Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Kat

It's so late by the time we finally find a hotel to stay at, that they only have one room left. And the room only has one bed. He tries to be a gentleman and tells me he can stretch out on the floor with no problem but he's just as exhausted as I am. Maybe more so since he had to carry my ass around for a little while after the whole floor thing.

"Don't be silly. Both of us can sleep in this bed. No problem. If it's really a problem, you can stay above the covers, and I will stay under them."

Eventually, he gives in and both of us end up on the bed side by side. Even though I am exhausted, I can't fall asleep and lay just staring at the ceiling thinking about what I am going to do now that I have nowhere to go. Well, nowhere but Bear and Bea's.

"Try not to worry about it, Kat. Everything will be alright. Just let me worry about it."

"It's…," Not his problem. Oh my God, this time tomorrow he'll be gone somewhere else and I'll be with my brother and Bea…and we won't see each other again. There won't be a reason to hang out with one another, there won't be any hanging with him and Spade and not being a third wheel but like one of the guys.

Sadness hits me so hard it's like a physical punch in the gut. Silent tears leak down my face as I mourn not just my freedom and independence but the loss of my friend too. How can things get any suckier?

He looks over and I guess can tell tears are leaking down my temples glinting in the low light from the bathroom. He takes my arm and rolls me, so I am up against his side with his arm around me, pulling me close. He starts rubbing my back in comforting circles as the time between my blinks becomes longer and longer.

In the morning when I open my eyes, it's to find myself draped across Whit like a cheap whore. The shirt I was wearing as a nightdress, one of his I had to borrow from a duffle bag in his truck since all I was wearing when the floor gave way was a freakin' towel, and neither of us was allowed back into the apartment afterwards, has ridden up around my waist leaving me bare.

And his hands are holding my ass, pressing me into the hard ridge of him that seems to rest between half my body. Surely that can't be how long he is? It has to be an illusion that makes it feel like it is that long? Right? I wiggle around long enough to realize…oh fuck, that is all him. And it's past time I need to be up and away from him. The last thing I want is for him to wake up with me on top of him especially after he pretty much told me the only reason he kissed me yesterday was because I was handy. And didn't that just drive a nail straight through my ego. Who would he have used as his girlfriend if I hadn't been close? One of the other teammates' sisters?

I try to roll off him, but he is having none of it, squeezing the handful of buttcheek he has in each hand. The motion has me squealing and going stiff in his arms which alerts him that something is wrong. I know the moment he wakes up because his hands let my ass go at last. I take the opportunity to put space between the two of us.

"Sorry."

"It's alright. No worries."

My face is turned back so I have to look at him when he grasps my chin gently. "It's really not. No one should put their hands on you unless you ask them to, sweetheart."

He's such a sweet man. "Maybe I was the one in the wrong. Maybe I was the one touching you without your consent. Which then I would have to apologize to you."

He laughs a little before he pulls me into his lap and captures my attention once again. "That's different, baby." When I am about to ask him why it's different, he keeps going and answers my question without me having to ask it. "I would never object to you touching me. You can touch me anytime you want to."

His mouth drops to mine but it's in the lightest kiss ever, barely brushing my lips with his before he slides me off his lap and makes his way to the bathroom. "Okay if I take the shower first?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

What the hell just happened? I woke up on top but somehow, he's flipped things around and taken control of everything while leaving me unbalanced and wondering why. I always wonder why when I am with Whit. Is that even normal? Am I supposed to feel so unbalanced around my friend? And do friends casually kiss one another like he just kissed me? Not that it was really even a kiss, I suppose.

By the time I come out of the shower, Whit is just getting off the phone an before I can ask what's going on he is walking over to me with a bag in his hands. It takes me a minute to realize it's one of mine.

"Wh…Where did you get that?"

"From your brother. Actually, I got it from Bea who wouldn't turn it over until I assured her you were fine and would call her as soon as you got out of the shower. But your brother carried it for her."

He hands it to me and before I can reach out for it, he is speaking again. "I think I found somewhere we can stay while everything is getting worked out at the apartment."

"Somewhere…to stay?"

"Yeah, hurry and dress. I want to show you before you have to go to work."

He seems so happy; I don't have the heart to tell him I don't think I can afford anything else. Me and Bea were so lucky to have found the little apartment as it is - cheap, close to work and school, cheap. I don't expect lightning to strike twice. It was one of the reasons I was okay putting up with Super Perv.

I keep quiet all during the ride to this mystery house. I realize where we're going halfway there. This is on the way to Bear's place. He even pulls into the little area that has a couple of houses on it with Bear and Bea's home sitting at the end of the nearly empty subdivision.

I start squirming in my seat when he pulls into one of the houses. I look at the house and then over to the man sitting next to me. He's already opening his door and rushing over to open mine for me. I step out and let him take me up the porch that wraps around most of the house.

"Whit…"

"Don't say anything till you look at it. I want to make sure you like it before we put any money down." He's not even looking at me when he says it but is looking down at a text message on his phone. He takes the numbers from the text and puts them into the lockbox hanging on the doorknob. He ushers me inside and starts showing me around. I can't help but wonder ‘what if'. What if I could stay here with him? What if I didn't have to worry about finding a new place and could just go wherever he goes?

At least he'll be kind of close when I move in with Bear and Bea. Not right down the hall but right down the road, I guess.

"So what do you think?"

"I…I can't afford this, Whit. It is a lovely place but…"

"We'll figure something out, Kat. I promise." I have no idea how. "I wouldn't leave you and not even know if you have another place to go."

"Bear's..."

"Place might as well be the Hotel Shag-A-Lot and you don't want to be there." He turns me and puts his hands on my hips. "I don't want you to have to feel like the third wheel when this place has plenty of room for both of us."

"But Whit…"

"No buts. Your brother wouldn't be very happy with me if he told me about this place and I didn't take you with me. Consider yourself a finder's fee. My way of saying thank you to Bear if that makes you feel any better about the whole situation."

"I'm a…" Is that a good thing?

"I'll take you to work today and pick you up when you get off so you don't have to drive back somewhere new in the dark." He drops a kiss on my lips as if it puts the exclamation point on the whole argument and that's the end of it.