Josh was pleasantly surprised to see a text from Kat as he was walking across campus. They'd broken up before the holidays after nearly a year, but over the last couple of months they were talking again.
Hey - want to meet up for dinner? Had something I wanted to run by you.
He immediately shot back, Sure. Usual place/time?
She said it was fine, and he bustled off to class. It was getting warmer every day, but the campus was always breezy. The crisp Colorado air really woke you up in the morning, even in mid-April.
The day was mostly uneventful, the usual succession of classes and coffees, mixed in with the new sensation of dread that was stalking him these days. He was graduating in less than a month, and the unknowns of that reality were like a sheer cliff that he was going to jump off after graduation.
He knew what he was supposed to do: get a shitty job to pay off his student loans, then maybe think about grad school. He figured the B.A. in English would leave a lot of doors open for him, but none of the options were particularly appealing. He wasn't a journalist, didn't want to write a novel, and he wasn't all that great at editing. Screenwriting sounded like a good gig, but the hell if he was moving to LA.
Maybe that's why he was so excited to meet up with his ex. Kat always took his mind off other things - it was hard to focus on anything else when she was around. Tall and leggy, she was model-gorgeous with bright Irish emerald eyes and long red hair. She was the Platonic ideal of a sweet, Irish lass...except she was born in Connecticut and went to synagogue every week.
When he showed up Venuto's that evening, she was already there with a bottle of expensive looking red wine on the table. She flashed him a radiant grin and stood to give him a hug. He tried (and failed) not to admire her cleavage as she got up. The freckles on her pert breasts were kryptonite to him.
"Hey, it's good to see you," she said, squeezing him close.
He leaned into the hug, smelling her light perfume, and gave her a peck on the cheek. "You too. We could all use a friendly face these days."
She snorted and sat back in her seat, much more at ease than he was. "Don't let the stress get to you. We're almost out of here."
He nodded and sat across from her. She poured him a glass of the wine, and he accepted gratefully. It tasted as good as it looked. "I've got a few last minute things to finish up, then I'm golden. At least, until the student loan bills start coming in."
She looked like she was considering something, but the waitress came by, and they busied themselves with the menu. Inevitably, he went with the chicken parm and she had gnocchis. It was a tradition for them.
As soon as the waitress left, Kat turned back to him and gave him another scrutinizing stare. "So what do you have planned once we're finished? I know you were talking about grad school."
He shrugged and grabbed a roll. "I don't know. What's the point? Maybe it's just the stress talking, but I honestly don't know what I want to be doing with my life. It's like there are so many options, I'm drowning in them. If someone said, 'Hey, you're doing this now', I probably would, just so I didn't have to think about it anymore."
Kat nodded along, taking sips of her wine. "I know what you mean. My uncle has always told me I could do anything, and I guess I can. I'm just not sure what I want to do."
Josh smiled sympathetically, but it was a bit forced. Kat's family owned some major conglomerate in Ireland, and she was basically heir to the whole company. Her parents died in a plane crash when she was young, and her aunt was running things now, but she didn't have any kids of her own. With that kind of background, it was hard to compare her career concerns with his own.
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out," he said. "It's not like you have to worry about the loan officers hunting you down."
That tweaked her a bit, but she didn't let it show for more than a second. "So you don't really have anything lined up," she said.
"No," he admitted. "I was going to go home for the summer and figure out what my next move is."
Kat took another sip of her wine and spun the glass between her fingertips. "I see..."
He wasn't sure what to make of her questions. She said she wanted to ask him something, and it seemed like she was trying to build up to it. Was she going to try and offer him a job? That didn't make any sense. What kind of job was he even qualified for?
He tried to put it out of his mind and just enjoy the evening. Her green v-neck sweater matched her eyes and showed off the tops of her freckled breasts. She was smiling and they made easy chit chat about nothing. He'd missed how easy it all felt. Why had they broken up in the first place?
After they finished their meals (and a shared tiramisu), they walked back to Kat's place in the cold night air. He always walked her home after dinner at Venuto's, and she pulled close to him for warmth. It was almost comfortable enough to forget why she'd asked to meet him tonight.
He pulled away from her as they reached her street. "So, what did you want to ask me? You said you wanted to run something by me."
She grinned and put her hands in her pockets. "Why don't you come inside, and we'll talk about it."
She walked ahead of him and up the steps to her house. She shared it with five other girls, and the lights were on. Still, some part of his brain recognized the signs, and his pants got a little tight. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he'd been daydreaming about her since they broke up. Even if it was just a one-time relapse, he wouldn't give up a chance to run his hands over her ivory skin again.
Kat had the door open by the time he caught up to her, and she held it open with a mischievous glint in her eye. He was all too eager to get inside.
Her house was fantastic, which was to be expected given how much she was paying for it. Dark hardwood floors, marble counters, big fireplace - it looked more like a mansion than a dorm. She'd lived here the whole time she was in Colorado, but after freshman year, she'd had a few of her friends move in so it wasn't so lonely.
He could hear the sounds coming from the den towards the back of the house. "I guess your roommates are home?"
Kat nodded and removed her coat. "Yeah. Why don't you go say hi? I'm going to run upstairs for a minute."
He tried to object as she padded up the steps, but one of her roommates appeared at the other end of the hall.
"Hey, look what the cat dragged in," Mariana said as she came down the hallway. She was short, trim, and busty; the sort of girl who weaponized her Mediterranean sex appeal, then made men beg her for a taste. Helen of Troy, wielding Pandora's box. Josh usual tried to keep his distance.
"I was just walking her back after dinner," he said, trying not to sound defensive. "How have you been?"
"Partying," she said. "Sara and I are officially headed to New England for grad school in the fall. How about you?"
He shrugged; he was getting sick of that question. "Just trying to get through the next few weeks."
She laughed and waved him on. "Yeah, that sounds like you. Come have a drink with us."
