Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series) (2 page)

“I haven’t seen too much of it yet,” he shrugged; he wasn’t about to answer that honestly.

“We’ll give you the tour when you get settled,” Tessa offered with a smile.

“Thanks,” he nodded.

“You leave a girlfriend behind?” Stephanie asked him.

“No,” he shook his head. He was surprised by the interest in her eyes.

“Welcome to Tennessee; I hope you like it here,” Mandy offered him a smile.

“Thanks.”

By the time lunch was over, Adam was convinced he had shared more about himself in a half hour than he had in the past ten years of his life. Surprisingly enough it hadn’t been too bad.

***

Adam sank into a theater chair for his last class of the day. He had survived another first day at a new school; he always counted that as a victory. Even more surprising, it hadn’t been too bad of a day. Adam glanced up in time to watch Katherine enter and admired her. She was far from his usual type but undeniably attractive. She was also somewhat responsible for his day going better than expected. He watched her smile when she spotted him.

“So we are going to start the day together and end the day together,” she noted as she sank into the seat next to him. “How was your first day?”

“Better than I expected,” he smiled.

“That’s because southerners are known for their hospitality,” her grin was wide.

“I think you are mostly to blame,” he countered.

“To blame?” she frowned, then laughed.

“You wouldn’t let me hide and sulk.”

“I won’t apologize,” she offered with a shake of her head.

“I don’t want you to,” he admitted and smiled at her; she smiled back. “You are different.”

“Than? That isn’t a complete sentence and ambiguous; you’ll have to clarify,” she informed him.

“Just about anyone I’ve ever met. You’re also adorable,” he informed her and watched her nose crinkle.

“Adorable? If you say so. How am I different from anyone you’ve ever met?”

“You’re…genuine. Most people wear a mask or hide and you are genuine.”

“How do you know that this isn’t my mask?” she countered.

Adam studied her and shook his head. “No. You’re really this nice and accepting; I’m not sure what to do with that.”

“Mmm…accept it?” she suggested. “I am offering friendship. You don’t need a friend?”

“I don’t make friends easily.”

“I do.”

“I can see why,” he nodded; she grinned.

“Friends?” she offered her hand.

Adam studied her a moment, watched her green eyes remain steady; he smiled and took her hand. “Friends.”

“Alright class, get your prepared monologues out. Kattie, I believe we were up to you,” Mrs. Curtis seated herself directly in front of the stage.

Katherine stood and grabbed a sweater she had carried in; she put it on before she climbed onto the stage.

Adam watched her step into the middle of the stage; she suddenly looked shy and withdrawn, her sweater pulled down over her hands. He was blown away as he watched her give a monologue about it being her first day at a new school after her parents were divorced. She was crying and even yelling by the end.

“Are your parents divorced?” Adam asked as she sank into the seat beside him.

Katherine chuckled as she shook her head, “Happily married. I hate divorce; I’ve watched it affect most of my friends and two of my cousins.”

“You’re a good actress,” he informed her; she smiled.

“Thanks.”

“Do you plan to be an actress?”

“No. I am going into advertising and marketing,” she said with confidence.

“You?” she kept her voice low as they ignored the student on stage.

“I want to…” he hesitated; he had never voiced his deepest dream before. “It’s silly.”

“No dream is silly,” she argued.

“I want to mix rap and rock.”

“So do it,” she shrugged and smiled.

“It’s that simple for you isn’t it?” he asked.

“No talking!” Mrs. Curtis chastised several students.

As soon as class was over, Adam grabbed his overloaded bag and hurried to follow Katherine; he wasn’t ready to part ways with her.

“Where are you headed next? Do you work?”

“No, my mom and dad wanted my attention on school this year,” Katherine shared as she dodged students.

“I have to find a job,” he shared.

“Good luck. I worked in a book store last year and all through last summer. I kind of hated to quit,” she stopped at her locker; Adam took note of which one it was.

“Let me guess, you like books,” he smiled.

“Books let you step into another world, to travel, or to have an adventure all from the comfort of your safe world,” she smiled back. “Does that make me boring?”

“No,” he shook his head.

“Hey, Kattie, hey, Adam,” Tessa greeted. “Kattie, have you seen Shannon today? She wasn’t in Chemistry.”

“No, she wasn’t in English today either; she must be out,” Katherine responded.

“Must be; I’ve gotta get moving,” Tessa waved and hurried off.

“Thanks for showing me around today, Katherine, and being so nice,” Adam offered as she closed her locker and turned to face him.

“Sure, Adam; call me Kattie,” she invited.

“No,” he shook his head.

“No?” she laughed.

“No. You see this morning I thought you were all cute and bubbly and that was all there was to you but now…” he shook his head, “there’s a lot more to you; depths that intrigue me.”

“Depths? Wow, what kind of depths?” her eyes were teasing.

“That right there, you are sweet and kind and upbeat which should annoy me but you can be just a hint caustic; it makes you likable.”

He watched her laugh at that.

“So you think I should be annoying but I can be rude, more or less, and that makes you like me?”

“No, not rude, caustic.”

“And why does that make me likable?” she demanded.

“Like I said, it saves you from being annoying.”

“I think you just insulted me,” she accused.

“Maybe,” he smiled.

“So you don’t want to call me Kattie but I don’t like Katherine; it sounds so stuffy,” she crinkled her nose.

Adam studied her a moment. “Kaitlyn?”

Katherine considered it and smiled. “I like it, it’s kind of sophisticated.”

“There you go,” he nodded; her smile widened. “Where’s the best place to grab a bite around here? Mom hasn’t been to the store yet and is working late tonight.”

“Why don’t you join my family for dinner?” she invited.

“I couldn’t intrude,” he shook his head.

“You wouldn’t be. Come on,” she grabbed his hand and dragged him after her. Adam liked the feel of her small, slender hand in his; liked how easily she accepted him even better. She dragged him into a classroom and dropped his hand.

“Hi, Mom,” she greeted her mother.

Adam had her for English; he hadn’t realized she was related to Katherine.

“Hi, Kattie, hi, Adam,” the woman greeted them with a smile.

“Hello, Mrs. Mayfield.”

“Do you mind company for dinner?” Katherine asked her mom.

“Since when do I mind? Do me a favor and run to the store for me, please?” Julia dug into her purse for a list and money.

“I can do that,” Katherine assured her mother. “I’ll see you in a little bit. Come on, Adam,” Katherine ordered.

Adam followed her and watched her turn to survey him.

“I haven’t thought to ask you if you need any of your books. Are you driving or do you have a bus to catch? I hope not because you likely missed it.”

“I’m driving and as I have make-up work in every class I am carrying every book.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “You can follow me to my house and then ride to the store with me.”

“Works for me,” he nodded and followed her outside and across the parking lot. It turned out they weren’t parked too far from one another.

“Kattie, wait up!” the guy from first period called as he jogged their way.

Adam watched Katherine sigh.

“What do you want, Nathan?” she demanded.

“I miss you. Can’t we talk?”

“You dumped me, remember? You said we are going to school on separate sides of the country and that it was pointless to drag it out when it wouldn’t last. I am still going to UT and as far as I know you are still going to UC Berkley. So what would the point of talking be?”

“I was wrong,” Nathan returned.

Adam watched Katherine drop her things into her car and sigh.

“I think it was a good decision and after I got over the initial hurt I realized you are right. We are going to be on opposite sides of the country and it wasn’t going to last. It’s better to make the break now. Besides, I think we both know that isn’t really why you dumped me,” Katherine’s smile was brittle.

“Kattie, I’m sorry about that. I…can’t we just talk?”

“We’ve said all that needs saying. Now if you will excuse me, Adam and I have plans for the evening. Best of luck, Nathan,” Katherine climbed into her car.

Adam hurried to get into his own car and prepared to follow her.

“So who was that guy?” Adam asked after he had left his car in her drive and was seated beside her.

“Nathan, my ex-boyfriend of three years,” she shared.

“Wow! Three years? Are you serious? I don’t think I’ve ever even stayed friends with someone for that long,” Adam was shell shocked.

“Yep.”

“What happened?”

“He claimed it was because we were going to be on opposite sides of the country but it really boils down to sex,” she shrugged. “He wants it and I won’t give it.”

Adam studied her a moment. He couldn’t decide if he respected her for her resolve or if she was crazy.

“Yeah, I suspect that has more to do with it than school,” Adam agreed.

“I think I knew it was over before it ever ended. Trouble is we had become a habit and everyone at church and school thought we’d be high school sweethearts and grow up and marry. It hurt in a way and in another it was liberating.”

“So if he’s a church boy isn’t he supposed to be a nice guy?” His smile came off as more a smirk.

“He was and then he went to California and…I haven’t told anyone this but I think he cheated on me. He was all fine with our relationship; he agreed we were too young to jump into bed together. Then he goes out there and comes back constantly groping me and pressuring me. I think he discovered he likes sex while he was out there.”

“Sorry, Kaitlyn, that has to hurt.”

“Yes…no…it does but like I said, I think I already knew we were unraveling.”

“Still, cheating is about as lousy as it gets; I’ve been on the receiving end.”

“It is lousy,” she agreed as she parked. “So you do like lasagna don’t you?” She was smiling again.

“Yeah, I love lasagna,” he assured her.

“Great, let’s go get the stuff; my mom makes great lasagna.”

They arrived back at her house just as her mother was stepping from the car.

“How’s that for timing?” Julia smiled at them.

They helped her carry the groceries in before she shooed them off to do their homework. Adam followed Katherine into a basement den and seated himself beside her.

“Why don’t we start with Advanced Math since we have that together first period,” she suggested.

“Works for me,” he nodded.

They worked for some time before Katherine stopped and smiled at him.

“You are full of surprises, you know that?” she asked him.

“How so?”

“You have this kind of negligent air about you like you don’t care about anything and yet you are breezing through your work,” she noted.

“Mom freaks if my grades slip,” he shrugged.

“I don’t think you are as tough as you act,” she informed him.

Adam smiled in amusement. “You’re an optimist.”

“True,” she conceded, “but I still don’t think you’re so tough.”

Her mom called them to dinner before he could respond.

Adam followed Katherine back into the green and white kitchen and a small breakfast nook that sat tucked into bay windows overlooking the yard. An older gentleman with graying brown hair was pulling a chair for Katherine’s mother.

“Hi, Daddy,” Katherine stood on tiptoe to kiss her father’s cheek.

“Hi, Princess; it looks like we have company.”

“Daddy, this is Adam Ellington. Adam, my daddy, Walter Mayfield,” Katherine introduced them.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Mayfield,” Adam greeted as he politely shook the man’s hand.

“Likewise, are you new to the area?” Walter queried as they started passing bowls.