“And who'd get you to leave your room? Show you new music videos?”
They laughed for a long time, both feeling better about their shitty situations. Tori was able to convince Katya to go out with Liam. At least one date. If it worked out, then Katya could find the new great love of her life. If it didn't, then Tori could pick up his broken pieces.
Feeling a little wrong for plotting out Liam's love life, Katya decided to call it a night. Right after she laid down, her phone pinged. For just a second, a stupid, foolish, embarrassing second, she hoped it was Wulf. What he could ever possibly say to rectify the situation, she didn't know. Didn't think it was possible. But she still hoped.
It was from Liam, and was only three lines.
Sunday. Wear something nice. Can't wait to see you.
She cried herself to sleep all over again.
*
Katya spent most of Friday and Saturday alternating between pretending to be happy, and trying not to cry so much. Her eyes would be puffy for the rest of her life if she didn't get a grip.
Her parents called Saturday afternoon. That was a joy. They didn't know about her little incident, and she didn't want them to know. Her parents babbled away on different lines in the house, both talking over each other. Her father was sad to have missed her, and she said she missed him, too. She wished he had been there, it had been an eye opening experience, being so open and honest with her mother. She was curious what it would be like with her dad.
They wanted her to visit. Her mother wanted her to bring Wulf. Her dad thought that was a great idea. Katya took deep breaths through her nose and tried to remain calm. She laughed it off and talked her way around it, not really answering them. “He never really liked me and possibly hates me” wouldn't go over so well, and she didn't want to make things awkward between her mother and Ms. Stone. She agreed to visit as soon as she could – probably sooner than they expected. They all got off the phone making kissy noises at each other.
Then she went back to her room and spent the next couple hours deciding on an outfit for her date. She almost cried again when she pulled out the dress she'd worn to her date with Wulf, when they'd slept together for the first time. She chucked it to the floor and kicked it to the corner of the closet.
She settled on a soft, salmon pink dress. It was short and flowy, very typical for her style. It was made out of a sheer chiffon-like material and harmonized perfectly with her skin tone. She remembered how Tori had described her – sweet and innocent, but in a way that made men want to defile her and make her dirty. Yup, the dress fit that description to a T.
She went to bed feeling a little better about the date.
And a lot worse about Wulf.
She was keeping him at the edges of her mind, but just like in real life, he was threatening to crash through anyway. She remembered their times together at her parents' house. Thought about his smile and his laugh. The way he'd looked at her sometimes.
Was it all a lie?
Then she thought about his words. The things he'd said to her. The way he'd talked to her. How angry he'd looked, his eyes like ice and fire. Like he hadn't cared that she was broken and bleeding out – he'd just wanted to keep hitting. Wanted to keep hurting.
Was it all a lie?
Katya fell asleep with tears in her eyes, and only sure of one thing.
Not for me, it wasn't. Not one little bit.
23
Katya was nervous.
She hadn't spoken to Liam since he'd texted her what day to be ready.
Hadn't spoken to Wulf since she'd ruined his suit.
At four o'clock on Sunday, Liam finally texted her. Just one short sentence.
Be ready at seven.
It reminded her of Wulf, the way he'd never planned anything, had always just called her. And of course, when Wulfric Stone called, Katya Tocci always came.
She shook off those feelings and got ready. Teased her hair out big, then scraped it all back into a massive round bun. She felt like a ballerina, in her gauzy pink dress and high top hair-do. She put on a pair of strappy stilettos, then went downstairs. She was striding across the lobby when Liam walked through the front door.
“Ah, man, I was gonna come to your door, do this shit right and ...”
His voice dropped off and he even stopped walking. Katya came to a stop in front of him, searching his face. He kept staring down at her.
“What?” she asked.
“You look fucking incredible.”
She blushed and looked down at herself.
“Do I? I know it's not over the top sexy, or anything, but I always liked this dress,” she said, smoothing her hand over the skirt.
“No self-deprecation tonight, angel cake. You are too pretty and too perfect for that,” he said, his hand coming to rest on the side of her arm. She finally smiled.
“Alright, deal. I look fucking incredible,” she even managed a laugh.
They walked out of the building, Liam's arm around her waist. She felt it like it was a weight. Like it was dragging her down. Like it was wrong. She told herself it was because she still felt so upset about the fight with Wulf, so she banished him from her mind and concentrated on the man in front of her.
They took a taxi to a far away restaurant. It was very posh, and as they sat down, she noticed for the first time how nice he looked. Liam always looked good, even in his worn t-shirts and ratty plaid flannels. But in a dress shirt and blazer, both pressed and tailored, he was drop dead gorgeous.
We make a good couple.
She'd never really thought about it before, looking good with someone. Matching someone. She wondered how she and Wulf had looked together. She was so feminine and soft, he was so hard and aggressively male. They'd probably looked ridiculous. Like a wolf taking his pet bunny out for a walk.
Liam was charming, but of course she knew that about him. He was funny and he was smart, and he'd turned all those things up to ten for their date. He smiled and smirked at her, teasing her and making her laugh. Touched her knee under the table, ran his hand up to her thigh.
By the end of dessert, Katya felt like she was going to strangle herself with her napkin. She wanted to be in love with Liam, so badly. She did love him, in a way. And she'd grown to care about him, so much.
But if his hand moved one inch higher, she was going to throw up all over her leftovers.
The whole ride back home was even worse. He was talking into her neck while he nuzzled her, telling her how much he cared about her. How much he'd grown to appreciate her. How special and wonderful and beautiful she was to him.