Mr. Imperfect

chapter 11



When the guests said their goodbyes, and disappeared into the minivans, Rori was surprised to have her fiancé bid her good night as well.

“I’m so ready to pass out,” Luke said through a yawn. Then he dropped a quick kiss on her. “See you tomorrow?”

Rori searched his eyes to see if he actually meant it. She understood staying in separate rooms for the sake of propriety, but was he seriously planning on just walking two houses down the road without availing himself to his fiancée?

When Luke walked away without so much as a backwards glance, Rori had to assume that yes, he was. She observed that Luke suddenly didn’t look so tired when he caught up to Mike and the two guys started home. Suddenly Luke was animated again.

“You’ll learn to speak his code,” Kris said from behind Rori. “Ready to ‘pass out’ means he’s one bag of Twizzlers away from playing Xbox all night.” Then, before Rori could reply, Kris motioned up the stairs. “I’ll show you your room.”

“Thank you,” Rori muttered, a bit dumbfounded for more reasons than one.

Who were these people? Was she seriously going to spend the night in the same house as a woman she was pretty sure wanted Luke for herself? And speaking of Luke, what had happened to the guy who had stayed up all night talking with her in Thailand? Was he seriously going to go home and play Xbox with his roommate all night?

Not knowing what to say, Rori followed Kris up the stairs and was led to the first door on the right.

“Here’s the spare room,” Kris said, opening the door and flipping on the light to reveal a blue and white room. “Sorry it’s not much on the eyes. If I weren’t still staying here we’d put you in my room, but I guess you’re stuck with Mike’s old room.”

Mike’s room. Mike’s bed… again. It was like a conspiracy.

“It’s fine,” Rori said, walking in. Except for the blue carpet, it didn’t look like a guy’s room at all. Just a regular guest room. “Trust me, this is like a penthouse compared to a lot of the places I’m used to staying.”

“I’ll bet,” Kris said, although Rori sensed sarcasm. She felt Kris’s turquoise eyes giving her a slow once over. “Sounds like you’ve seen the world.”

Rori shrugged, ignoring Kris’s scrutiny even as she was struck by those vivid blue Cannon eyes. If Rori, as a woman, was struck by the other woman’s eyes, how could Luke not be? “My parents are big on traveling.”

“Luke is too,” Kris said, leaning against the door frame with the posture of a dancer, her long legs crossing at the ankles. “What does your dad do?”

“He creates and sells patents.”

A single eyebrow shot up on Kris. “He must be a very smart guy.”

“Oh, just a genius,” Rori said, keeping it light.

Kris hesitated, thinking about that. “Is that why you like Luke? Because he’s not a thinker and you’ve got daddy issues?”

Rori blinked in surprise, not expecting such a personal and uncomfortably accurate question. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“I just…” Kris said, then stopped.

“Yes?” Rori prompted.

Kris shook her head. “No, it’s not my place to pry. I’m bad with that. Sorry. Do you get cold at night? I could get you another blanket.”

“No,” Rori said, stepping closer to Kris. “I’m fine. Although we’re both tiptoeing around something here, aren’t we?”

Rori watched as Kris hesitated, a dozen emotions flashing through the other woman’s eyes before she stepped all the way into the room and lightly shut the door behind her.

“I’m going to be straight up with you,” Kris said softly. “For as long as I’ve been alive, my family has assumed that Luke and I would end up together. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been teased about it.”

Honesty. Rori hadn’t been expecting that.

“I thought as much,” Rori confessed. “And when everyone teased you, did you secretly hope they were right? Woman to woman, am I walking into a mess here? Do you love Luke?”

Kris wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Right now I think he’s an ass, and that’s the truth. There are times when I think there isn’t a more thoughtless or daft person on the planet. He’s undisciplined and always takes the easy road. What’s worse is that taking the easy path almost always works out for him. It drives me insane.”

Rori didn’t see a need to mention that being insane and being in love were close cousins. Kris seemed smart enough to have picked up on that.

“Being with Luke can be like babysitting a really big two year old,” Kris added. “But he’s also the most charming, optimistic, and openhearted guy I know. When you’re with him everything seems like it will be okay, and that’s his charm. Whenever you slip too far into the mire of life, Luke can pull you out as easy as breathing. It’s the bonus flip side of him being thoughtless 99% of the time. It’s a weird balance.”

“Clearly,” Rori said, watching the woman very carefully. “May I ask one more personal question?”

Kris shrugged. “Why not? We’re on a roll, it seems.”

“Do you plan on bringing your feelings to Luke’s attention and making him choose between the two of us?” The way Rori saw it, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But still, she needed to know.

Kris looked at her then, her expression solemn. “The way I see it, Rori, he already has. So no, I won’t be creating any dramatic situations. I’ve got a boyfriend. I’m good.”

Rori wasn’t quite so sure, but she let it go. She had her answer, and Kris seemed happy enough to close the door on the discussion.

“You should have room for your clothes in the closet,” Kris said opening the closet door. “There’s still some stuff in there for storage, but feel free to unpack. This is your home until you and Luke tie the knot. Settle in however you like, and sleep tight.”

“Thank you,” Rori said, as Kris opened the door again. “Especially for the honesty.”

For a split second Kris actually looked self conscious. “It wouldn’t be fair to have you walking around in the dark while everyone shares covert looks. It’s gotta be hard enough as it is.”

“Yeah,” Rori agreed, wishing she could say something to brighten up Kris’s wan smile. Unfortunately nothing came to mind.

“Sleep tight,” Kris said, and shut the door behind herself. Alone at last, Rori fell back on the bed without unpacking a thing. Without a doubt, she had a lot to think about.