Sunrise at Sunset (9 page)

He pointed to the split mirror in front of him that was also a dual-sided medicine cabinet. She removed a still-sealed bottle of first aid antiseptic and held the washcloth to his head wound. It was superficial, but would likely leave a nasty bruise, unless...

“Press this over the cut for a moment,” she instructed him as he held the washcloth over his forehead, partially blocking his vision.

She darted into his kitchen, retrieved a couple of paper towels, and gathered saliva in her mouth. She walked back to the bathroom, opened the antiseptic, and held the bottle up near the paper towel as she quickly applied her saliva instead. Taking the washcloth from him, she held the moistened area of the paper towel to his wound.

He noticed immediately that the small gash in his head began to feel numb, and was quite happy with the effect. She smiled happily at him as he regarded her with appreciation. Something jogged in his memory for just a split second. It was as if he had felt the sensation sometime in the past, but he couldn’t recall when or where exactly.

“It wasn’t as bad as it looked initially,” she offered as she quickly removed the paper towel, leaving only the appearance of a nearly sealed line of scar.

“Yeah, I guess not,” he muttered as the numbing sensation continued.

“It shouldn’t even bruise too badly,” she ventured as she put the lid back on the antiseptic. “And there shouldn’t be any permanent scarring, either.”

“Wow, that’s some powerful stuff,” he commented as he glanced down at the bottle before she replaced it in his medicine cabinet.

“Yep, good thing you had some handy,” she replied with a satisfied smile.

“Hey, how did you know where I live?” Caleb asked as the subject suddenly occurred to him. He was surprised to see Katrina at his apartment door that evening, though not at all disappointed. Yet he didn’t recall exchanging addresses with her.

Katrina returned her best casual expression and replied, “You’d be amazed what you can find on the Internet today. And besides, I wanted to surprise you with some Darjeeling tea that you liked from the other night.”

He followed the direction of her pointed finger to see the Starbucks bag sitting on his end table and smiled appreciatively in return. She was suddenly very happy for the distraction the tea provided. Since he didn’t pay property taxes against the apartment, it had been harder than she had expected to track down his home address when she’ ha first settled in Atlanta.

“That’s very kind. Thank you,” he replied sincerely.

She was feeling very pleased with herself at that moment.

But the subject of Melanie quickly returned to the forefront of Caleb’s thoughts. “I guess I should explain the little event that was going on when you arrived,” he ventured anxiously as he gestured for Katrina to take a seat and then sat next to her on the couch.

“Was she the complication you spoke of the other night?” she asked.

“Yeah, and it’s not what it looked like,” he supplied earnestly. “I never raised a hand at her. We were just arguing, and –”

“It never once entered my mind,” she interrupted him with sincerity. “I could tell when I arrived that you were calmer than she was, and she was quite animated after my arrival, whereas you seemed to be seeking to diffuse the emotion in the room.”

Caleb nearly gaped at her frank and rather accurate assessment of the situation. “That’s pretty much it,” he muttered absently. “She thought I was cheating on her.”

“And were you?” Katrina asked plainly, despite recalling the presence of Greg in the hallway. She was curious how he would respond. Melanie had obviously already decided that Caleb was no longer of interest to her, and her own assessment of Melanie was already rather negative after all she had overheard, observed, and discerned.
All the better for me
, Katrina thought.

“Yes, it could be viewed that way from a certain perspective. At least in my opinion,” he replied, suddenly critical of himself.

“Oh, really?” she asked. It was important to know that Caleb could take responsibility for his own actions with a degree of honesty.
Score one for Caleb
, she noted.

“Well, I did go out with you while I was technically still supposed to be exclusively dating her,” he mused. “But it’s felt so wrong between Melanie and me these past few weeks. I don’t know. I’m still feeling a little confused about everything right now.”

“So, would you say you have devotion issues?” she pressed with a mild injection of teasing.

He considered her question and searched deep within himself for a moment. Nobody had ever asked him questions like this before. He swallowed as he gazed into her eyes. “I really don’t think I have devotion issues with the right partner,” he assessed as openly as possible.

She smiled slightly and considered him.
Yes, I suspect he’s correct
, she determined.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you thought poorly of me,” he added self-consciously. “Or even if you got up right now and walked right out the door.”

“Would you like for me to go?” she asked softly as her green eyes bored into his. She read the answer from the reaction in his pale blue eyes before he uttered a response.

“No, not at all,” he insisted gently with a vulnerable expression. He wanted more than anything for her to stay. He realized things had happened so quickly that evening with Melanie, but he’d already been thinking about Katrina very soberly the past few days. He was fully aware how special her introduction into his life already felt to him.

She smiled back at him, adopted a more quizzical expression, and asked, “You seem innocent enough, but why do I get the impression that you get into trouble a lot?”

He briefly recollected the campus parking lot incident, as well as that evening’s event with Melanie. “Just my luck, I guess,” he quipped with a grin. “I’m just walking, talking trouble, I suppose.”

Her smile turned predatory as she countered slyly, “Well, I think I know just how to take care of troublemakers.”

Maybe it was the way she looked at him, or perhaps it was the sound of her voice at that moment, but no matter the reason, Caleb felt an immediate urge to kiss her. And unlike the night at the restaurant, he leaned his body towards her without hesitation until his face was nearly touching hers. She didn’t move an inch as his mouth neared hers. He ever-so-gently brushed his lips once against hers. There was warmth as their lips touched, and his eyes softened as his face hovered before her.

Katrina listened to Caleb’s accelerated heartbeat and felt his warm breath against her lips. She was feeling extremely satisfied with how he had conducted himself. Now she understood his intentions even better than he probably did, and it pleased her.

Her right hand went immediately and gently to the back of his neck, where she cupped the base of his head, and her lips pressed with firm, deliberate pressure against his. She drew deeply against his breath for a single passionate moment, and he responded with a shudder that went through his body as he returned her kiss in kind.

She drew back from him, gazed into his eyes, and whispered, “I don’t have devotion problems either, with the right person.”

A surge of adrenaline shot through his body, and his heart raced. At that moment, he wanted so much to be the right person in her life. It was stronger than most anything he’d felt before. But he was suddenly lost in a sea of uncertainty as to what he should do next. “And now?” he asked quietly and with a sincere desire for guidance from her.

Katrina smiled, having read the question in his eyes as he asked it. “Now?” she replied as she pulled away from him slightly. “Now we call it a night, and I let you get some rest. Tomorrow will be busy for you, as I’m sure the first day of the semester usually is.”

His eyebrows rose with some surprise at her response. He certainly hadn’t expected that. “And?” he queried with a grin.

She playfully smiled back at him, but replied with a sober tone, “And we take it one day at a time.”

He was amazed by the seemingly uncanny sense of experience emanating from her. She appeared to be no older than he, but she spoke so sagely and with such confident reassurance. She was an anomaly to him in so many ways. And yet he trusted her implicitly.

“Count me in, coach,” he agreed as he sat up and reached to examine the bag of tea still perched on the table.

He was prepared at that moment to do the right thing, no matter what that was. He felt convinced that there was something very special about Katrina, mysterious and enchanting. And he meant both to discover and experience all of it.

For approximately two weeks, they exchanged emails and text messages during weekdays, while conversing over the phone any evenings they didn’t see each other. There were dinner dates, a movie, and taking in an evening at one of the local art museums. No matter the activity, they both thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.

However, even as Caleb openly shared his own background, he found Katrina’s to be continually vague. She rarely provided straightforward answers to questions about her youth, her family history, or even what kept her so busy during the daytime that she was never available for lunches or entire days together.

Caleb didn’t really feel that Katrina was deliberately trying to mislead him, but rather that she felt uncomfortable confiding in him with details. That prospect bothered him quite a bit.

What he didn’t realize was that Katrina was all too aware of his concerns. She expertly gauged his body language and voice inclinations, as well as the context of his statements. Furthermore, she realized the time was very near when she would either have to reveal herself and her true nature to him or risk losing all they had worked towards.

Of course, she realized from the beginning of her journey with him that the day would come when she would have to make a delicate and serious decision on how to proceed with him. If she left him now, he would perhaps never be the wiser and might live his life out within the traditional parameters of human existence. However, if she pursued him further, he would face an important decision of his own, one with potentially grave consequences for both of them.

Katrina came to a swift decision regarding Caleb. She needed to reveal her true nature to him if there were any hope their relationship could continue to grow.
Will he accept who I am? Will he still desire me, or will he be repulsed?

It was a beautiful mid-November Friday evening at the sprawling and secluded private neighborhood where Katrina lived. The exclusive Pine Valley edition was located just west of Atlanta within the suburb of Mableton in Cobb County, Georgia. Caleb met her at her home for the first time since they met, though she didn’t actually invite him to enter the interior of the beautiful estate itself. He parked his car in her driveway in front of her four-car garage, where she met him and proceeded to guide him to the park-like area skirting her five-acre property. She explained that all of the surrounding properties were at least five acres in size and sported their own individual gate access to the sprawling park area.

They accessed the area via a black wrought iron gate leading from her property, which was itself surrounded by tall wrought iron fencing interspersed with tall red brick support columns. Caleb was thoroughly impressed as he walked next to her along the beautiful and romantic pathway. They strolled along the park’s small sidewalk that wound its way through carefully manicured trees. The sidewalk was furnished with short black metal lampposts and wrought iron park benches positioned sporadically along its length. It was a scenic oasis for the residents of the Pine Valley edition.

The moon appeared as a small glowing orb high in the sky casting a dim pallor over the outdoors. A vast host of stars filled the clear dark sky like a sea of tiny white pinpricks. The varieties of trees of the surrounding forest were awash with the colors of fall, except for the tall pine trees, which still remained green. Caleb considered it the perfect setting for a romantic walk with Katrina.

“What are you thinking?” she asked while peering sidelong at him.

“Honestly, I was just thinking how grand all this is,” he replied sheepishly. He thought it must cost the residents a fortune to have it developed and maintained in such fine order.

She read between the lines of his statement by gauging his shy facial expression. “It’s a shared expense between my property and the other estates in the area,” she explained. “The area extends forty yards or so on either side of the path. Then it reverts to native forest and undergrowth, as well as the original rough topology of the land. Still, it’s peaceful and more secluded than most parks in the area.”

She added that the topography was very hilly and some areas were still dangerous until the contractors skirted them with proper fencing or barriers. She remarked that many of the perimeter areas were particularly hazardous at night despite the lampposts sprinkled through the park.

“Still, it’s safer than most college parking lots,” he quipped with a grin.

She laughed lightly. “For you, that’s true.”

They walked in silence a little further as she anticipated how to proceed with the serious topic on her mind. Even at that late moment she wrestled with the question of whether to tell him the truth about herself and her true nature.