Right Place, Right Time (Second Chances Book 2) (16 page)

Jay

“Are you almost ready?”

I turn from the mirror, my hands still messing with the knot around my neck, and look at Kate as she steps into the room. She looks beautiful…different, but beautiful. She’s wearing a pastel blue skirt and a white, short sleeve sweater. She’s dressing up for this lunch with her parents, as am I.

She quirks her brow, eyeing the mess around my neck. “Need some help, handsome?”

I release a frustrated sigh. “Yes,” I tell her, dropping my hands to my sides. Her parents aren’t going to like me one way or the other, so I’m not sure what difference it makes that I’m wearing a tie—a suit—but she asked, and I’d do anything for her.

“Thank you for doing this,” she says quietly as she adjusts the noose around my neck.

“I’d do anything for you,” I say, echoing my thoughts.

She smiles. “Hopefully, it will be quick and painless. Lots of passive aggressiveness, I’m sure, but they care far too much about appearances to act out in public. The restaurant we’re meeting them at is well attended by their friends.” She does a final tweak and taps the finished knot. “All set.”

I give her a tight smile and pick up the matching suit jacket. Kate had insisted on purchasing the entire get up, saying “You never knew when you might need a suit.” I hate that she’d spent the money, but it’s difficult to argue with her, especially when she’s on her knees and has a very important part of my anatomy between her lips.

“You look so hot,” she says, roaming her eyes from the toes of my brand new Italian leather shoes, over the Armani suit, and landing on my face.

“Miss Dumont, if you keep looking at me like you want to eat me, we won’t be leaving this apartment,” I tell her, closing the distance between us.

“Hmm…don’t tempt me. That’s a far better offer than seeing my folks.” She smooths my lapels and leans in to give me a quick kiss. The three inch heels she’s wearing brings her closer to my height and that’s about the only part of her stuffy outfit that I love.

Not that she doesn’t look gorgeous—she would make a paper bag look good—but this whole wardrobe situation reminds me just how worlds apart we really are. She’s Armani and I’m…store brand jeans.

“Come on,” she says, tugging on my hand. “I want to get there early to avoid any extra attitude.” I groan, but dutifully follow my girl out of her bedroom and down the hall to the living room, where a shrill whistle greets us.

“Lookin’ sharp,” Casey calls from her place on the couch. She was released from the hospital a few days ago, so Kate and I have been spending more time over here than at my place so Kate can help out. Decker’s pretty much got everything covered, but I think Kate just misses her friend.

Kate smiles and tosses Casey her phone. “Take our picture.” She scoots up against my side and places her hand on my chest. I put my arm around her waist and tug her closer. I feel like I can never get her close enough. She looks up at me with love in her eyes as I look down at her, my eyes undoubtedly reflecting the same. The click of the phone’s camera breaks our stare and we smile at Casey for a few shots.

“You guys are so cute together,” Casey coos with…tears in her eyes? What the hell?

“Your new heart has turned you into mush,” Kate teases.

“Baby, she’s being mean to me,” Casey whines to Decker, who is at the other end of the couch rubbing her feet.

Decker rolls his eyes when Casey isn’t looking. “It’s okay, babe. She doesn’t mean it. You have the sweetest heart.” Casey smiles at him and sticks her tongue out at Kate.

Kate laughs and takes my hand again. “Okay, we have to go. Wish us luck.”

“Good luck!” Casey and Decker both call just before the door shuts behind us.

I tense as they say it, knowing that we’ll need all the luck we can get. 

***

We arrive at the restaurant twenty minutes early and the maître d’ tells us her parents have already been seated. Kate squeezes my hand a little tighter; her nerves almost as bad as mine. We follow the man through the main dining room to a smaller, more private room in the back. There are a few tables here, and only one is occupied.

By her parents.

They don’t stand to greet their daughter—who they haven’t seen in months—Kate simply rounds the table, kissing them both on the cheek, before returning to my side.

“Father, Mother, this is my boyfriend, Jay Spencer.”

“It’s nice to meet you Dr. and Mrs. Dumont,” I tell them. On the car ride here, Kate had emphasized how important it would be to her father to be addressed as doctor instead of mister. I couldn’t care less what was important to the man since it clearly wasn’t his daughter, but Kate had asked and…you get the idea.

Kate deflates as they barely spare me a glance. Her father checks his watch, as if he’s got some place better to be, while her mother taps her manicured fingernails against the white table cloth. No words have been spoken by either of them. Not even in greeting to their daughter. How Kate turned into a normal, caring, wonderful human being amazes me given that these are the people she grew up with.

We take our seats, and when the waiter approaches to fill our water glasses, Kate’s father orders our meal. Yes, he orders
our
meal. I have no idea what he says, since he’s speaking French, I only hope Kate will warn me if it’s dog shit.

The waiter leaves, and the table is quiet. I’m waiting for Kate to tell her parents about school and wondering if she’ll do it before or after dinner. Hell, I’m not even sure they’d listen if she started speaking.

“I have something I’d like to talk to you both about,” Kate says after a few tense, quiet minutes.

“Does it have anything to do with why you have not enrolled in the summer semester? I spoke with the Dean at the banquet the night before last. He’s concerned.”

I note how her mother says the dean is concerned but doesn’t mention her own concern. Does she have any?

Kate pales, clearly surprised—and maybe embarrassed—her mother spoke to the dean. “Yes, Mother. It does have to do with that. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

“Well, that’s your problem right there,” her father interrupts. “The only thinking you should be doing is about your schoolwork. The top medical universities in the country are not going to accept a student with less than a 4.0. You also need to quit that…
job
…of yours and put in some hours in a medical facility. Get some experience.” He says “job” as though it’s shit on the bottom of his shoe.

I look over to Kate and immediately want to grab her hand and drag her out of this place and away from them. Her shoulders are drooped and her head is bowed. She’s folding in on herself. I place my hand over hers on her lap and squeeze, lending her my support, she looks up and gives me a small smile. When I raise my eyes back to the table, I catch her mother shooting me a glare, clearly not missing my moment with her daughter.

“I don’t want to go to med school anymore,” Kate says quietly, but boldly, meeting her father’s stare. I’m so proud of her in this moment.

“That’s ludicrous. Of course, you’re going to med school,” he says.

“I want to teach. I want to be a teacher.”

“Are you tutoring again? Is that what this is about?” her father seethes. Seriously, how she can share DNA with these two cold as ice people, I’ll never know.

“Yes, I’m still tutoring, but that’s not what this is about. I’m not passionate about medicine. Not like you are. I’m passionate about teaching. About helping others learn. It’s what I want to do.”

“No,” her father says, his tone final.

Kate’s shoulders drop once more, and I can tell she feels defeated. She doesn’t need their damn approval. Fuck them.

I push my chair back, not caring about the noise it makes as it scrapes across the marble floor. Kate looks up at me in surprise, and I reach out my hand. “Come on, Sunshine.”

“What are you doing?” her father asks, rising from his seat.

“I’m taking Kate home.”

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are,” he says before his wife, who has been otherwise silent, speaks.

“You’re the reason for all this, aren’t you?” she says, her tone as icy as her demeanor.

“Mother, it’s not Jay’s fault,” Kate tells her, taking my hand and standing up beside me. “This is what I want. It’s what will make me happy.”

“You can’t be serious about this…this boy,” her mother says, gesturing to me.

“I am serious about this
man
, Mother. I love him.” I squeeze her hand as my chest swells with pride for this girl…my girl.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Katherine. He’s a felon, for crying out loud.”

Suddenly, it feels like the earth has stopped moving.

She knows. Her mother knows.

Kate

“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn’t his fault,” I spit out, turning from the table—from my parents—and storming out of the restaurant, dragging Jay behind me.

The nerve! The absolute nerve of her—of both of them and their rotten attitudes! It’s one thing to say it to me, I’m used to the verbal abuse…but to take it out on Jay, to blame him? It appalls me. How she knows about his past, I have no idea. She probably has someone spying on me, and it wouldn’t be too difficult for her to get information on him since she’s an attorney and has friends in high places. Bullshit. It’s such bullshit.

“I’m so sorry,” I tell Jay once we get to my car. “Gah! They’re assholes. They’re such assholes. And my mother was so out of line…calling you a felon.”

“It’s not a lie, Kate.”

I sigh as I lean back against my car door. I look at Jay; he looks so defeated. “I know, but it was a shitty thing for her to do. To blame you and then call you that like it’s the only thing that defines you.”

“Let’s just go home,” he says, opening the passenger door to let me in. He then gets in the driver’s side and starts the drive back to my apartment. It’s a short ride, but in that brief time I note that he’s acting different. He’s quiet.

Why do I have the feeling that everything is about to change?

***

When we get to my apartment, Jay quietly follows me up the stairs. At least he’s coming in. He didn’t go straight for his bike and head home. That’s a good sign…right?

Casey and Decker are still on the couch when we walk in and both look over from the television with surprise in their eyes.

“Back so soon?” Casey asks.

I just shake my head, indicating that now is not a good time, and lead Jay to my bedroom.

“I’m gonna change,” he says, grabbing his jeans and t-shirt off my bed and heading to the bathroom. It’s the first thing he’s said since we left the restaurant, and I feel like it might be one of the last things he will say to me, too. And I know it seems silly, but why wouldn’t he just change in here? We’ve already seen each other naked multiple times.

What the hell just happened? Yes, my parents were assholes, but we’d prepared for that—planned for it. We knew that part would be inevitable. Sure, we hadn’t anticipated that my mother would have done some digging into Jay’s history, but it’s not like it was a secret between him and me.

I take a seat on the edge of my bed and wait for him to return…because he will return. He won’t just leave. Will he? I relax as I hear his booted footsteps approaching from the hall.

“Is everything okay?” I ask as he steps into the room.

His suit is folded over his arm, and I stand up to help him put all the pieces back on their hangers. He slips everything inside the garment bag, zips it up, and finally turns to me, looking at the floor.

“I don’t think this is going to work out,” he finally says, causing all the air to rush out of my lungs.

“What? No.” I barely get the words out. It feels as though the earth has stopped moving, and I’m losing my balance. I step back and sit on the edge of my bed again, my legs no longer able to hold me up.

“We’re so different…you and I…we’re from two different worlds, Kate.”

“Is this about my parents?” Of course, it’s about my parents. “What they think doesn’t matter to me anymore. You know that.”

“It’s not about them. It’s not
only
about them. Shit. I don’t know.” He scratches the back of his neck and looks anywhere but at me. And that hurts. That hurts a lot.

“I don’t understand.”

“What your mom said,” he continues, “that’s going to happen a lot, Kate. When people find out about me…about what I did…they’re going to look at me differently. And if you’re with me, they’re going to look at you differently, too.”

“You think I care about all that?” I ask, raising my voice. “I don’t. You know I don’t. I’ve never looked at you any different, Jay.”

“I know,” he says sadly. “I know you haven’t, and I know you don’t. But others will and you shouldn’t have that following you around the way that I do.”

“That doesn’t matter to me, Jay. You…you are what matters to me. You’re all that matters to me.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is true,” I whisper, tears coming to my eyes. “I’m not ashamed of you, Jay. I love you. I’m not ashamed of you.”

“I just can’t do this to you, Kate.”

“You’re not doing anything to me!” I yell, getting to my feet. Why doesn’t he understand? His past is just that…it’s in the past. What happened to him…it wasn’t even his fault.

He just shakes his head. “There are things I’ll never be able to do Kate…places I’ll never be able to go…all because I have to check a little box that says I’ve been convicted of a felony. I’ve already come to grips of what that means for me; I won’t let it limit you as well.”

“But Jay, it won’t limit me. It won’t,” I plead.

“Yeah? What happens when you get the teaching job you love and one of your coworkers finds out that your boyfriend is a felon? Or if it turns up on a background check that you’re associated with me. What happens then? What happens if you lose your job?”

I shake my head, tears spilling down my cheeks now. “That won’t happen.”

“It can.”

“It won’t!”

“Kate, I’ve been living in a bubble here with you. What we have…had…it was amazing.”

His use of past tense nearly kills me. “It
is
amazing. Why are you doing this?”

“I’m doing this for you, Sunshine.”

“Don’t call me that! You don’t get to call me that if you’re breaking up with me!” I cry.

I fall to my knees and sob. I don’t understand. Things were so perfect this morning. Sure we were full of nerves, but we were full of love, too.

“I love you,” I say through my sobs. “Please don’t leave me.”