guys. Congratulations, you two. You’re the best. You deserve it.”

Lucy
held Kate out at arm’s length. “Are you okay?
 
Please tell me you’re not driving.”

“Should
we take her back to your place?” Jackson asked.

Kevin
took Kate by the elbow. “I’ll take her home,” he said.

“Are
you sure?” Lucy asked, afraid to let Kate go, lest she fall over.

“Yeah.
You guys need some alone time.
Just the two of you, or
whatever.
I mean, you’re going to have alone time for like, the rest of
your lives, but… whatever,” Kevin laughed. “I got this.”

“He
got me,” Kate said. She held out the arm that Kevin wasn’t restraining and
hugged Lucy again. “I love you.”

“I
love you, too,” Lucy said.

“And
I love you,” Kate said to Jackson, poking him in the chest. “And she loves
you.”

“What
did she have to drink tonight?” Jackson asked, kicking more sand onto the
remains of the fire.

Kevin
started guiding her towards the steps. “Just beer, I think.”

“How
many?” asked Lucy, picking up the blanket and shaking it
out.
Jackson helped her fold it and the two of them walked slowly behind Kevin and
Kate as they made their way up the steps to the house.

“Honestly,”
Kevin said over his shoulder, “I don’t think I saw her
without
a beer in her hand tonight.”

Lucy
and Jackson exchanged glances.

“That’s
because I had a beer. Beers,” Kate corrected. Then she hiccupped.
“Oh, geez.
I had a lot of beers.”
 
At the top of the stairs, she paused. Kevin
put his arm around her waist to steady her and Lucy slipped around them to open
the door.

“Are
you going to be okay?” Lucy asked.

“I
think so. Someday,” Kate smiled.

“Call
us when you get her home, okay?” Jackson asked. Kevin nodded and escorted Kate
through the house to the front door.

“I
will,” Kevin said. “She’ll be fine.”
 

Lucy
and Jackson stood at the front door together and watched Kevin trudge Kate down
the driveway and to his car. Still grasping her around the waist with one arm,
he managed to free his keys from his pocket, open the door, and get Kate
situated in her seat.

By
the time he got in and fastened his seatbelt, Kate tipped over and rested her
head on his shoulder, letting out a soft moan.

“You
okay?” he asked, starting the car.

“Pull
over,” she said. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

*

           
Kate’s whole body ached. She wanted
to stretch, but she was also afraid to move. Her stomach was churning and she
felt sweaty and cold. She slowly opened her eyes, afraid that her bedroom would
be blindingly bright, only to discover that she wasn’t, actually, in her
bedroom.

           
She squinted. She could see a poker
table.
The
poker
table.

           
She was hugging a garbage can. She
lowered the garbage can to the floor.

 
          
She
wasn’t wearing any pants.

           
Trying to move as slowly as
possible, she fumbled around for something to cover up with and her fingers
closed around the edge of a fuzzy fleece blanket. She pulled it up to her chin.
She was pants-less on Kevin’s couch.
Oh. No.

           
“Hey. Sorry if I woke you up. I was
trying to be quiet,” Kevin said softly, peering over the back of the couch. “You
want some coffee?”

           
Kate pressed her lips together and
shook her head slowly.

           
“Are you okay?” Kevin asked, walking
around to the front of the couch. He sat on the coffee table and looked at her
anxiously. Kate shook her head again. “Are you going to get sick?”
 
Another shake.

           
“Where are my pants?” she finally whispered.

           
Kevin smiled. “They’re in the dryer.
I’ll go get them.”

           
Kate shivered under the blanket. She
could hear Kevin padding through the apartment, opening and closing the dryer
door, and then padding back to her. He draped her jeans over the arm of the
couch. “What happened?” she asked, slowly rolling over onto her side and
tucking the blanket down around her.

           
“Well, apparently, you overdid it
last night.”

           
“I just drank beer,” she said.

           
“But how many?
 
Never mind. Who knows?” Kevin said. “I was
going to take you home, but the whole way home you kept saying you felt sick
and you thought you were going to throw up, and then you started to cry, so I
didn’t want to take you home to throw up and cry by yourself.”

           
Groaning, Kate covered her face with
the blanket. “Did I?
 
Throw up?” she
asked.

           
“No, you just got up here and cried
a lot,” he said. “I didn’t know you were one of those sad drunks that got all
weepy and emotional.”

           
Kate nodded. “Yeah, I can get pretty
bad,” she agreed. “So how did I lose my pants?
 
Why were they in the dryer?”

           
“I tried to make you drink a
Gatorade last night, but I think more of it ended up in your lap than in your
mouth.”

           
“Oh,” Kate said.
“Oh,
God.
I’m so embarrassed.”

           
Kevin waved it off.
“Stop.
Don’t even worry about it. I don’t know what brought
all that on last night, but I couldn’t leave you all by yourself like that.”

           
“Thank you,” Kate mumbled, closing
her eyes.

           
When she opened her eyes again, it
only felt like a few minutes later. However, hours had passed and the sun was
now streaming through the doors leading out onto Kevin’s little balcony. Feeling
much better, she got to her feet, pulled on her jeans, and headed to the
balcony. “Hey,” she said, gently rubbing her temples.

           
“Hey, you.
How
are you feeling?” Kevin asked. He was sitting at his little table with a cup of
coffee, reading the paper.

           
“Okay,” she said. “Kind of a
headache, but it’ll go away soon.”

           
“You want breakfast or anything?” he
asked. “I could make you a fried egg sandwich. Or there’s cereal.”

           
She held her stomach. “I’m okay, for
right now,” she said. “I might stop and get something on the way to the
office.”
 
Although, as her stomach churned,
she wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea.

           
“The office?”
Kevin asked.

           
Kate nodded. “I’ve got to get to
work,” she replied. “I hate leaving my paperwork ‘til Monday. I always get it
done on Sunday. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can get home…” she
trailed off, wondering how, exactly, she was supposed to get home.

           
Kevin sensed her confusion. “We left
your car at the party last night. I already called Lucy, and she said she’d
come by and pick you up whenever you were ready to go,” Kevin said.

           
“Oh. Thank you,” Kate said. “I’ll
call her from the office, I guess.”