Chapter 38

A text from Cat interrupted Nick’s Sunday afternoon.

—I need to see you.—

Nick glanced over at his father, who was also watching the football game on the television.

It was almost five p.m., so he responded with:

—5:30 P.M.—

When 5:10 p.m. rolled around, he said, “I’m going to work on my research paper with Cat.” Nick picked up his notebook.

“See you for dinner?” his father asked, lowering the volume on the game.

“Maybe.”

Cat lived about a twenty-minute drive from his house, in the same gated community as Emily and Veronica. He drove slowly past Emily’s house but didn’t see any movement or lights. Sheepishly, Nick felt relieved. He drove a bit farther and parked.

A blonde-haired woman wearing a dress and heels opened the door and held out her hand. “You must be Nick. Cat told us about you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nick said, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans. Why was he sweating and suddenly feeling nervous?

“Cat’s father will be down shortly.” The woman waved him in. “We’re going out for the evening, but you two make yourselves at home. Order pizza if you’re hungry!”

He never turned down an offer of pizza. “Thank you.”

Cat’s father, wearing a shirt and tie, loped down the stairs and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Nick! We’re happy Catherine has friends in Laketon.”

Cat, not Catherine, he thought.

Cat came through a door at the end of the hall before he had a chance to take off his jacket.

“Well, we’re off!” Cat’s parents called from the entryway as Cat led Nick to the living room. The door closed, and the soft thud resonated around the hallway.

“Did you meet David and Joanne?” she asked.

“David and Joanne?”

“My parents.” Cat rolled her eyes.

“You call your parents by their first names?”

“They’re not my biological parents. I was older when they adopted me, so I knew the difference.”

“But still…you should do them the courtesy of calling them Mom and Dad. I bet they would like that.”

“I think they prefer it this way,” she said.

She motioned toward the massive, leather, L-shaped sofa. They sat down. Nick realized he was clenching his notebook, crumpling the pages. He smoothed it out and placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

He was suddenly aware of her next to him as a tiny shiver ran up his spine. They often sat next to each other in class, so why was this different? They were alone, and he felt an attraction to her closeness.

“What did you need to see me about?” He nodded to his notebook. “Our paper?”

“No, I talked to Dr. Sims again.”

“Oh?” Nick sat up straighter.

“About why you tackled Bryan, thinking he was a Nazi.” She turned to face him.

“What did she say?”

Cat paused and breathed deeply before saying, “She said the memories may go away if we act on them.”

“The war?” How would they act out WWII?

“No, how the war affected our relationship.”

“It kept us apart?”

“Exactly.”

Was she saying they needed to be boyfriend/girlfriend? He swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Emily won’t understand.”

“You know, she’s not right for you.” Cat had a satisfied look on her face until she leaned toward him, kissing him softly on the lips. “Now was that so bad?”

Nick pulled away and licked his lips where they had touched. Cat’s kiss was so different from kissing Emily. He shifted. He liked kissing Cat, and his body betrayed him by moving fractionally closer.

Cat ran her tongue over her lower lip. It glistened, and Nick couldn’t help being mesmerized by her actions. It was as if an alien had taken over his body, making him want Cat.

He leaned over, his hands on the silk of her blouse, feeling the place where her ribs met her waist, and moved in for another kiss when her teeth bit his bottom lip, kneading gently at first, then harder. His head screamed “no!” but his heart quickened, and he grasped her waist, their lips locked in a battle of biting and kissing.

After a long minute, they jerked away from each other. Nick felt his bruised lips and tasted blood.

“What are you feeling?” she asked, touching her bottom lip with her forefinger.

He remembered lying with Chaton in the blackberry bushes, crushing them with their bodies as they lay entwined with each other. He smelled berries now.

Nick’s heart beat rapidly, sending throbs to his temples.

“Do you want to kiss me again?” she asked playfully, quirking a brow at him.

He wanted to.

“No.” He swallowed back a lump. “This isn’t a good idea. I have a girlfriend.” After all, Emily was his girlfriend, not Cat.