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“What are you doing here?”
Turning, I find Katerina dressed in what appears to be a waitress uniform. She looks tired and nervous as her eyes drift to the scarf in my hands.
“Oh, thank God. I was looking everywhere for that.”
She holds out her palm to retrieve it, but I hesitate, my eyes drifting down the length of her body. She notices, and a flush creeps over the delicate skin of her throat. I swallow, and tension swells between us like a bomb ready to detonate at any moment. Christ, what is it about this girl that makes me forget what the fuck I’m even doing here?
“Did you just get home from work?” I ask to break the silence.
She nods. “Yeah, I wait tables over at the diner on Fifth. It’s nothing to write home about, but it pays the bills.”
It doesn’t look like it, but I don’t tell her so.
The apartment door creaks open, and another woman who looks older than Kat pokes her head out. “Kat? I thought that was you. Everything okay out here?”
“Hey, Rachel.” She waves at her friend. “I’m just talking to… uh…”
“Lev,” I fill in the blank.
“Right.” The blush on Kat’s face deepens. “Lev was just returning my scarf.”
“Okay.” Rachel eyes me with curiosity before she eases the door closed. “See you in a few.”
Kat nods, and the door shuts with an audible clunk. Silence lingers between us. I want to know what she’s thinking, but as it turns out, I don’t have to ask.
“I can’t believe I never even asked your name,” she blurts. “I’m so sorry if that came off as rude. But you just surprised me being here. How did you even find me, anyway?”
“Your driver’s license,” I remind her. “I went through your bag last night and confiscated the fake ID, remember?”
“Right.” She rocks back on her heels. “And then you remembered my address and drove all the way over here to bring my scarf back?”
It sounds even creepier when she says it.
“I also thought you could use a meal,” I offer lamely. “I wasn’t in the best mood this morning, and I wanted to make up for it.”
“Are you asking me to dinner?” Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
“Are you accepting?” A smile tugs at my lips, but I resist.
“Dinner would be nice, actually,” she says. “I’m starving. Could you just give me two minutes to change?”
“Take your time.” I plant myself in the rusty lawn chair. “I’ll just be out here enjoying the view.”
3
Kat
I’m not sure pink is still my favorite color, but I’m so happy Lev brought the scarf back. It’s worn, the yarn coming apart in places, but I don’t care. When I wear it, I feel safe.
“He’s cute,” Rachel says, waggling her eyebrows.
I pass her and head to my bedroom, trying to suppress my excitement. “I guess.”
She follows me in. “You guess? I saw how you were looking at him. And how he was looking at you.”
I can’t help but smile when I turn to her again as I pull my uniform over my head.
“It’s not like that. He’s just being nice.” I get a whiff of fried onion rings from the diner. It’s probably in my hair too.
“Nice. Mm-hmm. Thought you said you spent the night at Nina’s.”
“Think I have time for a quick shower?”
“I can go keep him company if you like.” She winks.
“Don’t you dare.” I hurry into our shared bathroom and push the curtain back to start the water. It always takes a few minutes to warm up.
“Tell me,” she says, perching on the closed toilet seat as I rummage in my drawer for a razor.
“He just helped me last night. Nina had gotten me a little something special for my birthday, but well, it didn’t go as planned.”
Watching her face when I say it, I see it change as she grows more serious, and I instantly regret having told her that part.
“Kat—”
“It wasn’t a big deal.” I’m not in the mood for a lecture right now. “Everything turned out fine.”
Stripping off my underwear, I step under the warm flow. I’m quick, shampooing once and working conditioner into my hair before shaving my legs. I didn’t have time to shower before my shift at the diner, and between last night’s escapades and today’s various food smells, I stink.
Rachel pushes the curtain open just enough to peer inside.
“Hey, this is serious. You have to be careful. You can’t just buy something at a nightclub and expect to get what you think you’re paying for. There are really bad people out there, Kat, and they will take advantage of you when you aren’t in control of yourself.”
“I know. It was stupid, but it turned out fine.” Rachel is a recovering addict and doesn’t have much patience for anything like this. “I didn’t even like it if it makes any difference,” I try, rinsing the conditioner out of my hair, forgetting to comb it out first in my hurry.
