Stitches and Scars (3 page)

Chapter 3

Hunting

K
ate. Kate, wake up.” Kate could hear Elle’s voice getting louder in her ear as she began to come to. Before falling asleep last night, her last thoughts were of the man with stormy gray-blue eyes, and thankfully those thoughts led to a wonderful dream.

Not wanting it to end, she pulled the covers up over her head and attempted to ignore her roommate. “Go away! I’m not done dreaming,” Kate managed to moan.

“Oh, dreaming again, are we? Who is it about his time?” Elle teased. “Come on, I want details. Was it that guy from the dry cleaners again or was it the waiter from 90 Main?” She started bouncing on Kate’s bed and pulling the pillow out from under her.

“All right, all right, I’m up. Geez, you’re starting to act like Sophie.” Kate sat up, running her fingers through her messy hair.

“What can I say? She has a way of rubbing off on me. Plus, wouldn’t you rather I get you up now instead of waiting for her to get here? You know she hates being late.”

“What are you talking about?” Kate asked, confused.

“We’re going out for breakfast, don’t you remember?” Elle walked over to her roommate’s desk and started flipping through the photographs that were spread out. “I swear, last night you were not with it. It was like you were on some other planet.”

“Sorry about that. I don’t know what was with me.”

Secretly, Kate knew why she had acted a little off, but she didn’t want to admit it. She was still a little shocked over the whole thing and couldn’t understand how a stranger had been able to affect her so much.

“It was probably just nerves,” Elle added. “Although you had no reason to be nervous. We all knew you would be a hit, and you were!”

“I’m still in shock over it. I mean, I thought if I was lucky, I’d sell something. I just wasn’t planning on being
that
lucky.” Kate smiled as she remembered the four pieces she’d sold.

“Does that mean breakfast is on you?” Elle turned around, raising her eyebrows.

“Of course it is. Isn’t it customary by now? I got the money this time, so I’m paying.”

It was an unspoken rule in their friendship that, whenever one of them got a big paycheck, that person would be the one footing the bill for the celebration breakfast. In the past, it had usually been Elle. Not only was she the first one with a full-time job, but as a model, she landed a lot of work. Eventually, Sophie got her dream job as a clothing buyer for a huge department store and made a better living for herself than she expected. Although, they could have paid her in shoes and handbags and she wouldn’t have complained. This time, Kate had the success, and she was more than happy to take her turn.

“Okay, so hurry and get ready. Sophie will be here in an hour. And don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes.” Elle walked out of the room smiling.

“Wait, what did you say?” Kate asked when her friend’s words finally registered. She thought she knew what she had said, but needed to make sure. “Did you say ‘wear comfortable shoes’?” she confirmed.

Elle never told Kate to wear comfortable shoes. Mainly because she thought women should only wear heels. And since Kate was fairly certain they weren’t going to the gym this morning, this left only one option.

“Elle, are you planning on doing some shopping today?”

“Actually,
we
are doing some shopping.” Elle turned on her heel and headed off to her bedroom.

“But I had plans today!” Kate yelled while running after her.

“Come on, it will be fun. We want to get something new for tonight. You want to look great, right?”

Kate thought over her day’s schedule and realized that most of the items on her list could be put off until tomorrow.

Elle could sense her friend’s wavering decision and quickly took advantage of her weakness. “We can call it quits whenever you’re done. You just tell us you’ve had enough, and we won’t complain.”

“Fine, but you better promise me. When I say I’m done, we leave. No ifs, ands, or buts, got it?” She tried to sound firm, but couldn’t stop the laugh that was bubbling under the surface.

“Whatever you say, Ms. Thomas,” Elle said with a giggle. Unable to retain her composure, Kate gave in, laughing right along with her.

After a few minutes of laughter, Kate straightened up and tried sounding more serious.

“Okay, so I sounded like my mom. But I meant what I said. And
you
have to tell Sophie your promise. You know I can’t say no to her.”

“All right, I’ll call her now. That way she’s prepared when she gets here.” Elle walked into her room, looking for her cell phone, and Kate headed back to the bathroom to get ready for their shopping excursion.

***

Two pairs of shoes, six new outfits, and five hours later, Kate plopped down on her bed, exhausted.

“Now I know why you wear those awful shoes shopping,” Elle said as she crawled into Kate’s room.

“See, you don’t think they’re so bad now, do you?”

“I still don’t think you should wear them when you’re not working out, but I do
understand
why you do. I shouldn’t have worn my new Ferragamos. They weren’t broken in enough.” Elle rolled onto her back and held up her feet, examining the damage.

“They are now.”

“Yeah, and I have the blisters to show for it.” She pointed her foot in Kate’s direction.

“What are going to wear tonight? Do you want to borrow my sneakers?” Kate teased.

“Tonight won’t be a problem. Ever heard of Band-Aids? Plus, if I wanted to wear sneakers, I would wear mine. I do own a pair, you know. After all, you can’t work out in heels. The people at the gym won’t let you; believe me, I’ve tried.”

“Why am I not surprised that you actually tried that?”

“Tried what?” Sophie walked into the room and flopped down on the bed beside Kate.

“Wearing heels to work out,” Kate replied.

“Oh, they won’t let you do that at the gym. Although the exotic dancing class they offer lets you.” She had a little smirk on her face that they knew all too well.

“Sophie Jackson!” Kate feigned shock.

“What? It was a great class. And a better work out than I thought. Of course, the real workout came later with Logan.” Sophie had an innocent look on her face, but they could see the twinkle of delight in her eyes.

“Too much information. That’s my brother, you know.” Elle scrunched her face up as if she tasted something bitter.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. You’re my friend and sometimes you’re gonna hear things you don’t want to.” Kate could tell Sophie was enjoying the torture and sat back to watch.

“I know, I know. But can you please try to be a little discreet?” Elle begged.

“Fine, I’ll
try
.” She smiled, easily dropping the subject. “What time do you want to head into the city? I was thinking we should grab something to eat here first, or we could just eat there. How about eight o’clock?”

Kate glanced at her watch. Mentally calculating her time, she decided that eight o’clock would give her enough time to take a nap and relax a little. “Eight sounds great. I need some rest after today,” she said, crawling over to her pillow and letting out an exhausted sigh.

“Just make sure you’re up by five. I’ll come over and we can get ready together.”

Sophie slid off the bed and strolled out of the room.

Kate rolled over to the edge of her bed and looked down at Elle. “Are you going to sleep on my floor?”

“Maybe. It depends on whether I can make it to my room or not.” With shaky arms, Elle slowly got to her hands and knees and then crawled out of the room.

***

“Hurry up, Kate! I don’t want to miss our reservations!” Sophie banged on the door impatiently.

“I know. I’m coming!” Kate swiped on her lip gloss and took one final look at herself in the mirror.

Tonight is definitely a hunting night,
she thought to herself. Feeling a slight boost in confidence, she grabbed her clutch and headed out.

“Now,
that
is an outfit,” Elle said while eyeing Kate as she walked into the room.

“Thanks. You look great too.” Then again, Elle always looked great. Her tall tan frame and perfect body put other girls to shame. She had legs that went on for miles and the sort of exotic features that people paid money for.

“The boys at Rain are not going to know what hit them,” Sophie chimed in with a smile.

Kate looked over at Sophie. She stood only a few inches shorter than Elle but was just as graceful and beautiful. Her blunt cut bangs framed her large doe eyes and her pin straight white-blond bob accentuated the sleek lines of her face. With a wardrobe any fashion aficionado would love, Sophie always looked as if she walked off the cover of
Vogue
.

Stepping forward, Elle wrapped her long arms around her two best friends. “Are you guys ready to go hunting?” she asked in a sultry voice.

“Ready.” They nodded.

“Let’s go find you girls some prey,” Sophie said in her sing-song voice. She bounded out the door and both Kate and Elle followed behind, fast on her heels.

***

They made it to Rain around ten o’clock. The night was still young and the club was just starting to get crowded. Once they made their way around the dance floor, they found an empty table and ordered a round of drinks.

“Well, so far, I’m not seeing anything. I want some big game, not a small easy catch.” Elle slumped down in her seat, looking depressed.

Kate and Sophie laughed at the hunting terminology she used, but realized that she was pretty much right. When it came to Elle, very few men were actually her “type.”

“Oh, come on, we just got here. You never know what will happen,” Sophie said confidently. “Let’s dance.”

Elle rolled her eyes but complied. “I’ll give it until midnight.”

An hour later, the dance floor was packed. Kate was surrounded by sweaty bodies and the heat was suffocating. Looking for an out, she motioned to her two friends that she was taking a break and made her way off the dance floor. As she walked through the crowd of bodies pressed together, swaying to the fast rhythm of the music, she felt the weight of someone’s stare. Hesitantly, she looked to the side and caught the face of a man following her with his eyes. A chill ran up her spine, and she felt the hairs on her arms stand up. She quickly turned her attention to the direction of the bar and told herself to stop being paranoid. After all, she was at a club; people were everywhere.

Finally at the bar, she waited patiently for the bartender to work his way toward her. She took a moment to observe the people surrounding her. One of the things she always loved about Philly was the mix of cultures that flooded the city. It was a melting pot and everyone came from different walks of life. She couldn’t imagine living in a place that didn’t have a mesh of cultures. She loved it. Still lost in thought and playing with a cardboard coaster, she felt someone stand close behind her.

“Hello there, pretty lady,” came a slurred, scratchy voice.

Realizing that someone was talking to her, she spun around in her chair and came face to face with the man who she’d seen just a moment before, watching her. Her stomach dropped and she swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the unease she felt.
Surely I’m just overreacting
, she thought though she didn’t believe it.

“Why did you leave? I was having fun watchin’ you,” he slumped down in the seat next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

Kate shrugged and tried to turn her shoulders away, but he was already turning her chair towards him.

“Come on, stay and talk a little. I bet we would hit it off. And if we do, we can always go back to my place.” He leaned in and Kate could smell the stale cigarettes on his clothes and the bitter stench of his breath. His yellow eyes were sunk deep into his worn face as he stared down at her.

Something about the way he talked and looked at Kate made her skin crawl. Her instincts told her to get away from him. Knowing the best way to deal with creeps like this was to be blunt and straightforward. She took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to say what she was thinking.

“I know some girls might enjoy it when men like you hit on them. But trust me when I say that you have zero chance of scoring here, believe me. Move on.” She swung around in her chair, feeling braver than ever and started to walk away. Before she got more than two feet, a rough, calloused hand grabbed her wrist and yanked back, twisting her arm behind her.

“Now, what’s a nice girl like you doing talking like that? Maybe I should teach you a little lesson. Teach you how you should be talking to men.” His breath blew in her face, and her stomach churned.

“Is everything okay, honey?” Kate heard the voice from behind her and immediately knew it sounded familiar. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized who it was.