Manage Me

It was adorable really, watching Katie play that game. She had been so into it. And she was cocky too. Not just confident. She had been so sure that she would win, which was not only a turn on, but also even more of a reason to beat her. I had to get those questions. Knowing Katie she would have strung her last five along for days, if not more. There was too much I wanted to know about, especially after tonight, to wait that long to ask about. I knew she was upset. Her ego had definitely been bruised by that loss. So I figured I’d come up with a way to appease us both.

“I’ll make you another deal.” I told her. She tilted her head to look at me with apprehensive eyes. “We’ll take turns asking. And since I’m the nicest guy in the whole world, you can go first.”

“Really?” She sounded surprised. I guess she knew how badly I wanted those questions.

“Yup.” I popped the ‘p’ with a grin. “And I won’t even count that one against you.” I winked.

“I guess you really are the nicest guy in the world.” She giggled.

We lapsed into silence. Katie was concentrating extremely hard on coming up with a good question. She shivered and I tightened the arm that was around her shoulders. The sun had officially set a while ago, leaving the area surrounding the carnival pitch black.

“Wanna get out of here?” I whispered into the top of her head.

“Hey now, it’s my turn to be asking questions.” She said sternly. I chuckled. Her head tilted upwards, a smile gracing her lips. “But I’ll forgive you, as long as you promise this won’t be over when we get home.”

I grinned at the delicate blush painting her cheeks. She didn’t want this to be over. That simple statement had flooded my system with warmth. I pulled her even closer and began walking towards the exit.

“I promise.”

She nodded against my chest, but didn’t speak. I peeked at her out of the corner of my eye. Her eyes were lost in thought, trying to think up a question no doubt. The noises faded away the closer we got to the car. She snapped back into focus when I opened the door for her. I could see it in her face. She had a question for me. Katie waited until I had started the car and begun driving back towards the house.

“What’s the real reason you asked me to move in and be your maid full time?”

I didn’t answer her right away, thought I opened my mouth several times as I tried to articulate what I wanted to say. Katie just sat patiently, watching me with uneasy eyes. Finally, I managed to actually speak.

“I didn’t want you to leave. I saw you talking with Alex and I…” I hesitated, unsure if revealing this much to her was a good idea. Her gaze didn’t waver though, and I decided it was all or nothing at this point. I was already in too deep. “I got jealous. I didn’t want that to be the last time I ever saw you, especially when Alex was ready to sweep you off your feet. I just wanted you to stay with me…” My voice trailed off, eyes darting over to gauge her reaction.

“I never would have fallen for Alex.” She whispered, cheeks painted red. I beamed. “Your turn.” She stated once the blush had faded.

“What was up with your ex earlier?” I asked quietly.

Katie stiffened, but I didn’t retract the question. I needed to know what had happened between them. There was more to their story than just a normal break-up. She took a long minute to respond, her expression conflicted.

“Our break-up was…messy.” Her voice was slow and cautious, as if she was picking her words very carefully. “We’d been together for two and a half years. He was the first guy I loved. He was my first for everything actually.” She sounded sad. My eyes darted to her face quickly, frowning when I saw the heartache written on it. I hated him for doing this to her. “I thought we were going to be together forever. But everything fell apart when I was 16. He was in his first year of college and I was still a junior in high school. He didn’t want to be tied down.” Her voice was barely even a whisper. Small tears had sprung up at the corners of her eyes as she moved her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. “I walked in on him with a girl on our anniversary.” My anger grew with each word she spoke. Katie deserved so much better than that. “He never even apologized.”

Katie buried her head in her knees. Her body was shaking slightly, but she wasn’t making a single sound. We had made it to the house by now and were sitting in the driveway. I couldn’t take it anymore. I jumped out of the car and hastily pulled her door open, taking her in my arms.

“I’m sorry.” She shook her head against my chest before looking up.

“It’s not your fault.” Her eyes were dry but her voice was trembling. “It was four years ago.” She gave me a weak smile and moved out of my arms, exiting the car. “Can we just go watch a movie?”

I nodded and Katie headed towards the door with me right behind her. I didn’t follow her into the living room, instead going into the kitchen. I found the tea Katie was always drinking and put a mug of water in the microwave to boil. I had watched Katie do this dozens of times, always smiling at her refusal to use the stove. She said it took too long and she didn’t like waiting for her tea. The machine beeped and I removed the mug, placing the tea bag in it, before walking into the living room. Katie was curled up under a blanket on the couch. I recognized the opening scene of the live action Peter Pan movie. I didn’t even know I owned that, but it was her favorite so there was a possibility she had brought it with her.

“Here.” I held the tea out to her, sitting down and pulling the blanket across my lap as well.

“I’m really sorry, Jack.” Her fingertips brushed mine as she took the mug. “I didn’t mean to ruin the night.”

“Hey.” I said softly, pulling her onto my lap and holding her tightly. “You didn’t ruin anything. That guy is an asshole. He never deserved you in the first place.” She let out a shaky laugh.

“Thank you.”

She placed a kiss on my cheek and shifted to get more comfortable. We watched the movie quietly, Katie completely focused. Every once in a while she would breathe out the lines at the same time as the actors. It was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen.

When the movie was over, Katie stood up. She stretched and yawned hugely before smiling down at me. I held my hands up to her and she laughed before pulling me off of the couch. I slung an arm around her shoulders. She hugged my waist, inhaling deeply, before moving away.

“I guess this is goodnight.” I frowned. I wasn’t ready for the night to end.

“At least let me walk you to the door.” She giggled.

“Jack, it’s literally ten feet away.”

“It’s a dangerous world out there, Katie. What if you got kidnapped and it was all my fault?” She rolled her eyes and giggled again.

“Technically, it would be an abduction since I’m an adult. But if you’re really that concerned I guess it’s okay for you to walk with me.”

I beamed at her, looping out arms together before leading her out the sliding door. We reached her door faster than I wanted to. We stopped, Katie turning to look up into my eyes.

“Goodnight then.”

“Don’t I get a good night kiss?” I pouted.

“Is that your question?” She raised an eyebrow.

I cursed, remembering it was my turn to ask. After a moment’s thought I decided that being able to feel her lips on mine was most definitely worth using up one of my questions. With one short nod, Katie was reaching up on her toes, her lips millimeters away. Her blue orbs were locked onto mine and I didn’t hesitate to close the distance, my arms winding their way around her waist, pulling her body flush to mine. I felt her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of my neck and let out a groan. Katie parted her lips as well and our tongues met, meshing together perfectly. With a sigh, she detached her mouth from mine. Her eyes fluttered open, both of us breathing heavily.

“That was probably the best good night kiss of my life.” I breathed, staring at Katie.

Her eyes bore into mine. The light from the pool cast a blue glow on everything in the backyard. It was absolutely quiet, save for the faint sound of crickets. The silence stretched on, both of us just standing there, staring at the other. And then, in a flurry of movement, our lips were smashed together again.

This kiss was rougher, my hands roaming down her hips to grasp her ass. She let out a gasp and I seized the opportunity, our tongues meeting in the middle. Her fingernails dug in slightly, raking down my back and dipping beneath my shirt. I hissed, my pants growing tight, as she trailed them along my abs. They danced along the top of my boxers and I growled, pressing her even closer.

“Jack.” She panted, pulling away to stare at me with lust filled eyes. “Bed. Now.”

I happily obliged, reaching behind her to open the pool house door. My lips returned to hers and we stumbled into the small house structure. The bed was situated right in the middle of the room, so her knees were hitting it just a few feet in. She fell back, pulling me with her. My hands found their way under her shirt, moving to her back to unclasp her bra. The snap of the hooks suddenly had Katie pulling away.

“We can’t do this.” She mumbled, scooting backwards on the bed, fingers running through her long hair. “I’m your maid. You’re my boss. We can’t do this.”

“Katie…”

“No.” She interrupted, sounding angry. “This whole date was a mistake, Jack.” Her words cut deep, and now I was angry too.

“What the hell, Katie?! Why are you doing this?”

“Because this is wrong. Let’s just forget all of this and go back to normal.”

“I can’t do that. I can’t just forget about you, Katie. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the night I saw you at the club.” She glared at me, her face paling slightly. “Were you ever going to tell me?” I asked softly.

“What was there to tell? We were both drunk. It was just sex. It didn’t mean anything. You didn’t even recognize me the next morning.”

“Which makes me a shitty person, I know.” I said, guilt ripping through me. “But don’t think I’m lying when I say, even before I realized it I was falling for you. And I can guarantee you, even if that night never happened, I would still be right here, silently praying you’ll give this a try.”

My eyes never left hers. Her harsh gaze had disappeared, leaving her looking vulnerable and unsure.

“You don’t even know what you’re asking.” She murmured, finally breaking away from my stare. I took one of her small hands in mine.

“Yes, I do. Please, Katie, don’t act like I’m the only one who wants something more. Don’t run away from me. Please.” I begged.

“Do you still love her?”

“What?” Her eyes snapped up.

“It’s my turn to ask a question, and that’s what I’m asking. Do you still love her?” I stared at her. “Holly. Do you still love her?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but then stopped. I wasn’t going to lie to Katie, so I forced myself to seriously think about it. In all honesty, Holly hadn’t crossed my mind in weeks, not since Katie showed up actually. Hearing her name hadn’t caused me pain, and thinking about her wasn’t either. I knew I would always have feelings for Holly. She had been one of only a handful of serious relationships. I loved her, but only in the past tense. She wasn’t a part of my life anymore. Katie was.

“No.” My voice was confident, so much so that Katie actually seemed surprised. “I did love her, a lot more than I loved anyone else, and I’ll always have feelings for her. But I don’t love her anymore.” Katie nodded.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

“Really?” My eyes lit up and Katie smiled.

“Yes really.”

She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. Neither one of us moved to deepen or lengthen it. We both pulled away at the same time, smiling.

“Now go to bed.” She giggled, pushing me away playfully.

“No.” I pouted, wrapping my arms around her and laying back down. “I want to stay here.”

“You’re going to have to let me go long enough for me to change.”

“Awh, baby, you don’t need to change. I like you just the way you are.” I placed a kiss behind her ear, right on the tattoo.

“Okay, Bruno Mars.” I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. I chuckled and released my hold.

Katie climbed off of the bed, making her way to the dresser set up in a corner. I watched her grab a few things and disappear into the bathroom. While she was gone, I took the opportunity to strip off my jeans. I left the shirt on, unsure how comfortable Katie would feel if I took it off. She appeared just a few minutes later and I felt my breathing pick up. She was wearing what looked like spandex shorts and an oversized long sleeved shirt. She smiled at me and I immediately returned it.

“You don’t have to keep your shirt on.” She said as she crawled in next to me.

I removed it, turning on my side to gather Katie in my arms. She snuggled in and I pulled the blanket over the both of us.

“Goodnight.” She whispered, tilting her head to place a kiss on my jaw.

“Goodnight.” I breathed into her ear.

It was only a few minutes later that Katie’s body completely relaxed into mine, her breathing deepening as sleep overtook her. I studied her features, smiling like a fool, before closing my own eyes and drifting to sleep as well.