Manage Me

Katie was a complete wreck all week. The house was completely spotless and had started to resemble a bakery with all the sweets she had been stress baking. It was now Wednesday afternoon and she still hadn’t heard anything from her mom. I had been sitting on her bed watching her pace back and forth for the past 10 minutes, tightly gripping her phone and mumbling to herself about whether or not she should just call her. I let the pacing continue for another five minutes before standing with a deep breath and stepping into her path. She bumped into me with a slight gasp, looking up to meet my gaze with a startled expression.

“Katie, you have to calm down. You’re going to wear down the carpet if you keep this up.” I said with a smile.

She didn’t respond, instead switching to chewing on her bottom lip viciously. I let out another breath, bringing my thumb up and placing it on her mouth. She stopped her teeth, staring at me with desolate eyes.

“I should just call her, right?” She asked desperately. “I mean it’s been five days, if you include today. That’s enough time to cool off, right? And I haven’t talked to Kade in so long. She has to at least let me talk to him…” She trailed off, returning her eyes to her phone.

I stared down at the top of Katie’s small head and subconsciously rolled my shoulders, my mind setting into a determined line. I reached down, taking the phone from her hands and flipping it open. Katie made no move to stop me, just gave me a curious look. I scrolled through her minimal contacts finding her mother’s number and pressed the green call button before I could chicken out. Katie’s eyes widened in alarm, but my height gave me enough of an advantage to keep the phone out of her reach. I wasn’t actually expecting an answer, but I received one after the first ring.

“I hope this is your apology call, Kathrine Rae.”

“No, it’s not. And this isn’t Katie.” I responded calmly. Katie watched me anxiously, tearing at her bottom lip with her teeth again. There was silence on the other line for a moment.

“I’m assuming you’re the pool house boy then, right?”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that." I responded calmly, biting my tongue in an effort to keep the my end of the conversation polite. "My name is actually Jack though.”

“Well Jack is there a reason that you’re calling me? You’ve already made it clear it’s not to apologize for my daughter’s behavior.”

“I think we need to talk. I know Katie wants to see Kade and I assume he’d like to see her too, so I’d like to invite the two of you over for dinner. They can spend some time together and we can talk this out.” Katie’s eyes grew impossibly wider and she began to viciously shake her head. I just smiled softly at her, waiting through another long silence.

“Alright.” She finally stated. “We’ll be there at 6:30. Let my daughter know this is not something I’m happy about, but I’m willing to give her one last chance.”

The line went dead without so much as a goodbye. Katie was immediately attacking me with questions, her voice coming out with such speed I couldn’t understand her. I placed my hands on her shoulders, the sudden touch silencing her.

“Okay, take a deep breath and repeat all of that at about a quarter of the speed you were just speaking.” I chuckled. She did as instructed, taking a minute to collect herself before speaking again.

“What did she say?” She finally asked.

“She’s going to be here at 6:30 for dinner with Kade. She said she’s not happy about it, but she’s willing to give you one more chance, so just calm down, alright? It’s going to be okay.” I smiled at her, something I was slightly surprised to see her return. Softly, she reached up on her toes to press a kiss to my lips before wrapping her arms around me in a sweet smelling hug.

“You are the best boyfriend ever, Jack Barakat.” She whispered into my shirt. My grin stretched even wider at her words.

“I try.”

After another few seconds she pulled away, her eyes shifting to the clock behind me. She tensed and I turned to glance at the clock as well. I understood her reaction immediately. It was already 5:00.

“C’mon.” I said, taking her hand and pulling her back towards the house. “We’ve got cooking to do.”

“You’re gonna help cook?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Contrary to popular belief, I do actually know how to make a decent meal. And I’m not just talking mac and cheese here.” I teased.

Katie stopped walking, bringing us both to a halt. Without warning her lips met mine in a fiery kiss. I was breathing hard, my head spinning slightly when our lips disconnected. I opened my eyes to meet her crystalline gaze.

“I repeat, you are the best boyfriend ever.”

And without another word she tugged me into the house.