One of the Guys (31 page)

           
“I asked him if he thought we were
meant to be, and he said we wouldn’t know if we didn’t take a chance.”

“He’s
right.
Then what?”
Lucy asked.

“Then
I left,” she said.

           
“That’s it?”

           
“That’s it. I told him that I didn’t
want things to be different between us, and…” Kate frowned. “He said they
already were.”

           
Lucy nodded. “That’s pretty much
what he told Jackson and me this morning.”

           
“Why did he do that, Lucy?” Kate
sighed. “Does he really think things would work out with us?”

           
“Maybe he does,” Lucy said.

           
“But how can they?” Kate asked.

           
“If
it’s
right, it’s right,” Lucy shrugged.

           
“How do you know if it’s right,
though?”

           
“I don’t know!” Lucy said, throwing
her hands up in the air. “You don’t always know right away.”

           
Kate snorted.
“Right.
Like you and Jackson didn’t know that you were perfect for each other.”

           
“Hey,” Lucy said. “Jackson and I
didn’t get married right out of high school, you know. We went our different
ways, we were both in relationships with other people, and when those things
didn’t work out,
we
ended up back with each other when
the time was right. Kevin’s right. You won’t know if you don’t take a chance.”

           
“So you think I should go out with
Kevin?” Kate asked incredulously.

           
“I don’t think you should
not
go out with Kevin.”

           
“What the hell is that supposed to
mean?”

           
“You need to stop using this whole
‘friends’ thing as an excuse. You
should
be friends with someone that you’re dating. And, yes, you were friends with
Chris and Max. And things didn’t work out with them, but you’re all friends now
and everything worked out in the end. And yes, sometimes relationships like
that
don’t
work out and then you’re
not friends afterwards, but so what?
 
What if you and Kevin
are
meant to be together?”

           
Kate took a sip of her coffee and
looked at Lucy. “I don’t know…” she said.

           
“You won’t know if you don’t try,”
Lucy said. “Think about it.”

           
Kate did think about it. She thought
about it all day, in fact. She was sitting in her office a few hours later,
unable to concentrate on the profit analysis report she was trying to prepare. The
only thing that she kept thinking about was that maybe Lucy was right.

           
Yes, she and Kevin were friends.

           
Kevin was fun to be with. They got
along really well, whether they were playing cards, hanging out at a party, or
just having dinner or drinks together. They always had a blast when they were
hanging out with all of their friends, but Kate had really enjoyed hanging out
one-on-one with him, too.

           
He was incredibly sweet. She
remembered him taking care of her when she was drunk after Lucy and Jackson’s
engagement party. He’d even washed and dried her pants when she’d spilled
Gatorade all over herself. She thought about how he’d gotten out of bed on
Valentine’s Day to go hang out with her. And when she was sick, he showed up
with medicine and supplies to make her feel better.

           
And he was really cute. Maybe he
wasn’t as devastatingly handsome as Max or
have
a
great body like Chris, but there was no denying that he was awfully cute. She
loved that his hair tended to curl and get really messy when it needed to be
cut. She loved that he’d gotten embarrassed when his mom and sister teased him.
She loved that he enjoyed talking and being friendly with her parents. He’d
even sung karaoke with her mom!

           
Kate saved her work and shut her
computer down. She left the office in a hurry; she only paused to make sure the
door was locked behind her. She was going to walk, but on second thought, she
decided to take the car. With her heart pounding, she hopped in and drove the
short distance to Kevin’s apartment. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard,
wondering if Kevin and Jackson were done playing golf. It was four-thirty in
the afternoon at the end of June. It was too hot to be out on the golf course. Surely
they were done by now.

           
Kate hurried up the steps and
knocked on Kevin’s door. No answer. She knocked again and again, pounding on
the door in case he was asleep or in the shower. Then it dawned on her. She
leaned over the railing and looked out into the parking lot. She didn’t see
Kevin’s car anywhere, so he wasn’t home. With disappointment, she descended the
stairs into the parking lot and headed for her car. She considered calling Lucy
to find out if she knew where Jackson and Kevin were, but by the time she got
home, she’d lost her nerve.

           
Her parents were just walking out
into the driveway as she pulled in. “We’re going out to dinner,” her mom said. “Why
don’t you come with us?”

           
“That’s okay,” she said.

           
“Everything all right?” her dad
asked.

           
She managed to nod and gave her
parents both a hug before letting herself inside. She kicked off her shoes and
curled up on the couch, wondering what to do. Yesterday, she’d told Kevin that
she didn’t want to ruin his friendship. Today, she’d gone rushing over his
apartment to…

           
To do what,
exactly?

           
She wasn’t sure what she would have
said or done. She wasn’t sure if it would have mattered now, anyway.

           
Hoping to distract herself, Kate
turned the TV on. She flicked through the channels repeatedly, but couldn’t
settle on anything to watch. She turned the TV off and just sat, staring at the
blank screen. Outside, it began to rain. Kate snuggled down against the
cushions and listened to the wind and the rain against the house. Out the
window, she could see that the sky had grown very dark. She pulled a blanket
down off the back of the couch and was just pulling it up to her chin when she
saw headlights roll across the walls and the ceiling. Someone had just pulled
into the driveway.

           
She tossed the blanket off and
hurried to the door. She opened it just as Kevin dashed through the rain and
under the cover of the porch. “Hi,” he said, shaking the water out of his hair.
“Can we talk?” he asked, nervously.

           
Kate stared up at him, open-mouthed.
What was she going to say if he had been at his apartment?
 
What was she going to do?
 
She didn’t remember. She didn’t know. Before
he could say anything else, Kate placed her hands on either side of Kevin’s
face and kissed him. She liked that she didn’t have to stand on her tiptoes to
kiss him. She liked that he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer.
She liked that he was kissing her back. When she finally pulled away, it took
her a few seconds to finally open her eyes.

           
“Can I come in?” Kevin said.

           
Kate held the door open and allowed
Kevin inside. He didn’t seem as nervous as when she’d first opened the door,
and now he had a big smile on his face. He sat down on the couch and she felt a
smile on her face as she sat down next to him.

           
“I came here today to tell you that
I would be your friend no matter what,” he said.
“Even if
you’re not interested in dating or trying something different with me.
I
want you to know that.”
 
Kate nodded. “But
I also wanted to tell you that if you
do
give me a chance, I will be your friend. I will be the guy you can call when
you want to go do something. I will be the guy you can go to parties with. I
will be the guy you can just sit and talk with. I will be the guy who takes
care of you when you’re sick…”

           
Kate reached over and grabbed
Kevin’s hands to stop him. “You already are,” she said.

           
“I’m not done yet,” he smiled.

           
“Sorry,” Kate said.

           
“I will be the guy who does
everything in his power to make you happy, and I will be the guy who will love
you forever… if you’ll just give me the chance.”

           
“We won’t know if we don’t try,
right?” she asked.

*

           
“Happy 4
^th
of July!”
Kate called, opening the door to Lucy and Jackson’s. “You said
not to bring anything, but I brought sparklers!” Kate said, waving two boxes of
sparklers around. Lucy laughed. She was busy frosting red velvet cupcakes that
she’d made earlier in the day.

           
“Everybody’s out back. Candy and
Danielle are setting the tables and the guys are cooking. Dinner’s almost
ready.”

           
“It takes four guys to grill
hamburgers and hot dogs?” Kate asked.

           
Lucy shrugged. “They’re goofballs. You
should know this.”

“I
do
know this,” Kate said with a chuckle.

“Go ahead out
back. I’ll be right there,” Lucy said.

           
Kate went out onto the deck and was
immediately greeted by Candy and Danielle. She hugged the girls, helped them
finish setting the tables and moving chairs around, and then made her way to
the grill where the guys were standing. “Hey, guys,” she said.

           
“Hey, what’s up?
 
We missed you at poker last week,” Chris
said, winking.

           
“That’s funny. I don’t remember
there even being a poker game last week,” Kate said, folding her arms across
her chest.

           
“Oh, that’s right. It was canceled
for some reason,” Jackson said, taking hot dogs and hamburgers off the grill
and piling them up on the plate that Max was holding.

           
“Yeah, I think Kevin had something
going on that night,” Max said.

           
Kate caught Kevin’s eye as he was
taking a sip of his beer. He shrugged and smiled helplessly at her. When he
smiled at her like that, she couldn’t stay away from him any longer. She went
to him and snuggled against him, wrapping both arms around his waist. “You
know, there’s going to be a poker game at my place this
Saturday if you want to come,” he said.

           
“Is there actually going to be a
game this time?” she asked, looking up at him.

           
“Yes. We’re really going to play
cards this time. And there will be beer and pizza. Why, are you interested?” he
asked.

           
“Yeah, I’m interested. Interested in
kicking your ass,” she grinned.

           
“We’ll see about that,” he said,
pulling her close and planting a kiss on top of her head. “I love you.”

           
Kate smiled up at Kevin.
Her friend.
Her boyfriend.
“I love
you, too.”

THANK YOU FROM THE
BOTTOM OF MY HEART

Mom, Dad, Tim, Nikki,
Tommy, Lisa, Stephanie, Misty

xoxo

Jess

ALSO BY JESSICA STRASSNER

Here
We Go

The
One Who Got Away

www.jessicastrassner.com