Kate
* * *
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Are you around?
RC,
I need to talk to you. I’m having a hard time, and I could really use a friendly face. Please. A video call?
I’m having feelings for somebody that maybe I shouldn’t be. I need a friend to talk to.
Love,
Kate
* * *
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: What’s wrong?
Kate,
You know you can talk to me about anything.
I made the mistake of saying no to a video call last time. I won’t do it again. I’m just asking for a few more days.
I think also, if you are having feelings for somebody else, then you should explore them. I know you and Pete just broke up, but the heart doesn’t wait a magical number of days before it knows what it wants.
RC
31
Charlie
Kate was acting strange.Oh, she pretended normality, but I thought myself a bit of an expert on Kate Dubois. She’d look at my temple or my jawline when I asked her a question. At first, I thought maybe I was projecting, but I was sure of it now that we were stuck in the back of a town car heading to the studio. Now that I’d experienced being the sole subject of her focus, I couldn’t go back to anything else.
She emailed me, er, RC, this morning about feeling guilty for having feelings for someone. Did she think it was too soon after Pete? Or could it possibly be what I really wanted? That she’d seen the real me. Not Freddy Finks or the celebrity Charles Downing.
I told her to explore her feelings. Either that was the best move or completely idiotic, and once again, I ruined my chance with her.
Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to remember the conversation from last night. If she had, wouldn’t that have been the first thing she said to me? I had to tell her again. Everything had to come out. No more secrets.
There was no going back. We didn’t have enough time. A few more days if that, and we’d be separated, and I’d be back in Devon. Which was absolutely still the plan.
I cleared my throat. We hadn’t spoken much since we both hurried to shower and head out.
“Did you sleep okay?” I asked. My voice sounded too deep and raspy in the quiet ride.
Her eyes snapped to me and then away before darting back to the corner of my eye. “Yep. Just fine. You?”
“Not really,” I mumbled.
