Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (12 page)

The warmth of his
hand passed through my pajama shirt and soaked into my skin. I resisted the
urge to lean my face against his hand, instead I turned to face him once again.
“My high school boyfriend.”

He let out a breath
and shook his head. “I figured someone had. I’ve noticed you seem a little
skittish sometimes, like after that episode with my dad and again last week when
you flinched away from me. I would never hurt you, Katie.”

I gave him a small
smile. “I don’t think you would. When you reached for me, it was fast and
unexpected, and I flinched out of habit. I’m sorry about that. Is that why you
seemed distant last week?”

“Yes. I was afraid I
was coming on too strong. I didn’t want to scare you,” he replied softly.

“Well, I’m not
scared of you, and I’m really glad you came over tonight.” I gave him a sincere
smile.

He took my hand,
engulfing it in his. “Do you want to talk about what happened to you? I meant
it when I said you could talk to me...about anything.” I shook my head. “Okay,
I understand. So tell me about your family instead,” he said, still holding my
hand.

I looked down at our
joined hands and decided that it was okay to hold his hand for a little while. I
debated what all to say and took a deep breath. “You already know about my dad
and my mom is an elementary school teacher. I also have a younger brother. We
have a nice house in a good neighborhood. We live in a small town where
everyone knows everyone. I love them very much, but I wanted to just get away
from that town and some bad memories. My parents are aware of what all went on
and were worried that I wouldn’t do well with dorm life, so they pay for
everything here. They just want me to be safe and happy.”

His eyes grew wide,
and his hand tightened slightly on mine. “What did that guy do to you?”

 A part of me wanted
to just blurt it all out. Give him every sordid detail, but I knew better than
that. He wouldn’t be my friend anymore if I gave in to that urge, so I kept my
secrets securely locked away as usual. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Levi studied my face,
nodded, but still looked uneasy. I picked up the TV remote and found an old
movie I liked. As we settled in to watch it, he slowly rubbed his thumb over my
knuckles. I’d stopped sweating and felt very relaxed. I let my eyes close for
just a second.

***

The first thing I
noticed when I opened my eyes was the sunshine peeking through the blinds. My
brain seemed a little fuzzy as I looked around and realized I was in my
bedroom.
How did I get in my bed?
I suddenly remembered being on the
couch with Levi last night.

 Panic griped my
chest as I yelled out his name in fear and threw back the covers. I looked
down, relieved that I still wore my pajamas.

Levi stumbled
through my open bedroom door. He was dressed but was barefoot, and his clothes
looked very rumpled. His hair was sticking up on the side, and he had some
stubble on his face.

“What’s wrong?” he
asked as his eyes darted around the room.

“H-how did I get in
my bed, and why are you still here?” I asked, not able to keep the tremor from
my voice.

He let out a deep
breath and rubbed his forehead. “Katie, you scared me. I thought you were hurt.
You passed out last night from the pain medicine. I couldn’t get you to wake up
long enough for me to leave, so I put you in your bed and slept on the couch. I
was not about to leave you dead to the world with the door unlocked. That’s
dangerous. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

I felt relieved at
his explanation but still had to ask. “So nothing happened between us?”  

I saw a flash of
anger in his eyes and I tensed as I waited for his outburst, but it didn’t
come. His eyes softened and when he spoke, I heard the hurt in his voice, “No.
I would never take advantage of you or anyone else for that matter. That’s not
the type of man I am.”

I suddenly felt
ashamed for thinking that this kind and honest man was some sort of monster. I
knew he wasn’t, but from my experience, you couldn’t be too careful. I jumped
up from the bed and threw my arms around his waist. I laid my head on his firm
chest and smiled when I felt him place his strong arms around me. “I’m so sorry
I asked you that, Levi. I know what kind of man you are, and you are definitely
not that kind.”

 “Apology accepted,”
he said and gently lifted my face away from his chest and looked down into my
eyes. “I would never hurt you.”

 “I know,” I
whispered and did know with every fiber of my being that his words were the
truth.

His eyes searched
mine and I held my breath, afraid of what he might find in them.
Distance,
Katie, he’s only your friend!
I stepped back from his warm embrace and
cleared my throat. “Let me make you some coffee before you go. I feel bad that
you had to sleep on my couch.”

He gave me a small
smile. “I really have to go. I need to get home and get cleaned up for work.
I’ll see you this afternoon, right?”

 “I’ll be there.”

He sat down on the
couch and began to pull on his boots. I stood close by, watching the way his
muscles bunched up as he moved. I was in awe and couldn’t seem to look away. He
raised his head and our eyes met. I felt the embarrassment all the way to my
toes.
Good grief, why don’t I just ask him to flex for me?
He chuckled
as he reached out for my hand. I gave it to him with the intention of helping
him up from the couch. He brought my hand to his mouth instead, and placed a
sweet kiss on my knuckles.

 “I’ll see you later,
friend
,” he said, releasing my hand.

He stood up, gave me
a heart-stopping grin, and was out the door before I could even catch my
breath.

I finished with my
classes and grabbed a bowl of soup at home for lunch before work. I continued
to have cramps, but I’d limited myself to only one pain pill that morning since
I had to work. Unfortunately, it had already worn off.

I arrived at work
just before one, and the office was busy. Sydney looked relieved to see me. I
knew it was getting harder for her to work full time. “Katie, I’m so glad
you’re here, honey,” she said and grabbed her purse to go.

I laughed and jogged
behind the counter. She gave me a quick hug and went out the door. I waited on
the remaining customers and tried to keep a smile on my face, but the pain was
getting worse. I faked my way through it the best I could.

Levi came around the
corner and caught me crouched down behind the counter. I was trying to get some
relief anyway I could, but it wasn’t working. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Why
are you hiding?”

I stood
up and smoothed my shirt. “Uh, I’m not hiding,” I replied, giving him a weak
smile.

He studied my face
and frowned. “You’re hurting again aren’t you? Did you take some medicine
before you left for work?”

    “No, I didn’t. I
can’t take that mess and function. I really wanted to work today. Besides, it’s
only my second week here. I can’t be calling in sick already.”

Levi leveled his
gaze and huffed out a breath. “Go home, Katie.”

 I glared back at
him.
I know he didn’t just tell me what to do!
I’m not a child who
needs to be taken care of or someone he can push...
I brought those
disturbing thoughts to a halt and attempted to reign in my attitude. He was not
Seth; he was my boss and this was his place of business. I almost had my
attitude in check too until he picked up my purse and held it out to me. “I’ll
call and check on you later.”

I never had any
intentions on leaving. I was just going to be nice about telling him so.

Maybe it was the
pain making me bold. I was normally a passive person, but he was getting under
my skin and I had to make it stop. I put my hands on my hips, my glare back in
place. “No, I’m staying. I’m fine now.”

 He closed his eyes
for a second. I was almost positive he was praying for patience. He set my
purse back on the floor and with a sigh, finally said, “Fine, but I’m going to
get you some aspirin from my office. I’ll be right back.”

I moved back to the
stool and picked up the lone invoice that needed to be entered into the
computer. “Of all the times for there to be no customers and no phone calls,” I
muttered to myself.

 Levi returned after
a minute with two tablets and a can of soda. I took the pills he handed over
and with a drink of soda, washed them down. I opened my mouth and stuck out my
tongue, showing him that I had swallowed them. “See, all gone,” I said, my
words sounding clipped.

I knew I was being a
brat, but the whole situation was getting out of control- for me anyway. Here
was this amazing man trying to take care of me, but I couldn’t have that. I had
to take care of myself. He had me so confused about what I wanted, and I was
afraid I was falling for him. I just wished he would be a jerk, so I could stop
my constant thoughts of him. It obviously wasn’t in his nature, so it was up to
me to push him away.

A look of confusion
crossed over his face. Pulling my eyes from his, I looked down at the computer
screen. After a moment of awkward silence he finally said, “I hope you feel
better soon.”

“Thanks,” I replied,
not daring to look up. I heard the sound of his retreating footsteps and felt
like a total heel.

I spent the rest of
the afternoon answering the phone and trying not to break down into tears from
the pain. I knew I needed to find a doctor soon; this couldn’t be normal, and I
couldn’t keep going through this month after month.

Even though I felt
like I might pass out at any minute, I refused to leave work early. I could
make it the last thirty minutes of the work day. I stood at the counter griping
the edge so hard, my knuckles were white. I looked back at the clock,
twenty-eight minutes left. I tried to distract myself by making a trip to the
break room to get a drink. I purposely did not look in Levi’s office as I
walked past. I got a drink and made my way back to behind the counter. I
released the breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding.
Stay tough,
Katie. He’ll move on to someone else when he sees you’re not interested in him.
I knew that last part was a lie. I was very interested in him.

When five o’clock finally
came, I could barely keep myself together to get my purse and leave. I went
down the hall and knocked on the door frame of Levi’s office. He didn’t answer,
so I stuck my head in. He wasn’t in there.
Crud.
I had really
wanted to do more than just tell him goodbye. I had wanted to apologize for my
terrible behavior, but just not let on to the real reason for it.

I turned to leave
and ran into a wall of hard muscle. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
I could smell him. That wonderful scent of his cologne mixed with
him
. I
inhaled his scent with a deep breath before I could stop myself. I heard him
chuckle, and took a step back before looking up at him. He had a very pleased
look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but I blurted out my
rehearsed apology before he had a chance to speak, “I was just coming to tell you
bye and to thank you for taking care of me last night and again today. I’m
sorry I got short with you earlier. It’s just extremely embarrassing to discuss
my female issues with my male boss.”

He smiled sincerely.
“It’s okay. I understand, but I’m not just your boss. I’m your friend too, and
friends care about each other.”

I wanted to tell him
that he shouldn’t care for me, but I didn’t. I simply replied, “Well, have a
good night. I’ll see ya later.”

He stepped to the
side, allowing me room to pass by in the narrow hallway. As I brushed past him,
I heard his slow intake of breath.
Did he just sniff my hair?
I looked
up and saw the sly grin on his face. “Smells like strawberries, nice.”

 Shaking my head, I
laughed.
I guess I deserve that.
I waved over my shoulder but didn’t
look back. I needed to get home and take some pain medication before I passed
out from the pain or possibly the embarrassment of the day.

When I got home, I
took two pain pills and called Mom. I explained to her what was going on, and
she said she would call around to get me a doctor’s appointment in Jackson. She
told me not to worry about going out of town to see a doctor, since nobody here
knew me anyway. That’s usually what I did if I had any female issues. I
couldn’t risk seeing a doctor in my hometown. There were too many nosy people
there trying to find some gossip, and my story would be a juicy bit for a long
time. It disgusted me to even think about people discussing my life and the
choices I’d had to make. Mom and I spoke a little longer, and I told her school
was going good and that I had gotten a part time job. She seemed concerned when
I told her about Levi. I didn’t hide anything from my parents anymore- well
almost. I told her that I was keeping my distance, and I just wanted to be his
friend no matter what he wanted. She told me to be careful. I asked about Asher,
and she said he was doing great, just growing like crazy. She put him on the
phone, and I heard him coo. I smiled at the beautiful sounds my sweet baby was
making.

“Hey Ash, how are
you, sweetie. It’s Katie. I sure do miss you. I love you so much, baby boy.” I
began to cry as she came back on the line.

“I’m sorry, honey. Maybe
that’s not such a good idea.”

 I sniffed. “No,
it’s fine, Mom. I’m just tired. I’ll call you again soon. Tell Daddy I love him.
I love you too, and give Asher a kiss for me.” We said our goodbyes, and I hung
up the phone.

I barely made it to
the couch before I broke down into a sobbing mess. The next thing I knew, my
cell phone was ringing.

“Hello,” I answered
groggily.

“Katie?” I heard
Levi ask as I tried to shake the fog from my brain.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Hey, I just wanted
to make sure you were okay.”

 I must have dozed
off again, because I heard him yell my name.

“I’m here, sorry.
I’m fine. I took... Wait, what did I say?”

 I heard him
chuckle. “Okay, I’ll let you go. Get some sleep.”

 I yawned and
replied, “Okay. I love you too. Give Asher a kiss for me.”