Breaking Kate: The Acceptance Series (16 page)

“Okay, that will give me time to go home, eat cake, and do homework. I have a lot of catching up to do, and even though Connor said he will help, I have a feeling he and Jess will have other plans today. Let me throw some clothes on real quick and I’ll walk you out.” 

I find my clothes in my bag and put on my boxer briefs and jeans. Kate opens the bathroom door with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. She turns around, quickly rinses, and comes back out.

“Damn, McCormick, you need to finish covering that sexy ass up before I have my wicked way with you again.” She walks up to me and wraps her arms around me. I bend my head down, tilt her mouth up to mine, and kiss her.

“I’m going to miss you, Daniel. How is it possible that I will miss you? Are we crazy? I don’t want to cheapen what we have, but could we just be in a sex haze?  Or is it really possible to just
feel
so much so fast when it’s right?”

“Kate, let’s not over think this. I’m going to miss you, too, and I don’t think this is a sex haze. You nailed it on the head—it’s just right,
we’re
just right. Let’s not worry about anything else, let’s just be happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this happy. Now, walk me to my truck, gumdrop, and give me a kiss goodbye that I will never forget.”

“Okay, but we’re going to have to talk about this gumdrop thing soon.”

I pop a loud kiss on her lips. “Nope, not negotiable. You’re my gumdrop. But if you’re nice, maybe I won’t tell anyone
why
I call you gumdrop; that can be our little secret.”

Immediately her lips go to a pout and her hands are on her hips. “That’s not fair, Daniel McCormick!”
God, she’s cute when she’s irritated.

“Maybe not, but I never claimed to be fair. Don’t get mad, gumdrop, get even. Find an equally endearing nickname for me
then
try to negotiate. I dare you. I don’t know, though, I think you’re always going to be gumdrop to me.”

I grab my stuff, throw on my shirt, grab Kate’s hand, and head downstairs. The aroma of coffee draws us into the kitchen. Connor and Jess are awake.

“Well, look who finally decided to stop making each other scream and come down for a breather.” Connor smirks and Kate blushes from head to toe.

“What’s the matter, old man?
You having problems in the sack already? I mean, if you had time to listen to us then you must have been doing something wrong.” Jess sputters out her coffee and it dribbles down her chin.

“Okay, boys, enough testosterone rush in here. I’m sure you’re both equally talented in the realms of female arousal.” Jess is enthusiastically nodding her head at Kate’s words.

“Look, guys, I just wanted to come say bye. I’m heading out to my parents’ but I’ll be back here Thursday after work.”

Jess leaps up from her chair and hugs me, whispering in my ear, “Thanks for making her smile again; it’s been too long.” Her words make me happy
and
sad. Happy that I’m the one making her smile like that but sad that she’s been in pain for so long.

I hug her back and whisper, “You’re welcome, but the pleasure really is all
mine.”

“Later, man, see you Thursday. Tell your parents I said hi,” Connor says as he pats my shoulder.

I head for the door still latched onto Kate’s hand. Suddenly, Thursday seems really far away. I throw my bag in the back of my truck and grab Kate around the waist and pull her close.

“Don’t look so sad, sweetheart. It’s only four days. Think of all the fun we’ll have making up for lost time.” I lean down to kiss her, gently at first but then the passion takes over and I have her propped up against my truck, her legs wrapped around my waist, and I’m already fucking hard. Slowly, I break away and get into the car. Kate pops her head into the window, gives me a peck on the cheek, and tells me to check my phone when I get to my parents’ house.

Driving there, it’s as if I’m on auto pilot, and my mind is filled with memories of last night. Kate is everything I could have imagined ever wanting in a girl and never in my wildest dreams thinking I would get. Her responsiveness to me is unprecedented and vice versa. One look from her and I swear I go hard, but it’s so much more than that. The sex is without a doubt the best I’ve ever had, but her mind and soul is what I find most attractive about her.

Kate has a pure willingness to give and make things right. Even on her birthday, when things should be about her, she does things for others. I’m in total and complete awe of her. I think about Jess thanking me and it touches a nerve. I hate that her ex put her through so much pain. If this douche bag has known her since second grade he should know her better than anyone. After
one night
I can see how devastated and sincere she was about their situation. I don’t like the fact she still has unfinished business with him. Of course it isn’t my place to discourage it, but I can’t help but wonder what it is. Before I know it, I’m pulling into my parents’ driveway and my mom waves to me through the window. As I get out of the car, I pull out my phone. It shows I have one new message and I can’t help but laugh. Kate has changed the way she shows up in my phone. Instead of saying Kate it says:

*Your Girlfriend*

You claimed me so now it’s my turn to claim you
.
P.S. Thanks for my breakfast!

Kate

There’s a picture attached of her eating the cake I brought over for breakfast. I set the picture as my wallpaper for when she calls. I love having a picture of her and I make a mental note to get one of us together on Thursday. I quickly text her back.

*If you are branded in my phone as ‘your girlfriend’ then you need to put me in your phone as ‘my boyfriend’. Loved the pic and loved the change in greeting. Very happy to be the one who lets you have your cake and eat it, too.*

“Daniel, you look so happy this morning. How was your weekend, kiddo?” My mom kisses me on the cheek and gives me a big hug. My dad is already sitting at the table drinking his coffee.

“My weekend was good. I have some news for you both. How are you guys doing?”

“We’re fine. Same old story here. I want to hear your news.” My mom always wants to hear what’s going on in my life. I love her so much for it. She makes our plates while waiting for my response.

“Well, I have a new girlfriend.” My dad groans and takes a big drink of his coffee but my mom perks up right away.

“It’s about time! Does that mean you’re finally over Vanessa?”

My dad interjects before I can answer, “Don’t get too excited, Beverly, she’s probably just another money hungry girl after something she isn’t going to get her hands on.”

Gotta love my mom; she just rolls her eyes at my dad. “Oh hush, Rick, and let the boy tell us about her. Stop being so negative about everything. One bad apple doesn’t ruin the bunch.” 

“Yeah, yeah.
Okay, tell us about this girlfriend of yours,” my dad says begrudgingly.

“Look, Dad, I’m not going to defend my choice in girlfriends to you anymore. I was wrong about Vanessa and you were right, enough said. However, I’m not going to listen to you talk bad about Kate, and if it’s going to be an issue, I’m letting you know right now that I will choose her. I want to bring her over the Friday before the engagement party so you can get to know each other. The
Houstons have invited her to stay at their estate for the weekend, along with Connor’s girlfriend, Jess. Kate and Jess are seniors at UCLA. Kate is graduating in June with a double major in Business and Child Psychology. She’s financially independent, she owns her own home and car, and when she’s not in school she volunteers at a local community center helping kids with homework and things. Once she graduates and gets her doctorate in Psychology she’s going to open up her own non-profit organization to counsel kids in need for free. Kate’s nothing like Vanessa, so I really hope for all of our sakes you will like her.”

My mom pats me on the shoulder and kisses my cheek. “Daniel, she sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to meet her.”

My dad is even nodding his head in approval. “Sounds like a keeper, Son. Driven and has a good head on her shoulders. What time are you coming up for the party?”

Relief floods through me. I was more worried than I realized about my dad accepting Kate. Hopefully, this will help us mend the rough patch in our relationship.  

“I was thinking mid-morning, on our way up to the Houstons’ house, but if you won’t be here you’ll at least meet her at the party.”

“I can be here. What’s the point of being the boss if you can’t take a day off every once in a while, right?”

The rest of brunch is pretty uneventful. My mom catches me up on all the neighborhood gossip and shows me some new flowers in the garden. My dad lets me know Mike is coming back early today to help out on a new project and wants to be sure I can meet up with him for lunch tomorrow to discuss which workers were going to be assigned to which work sites and a few other details. I really want to fill Mike in on what is going on with myself and Connor so I can kill two birds with one stone. My mom walks me out to my car, which she usually does, but I can tell she wants to talk to me without my dad around.

“Daniel, you look happy. That dark cloud has finally been lifted from your shoulders. How long have you been seeing Kate?”

I know I’m blushing. I have no problem telling my mom, but some people won’t be happy for me knowing how short of time we’ve been dating.

“Three days, Mom.”

She looks at me, nodding as if she understands. “Well then, I
really
can’t wait to meet her. She must be something special if she could turn you around from the mopey monster you’ve been for the past seven months or so to the sparkling man I know and love.” I adore my mom. There’s no judgment, only faith in me. I give her a kiss on the cheek as I get into the truck.

“Mom, you know how grandma said she just knew grandpa was her forever love? It’s Kate, Mom. I feel creepy because it isn’t exactly an acceptable thing to fall so hard and so fast, but I’m going to marry her one day. She’s going to be my forever love, I just know it. I think that’s why the cloud has lifted. I feel happier, lighter. I didn’t realize until I met her how much I was missing something that I hadn’t even had in my life yet. Does that sound crazy?”

“No, sweetie, not at all. It sounds like the man I always hoped you would grow up to be. Men with a sense of romance in their souls are a rare breed; women will cherish them as long as they let that side of themselves show. It’s rare to find a man who isn’t afraid to show his romantic side. That’s why I snagged your father and have held onto him tight ever since. Love is the most amazing thing about life. People will guard themselves from it in fear of being hurt because it is the most painful thing in the world to recover from a broken heart. However, love creates the best parts of us in the faces of our children and the unconditional love that we give to them knows no boundaries. Love is a gift that keeps on giving if you let it. I hope you will let it. Even if someday you decide Kate isn’t the one, don’t shut yourself off again. Should that ever happen, remember how you feel right now and you’ll be fine. Now drive safely and we’ll see you next Friday.”

Just as I start to pull away, my phone rings. I’m hoping
it’s Kate but it’s Mike.

“Hey, man, what’s going on?”

“Hey, Daniel, not much. I got back this morning and wanted to see if you were back from Connor’s yet and wanted to hang out. I know your dad wanted us to talk tomorrow but I thought maybe we could get an early start on things today. I can bring by beer and some carne asada to throw on the grill later.”

I sort of want to go home and talk to Kate but Mike sounds off, maybe he needs a friend. “Sure, man, come on by. I’m just leaving my parents’ house now so I should be there in about fifteen minutes. If you get there first just let yourself in.”

Mike only lives five minutes from me so he’ll probably get there before I will. Before getting on the road, I decide I’d better text Kate now; it might be a long night with Mike.

ME: *Heading home now but Mike is coming over. He sounds off, might be a long night. Can I text you when he leaves or would you rather get your sleep if it’s too late?*

Your girlfriend: *I would rather hear your voice than sleep. Call me don’t text, you can tell me a bedtime story ;) *

Oh, I’ll give her a bedtime story alright.

Just as I suspect, Mike is already here. I live in a small beach house that’s light yellow with a white trim and cliché to the max. It has a little white picket fence around it, my mom’s insistence, but it’s a nice touch. There’s a pool table in the garage and a large patio out back overlooking the ocean. Inside it’s got two bedrooms and two bathrooms. My living room and kitchen are an open floor plan separated by a granite island in the kitchen. It’s simple, but it’s mine. I love being on the ocean and hearing the waves crash against the shore. Once you get used to the sound it becomes hard to sleep without it. Mike has already let himself in. He has a key so that when I go out of town he can keep up on things for me and vice versa. I grab my bag and head in.

Mike has opened the windows to let the house air out. We never need the air conditioner; this close to the beach there’s always a nice breeze.