The Infatuation (Josh and Kat #1 , The Club #5) (6 page)

I’ve just decided something. I’m done being Classic
Kat. From this day forward, I’m New Kat—a responsible and
levelheaded girl. A girl like Sarah. Smart.
Careful
. A
look-before-leaping kind of girl, especially when it comes to men.
New Kat takes things slow. New Kat has her head on straight. New
Kat doesn’t just jump into the sack or throw her heart away
willy-nilly. New Kat isn’t tempestuous and crazy. Nope. She’s just
like Sarah. Well, pre-Jonas Sarah, that is. I don’t know what the
heck’s happened to Sarah since she met Jonas—nowadays, she’s acting
like me. But that’s beside the point.

My phone buzzes with another text. “How are you
holding up, Party Girl?” Josh asks.

I take a deep breath and tap out an honest answer to
the question, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Not good. The Party
Girl doesn’t feel at all like partying right now.”

“I know what you mean. The Playboy doesn’t feel at
all like playing right now, either.” He adds a sad face to the end
of his message.

Well, as long as I’m being honest, I might as well
go all in. “I’ve never cried so many tears in all my life, Josh,” I
write. And, of course, the act of writing that message makes me cry
even harder. “This is the worst day of my life.”

I’ve no sooner pressed send on that message than my
phone buzzes with an incoming call from Josh.

I bolt out of my chair and into the hallway to
answer. “Hi,” I say softly into my phone, my cheeks suddenly hot. I
don’t like crying in front of men, even over the telephone. It
always ignites their superhero instincts—and I’m not a girl who
needs to be saved.

“When I get there,” Josh says softly, his voice low
and masculine, “you can cry on my shoulder all you like, Party
Girl.”

There’s a long pause. I’m having a physical reaction
to that statement, not to mention the masculine tone of his
voice.

“Thanks,” I finally say. “I’d like that.”

There’s another long pause. “So how’s that bodyguard
working out for you?” he finally asks. “Do you like him?”

“Do I
like
him?” I repeat, my pulse suddenly
pounding in my ears. Does he suspect I was trying to get into my
bodyguard’s pants when he called earlier today?

Josh exhales. “I mean does he make you feel
safe
? Is he doing a good job of protecting you?”

“Oh.” I exhale. “Well, actually,” I say, “I’ve got
two bodyguards—one for day, one for night. The nighttime guy is
here at the hospital now—in the waiting room. I feel pretty safe
with him. But I’m gonna ask for a replacement for the daytime
guy.”

“You don’t feel safe with the daytime guy?”

“No.”

“Why not?” There’s a strange edge to his voice. He
inhales sharply. “Did he make a pass at you, Kat?”

Holy Jealous Boyfriend, Batman—except, of course,
that Josh Faraday isn’t my boyfriend. We’ve never even been on a
flippin’ date.

“Shit,” Josh breathes before I can reply to his
initial question. “What’s the bastard’s name?”

“Josh,” I manage to say. “No, he didn’t make a pass
at me.” I think that’s technically true—I’m the one who made a pass
at Derek. “But if he had,” I continue, “it wouldn’t be any of your
business.” I let that sink in for a minute. “Derek just didn’t take
things seriously enough for my taste, that’s all,” I say
evenly.

“
Derek
, huh?” Josh says, his voice edged with
testosterone.

“What the hell, Josh?” I say. “You sound like a
caveman. Don’t worry about it. I’m asking for a new guy. Problem
solved.” I’m suddenly pissed. He has no claim on me. I can do what
I want. “I’d better get back into the room,” I say stiffly. “I came
out into the hallway to take your call.”

He exhales. “Listen, Kat. I don’t want you being
alone ’til we figure this shit out. Not for a minute. Okay? Jonas
obviously had a sixth sense here—he was totally right. We’ve got to
take this seriously.”

“Yeah. Okay. Got it. Thanks. But like I said,
Rodney’s out in the waiting room, and I’ll get a new guy
tomorrow.”

“You promise?”

I exhale with exasperation. I’m not sure I like this
caveman crap from a guy I’m not even dating. “I’m getting a new guy
because it’s what I wanna do, not because you told me to do
it.”

“Jeez. Touchy. I’m just looking out for you.”

Tears flood my eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m a wreck right
now. Ignore me. I didn’t mean to be bitchy. It’s been a really hard
day, Josh.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I know,” he coos. “Of course, it
has.”

I sniffle into the phone. “I’m sorry.”

“No worries.”

We’re silent for a long moment.

“Okay, well, I gotta go,” I say. “I came into the
hallway to take your call. If Sarah wakes up, I wanna be
there.”

Josh exhales. “Kat, listen . . .” But he doesn’t
finish the thought. “Yeah, I gotta go, too. Don’t forget to tell my
brother I’m stuck down in LA, but I’ll get there as soon as I can.
Please tell him, okay? I’m really worried about him.” His voice
breaks. “He’s been through a lot, Kat—something like this was the
last thing he needed.”

“It’s okay, Josh,” I say softly. “Hang in there,
okay?”

I hear him breathing, but he doesn’t reply.

“I’m sure this is rough on you—being down there when
your brother’s wigging out up here.”

He doesn’t reply for a long beat. “Kat, you have no
idea.”

“Hang in there.”

There’s another long beat.

Josh clears his throat. “It sounds like Sarah’s
gonna be good as new, so crisis averted. Jonas will take her to his
house tomorrow and nurse her back to health and he’ll be happy as a
clam. I’m sure the minute I walk through his door tomorrow, he’ll
kick me the fuck out again, just like he did last night.”

I chuckle. “He kicked you out last night?”

“Yeah. I guess he wanted some
privacy
, if you
know what I mean.”

I can hear him rolling his eyes across the phone
line.

“Well, from what I heard before you got to Jonas’
house the other day, consider yourself lucky you didn’t hear them.
Yeesh.”

“Really?”

“Oh my God. They sounded like they were dying in
there.”

He laughs. “Don’t tell me any more. I make it a
point not to think about my brother having sex.”

I laugh, wiping the tears out of my eyes as I
do.

“I’ve never seen Jonas like this about a girl.
Ever,” he says. “I actually think this might be the real thing for
him.”

“Really? Wow. Sarah said the same thing.”

“Awesome. I’d hate for Jonas to get his heart
broken. He doesn’t put it out there very often. Looks like he’s
fallen hard for this girl.”

I never thought for a minute about
Jonas
getting his heart broken—I’ve been too concerned about Sarah
getting hers smashed to smithereens.

“Trust me, if anyone’s heart’s gonna get broken
here, it won’t be Jonas’,” I say. “Sarah’s all in.”

“Well, good. I hope it works out for them. They’re
awesome together.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“Okay, well . . .” he says. “Hopefully, I’ll get my
ass back up there tomorrow on the first flight out, just in time
for him to kick me out of his house again.” He chuckles. “So when
I’m up there with nothing to do, maybe we’ll have a chance to hang
out—maybe grab some dinner or drinks?”

“Maybe,” I say casually, but my heart’s racing. I’m
sure he can hear me smiling over the phone line.

“Mmm hmm,” he says. “Okay, Party Girl with a Hyphen.
I forgot we’re playing it cool. That’s fine. We both know how this
ends—but, sure, we can play it that way.”

“I have no idea how this ends,” I say, my crotch
tingling at the flirtatious tone of his voice.

“Oh, well, then, far be it for me to spoil the
ending for you.” He pauses. “Well, I better go. Hang in there,
Party Girl. I’ll be there soon and you can cry on my shoulder all
you like.”

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll see you soon, Playboy.”

“Oh, you can count on it.”

Josh

“Dude, pull your head out of your ass.
Please
,” I say. “She’s not gonna stay at her mom’s house
forever.”

“I’m going fucking crazy,” Jonas mutters, gripping
his steering wheel like a madman. “I’m about to fucking blow.”

I exhale and look out the passenger window of the
car, trying to collect myself. My brother is a fucking lunatic.
There’s no way around it. I truly thought dragging Jonas rock
climbing all day would take his mind off Sarah—and, specifically,
the fact that she’s decided to stay at her mom’s house to
recuperate instead of Jonas’ (and also hasn’t been very
communicative while she’s been there, either)—but I was wrong. Dead
wrong. Not only did Jonas continue obsessing about Sarah throughout
our climb today, he did it while I was trapped on a fucking
mountain with him with nowhere to go. Jesus Christ. If I’d known
Jonas was gonna drive me nuts during our entire climb, I would have
just sat on his couch, watching basketball and drinking way too
much beer. At least then I could have left the room occasionally to
bang my head against the wall. Or, at the very least, numbed myself
with way too much alcohol.

All I wanna do right now is call Sarah and say,
“Whatever’s going on between you and Jonas, please just give the
guy a fucking call and tell him whatever the fuck’s on your mind,
good or bad, because until my high-strung brother hears from you
and confirms whatever it is you’re thinking, he’s gonna be a
fucking nightmare to be around
.
” But, obviously, I’m not
gonna do that. The girl was stabbed. She’s probably scared and
freaked out and maybe a little bit confused right now. She’s got
plenty on her plate worrying about her own mental health without
having to worry about Jonas’ too. I’ve got to just let this thing
take its natural course—and pray to God it goes Jonas’ way. Because
after everything Jonas has had to endure in his life, I really
don’t want his dream girl to shatter his heart, too.

“Jonas, I know it’s hard for you,” I say, “but
you’ve just gotta let the girl sort her shit out. She’s been
through a huge trauma. She probably just needs a little break. Be
patient with her.”

“I don’t do patient.”

“No shit.” I roll my eyes. “But it’s only natural
she’d want her mom after what she’s been through. I’m sure most
people with a mother would react the same way.”

Jonas literally snarls at me.

I roll my eyes at him again. “Oh my fucking God.
Jonas, I’m as motherless as you are. Obviously. I didn’t say that
to twist some knife into your heart. I’m just saying we don’t know
what it’s like to turn to a mother in a time of crisis—but other
people do. Normal people.”

“But why isn’t she even talking to me?” Jonas says.
“I understand her wanting her mom. But something’s off. I can feel
it. And it’s fucking killing me.”

“Just give her a little space,” I mumble, but my
tone isn’t compassionate. I’ve been with Jonas all fucking day. I’m
all out of compassion. “Sarah wanting to be with her mother is no
reflection on how she feels about you. Stop thinking everything’s
about you all the time. You make me want to open my car door and
hurl myself onto the freeway just to get away from you.”

Jonas grits his teeth as he glares out the
windshield of his car. “Maybe I should drive over there?” he
finally says. “Tell her how I feel?”

“No, Jonas.”

He grips the steering wheel again. “Or send flowers
with a note?”

“Flowers? Jesus, Jonas.
No
. Just leave her
alone.”

“Maybe I should, I don’t know, go park my car across
the street from her mom’s house and sit there for a while?”

I laugh. “What the fuck? You mean like a
stalker?”

“No, not like a
stalker
. Like a
boyfriend
.”

“Like a... Ha!” I can’t control my laughter. “That’s
your idea of what a boyfriend does? You’re gonna go be John Cusack
in
Say Anything
with the beat box over your head, standing
in the rain?”

“John Cusack didn’t stand in the rain.”

“Sure he did.”

“No.”

“Well, either way,” I say. “That’d be totally
stalker-ish. It was stalker-ish when John Cusack did it in the
first place. I don’t know why everyone thinks that was so fucking
romantic. It was just
weird
. Fucking desperate. Women hate
desperate.”

Someone cuts Jonas off and he honks his horn.
“Motherfucker.” There’s a long pause. “Well, I can relate,” he
says.

“To what?”

“To John Cusack.” He exhales. “I’m desperate.”

I shake my head. What the fuck am I gonna do about
my fucking brother? He doesn’t say a word about any particular
woman since Amanda, not a fucking word, and now he won’t shut the
fuck up about this one? I can’t decide whether I like hermit-Jonas
or desperately-in-love Jonas better. “You sent a couple bodyguards
over to her mom’s house, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then. She’s safe. That’s all that matters.
Leave her alone.”

Jonas sighs audibly. “But if I drive over there, she
might at least notice me sitting out there. And then she’d know I’m
thinking about her.”

I can’t help but chuckle. I’ve never in my life met
someone like my brother. Probably a genius IQ, no exaggeration.
He’s easily twice as smart as I am. Triple as smart. And yet he’s
so fucking stupid he makes me want to wring his neck at least a
hundred times a day. “What would be the point of you sitting there
in your car, watching the house, Jonas? Explain this to me.”

Now it’s Jonas rolling his eyes at me like I’m a
complete moron. “Because then maybe she’d come out.”

I laugh. “And then what?”

He shakes his head but doesn’t answer me.

“Dude, Sarah’s healing from being stabbed multiple
times and having her head busted wide open like a walnut. And you
want the poor girl to hobble outside in her little nightgown and
fuzzy socks and pat you on the head and say ‘Good, doggie’?”