I finish the essay just as my mom calls me down for dinner. I press print on my way out the door. I step into the kitchen and the aroma of the freshly grilled burgers, corn and French fries hit my nose. My stomach growls and I grab a plate to dish myself up.
"Leave some for your father, he'll be home late. He's going to be held up at the office tonight, I just got a call from him." My mom says, pouring herself a glass of water.
Cassidy comes down a minute later and dishes herself up then joins my mom and me at the kitchen table. Once she sits down with her food, I dig into my burger. It's not as well cooked as my dad's burgers, but it still tastes good. My mom finishes first and gets up to start the dishes. My sister and I finish at about the same time and she gets up to go finish her homework. I go into our office and grab my essay from the printer then go into the kitchen to see if my mom needs help.
She declines and shoos me back to my room to finish my homework. I have to read a chapter for English, then I'll be finished so I grab my book and sit down on my bed.
By the time I'm finished reading, it's eight-thirty. I hear a ding on my computer and look up to see a new message on LifeTyme. I get up and walk over to my computer. It's a message from Kate.
Kate Manor: I'm sorry for being a bitch yesterday.
Dylan Barnes: I'm not going to argue with that.
Kate Manor: I know, I was just upset and wanted to get back at you. But I'm done with that, I promise. Chris was an ass and just wanted sex.
Dylan Barnes: Well, you were all over him...
Kate Manor: I know. As I said, I was being stupid. Can you forgive me?
I hesitate for a second. Should I forgive her? She was a total bitch, but I hurt her.
Dylan Barnes: Yeah. You weren't the only stupid one.
Kate Manor: Thank you! I was so worried you would be really mad at me :(
Dylan Barnes: Nah, I'm over it now. So what's up? Why'd you message me?
Kate Manor: I wanted to apologize.
Dylan Barnes: Apology accepted. Can you forgive me for being an ass?
Kate Manor: Yeah. You were under a lot of pressure, especially with Will. I should have realized that.
Dylan Barnes: I know, it's fine. I'm over it.
Kate Manor: Are you doing anything right now?
Dylan Barnes: No, I just finished my homework. Why?
Kate Manor: Could you come over and help me with the math? I'm having trouble...
Dylan Barnes: Sure, I guess. I'll let my mom know then I'll be over in a couple minutes, I'm gonna walk.
Kate Manor: Thank you so much! See you soon!
I don't know why I just agreed to go help Kate. I have the feeling that only bad will come from this, but I don't want us to turn into those awkward exes that hate each others guts...
I jog downstairs, shrugging my coat on as I go. "Mom, I'm going over to Kate's to help her with some homework. I'll be back by ten-thirty at the latest okay?"
"I guess Dylan. I wish you would have gone earlier though. Do you want a ride?" My calls back from the living room.
"No, I'll just walk. My phone has almost a full battery. I'll text you when I'm heading home, love you."
"Love you too, be safe."
I try to stop the door from slamming behind me on my way out, fairly unsuccessfully. I jog down my front walk and slow once I get to the sidewalk. I look up and see Emma in her window, watching as I walk down the street. When she sees me watching her, she tries to wave but I look down and walk faster around the corner.
Kate lives two blocks away from me so the walk is short but chilly. When I get to her house, I ring the doorbell and Kate answers. "My parents aren't home, they went out to dinner a while ago so I don't know when they'll be home, I hope that's okay..."
"Yeah, that's fine. So what's confusing you about the math?"
"It's those stupid graphs. Every time I do them, I think I did it right, but then I check and see that I did it wrong."
"Mr. Byrd said that those would be tough. Do you have your notes? He gave us a similar example in class today."
"Yeah, here, let's go upstairs. That's where my stuff is."
I follow her upstairs and into her bedroom. The cream walls and dark oak furniture make it look like it was picked directly out of one of those home decoration magazines that my mom is always looking at.
She lays down on her stomach on the floor and pats the spot next to her. I join her after taking off my jacket and sneakers. I rest those on her desk chair. "So I think it's this part messing me up." I nod and begin to explain to her how to do the graphs.
She nods slowly and bites her bottom lip. "So, like this?" She asks, doing one. I see where she makes her mistake which makes it easier to explain.
After fifteen minutes of explaining and correcting, Kate manages to finish the math. "Thank you so much Dylan! I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come to help me." She leans closer to me. The way she is positioned on the floor next to me, I can clearly see down her shirt. She catches me glance down her shirt and she laughs. "Perv." But instead of moving away or covering her chest, she leans in closer to me. If I moved two inches closer, we'd be kissing. Do I want to do this again? Looking at Kate, I think, I do. But thinking about what Will said, it makes me wonder. But honestly, I knew coming here what would happen. I knew, as soon as I got that first message from Kate that I'd have to make this decision. And I went with it, so that must mean that I do want it.
I close the small gap between our lips and she responds immediately, kissing me back. She sits up, breaking the kiss. Grabbing the bottom of her shirt, she peels it off, exposing her bra. "Kate, are you sure we should be doing this?"
She kisses me, "yes I'm sure. I miss being with you Dylan. Monday was messed up, yes, but it's behind us now. Come on."
She grabs my shirt and, after kissing me again, she pulls it off. I grab her around the waist and kiss her, tasting her strawberry lip gloss. She unbuttons my jeans and pulls them down. I step out of them and unclasp her bra. She takes off her sweatpants and tries for my boxers. I pull back for a second, to make sure that she's sure she wants to do this.
Instead of letting me talk, Kate kisses me again. She goes to take off my boxers when we hear the front door open. "Shit!" She whispers, scrambling for her bra. She finds it resting on my jacket and I locate my jeans near the foot of her bed. After fumbling with her bra for a few moments, she tosses it aside and simply throws on a baggy shirt and her sweatpants.
I'm slipping into my shirt when we hear footsteps coming up the stairs and Kate's parents calling out, "Kate, sweetheart, we're home!" They walk into her room to find us laying on the floor, I'm explaining the graphs to her again.
"Oh, Dylan, I didn't know that you'd be here." Her mom said, obviously surprised by my presence.
"Oh, yeah, hey Mrs. Manor. Kate just needed some help with the math homework. I hope you don't mind..."
"Not at all Dylan, we love to have you here. Maybe just next time Kate can give me a little warning." She looks pointedly at Kate, who shrugs.
"Well, I'll let you two finish up with that. Dylan, if you'd like anything to eat or drink, feel free to come down, I'll make you something."
"I'm fine, thank you ma'am." Mrs. Manor smiles at me kindly before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
"Thank you ma'am? When did you go all Southern charmer on me?" Kate teases, kissing me quickly.
"Well, the more polite I am, the more your parents like me. I want your parents to like me, therefore, I try to be very polite." I explain, shrugging. "You know, if you don't like it, I can't always stop."
"Oh don't stop, I think it's pretty sexy." She says, wiggling her eyebrows. "Besides, the more my parents like you, the more often you get to be here, alone with me." I nod and kiss her again.
We make out for a few minutes before I check mom watch, nine-twenty-five. "So I have to be home at ten-thirty. What do you want to do until then?" I ask.
"Well, since my parents are home, nothing too risky, but..." She pulls me closer to her and kisses me. I slip my hand under her shirt and gently tug it off. She takes off my shirt and slides her hands up and down my stomach slowly. I start to trail my kisses down her neck, across her breasts and down the her stomach before slowly trailing back up. When I reach her mouth again, she wraps her arms around my neck and we make out for a while longer.
We pull back, both panting slightly. "I missed you." She whispers. I nod and kiss her lightly again.
"Will was so wrong the other day. I'm still crazy about you, not just because you're 'convenient' or whatever he said. God, what bullshit." She nods and kisses me again.
"I can't believe your parents haven't come in here yet. My mom would have checked on us like, three times by now seeing if we wanted snacks and to make sure we were still wearing clothes."
Kate looks down and laughs, "well good thing we aren't at your house I guess." I nod and pull her against me again.
For the next hour we make out, until I have to go home.