know,” I squirmed in my seat. “I just got upset because most girls would be all over him and I’m not. What if he gets sick of waiting for me?”
“That’ll never happen,” Rollo said with conviction. “That boy is completely wrapped up in you. He loves you, and when you love someone the way he loves you, nothing else matters.”
“I guess,” I shrugged, looking at the tile floor.
“Baby cakes, look at me,” Rollo commanded.
I reluctantly lifted my chin.
“Look at how far you’ve come, Katy. You’ll get to that point, eventually, and Jared will be there waiting for you and that day will make him the happiest man alive, because I know my girl is going to blow his mind.”
“Rollo!” my cheeks flamed.
“What did I miss?” Piper asked, taking the seat between Rollo and me.
“Nothing!” I cried.
“I was just telling, baby cakes, that eventually she’s going to want to have sex with Jared and when she does, she’s going to rock his world.” He leaned conspiratorially towards Piper and whispered under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear, “It’s always the quiet ones that are freaks beneath the sheets.”
My forehead hit the table with a loud thump and I prayed for a sudden death. I was a few seconds away from finding the nearest rock and climbing under it.
Piper and Rollo laughed.
I wanted to hit them both.
“I’m never speaking to either of you, ever again,” I lifted my head from the table. “All you do is embarrass me.”
“You know, you love us,” Rollo made a kissy face.
I narrowed my eyes. “Change the subject and then I will love you.”
“Fine,” he huffed.
~***~
Once Rollo stopped talking about my non-existent sex life, I actually enjoyed myself.
I was surprised by how much time had passed when Karlie text.
I dropped Rollo off and picked her up.
“How’d it go?” I asked.
“If you’re asking if he tried to make a move, the answer is no,” she smiled. “I think his ego can only take being shot down so much.”
I couldn’t help laughing even though I felt sorry for the kid.
Darkness was descending on the sky.
“What do you want to do for dinner?” I glanced at Karlie.
“Honestly?” she laughed. “I really want some Chef Boyardee Ravioli. I’m craving the stuff.”
“Ravioli it is,” I said, pulling in the driveway.
The house was dark and I immediately began flicking on the lights. I hated the dark. After that was done, I closed the blinds. Karlie was already in the kitchen microwaving her dinner. I decided I’d have some too and opened a can, dumping the contents into a bowl. A little bit of the red tomato sauce sloshed out onto the counter and I quickly wiped it off.
Karlie ate half of her bowl of ravioli and said, “I’m really tired. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night,” I said as she finished cleaning her bowl.
I finished eating, washed my bowl, and sat down to watch some TV.
I was going to try to stay awake until Jared came home. I didn’t want to wake Karlie up by screaming again.
I kept nodding off, my exhaustion from the night before catching up to me.
I was in the space between awake and asleep, when the front door opened, scaring the crap out of me.
A startled shriek escaped my lips and I fell off the couch with a thump.
“Katy!” Jared exclaimed, a look of horror on his face as he watched me fall.
“Ow,” I rubbed my head where I bumped it on the floor. That was going to leave a nasty mark.
Jared’s hand closed around my arm and he hauled me up, brushing my hair back from my forehead.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his thumb gliding over the bump on my forehead.
“My head hurts,” I replied.
“Here, sit down,” he helped me back on to the couch. “Let me get you an icepack.”
I heard the freezer door open and close.
A moment later, the couch dipped down beside me and Jared pressed the icepack to my head. I winced at the cold temperature.
With one hand still holding the icepack he draped the orange blanket around my shoulders.
“I told you to go on to bed,” he chuckled. “You didn’t need to wait up for me.”
I looked at the clock on the cable box and saw that it was after midnight. “I didn’t want to wake Karlie up,” I whispered.
“Why would you- Oh,” he said. “They haven’t gone away?”
“No,” I shook my head. “The only time I don’t have them, is when I’m with you,” I