177. Unexpected

Bridgeport, Frost residence
present day...

Half the crowd was already present when Eloise and Devon arrived at Frosts’ residence.

The kids were playing in the dining room, with Cameron and Michaela acting as their self-appointed babysitters.

The ladies, Katie included, were congregating in the kitchen, preparing salads over glasses of wine.

After a reasonable few minutes of small talk Devon quietly snuck away and joined Krisis and J.D. in the patio, the two men were manning the braai. In all honesty though, Krisis was doing all the hard work and J.D. was supervising him, issuing instructions at every opportunity he got.

When the front door creaked to life Katie held her breath, convinced it was William Thornton.

He had been on her mind nonstop these last few weeks, and she’d lost count of the number of times she’d stopped herself from calling the Vampire Council Headquarters.

He wasn’t her type; she’d never go for a guy like him, not in a million years. But since he’d asked her out for dinner she couldn’t put him out of her head. She was drawn to him in a way she didn’t understand. It wasn’t the crazy and deranged fascination she’d had for Riley. This curiosity with Thornton was…different. But she was eager to explore it, eager to delve into his thoughts and find out what or who had left the kind of sadness she’d sensed in him.

Katie breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw the latest arrival was Joshua. She’d met him a few times at O+ Records. But she didn’t know the pretty blond girl hanging on his arm.

“The wait continues,” she mumbled to herself as she watched the intense exchange between Michaela and her fledgling across the room.

 “Who is she?” Michaela demanded as she briefly glanced at the blond at Joshua’s side. Like Katie, she was almost positive she’d never seen the girl before. But something about her was so familiar.

“This is Carmen. She’s my girlfriend,” Joshua announced proudly.

“You? A girlfriend?” Michaela snorted. She didn’t believe for a second that this pretty girl was Joshua’s girlfriend. Hell Joshua was gross and creepy so the idea that some female, especially one as hot as this blond, would find him attractive was just nuts to her.

Before she could interrogate them further about the supposed relationship, Cameron whisked her away. He was dying for some alone time with her.

The door to the guest bedroom had not even closed behind them when Cameron picked her up and laid her on the bed. When he moved over her and began exploring her body, Michaela quickly forgot about Joshua and his girlfriend.

Krimsyn was happy to see Joshua had a girlfriend, he was obviously over Michaela. She was also pleased with his progress report from Dr. Harlow, her therapist. Soon after they learned about his stunt with Ellie’s friend, Krimsyn had suggested he should go for counseling, and Joshua had agreed without putting up any form of resistance, and this had somehow convinced her he was willing to change at least, willing to seek help with his demons.

Carmen had everyone eating out of her palm in no time. K-Infinity’s band members were pleasantly surprised to learn she was a big fan of their music and that she’d been to most of their recent concerts.

Once or twice Krisis found himself staring at her; it wasn’t the ‘I’m going to nail you’ kind of staring. At least he hoped he didn’t come across as that. But something about Carmen looked familiar. He could swear he’d seen her before, and he knew if he thought about it long enough it would all come back to him. But Leigh, looking as sexy as hell in her summer dress, was making thoughts of anyone other than her impossible.

Leigh shared Krisis’ feelings about Carmen. She knew they’d met before, but for the life of her she couldn’t recall where.

“Oh well,” she shrugged as she watched her play with the kids. She seemed taken with them, and they in turn were pleased with her singing antics.

But Ariel was reserved; in fact she didn’t seem to like the blond. To Leigh’s shock and embarrassment, when Carmen tried to tickle her youngest, she slapped her hand away, screaming “No!” over and over.

 “Ariel, that not’s a very nice thing to do,” Leigh admonished her daughter. And she quickly turned to Carmen with an apology. “I’m sorry; she’s not usually like this.”

“It’s okay, I guess I can’t be everyone’s favorite,” Carmen smiled at her.

“Have we met before?” Leigh asked. She really couldn’t let it go.

“I don’t think so,” Carmen shook her head quickly.

Leigh was about to press her when Krimsyn came into the room and ushered everyone to the patio. They’d waited long enough for Thornton; it was obvious he wasn’t going to make it.

Ten minutes into the meal Katie tensed up again when the doorbell rang and J.D. went to get it. She knew that when he came back, he’d have William Thornton in tow.

And K-Infinity’s bassist didn’t disappoint. “Look who’s here,” he announced.

“Hello,” Thornton greeted everyone at the table.

Krimsyn gladly accepted the bottle of red wine he’d brought, and Leigh graciously took the large gift bag from him.

“It’s for the kids. I got your nephew something too.” Thornton and Leigh exchanged smiles. For some inexplicable reason Katie found herself wishing his smile was directed at her.

As everyone played musical chairs to make room for Thornton, Katie couldn’t help but stare at him.

She always thought he looked good in his expensive suits, but he was downright sexy in a dark pair of jeans and a denim shirt rolled up at the sleeves, the first three buttons were popped open, and she could make out a vague smattering of dark hair on his chest, her eyes jumped to the exposed flesh on his arms, the hair there looked just as appealing.

As fate would have it she found herself sandwiched before father and son, when they all sat down again.

Thornton was charming and entertaining, he spoke with everyone at the table with ease and confidence.

Katie noticed he didn't talk much about himself though, he just seemed happy to listen to everyone else. Everyone but her, that is.

Apart from the brief nod he’d thrown her way when they sat down he hadn't said anything to her. Knowing he was blatantly ignoring her annoyed her to no end, especially when he was all that occupied her.

Every smile, every gesture, every touch from him, no matter how brief or innocent, left her breathless and a little anxious. It didn't help that he smelled so good too.  A man's scent was her number one weakness. And Thornton’s raw scent mixed with a hint Dunhill's Desire was perfect, as a result he was making a quick climb to the top of her "yes" list.

She had no idea why it was happening, especially with him, and she didn't know how to feel about it, but she had never been so aware of a man before.

The quizzical look in his eyes when he held hers at one point made her wonder if he was also aware of the electricity between them.

Or maybe she was reading too much into things. Maybe she wanted so badly for him to ask her out again and she was seeing things that weren't there, feeling things she shouldn't...

Someone’s cell phone rang, the sound made her jump, and she reached for the first thing her hand could find. It was Thornton's hand. She held on to it for a little while longer, playing with his fingers, gently squeezing and touching him, and when she realized what she was doing and saw the smirk on his face, she dropped it like a bad habit.

Eloise excused herself to answer her phone. When she came back about three minutes later she looked like her whole world had just ended.

"My father’s just died. He had a heart attack. Mom called the paramedics, but he was already gone when they arrived. I have to go," she announced calmly.

Leigh and Devon were instantly at her side, comforting her, while the rest of them sat in stunned silence, processing her announcement.

A subdued mood settled over the small group. They were all heartbroken for Eloise; it was a terrible thing for her to go through, especially so close to her wedding day. Especially on the one year anniversary of the day Tamsyn stole Blake from them.

Krisis and Leigh left shortly after that with Eloise and Devon, Krimsyn and J.D. would look after the kids. They didn't mind taking care of Blake too, but Eloise didn't want him out of her sight, especially today.

Carmen decided to call it a night, no point in sticking around since the object of her affections was gone. After much persuasion and whining on her part, Joshua reluctantly left with her.  He hated knowing that Michaela was alone with Cameron, hated even more that J.D. and Krimsyn had tossed him out and were forcing him to seek counseling. But shortly after he moved out of the penthouse Beau had advised him to play along, make them think he was a good guy and regain their trust again. And when they all least expected it, he’d have his day with Michaela.  And he couldn’t wait…

As soon as they saw Joshua and Carmen off, Krimsyn and J.D. went back inside to tuck in the kids, while Cameron and Michaela tidied up the patio.

Thornton and Katie found themselves alone in the once cheerful space.

Dazedly Katie began clearing the dishes on the table. Thornton helped her.

Leigh had a dishwasher, but Katie washed the dishes anyway. She needed the distraction, she didn't want to get sucked into Eloise's pain, a pain she knew too well because no matter how hard she'd tried in the past, she never got over losing Riley.

"You lost someone," Thornton broke the silence. Katie stared at him for a long time before she slowly nodded her head.

"It was a long time ago."

"But you still hurt."

"He was my first boyfriend," Katie began. Before long she'd summarized her relationship with Riley and his death, the guilt she felt, and the heartache she could never seem to shake off.

"It wasn't your fault. He overdosed!" Thornton argued.

He was right, but a part of her still believed if she'd come to Bridgeport when he did, Riley might have taken a different path. Sometimes she believed Riley's mother was right, that if she hadn't pushed him into music, if she hadn't supported his dream, he'd still be alive.

"Stop it. His death wasn't your fault!"  Thornton told her again.

She didn't argue or fight when he took her in his arms and comforted her. She rested her head on his chest, and watched her tears silently soak through his denim shirt.

"Feeling better?" Thornton asked after some time.

Katie nodded her head, and pried herself from his embrace, but he quickly pulled her close to him again.

Their second embrace was unexpected. Tense. Their moment was loaded with expectations and questions as she stared up at him and slowly traced the outline of his lips with her eyes.

"I-uh-” she tried to resist, tried to break the spell. But the pull between them was strong, fighting it was futile, she wanted his kiss with an intensity she'd never felt before.

"Don't say anything," Thornton silenced her with a fleeting caress, as he slowly forced her lips apart.

"Oh shit, sorry!" Krimsyn's voice behind them stopped the approaching train wreck, they guiltily sprung apart.

"We were-" They both cried at once as they stared at everything but her.

"Not my business," Krimsyn brushed them off as she quickly backed out of the room.

"I should go." Katie mumbled when they were alone again. Without waiting for his reply she grabbed her bag from them sofa and left. Slowly though. She was hoping Thornton would follow her, or stop her, but he did nothing. And her long drive from the lake to the CBD was filled with "what ifs" and "if onlys"...

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Thank you Karima, for all your help!