Pulling Me

Part Nine. But Why

"Kate, hey. Lift up a second," Y/N asked.

"Oh I'm sorry-" she started before watching what they were attempting to do.

"I saw someone up there move this thing, I wanted to see if-" they were right. It moved up and back, leaving room for them to sit even closer. Kate's smile grew knowing that they just wanted her closer.

Before she could get situated again, Y/N knew they had to make a move, no matter how small. With that, they rested their hand on her thigh and ran their thumb back and forth. Kate's breath hitched a bit, but as Y/N shifted back toward her, she rested her head back on their shoulder and wrapped her arm around theirs.

It was interesting to Y/N how easily this came to them. With Kate, it just felt easy. She made them feel so comfortable like they couldn't do anything that would make them want to not be right next to her.

The movie was a little over two hours long and the pair spent the whole time snuggled close like this. As it was ending, Y/N began asking Kate what she thought might happen.

A big scene came on screen, startling them both and causing Kate to whip her head up. It was such a twist in the story that they were both sitting there with their mouths open when they looked at each other.

The giggling that had been happening all evening started again. They had both had the same goofy look plastered on their faces. But as the laughing ceased, they continued looking at each other. The smiles faded to smirks as the two started gazing into the other's eyes. Their faces weren't too far apart considering how close they'd been sitting.

Y/N thought about leaning in but remembered their night with Yelena. If they didn't kiss her, it just didn't feel right to kiss Kate. Not so early, at least.

Instead, they nudged her and returned their gaze back to the screen. They'd felt Kate's linger a second before she returned her head to their shoulder.

The movie finished and sadly, the walk back to her townhouse felt much shorter, but that was probably because the two had no desire to let the night end. They fell in step with each other, walking slower and slower it felt.

As they approached her doorstep, Y/N followed Kate up to make sure she'd get in safe. Unlocking her door, she cracked it just so. For a second, Y/N wondered if she was thinking of asking them in or not, but it seemed that maybe that was a bit much for the night.

"Thank you for the night. It was so much fun," Kate leaned against her door frame.

"It was. We should do that again," Y/N replied.

There was that smile again. It roped Y/N in like a lasso. They couldn't help but smile back.

Wondering if there was anything else they should do or say, Y/N nodded, "I'll text you when I'm home safe. Maybe we can set something up then?"

"I'd like that."

Y/N nodded once more, "I'll see you soon."

She smiled before walking in and closing the door behind her. Y/N trotted down the steps, giddy as ever. Their night had flowed with Kate so effortlessly. They hated to admit that Mariah was right, but she was this time.

Once they got home, they made sure to text Kate and let her know they were safe, but also felt it was a good time now to see if Yelena had texted them.

Nothing.

Weird, but not abnormal. They tried not to think about it and not be upset. They'd just gone on a date with someone else.

Kate
I'm pretty booked this week with work
but I'm free next weekend if you'd like
to set something up again then :)

No hesitation, of course they wanted to see her again, but now they were feeling guilty. Their mind was wondering why Yelena hadn't answered. Nothing since last night when they got back to their apartment.

Kate was attentive, sweet, constant, but Yelena was interesting, deep, passionate. The two could not be more different. God help them when it came time to figure out who to go after, but as of right now only one was answering.

Y/N answered Kate's text and headed to bed. Tomorrow started the new work week and it was already pretty late.

******

Monday: no text from Yelena.

******

Tuesday: still nothing.

******

Wednesday: zero.

They'd only texted her once since the night after the bar. Monday morning they sent a harmless, "Hey, how're you doing?" text hoping that maybe there was a missed text. Maybe something hadn't come through.

But still, there was no reply. Y/N refrained from asking Brandy about her. Bringing her in the middle of it would just make things weird for her. Instead, they waited until Wednesday morning. Maybe she'd be at the coffee shop, where they met.

They got all dressed up, hoping to make a good impression once more if they saw her. Arriving, they noticed they were the first one for the morning. Pretty normal.

After about an hour, they watched their coworkers follow in. Hoping to see Yelena behind Brandy, they were sadly disappointed. Instead of letting the disappointment brew, they dove back into their work.

This is why I don't get my hopes up, they thought.

The day passed by and each time the door opened, they looked up. Even when they told themselves not to, they couldn't help it. They wanted her to walk through the door, to explain why she'd not answered.

A few days isn't bad, you need to relax.

As 4 pm rolled around, Y/N closed their laptop and gathered all of their belongings to head out. No sign of Yelena and no update from Brandy. Better to leave it be than stress about it.

Y/N got home, checked their phone once more.

*1 new text message! 4:13 pm

Fucking. Finally.

Tapping the notification, the thread opened up on the screen.

Kate
I hope your work day went well!
If you'd like, we can watch a movie
at my place tonight?

You know what, they thought, fuck it.

Y/N
Absolutely. I'll be over in an hour :)