Brendan ordered Katie into the shower, and left after he’d made sure she’d completed her one task. He also made plans to see her the following day to check up on her and to make sure she got out of the house.

She was brushing her hair out when the phone rang again.

Tentatively, she picked it up. “Hello?”

“Dressed yet?”

Without meaning to, she let out a huge breath, thankful it was just Brendan. “Yes, sir. Man, you’re tough.”

“I told you I’m good at this tough love stuff.” There was a moment’s pause. “You know I love you, Kit Kat.”

She smiled fondly at the telephone. “I love you too, Bren.”

“So, when I say you’re being a jerk, you know I mean it in a good way, right?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “I know.”

“I’m hanging up now. When I dial your phone back in twenty seconds, it better be busy.”

“I can’t just call him.”

“Sure you can. And if you don’t, I’ll bring him over there myself.”

Katie flopped down onto her sofa. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can’t stand my best friend being a complete wreck and you looking like a bag lady.”

Before she had a chance to respond, he’d hung up and she was left with a dial tone filling her ear.

Katie sat on the edge of the couch, staring at the phone like it might bite her at any moment. After several seconds it rang, and she jumped up to the ceiling in fright.

“It wasn’t busy,” Brendan stated evenly when she picked up the receiver.

She lowered herself slowly back onto the couch and rested her head against the back of it so she could stare up at the blank ceiling. “I don’t think I can do this,” she told the ceiling.

Brendan laughed faintly. “Don’t be stupid.”

There was a light knock on the door and Katie vaulted to a standing position, cursing herself inwardly for being so jumpy. “That’s not you at my door, is it? I don’t need you to force me to dial the phone.”

“No, it’s not me,” Brendan replied. “Maybe it’s one of your friends.”

Katie snorted. “Riiiight. Well, I’ll answer it and talk to you later.”

“CALL HIM.”

“I WILL.”

She clicked the phone off and dropped it onto the couch before answering the door.

“Hi,” Aaron smiled softly at her when she gasped and jumped back into her apartment. “I thought maybe your phone was out of service. Or your answering machine was eating your messages.”

Katie shook her head mutely and motioned for him to come in; Aaron stepped inside hesitantly, and she closed the door behind him. She leaned against it, watching him as he stood in the middle of the room, looking awkward.

“So,” he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “How’s it going?”

She didn’t say anything; she opted to just stand there and stare at him, memorizing every inch of his outline and every strand of hair that was bobbing around on his head whenever he moved.

Aaron closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry.” When she still hadn’t said anything, he opened one eye and peeked at her. “Katie? Are you in post-traumatic shock?”

Katie shook her head vigorously and cleared her throat. “I, uh, don’t know what to say.”

He grinned crookedly at her. “It’s a little awkward, huh?”

“A little,” she conceded, pushing herself away from the door. “I didn’t mean to ignore you or anything. I just…had some thinking to do. I also didn’t mean to kick you out. It just sort of happened.”

Aaron nodded, his eyes staying on hers and never moving. “I didn’t mean to freak you out,” he said after a moment, his voice cracking a bit. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I never should have said anything.”

Katie took a step forward, putting her hand on his arm. “How long have you been…you know.”

“In love with you?” Aaron scratched his chin thoughtfully; he was beginning to show signs of a beard there. It seemed he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. “About…oh…I think eight years.”

Katie’s eyes widened. “What?” Her voice came out a bit more forceful than she’d intended and she coughed. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

Aaron smiled sadly. “Possibly because I was afraid of your reaction. Which, by the way, I envisioned to be just like this.”

She swallowed and let her hand drop to her side. “I’m really sorry,” she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. “I didn’t have any idea.”

Aaron shrugged it off like it was no big deal, but she could tell it was killing him by the look in his eyes.

“I don’t need you to say it back,” Aaron assured her after a minute. “I just want us to be friends again. I can’t stand you being angry at me.”

“I’m not angry at you, for God’s sake. I’m freaked out. It took me by surprise.”

He sighed. “Yeah, well, I probably should have warned you before blurting it out like that.”

“You might have gotten a different reaction,” Katie replied simply, glancing into her kitchen for lack of something better to do. She was having a hard time looking at Aaron because whenever she did, her stomach flip-flopped and she felt like she was going to throw up. She’d already thrown up on him once, a long time ago at a birthday party when she’d eaten way too much cake, but she really preferred not to throw up on anyone twice.

Aaron reached out and trailed a finger down her cheek. “Katie,” he said softly, his breath hitching in his throat.

Katie turned slowly to look at him, and with much more force than he intended, he launched himself at her and pressed his lips against hers; she fell backwards against the wall and he leaned against her, his hands cupping her face.

He pulled away after a minute, breathing heavily. She was staring at him, her eyes wide.

Aaron bit his bottom lip and took a deep breath. “You’re not gonna beat me up, are you?”