I melted at the sound of his voice and the way he looked at me, his eyes so warm, his smile so soft. I liked him even more when he was a little loopy from meds. I walked over to him.
“Sit down.”
I sat gingerly on the edge of the couch, not wanting to hurt him. I pointed to his bandaged hand. “Does it hurt?”
“Not now. Those little white pills have worked their voodoo magic.”
I laughed once. “I bet. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. And if I’d known all I had to do to get rid of a lawsuit was let him land a few punches, I’d have done it sooner.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Kat, do you want something to drink?” The question came from Nicole.
“I’m okay.”
“Bryan? More water?”
“How about a beer? When can I have one of those? Or maybe we should get champagne to celebrate the suit being dropped.”
Nicole rolled her eyes, and headed upstairs.
“So.”
“So,” he replied and flashed me another one of his woozy smiles.
“Those pain meds must be good.”
“Not as good as you.” Then he reached his un-bandaged hand into my hair and pulled me to him, bringing my lips to his and kissing me softly. It was the last thing I expected, but it was the thing I wanted most in the world, and I gave in to the kiss, to the way his lips knew mine, to the way he tasted sweet and salty at the same time. “Now I feel much better.”
He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
*****
Nicole didn’t know everything. But she knew enough.
“It wasn’t that hard to figure out,” she said, as we sat on the metal stools in Bryan’s kitchen while he dozed. Nicole’s feet dangled; she looked even tinier on a stool.
“Really?”
“I noticed how he talked about you. And I think you’re pretty brilliant too, but there was something else in his voice. It was always more vulnerable at those times. And then yesterday in my office when you looked at him as he walked away, it all clicked.”
I dropped my head in my hands. “I’m so obvious.”
“No. You’re just in love.” Nicole sounded like a gruff, tough chick doling out truisms with that husky voice of hers.
“I guess it’s obvious. But we’re not supposed to be.”
She waved a hand in the air. “When are we ever supposed to be? I mean, does it ever happen at the right time? I met my partner on a work project too. There are always complications in every relationship.”
“So what did he say?” I was fishing for information, but I didn’t care. We’d been so careful. I couldn’t just accept the notion that suddenly all his concerns had flown out the window.
But it was more than that. I wanted to be something with him. I didn’t want to be his phone booty call. I didn’t want to be the girl who always had to lie low. I wanted to be out-in-the open and for real with him. All or nothing. That’s what I wanted.
“I just asked him point blank at the hospital if he had a thing for you. He said yes.” My heart fluttered, and even with Bryan banged up downstairs I couldn’t help but grin wildly. “And he was all worried about the board and how they’d look at this because of Wilco’s affair. And then there’s Caldwell, who’s Captain Conservative.”
“Right, and those are all still true.”
“Yes, but you’re twenty-three and not an employee.” Nicole reached out and took my hand. She had this satisfied look in her eyes, like a good matchmaker pulling off a match. “So when I asked him if it was the real thing with you, and he said yes to that as well, I told him I’d talk to the board and to Caldwell in particular. The guy’s conservative as hell, but he didn’t freak out when I brought my partner to the holiday party last year so I think I can convince him.”
This was all I wanted. To be more than just playmates. To be a real thing. A rush of happiness warmed me all over.
“What about NYU though? And the mentor program?”
“I told Bryan that as long as he recused himself as your mentor, everything should be fine.”
Ah, there was a catch. There was always a catch. Without this class how would I graduate?
Chapter Eighteen
You know when they tell you that you can have your cake and eat it too?
They’re wrong.
You always have to pay the piper. You can’t take the money and run.
As Nicole returned to her home, leaving me with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy, all I could think was Bryan might be free and clear, but there was no way I could come out of this unscathed. Not now at least. Whatever we might be would have to go back on hold once again. I couldn’t have him end the mentorship. I needed to finish school for a million reasons.
I went to the kitchen, feeling a bit like an intruder as I rooted around for two spoons. I’d never been in his place before, and now here I was, for all intents and purposes, taking care of him after a trip to the ER. I found a white wood-paneled drawer that held utensils. I grabbed two spoons, then two cloth napkins from the holder in the island and returned to the living room. Bryan was awake now, reading a book on his tablet. Night had fallen, so the only illumination was the screen. When he saw me, he put the tablet on the table. I surveyed his living room once more. The hardwood floors in his home were a polished blond, and the walls were eggshell, giving the room warmth. There were a few pieces of art on the walls — reproductions of the Magritte with an apple in front of a man’s face, and one of Mark Rothko’s abstract images in solid red. The couch was comfortable and classy in a dove gray color, and the coffee table was made of a sheet of sturdy glass atop two brushed metal blocks. His tablet rested next to his wallet, and I noticed the crinkled edge of a tiny white bag sticking out of his wallet. The bag was well-worn, as if it had set up camp there for years. Something about it felt vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place why.
I joined him on the couch, opened the pint and presented him with a spoon.
“My favorite. How did you know?”
“Nicole knew, silly.”
He tapped his forehead with the spoon. “Still a little slow on the uptake tonight.”
“It’s a good thing you haven’t had the ice cream yet or you’d have a huge chocolate spot on your forehead.”
He dug into the ice cream, and I joined him. We ate quietly for a minute. After a few bites, he put the spoon down on the coffee table. I placed my spoon and the pint next to it. “Did Nicole tell you?” he asked.