The Right Kind of Wrong (4 page)

My eyes fall to my notebook. I fiddle with a pen. If I told Vince what I think is happening on campus, would he dismiss it like Roderick did?

"What would you say if I told you I think there's an underground identity fraud ring on campus?"
 

"I'd say crazier things have happened. Why? Is there an underground identity fraud ring on campus?" It's an ambiguous answer. I can't tell whether he thinks I'm serious.
 

I shake my head. "Probably not. At least Roderick, my editor at
The Bee
doesn't think there is. I think Kyle is on my side, he just doesn't want to admit it.”
 

I want Vince to argue with me, to tell me that maybe Roderick and Kyle are wrong. Instead, he looks confused and scrunches up his eyebrows.
 

“
The
Kyle David, reporter for
The Sacramento Bee
?" His hands flail in front of him.

I sit a little straighter; a smile spreads across my face. I love that he seems impressed. "Yes,
the
Kyle David. I'm his intern."

"Of course you are," Vince mumbles.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It makes sense now. You're totally sleeping with him."

Holy shit. I haven't told anyone about Kyle. How did Vince find out? I scan the room. No one is close enough to overhear, but hearing Vince say those words makes me antsy.
 

I lower my voice. "Shut the hell up. How did you know?"

"So you
are
sleeping with him?"

"What does it matter to you?"

He looks disappointed. "That guy looks like a douchebag. Your face got all dreamy when you said his name. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. What are you doing sleeping with him, anyway?"

"None of your business. And you don't even know him."
 

He scoffs. "Whatever, it's not my life.” His expression softens. “I'm just saying, you could do better than Kyle freaking David. Unless you're trying to sleep your way to the top. Then by all means, do your thing."
 

I sneer at him, disgusted." It just happened, okay?"

"You don't have to justify it to me."

I stare at him for a second then pull myself together. "Let's just get to work."
 

"Okay." Vince sets his video camera on the table. I didn't notice it before now.
 

"You never know when something big is going to happen,” he says. “We’ll need a ton of footage to sift through for this project. No such thing as too much footage."

"Where exactly are we getting this awesome footage?"

"I don't know yet. But I'll figure it out."

I laugh. "Just like the other project, right?"

Half of him looks like he might rip his skin off and turn into the hulk. The other half just looks sad.
 

"Maybe we should start with general World War II research. Timeframes, background, that kind of stuff," I suggest.

Vince still has a crazed look on his face but he nods. "Fine."

 
I stand up. "Let's look around in the stacks. You do know how libraries work, right?"

He flips me off but stands and heads toward the reference shelf.
 

I scan titles, hoping something will jump out at me. I pull a few out but I'm already bored. How am I going to get an award-winning project out of a topic I'm already tired of?
 

I walk back to the table and Vince is flipping through a book. "What did you find?"
 

"Stuff."

"Do you ever give straight answers?"

"Do you ever stop nagging?"

"No."

He shakes his head but keeps reading. "Aren't you supposed to be researching something?"

I sigh. "I can't think right now. I'm distracted."

He smirks at me. "Distracted? I can leave if you want. I know it's kind of hard to concentrate, working with someone so attractive and all."

I roll my eyes. "Oh, God." I curl the book under my arm. I need fresh air. "I'm gonna check out this book and work on it at home. Not feeling the library setting right now."

I zip my backpack and walk away.

"Wait." Vince stops me.
 

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing tomorrow night?"

Tuesday is my day off. "Why?"

Vince hesitates. "Want to meet at Starbucks to compare notes and decide on our next steps?"
 

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I agree.

It's such a disappointment to think about spending my precious day off with Vince, but that's what I've come to expect from him—nothing but disappointment.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

Starbucks is less crowded tonight than it was yesterday, but there's no Vince holding up the line either. I order an iced coffee and pick a booth in the back of the building. Vince comes around the corner a minute later, cradling his coffee in one hand, his camera in the other. He's wearing a shit-eating grin. I wish I were some other girl who didn't know what a jerk he is.
 

"Hey." He sits down across from me.
 

"Hey."
 

"I was up until almost midnight reading these books and I decided there is just too much information. We need to narrow down our focus."

"What were you thinking?"

"Well, you mentioned something about your grandpa yesterday."
 

"So?"

"Let's focus the project on him."

Oh, no. No, no, no. "I don't think so."
 

"Why not?"

My stomach churns. "It's just not a good idea."

"But he can be the face of the documentary."

"Jesus. I said no, okay?"

He stands suddenly. "We're going to lose the competition. And it's going to be your fault. I'm trying here. You're not doing a damn thing to help."

It's not like I haven't thought about including my grandfather's story, but it's too soon. I'm not ready yet.
 

"I'm sorry, but I—"

"I don't want to hear it." He walks away me.
 

I lay my head on the table. Dammit. This is going all wrong.
 

Pull yourself together, Kara. You have to do this. You have to win this competition.

I catch Vince as he's leaving. "Wait!"

He turns around. "What?"

"Okay, fine. You win."
 

He eyes me suspiciously. "Are you sure? You're not going to go bat-shit crazy on me?"

I toss him a dirty look. "No." Maybe.

He comes back inside and plops on a couch. "So tell me about your grandfather."

I sit next to him. "What do you want to know?" My grandfather's smile and gray hair springs to mind.

"What did he do in the war?"

I know the basics, but he didn't talk about it much. I know he was a hero. "My grandfather was a tank specialist. His tank blew up and he was the one person in his crew to survive."

"That's pretty badass.” Vince grins. “I can't believe you didn't bring that up earlier."

I shrug. "It's not really my story."

"But it's his legacy. People deserve to know."

"I guess."

"We should talk to your family."

I laugh. "That's going to be kind of difficult. They live about a gazillion miles away."

He looks surprised. "Really? I thought you lived here."

"Nope. Iowa."

Vince strokes his chin. "We should go there."

It takes a minute to realize he's talking about us. Him. Me. Me and Him. In a car for a very long time. I don't think so. Plus, going back to Iowa is not on my list of things to do. I had reasons to leave. I have plenty of reasons not to go back. "Um, no."

"What do you mean, no?"

"No, we're not going to Iowa."

"How do you propose we get this project done?"

Dammit. He's right. How
am
I planning to get this project done without going back to Iowa? It doesn't matter because it's not going to happen. "I don't know, but I just can't up and leave. Don't you have a job or something?"

Vince stares at me, his gaze holding mine steady. "I'm currently between jobs. But this isn't about me. What happened?"

I laugh but it’s forced. "What do you mean?"

"Most people would be excited to go home. Especially if home is halfway across the country."

"I'm not most people." I look down at my hands. When I look up, Vince's expression hasn't changed. His eyes never waiver from mine.

"I know you're not."
 

I can't decide if it's the nicest or most hurtful thing he's said to me. "Look, I have my reasons, okay? Going back to Iowa is a really bad idea. Trust me."

Vince shifts in his chair. "Kara, you don't have to tell me why you don't want to go back. Actually, I don't even care. But we
have
to go there. If we want to win this thing, we have to. Understand?"

I plead with him. "Please, let's change the topic to something different. World War II is so overdone anyway."

“We're going to Iowa. Case closed."

 
I look him in the eyes, hoping he sees my determination. "No. We're. Not."

His eyes bore into mine. "You agreed to use your grandfather. Now you don't want to. Honestly, you're giving me whiplash with your fucking nonsense."

He wants to bully me, but I'm not falling for it. "We'll have to find a way. Or change the topic. Case closed." I mock him.
 

His jaw is set, his face is red. "Fine. You tell Dr. Brandish how you screwed up this one. I'm done."
 

He walks away again and I'm pissed. I let him get under my skin.
 

This competition is just as important to him as it is to me. We'll figure out something. I have faith, even if he doesn't.

I'm curled up on my couch reading when I hear a soft knock. I know who it is before I open the door, but when I see Kyle standing there in a plain grey t-shirt that hugs his built arms, my heart drops out of my chest. He pushes the door open wider and walks in.
 

"What were you doing?"

I shrug nonchalantly. "Nothing. Just hanging out."

Kyle looks around my apartment even though he's been here several times. He sits on the couch, gestures for me to sit beside him. He cups my face in his hands. "God, you're so hot."

 
I wish it sounded better coming from his lips. I also wish he'd say something other than "hot" or "sexy." The first few times were nice, but after the fifteenth time, it loses its appeal.
 

I close my eyes and breathe in his cologne. When I open my eyes, I'm dizzy, intoxicated by the intensity of his stare. In one swift motion, he has me on my back. He moves his hands from my collarbone to the space between my breasts. His lips pick up where his hands stop and move down my body until I can't take it anymore.

 
My breaths are hurried, my lips needy. I arch my back, soaking up the kisses until he shifts his weight on the couch. He pulls my book from beneath him.
 

"Kerouac? Isn't he a bit old for your taste? You are such a nerd."

"Oh, that's uh, for one of my classes."

Kyle laughs and pulls me in close. "You don't have to lie, Kara," he whispers. "That's why I like you. You're smart. You read books that are older than your parents. You're the sexiest intern I've ever had."
 

Sexiest intern? Not the smartest? Or the most driven? The sexiest? I guess I'll take it. I let my tongue glide over his lips and kiss him deeply.
 

The couch vibrates and I reach beneath me and pull out Kyle's phone. It's lit with a text from 'Kali.'
See you later tonight, babe.

"What’s this?"

He grabs the phone. " It's rude to read other people's messages."

"See you later tonight,
babe
? Really?"
 

He lowers his gaze and his jaw locks in place. He rubs the back of his neck. "Listen, Kara, I thought we were on the same page here." He gestures between us, "I don't know what you assumed this was, but we're not... together."

My mouth is as dry as cotton balls and I'm losing every bit of confidence I had. "I…it's just that—I didn't realize you were with other people, too."

His thumb brushes my cheek. "I guess I wasn't very clear. I don't believe in monogamy. It's an antiquated notion best suited for our parent's generation. C'mon, you know there's more than enough of me to share."

Antiquated notion? This is not the Kyle that whispers deliciously naughty things in my ear and then compliments me on my ability to fact check one of his pieces in record speed. "I don't..." I jump off the couch. "I don't just sleep around. I can't believe I didn't see this before."

Kyle reaches for my hand and pulls me back toward the couch. "I really like you. I think you're going places and you're one hell of a reporter already. I'd really like to keep things the way they are."

"You mean sleeping with me while you're also screwing other girls?"

"You say that so harshly."

I point to the door. "Just get out."

"Don't do this. You like being with me. I like being with you. I don't see the issue."

"The issue?" My voice rises. "The issue is that you're a pig. And I didn't even realize it until right now. Get. Out."

He stands, frowning. "Fine. I'm going. But listen, if this is going to be awkward between us..."

The humiliation of it wraps around my limbs and throbs in my heart until I can't stand it. I can't show up at work tomorrow knowing…knowing…"Don't worry about it. I quit."

"You don't have to do that."

"Please, Kyle, just get out."

After he's gone, I throw my stupid Kerouac book and it hits the wall with a thud. I'm itching to throw something else. I settle for punching the door. It hurts. It really fucking hurts. I lean up against the door, cradling my hand and slide down until my ass hits the floor. I just lost everything I've worked so hard to accomplish the past three years. I rest my head against my knees. I need that Fellowship more now than anything in the world.