One of the Guys Read Online Free

her
overbearing mother that afternoon. When dinner was over, she offered to clean
up and declined Lucy and Jackson’s invitation to go out for and get ice cream
for dessert.
    Left
alone in the kitchen, it dawned on Kate how quiet the house was with Lucy and
Jackson gone. She loved Lucy and Jackson, and was glad they had found each other
again, but sometimes she got tired of feeling like the third wheel, as she so
often did. It kind of reminded her of high school; she’d always suspected
something was going on with Lucy and Jackson, and as a result, she always felt
like she was a little bit of an outsider. She went into the living room and
turned on the stereo, cranking up the volume. She returned to the kitchen to
scrape the plates and rinse the dishes before she put them in the dishwasher. As
she wiped the counters clean, she couldn’t get Chris out of her mind.
    She
had to admit that she had always been attracted to him, ever since her boss had
introduced them at the office a few years ago. It was hard not to find him
attractive; he was very charming and good-looking. They saw each other often
through weddings and work, so they spent a lot of time together and eventually
learned that Jackson was a mutual friend.
    Jackson,
Chris, and their friends ended up hanging out a lot as a group, and none of
them seemed to care that Kate was the token girl. Because of her busy work
schedule and single-girl status, she was always up for grabbing a beer after
work, getting wings at Hooters, or going somewhere to watch football on Sundays.
She was just like one of the guys.
    “That’s
it,” Kate said to herself. They didn’t think of her as a girl. Chris probably
just considered her a buddy; just one of the guys. She’d have to do something
to change his mind about that.

 
    *
                The following Saturday, Kate was
overseeing a wedding at the Davenport Hotel and Chris happened to be the
photographer. She could see him approaching out of the corner of her eye as she
stood in the doorway of the ballroom talking to the bride’s father.
                “I just want to say thank you for
the job you’ve done, Miss Thompson. It wasn’t easy, not having Michelle’s
mother here to help her plan, but I know she’s looking down on this evening and
is pleased with the celebration you gave our daughter,” he said.
                Kate placed her hand on the man’s
shoulder. “I’m so glad that you and your daughter are happy,” she said.
                “Happy?   She’s ecstatic. I can’t thank you enough,” he
said, beaming.
                “Well, it was a pleasure working
with you, Mr. Banks,” she said, holding out her hand.
                The father of the bride ignored the
offer of a handshake and instead wrapped Kate in a big bear hug. Kate giggled
and smoothed out her dress as Mr. Banks excused himself to say goodnight to
some guests who were leaving. She turned to look at Chris, who was loosening
his tie.
                “Ready to get your ass kicked at
poker?” he asked.
                Kate shook her head. “Not tonight.”
                “Not giving up without a fight,
huh?”
                “Nope. Just not playing. I have a date.”
                Kate flashed him a smile and slipped
out of the ballroom behind a few elderly wedding guests.
                Once in the car, Kate gave herself a
pat on the back for keeping her exchange with Chris short and simple. She
wanted to seem aloof and mysterious while showing Chris that she had plenty of
guys interested in her.
                In fact, she had a rendezvous with
two gentlemen planned that evening.
                Ben and Jerry.
                Kate knew that Lucy had planned on
going out with her sister while Jackson played poker, which meant that Kate
would have the house to herself for most of the evening. She