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<3 Infatuated
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After we finished cleaning up the stations, wiping the counters off, scrubbing the stoves, and moving them back into the janitor closet, all while hordes of students came up to us with questions, well wishes, and a couple 'you're so lucky to be working with Mr. Bianchi!', our little group finally escaped the crowds that had started trickling back to class and were walking aimlessly around the small conference room as Garrett finished a phone call with his dad.
"So guys, good job." Garrett said firmly, tucking his phone into his back pocket. "That was comparatively better than our previous tries."
Alonzo snickered a bit, well aware of what Garrett's words implied, and Angela jabbed him in the stomach with a small smile on her face.
"Angela, nice job working together with Alonzo. You followed his orders well. Alonzo, nice work man. You really managed to pull it together. Kirsten... do you think I could speak to you for a moment?"
Immediately, Angela stood up and dragged Alonzo to the door. "I just remembered, I forgot to feed Princess, Alonzo. We have to go now."
I could hear Alonzo whine. "That damn dog? You pay more attention to her than you do me."
Once they were out the door, I shifted nervously in my seat, my hands gripping the table as Garrett sat down besides me.
"How'd you know?" He asked abruptly, looking straight ahead at the blank whiteboard hanging on the magenta wall.
"Know what?"
"That Mira's pregnant."
Silence followed his statement, me staring down into my lap, my palms sweating slightly due to my cumbersome uniform. "I may have overheard your conversation with Toben in the kitchen."
Garrett's grey eyes widened, turning towards me as he regarded me with a curious expression on his face. "What did you hear?"
To me, his voice sounded panicked but I brushed it off. "Just enough to hear that Mira and you are going to have a kid. "
What he said next surprised me. "You know, you're right."
I finally looked up and regarded him with wide eyes. His face looked tired and his eyes were wary, small bags underneath. To me, he still looked as handsome as usual though his skin looked paler than normal and sleep deprivation rang out clearly.
"I mean... it's just, I'm not being fair to you. It's not your fault or anything that Mira's knocked up, and here I was nearly yelling at you and calling you immature when all you've been is nice and a tad bit frustrated. I'm sorry."
Putting a small, sincere smile on my face, I touched Garrett's balled up hand with my own, trying to loosen up some of the tension there. "It's alright. I'm sure it's stressful, being a new father and all that. I can understand. I just... don't want to be intruding or anything, though it came off that way earlier. I'm sorry as well."
"I've been such an ass." Garrett muttered, the same time I said, "I've been such a bitch."
"You haven't been a bi-"
"You're not an as-"
We looked up at each other and then Garrett burst out laughing me joining in after a millisecond.
"Truce?" Garrett asked, holding out his hand.
I hesitated, looking down at it before gingerly, I held it and said softly. "No."
"What? Am I being too forward or do you still nee-"
I cut him off. "Friends?"
Garrett's eyes seemed to melt a bit, his steely grey turning into a molten silver as he tightened his hold on my hand and shook it deliberately.
"Friends."
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Garrett's POV
Damn it! If only she knew.
I watched as she seemed to tremble the second Angela and Alonzo were out the door, and I couldn't help but want to slap myself in the face, kneel down, and beg for her forgiveness. The look on her face was forlorn, sad, resigned, the way it looked at her father's funeral way back when and I hated knowing that I was the cause of it.
When she hesitantly said that she had heard my conversation with Toben, I felt frozen and... almost hopeful. To get away from Mira's sharp claws and incessant blabbering, Toben had dragged me off to the kitchen to cool off, muttering something about a man to man and throwing a venomous glare in Mira's general direction, one that she didn't notice. Then we had spent the next half an hour just... talking.
If Kirsten had heard the first twenty minutes of the conversation where I proclaimed my love for her to Toben while angrily punching the refrigerator to relieve my stress and anger, maybe we wouldn't have been in this current predicament. We could off run off to China or something, away from the institute, my demanding father, and a child that I was almost certain didn't belong to me.
Damn my honor! If only I was as lowly as some scum and refused to care for Mira while she was pregnant, showering all my love for the woman I cared about instead of falsely praising the psychotic bitch. For the time that I had been in contact with Mira, all she had done was complain, bitch, moan, and had caused three of the Bianchi residents' servants to resign from position when she threw a glass of ice water at one of them in the car.
"Truce?" I asked slowly, trying to gauge Kirsten's reaction as I stretched out my hand for her to shake, surprised that my hand was trembling for apprehension.
She placed her warm and thin hand inside of mine and immediately... it felt right, like that was where it belonged, in mine, as cheesy as that sounded.
"No."
Immediately, my sides started hurting and my feelings were torn between sadness and resentment for Mira and myself. She had given up on me and there was nothing to salvage the relationship between the two of us. However, before I could apologize and run off to grab a beer and drown myself in self pity and loathing, she muttered in a small, melodious voice, "friends?"
For now, that seven letter word would have to suffice.
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Kirsten's POV
I laughed loudly at something Garrett said as we sped on the highway after a long day at the institute. The windows were down, the seventy degree wind, strange for December in Colorado blowing through the open vents. It had only been a couple of hours since we had proclaimed our renewed friendship and already I was beginning to feel longing and regret.
Garrett opened his mouth to say something, but just then, my phone rang in my pocket. Slipping it out and groaning mentally at the caller i.d., I picked it up and answered.
"Hey Harrison."
From the corner of my eyes, I could see Garrett stiffen and grip the steering wheel tighter, the car speeding up to seventy-five.
"Kirsten! How are you?" Harrison's cheery voice rang through the phone.
"I'm great, how are you?" I replied politely, my gut suddenly hurting as I became aware of the man besides me and the man on the other side of the phone. Guilt made my stomach seize.
"I was wondering when you were leaving for the competition."
"In five days." I said, tossing my hair behind my back and watching the trees zoom by, well aware of the tension in the car.
"Great, so that means that I can see you tomorrow, right?"
"Um sure." I muttered, casting another glance in Garrett's direction and noticing the rising odometer.
"Awesome! Well that's all. It's not like I'm planning anything, you know." Harrison muttered teasingly, causing a smile to grace my face.
"Shut up. You know I hate surprises."
"Exactly." The line went dead and I shook my head, pocketing my phone back into my jean pocket.
"Harrison's the tennis guy, right?" Garrett asked quietly, slowing down as we reached a red light.
Surprised that he knew who Harrison was, I nodded. "Yeah, he's one of my friends from high school."
Before Garrett could say anything, his phone rang this time. And like me, a scowled graced his features, and I wondered who was putting him into a bad temper.
"Hello?"
A pause.
"Listen Mira, I don't have time. What? No, you're coming over?"
My blood ran cold and suddenly, I felt almost jealous. Which was immediately replaced by guilt for... betraying Harrison, as strange as that sounded.
"Fine. But only for dinner."
"No, I do not need a backrub from your new masseuse."
"I'm fine." Irritation crept into Garrett's voice and I snorted from disbelief, him giving me a small look before turning back to look at the road.
"Mira. Please. I'm fine. Is a girl with me? Yes, I'm in the car having crazy, wild sex with her."
A pause.
"That was sarcasm, honey."
"What? Kirsten? Um, yes, she's a family friend. Do I like her?" This time Garrett paused and I stiffened, gripping my bag in my hands and trying to look nonchalantly as we entered the gated community.
"Yeah. I like her a lot." Garrett muttered softly. Then his voice turned sharp. "No, I am NOT sleeping with her Mira. God, go back to sleep or designing, or whatever the hell you're doing."
"No I am not giving you a backrub either." He growled, literally growled, before hanging up, tossing his phone into the back seat and turning to look at me.
"Sorry about that." He muttered as we zoomed past a couple trees, the mansion coming into view. "She's obviously in a bad mood."
Not knowing what else to say, I just nodded and muttered," It's alright."
And then, the awkward tension was back.
After realizing that I was going to be facing my archnemisis from high school, I ran upstairs and took a quick shower, oddly enough wanting to be presentable enough to pass Mira's judging glance.
Looking at my phone, a devious idea suddenly came into mind.
"Hey Harrison?" I muttered, when he finally picked up ten minutes later.
"What's up Kirsten? Missing my voice already?"
"Of course I am. I have a favor to ask you."
"Ask away."
"How do you feel about a double date with Mira and Garrett?"
Twenty minutes later, Harrison was at the doorway, dressed in a nice dove grey vest over a simple white dress shirt and dark blue jeans that hugged his hips and thighs lovingly. His hair looked like he had just gotten out of the shower as I went downstairs to greet him.
"Thanks for coming Harrison." I muttered softly, giving him a nice smile and accepting the light purple lilies from his hands.
"You look very nice Kirsten." He replied, giving me a kiss on the cheek as he eyed my simple purple chiffon dress that was cinched at the waist and flowed to my knees.
"Thanks." I giggled. Then I turned somber and said. "Thanks, really, for coming. I don't know if I can handle seeing her close up without someone holding me back from clawing off her face."
"Because she stole your high school boyfriend and your very close acquaintance, right?" The wariness in Harrison's tone made me pause as I realized that he sounded almost jealous, thinking that I was only mad at Mira because she had Garrett and I didn't.
Laughing genuinely, I hooked my arm through Harrison's as we made our way to the dining room. "Harrison. Garrett and I aren't anything but acquaintances. I'm completely over him. I pinkie swear."
Harrison smiled down at me, a tender look in his hazel eyes. "Seriously?"
"Seriously." I replied as firmly as I could.
Then with a deep breath, I led Harrison through the dining room door into our fate.
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So what do you think? Do you think Kirsten's just using Harrison to make Garrett jealous? What about her and G's new relationship? Comment and VOTE!!!