I raise my hand and wave slowly. “Hey, what’s up? You must be The Boyfriend.”
He squints like my image is an out of focus apparition floating in front of him. “Kate?” He looks slowly to Shelly. “Hun, is this The Kate? The one you talk about nonstop? I finally get to meet her in the flesh?”
Shelly rolls her eyes. “Shut up, Duncan. Let the poor girl in, it’s freezing out there.”
Duncan steps back and with a wide, dramatic, sweeping gesture welcomes me into his apartment.
I nod. “Thanks dude.”
He giggles, which is priceless because a guy this big and hairy shouldn’t giggle. But there’s no other way to describe it. “Wait, I know you. Don’t I know you? How do I know you?”
Shelly hands me a beer before I can turn it down or even take my hoodie off. “Duncan, you don’t know her. How would you know Kate?”
I look at him again and suddenly he looks familiar, too. I’ve seen that beard before, but where? And then it hits me. “Grounds. We met at Grounds before school started. Well, we sort of met. We discussed the weather I think.”
He tries to snap his fingers, but fails miserably. He doesn’t seem to notice. “Yes. Yes! I knew it.” He points at me. “You’re in the club.” He turns to Shelly. “Hun, she’s in the club.”
I smile and nod. “Yeah, I’m in the club.”
Shelly shakes her head, but can’t help smiling at him like a lovesick puppy. “Duncan, please sit down before you fall down. And no more alcohol. I’m cutting you off.”
He shuffles over to the small loveseat and tumbles down next to her.
I look around the room and realize now why Shelly called it a room and not an apartment. Because it is a room, just one tiny open space with high ceilings. Everything about it is small, but it’s homey and comfortable. There’s a small kitchenette along the far brick wall, a small loveseat and ratty recliner in the middle, and two screens set up on opposite sides of the door I’ve come through. I’m assuming Duncan’s bed is housed behind one and his roommate’s behind the other. Virtually no privacy. I can relate, but when I shared a small room with someone it was my sister and privacy wasn’t a priority. There are three other doors, all of which are closed. One must be a bathroom. Another is probably a closet. And the other looks like it might lead to the rear of Grounds.
Duncan reaches over and clumsily pats the recliner next to him. “Come sit down, Kate. We won’t bite. Better take a seat while you can before my roommate gets out of the shower. Some chick was trying to put the moves on my boy at the frat house and when he wasn’t into her, she threw a glass of beer on him. What the hell? I mean, who does that? He smelled awful. Had to clean up when we got home.” He’s a very dramatic storyteller and much chattier than Shelly.
Shelly laughs. “I’m sure he was leading her on. You know what a tease he is when he’s drunk.”
“Hun, he’s my boy. Why do you have to be like that?” He leans toward her, practically falling right on top of her. This guy is drunk out of his mind.
“You know how he is. When he’s sober he doesn’t give women the time of day, but when he’s drunk he flirts like hell just to wind them up.” She’s looking at me now. “He thinks it’s fun getting their hopes up and then when he shuts them down they always get pissed. And he loves it. It’s a cruel game. He’s such a tease—” Shelly stops mid-sentence because the bathroom door has just opened and she smiles mischievously like she knows she’s just baited someone up.
I hear the voice before I see him. “Shel, this door is paper thin. You think I can’t hear you? And that happened once. And it was on a dare from your man here. There’s no need to exaggerate.” He isn’t offended. In fact, he sounds like he finds the whole conversation humorous. “Thanks for having my back, Dunc.”
Shelly laughs. She’s much more relaxed around her boyfriend. I like that.
And then I see him and I freeze and almost lose the grip on the bottle of beer in my hand. Because stepping out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel hanging low on his hips, is Keller Banks. The Coffee God. Damn. He’s f**king glorious. I need to blink. And breathe. Don’t forget to breathe. He hasn’t noticed me yet.
Duncan points, ineffectively, in my general direction. “Banks, we have a guest.”
“Hey, Keller.” That sounded normal despite my heart beating at a ridiculously fast rate.
His relaxed stance stiffens and his sleepy eyes widen. “Katie? What? How?” he stutters. “What … what are you doing here?” It’s not rude; he’s just at a loss for words.
Which is kind of flattering, because he doesn’t seem like the type of guy who gets tongue-tied, especially around the opposite sex. Not that he’s overly confident. It’s just that guys this good-looking seem to instinctively know how to talk to women. I may have the upper hand here. “I’m out with Shelly tonight. Party got broken up; I guess Superman’s flight was a bust. Literally. We ended up here by default.”
Shelly and Keller look at each other and speak at the same time. “How do you know Kate?” “You’re friends with Katie?” They both look confused.
I look at Keller first. “I work with Shelly at Three Petunias. Oh, and she’s my dance partner when we go clubbing.” I can’t say it with a straight face, and I’m smiling by the time I look to Shelly who’s rolling her eyes and glaring. It’s an impressive combo. “And I know Keller from Grounds. We debate music and I keep him updated on important town news.”