11. Rory

CHAPTER 11

RORY

“ Y ou had sex, but you didn’t even get her name?” Matt gave me a look, absolutely scandalized. It was my first day off of the long weekend, so Matt and I agreed to go for an early morning run and then hit up one of our favorite breakfast spots in town. Once there, we scarfed down enough food for an entire football team. “How could you not ask for her name after you two fucked?”

“Shh!” I said. “Could you not scream my personal business at the top of your lungs, please?”

“Sorry, you just caught me off guard.”

“The whole thing caught me off guard,” I muttered.

“Alright, fair enough.” He sipped his coffee to wash down the plate of French toast he’d just polished off, then wiped his mouth with a napkin and pushed all his plates to the side. He leaned his elbows on the table and looked me dead in the eye. “So, tell me what happened.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about telling me why the hell the two of you were in the alley behind the bar in the first place!”

“She had, like, a moment of panic. I don’t know exactly what brought it on—I think just the front door slamming—but either way, she tore out of the bar with this really scared look on her face. I chased after her because I thought maybe she could use some help. It’s a good thing I did, too, because she was about to have a panic attack.”

“... Okay.”

“So I calmed her down and asked if she wanted to talk about what was bothering her because, you know, that’s supposed to help. But instead of talking, she kissed me and well… You know where things went from there.”

“She didn’t tell you anything about why she was scared?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“And you still have no idea what her name is?”

I put a finger up and smiled. “Aha, no, I did find out. But not from her. On my way out of the bar a little while later, I overheard Al calling out to her by name. Katrina.”

“Katrina,” he repeated the name back to me. He looked confused.

“What?”

“For some reason, I don’t think that name really fits her. It’s not what I thought it was going to be, I guess.”

“What did you think her name was going to be?”

“I didn’t have one in mind,” he said. “Just… not Katrina. Maybe she gave Al a fake name. She is very secretive.”

“Guarded,” I corrected him. “I think she’s just guarded.”

Matt laughed. “Don’t get so defensive. I wasn’t trying to insult your new girlfriend. I just think she’s hiding something, that’s all. But hey, aren’t we all?”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Not yet.”

“Maybe not ever,” I said, trying not to sound too disappointed. “She high-tailed it out of the alley after we hooked up and didn’t give me any indication that something like that was going to happen again between us.”

“So, just a one-night stand then?”

“Who the fuck knows.” I pushed the last few bites of my scrambled eggs around on my plate with the spears of my fork. “Talk about mixed fucking signals. One second, she’s giving me the cold shoulder. The next, she’s digging her nails into me because of how much she wants me.”

Matt widened his eyes. “Kinky. So you’re saying it was good?”

I brought a hand to my head in frustration. “It was better than good. Best sex I’ve ever had. And I knew it would be too. From the second I laid eyes on her, I had this feeling that if we ever got together… it would be explosive.” I pointed a finger at him. “But I think it’s important to remember that she made the first move. I swear to God, I didn’t go after her with anything like that in mind. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. My intentions were innocent.”

Matt narrowed his eyes at me.

“What? Why are you giving me that look?”

“I’m just trying to figure out if I believe you or not…” After a few seconds, he sat back in his seat and smiled. “And I’ve decided that I do. I think you’re telling the truth when you say you really just went out there to make sure she was okay. How gentlemanly of you.”

“I feel like I should be offended. Why is that so hard to believe?”

“It’s just not really your style,” he explained. “It sort of sounds like something… well, like something I would do.”

“What are you trying to say?” I scoffed. “That you’re sensitive and caring, and I’m some asshole who’s just looking to get laid?”

“No, of course not. I just mean that you’re not the kind of person to get involved in someone else’s private life like this. You’re more of the ‘not my monkeys, not my circus’ kind of guy.”

“Not my what?”

“It’s a saying.” He laughed. “It means that when things don’t directly involve you, you stay out of them. It’s not that you’re uncaring, more that you let other people live their lives and only intervene if absolutely necessary. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like you wouldn’t have gone after just any other girl. If you thought she was having a panic attack, you might poke your head out and make sure she was okay but more likely, you would’ve just told her manager at the bar to go check on her. Am I right?”

“Hmm.” I thought about this for a second, still not fully convinced that my friend hadn’t just insulted me. “I guess I can see where you’re coming from.”

“This girl is just different,” he said.

“Which is what I’ve been trying to tell you this whole time!”

“Right, but I didn’t realize how much you meant it until just now.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “If you really care so much about this woman, then you should try to see where things go. I’m not saying be a creep; if she’s not into you, you should respect that. But…”

“But what?” I raised my brow, genuinely curious to hear if he had any serious advice. “How do I continue pursuing her without making it seem like I don’t respect the fact that she doesn’t want anything more from me?”

He frowned. “Now that you say it out loud, I think it might be impossible. You’re going to look like a jerk no matter what.”

I sighed heavily. “That’s what I’m trying to avoid, thank you very much.”

“That means there’s only one thing left for you to do.”

“Which is?”

“Wait for her to come to you.”

I winced. “I was worried you were going to say that. I’m probably going to have to sit around waiting forever, and I’m sorry, but that’s just too pathetic. I can’t be that guy. I refuse to be that guy.”

“It might not be as long as you think,” Matt said with a mischievous smile. “I mean, it’s like you said, she did make the first move.”

Thankfully, Matt had other things on his mind that morning, and we were able to move on to a different topic of conversation shortly after that. He, too, was confused by Nic’s recent behavior and wanted to know as badly as I did what the hell had gotten into her. He was also stressed about his summer school session and concerned that if Cornelius didn’t find a job soon, he would slowly slip into madness.

“Are you suggesting he isn’t already mad?” I asked with a laugh. We had both finished up what was left on our plates, and I was just waiting for the check.

“I think there’s still hope for him as long as we get him out of the house every now and then. Make sure he doesn’t go days without talking to another human being like he tends to do.” He clicked his tongue. “I just fear what’s going to happen if he doesn’t fill his days with something besides reading and sulking. We gotta get him to go out and at least apply for a job.”

“As much as I agree with you,” I said. “I think you’re worrying a bit too much about everyone else. You need to take a breather and just focus on relaxing a bit before your class starts in a few days.”

“That’s not the worst idea…”

“You want to come to the rec center with me? I was thinking about swimming some laps while it’s still nice out. I heard there might be rain later today.”

“You want to go swimming after eating all this food?”

“I was going to wait an hour. Give or take.”

“Even still.” He shook his head. “That sounds like a side cramp waiting to happen. No, thank you. I think I’ll just go for a walk along the water. Help my body digest a little.”

“Suit yourself.” I pushed my chair back and smiled. He tried to take some money out of his pocket, but I waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. This one’s on me.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

Matt put his bills back in his pocket and smiled. “Thanks, man. I’ll get you next time.”

“I’m not worried about it,” I said. “With all the extra shifts I’ve taken on in order to avoid sitting at home with Nic all day, I’m feeling pretty flush. Oh—but don’t tell her I said that.”

“Which part?”

“Any of it. You never know what’s going to set her off these days, and I feel like the little jabs and jokes I used to make all the time are pissing her off more than usual.” A thought occurred to me, and my eyes widened. “Hey, you don’t think she’s seeing someone or something, do you? Could it be she’s so crabby because she got dumped or stood up or something?”

“Could be, but I don’t know. Nic doesn't seem the type to really care about that stuff. In fact, now that you mention it, I don’t think she’s dated a single person for as long as I’ve known her.”

“You’ve known her your entire life.”

He smiled. “Exactly.”