Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series) (6 page)

Adam shook his head, turned to enter the gym and scanned the crowded room. Mark stood, waved his arms, and whistled. Adam spotted them then and climbed the bleachers to make his way to where they all sat.

“Here, I guess you’ll want to sit by Kattie,” Mark moved to the bleacher in front of them.

“Thanks, man; I appreciate that,” Adam smiled at Mark.

“What was all that about?” Katherine nodded in the direction he had just come from.

“Jessie wanted me to skip with him and some others and seemed a little angry when I refused. Jessie and his bunch seem to think it’s some great honor for them to invite me into their sacred little group,” Adam shared with her.

“You would have missed all the fun of the annual don’t drink, don’t smoke, and don’t have sex assembly, Adam; you can’t miss this very important assembly,” she joked.

“They even have a band this year,” Tessa eyes were lit with amusement.

“See, there was no way I could miss this,” Adam smiled. “Besides I promised this cute girl a ride home.”

“She might have gotten a little put out if you had just disappeared,” Katherine suggested.

“Yeah, I thought she might,” he smiled at her as he laced his fingers through hers.

Katherine smiled at him and then scanned the gym; she noted her mother watching them from the opposite side of the room. She waved in greeting and then turned to answer a question Stephanie asked her. They spent most of the assembly whispering back and forth or passing notes; teachers occasionally attempted to glare at the students they caught not paying attention. As the group began to wind down, Katherine glanced at her watch. If they could keep them going for about another fifteen minutes they wouldn’t even have to go to their final classes of the day but would be released to gather their things and leave. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who had made this realization. When the floor was opened to questions several students were quick to volunteer, asking mostly silly, redundant questions.

“Tell me these kids aren’t for real,” Adam leaned over to Katherine.

“In another…” she glanced at her watch, “ten minutes we will be free to go. If we’re released now we have to go to final period first and then turn around and back track,” she explained.

“Now I get it,” he nodded.

A few minutes later the final bell rang and everyone began to gather their things.

“Now, students, what did we learn today?” Mark asked as he stood.

“Don’t drink, don’t smoke, and don’t have sex; got it,” Katherine gave him two thumbs up and then grabbed her things.

“Very good,” Mark patted her head.

“It’s funny, I wasn’t even thinking about sex and now I am,” Stephanie joked.

“Want to come to my house and study?” Mark offered; Stephanie popped his arm. “Ow! What was that for?”

Stephanie glared at him in answer.

“I know, they act like they think we are constantly weighing the pros and cons when in truth I don’t think about it all that often,” Katherine rolled her eyes.

“You mean you don’t go around daily looking for the opportunity?” Tessa added. “Clearly they believe we all do. I’m with you, Steph; now I am thinking about it. Were any of you before this whole assembly started?”

Katherine rolled her eyes when all of the guys smirked. “It’s their fault; they are the reason we have to sit through these stupid assemblies,” Katherine announced.

“I was,” Mandy shrugged. “But then I just came out of health class and guess what was on today’s agenda?”

“We’ll lump Mandy with the guys,” Stephanie laughed. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” Katherine waved before she started down the bleachers herself.

“Does your mom know I’m taking you home?” Adam asked her.

“I dropped by and told her earlier,” Katherine nodded as they made their way through the crush of students and down the stairs to the lobby floor.

“Do you need anything from your locker?” Katherine asked Adam.

“No, you?”

“Nope, guess we can go.”

“Call me later,” Tess called over the crowd.

“Will do,” Katherine waved.

She and Adam made their way through the parking lot and to Adam’s car. As soon as he cranked the car; music blared from the speakers.

“Sorry,” he laughed and turned the music down.

“I like this song,” she started singing along.

“And to think you had never heard of them a few weeks ago,” he teased. “Hey I need to grab my work uniform. I have to go in later tonight; you mind?”

“No problem,” she assured him.

“Thanks. I should warn you that I don’t live in the nicest neighborhood or home,” he shared.

“What? Well, that’s that then, you’ll have to take me straight home!” she said with an air of superiority.

Adam smiled over at her and chuckled. “I like you, Kaitlyn.”

“I like you too,” she returned.

Katherine could tell that Adam was trying not to be self-conscious about his home as he turned into the trailer park and parked in front of a faded brown and white single wide.

“This won’t take but a moment. I would suggest you wait here but I am convinced that my neighbor is some kind of pervert; the man creeps me out,” Adam shared.

“Not a problem,” she assured him and followed him inside. The trailer was small but well kept. To her right was a door into a bed room. The living room and kitchen were separated by a counter and a small space below a window opposite the kitchen held a compact table and three chairs.

Katherine followed him down a hallway and Adam opened the dryer to remove his work uniform.

“This your room?” she peered into a small space.

“Yes,” he responded.

Katherine stepped inside and turned on the light.

“Adam?”

“Yes?”

“This is just wrong,” she informed him.

“What?” he stepped to the door.

“It’s clean,” she said it like an accusation. “Guys do not keep their rooms clean.”

“You do if it’s as small as mine,” he smiled at her.

“Right,” she looked around at the various posters: Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots; the walls were plastered with them. “You don’t like music do you?” she teased.

“You know I do.”

“No posters of half-naked women?” she arched a brow.

“My mom takes exception,” he shrugged. “How many guys’ rooms have you been in?”

“A few,” she smiled, “mostly my cousins’” she admitted.

“I was starting to wonder about you,” he teased. “Given the reason Nathan dumped you I would have been surprised otherwise.”

“I’ve been in his room, door open and our parents down the hall and it was clean but then he knew we were coming,” Katherine shared as she looked through his CDs.

“I take it your families are friends?” Adam watched her nod as she picked up a couple of photos off his dresser.

“Yes, we’ve known them for years,” she admitted.

“It must make your break up awkward,” he mused.

“It does,” she agreed. “Our parents were our biggest supporters.”

“Do your parents know why you broke up?” Adam asked her.

“Mom does, which means Dad probably does too,” she shared.

“Is your curiosity satisfied?” Adam queried.

Katherine smiled at him. “I guess I am being nosey aren’t I?”

“I don’t mind,” he assured her.

“Even if I go through your things,” she teased and opened a drawer part way; she quickly closed it. “We should go,” she turned for the door.

Adam was laughing now and snagged her to pull her into his arms.

“That was funny,” he told her.

“No, it wasn’t!” she argued.

“No, really it was, I have never seen anybody as red as you are right now,” he informed her.

“Omigosh! I am so sorry I was being nosey,” she was laughing now.

“You didn’t embarrass me,” he informed her.

“No, just myself,” she shook her head; she was starting to recover.

Adam kissed her and felt her tense.

“Relax, I have no intention of getting dumped today,” he teased.

Katherine smiled then and leaned back against him to welcome his kiss. It didn’t take long for what started as a simple kiss to escalate. Katherine shuddered as his hands played with her waist, tugged her closer even as he caressed her. She heard him groan as he released her, his hands coming to the wall on either side of her. She understood without being told that he was trying to rein it in. For one crazy moment she considered putting to use what she had discovered in his top drawer. Shock had her breaking the kiss and staring up at him in speechless surprise as her chest heaved. His gaze held hers and she watched him shake his head lightly before he shoved off the wall.

“We should go,” he told her.

Katherine lingered a moment longer in indecision.

“Come on, Kaitlyn,” Adam encouraged her.

Katherine shoved off the wall and allowed him to escort her out to his car. She was still mildly shocked by how seriously she had considered sleeping with him. She was also aware that it was Adam, and not her who had put the brakes on. She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“Thank you,” she finally offered.

“Sure,” he shrugged; she could see the tension in his shoulders.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked him.

He glanced over at her in surprise and took her hand. “No, Kaitlyn; I’m not mad at you.”

“I know you wanted…” she tried to decide how to say it.

“Yes, Kaitlyn, I wanted you, do want you and I don’t see that changing. I wanted you more back there than you can possibly know. I want you to not hate me even more,” he informed her.

Katherine was quiet on the remainder of the drive to her house. She turned to him in the drive and cupped his face before she kissed him lightly.

“Thank you.”

“Welcome,” he cupped her face and caressed her lightly.

***

Adam mounted the porch steps and braced himself as he opened the door. He knew before he entered that his mom would have been drinking and that she would be ready for a fight.

“Where have you been?” his mom demanded as soon as he’d entered the room.

“With a friend,” he yanked the fridge open for a soda.

“With her again? You’re just like your dad; chasing women and ignoring your family!” she yelled at him.

Adam tensed, she was trying to pick a fight and he knew it.

“Make some friends, Mom,” he muttered.

“Look at me when you talk to me!” she demanded with a rough tug at his shoulder.

“You’re drunk, can this wait?”

Her answer was a hard smack across his jaw that left his cheek burning. He turned for the door and stormed from the house before he reacted in a way that he would regret.

“I’m sorry, sweetie; I didn’t mean it,” his mom called after him.

Adam kept walking. He walked up the row of dilapidated trailers and to the gas station on the corner. He needed the space and so did she. He would likely return home to find her passed out somewhere. Then he could clean up the mess and get some rest before he had to be at work in the morning. He would leave for work before she woke and when he returned home she would act as if nothing had happened. He would play along. He spotted a pay phone on the corner of the gas station building and fed coins into the slot.

“Hello,” Kaitlyn, her voice heavy with sleep, answered.

Adam sighed; he hadn’t meant to wake her.

“Hey, Kaitlyn, I’m sorry to wake you, I just needed to talk to someone a moment.”

“Adam, are you okay?”

He could hear rustling and the click of a lamp switch.

“Not really, I got into it with my mom.”

“Where are you?”

“At a gas station.”

“What are you
not
saying, Adam?” she asked quietly.

“She’s drunk; she’s mean when she’s drunk.”

“What can I do to help?”

He heard her mom say something in the background and realized that he had managed to wake everyone up. Everything became muffled and he knew that Kaitlyn, her hand over the phone, was talking to her mom.

“Adam?” Kaitlyn was back on the line.

“I’m sorry I bothered you, I’m okay now,” he said in what he hoped was a normal voice.

“Did you drive to the gas station?”

“No, I walked. I left everything and walked.”

“We’re coming to get you,” she announced.

Adam felt humiliation wash through him. He shouldn’t have dragged her into his problems.

“I’m fine, Kaitlyn; I just needed to hear another rational voice for a moment.”

“Adam Cole Ellington I am coming to get you!” she insisted.

Adam smiled despite the deep ache in his chest.

***