[Fic] Kraty -- Somehow, Someday [PG-13]
Title: Somehow, Someday
Fandom: American Idol
Pairing: Kris Allen/Katy O'Connell
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word Count: 3,655
Prompt: AU fic. Kris and Katy never got back together after their break-up in high school. Ten years later, they cross paths again.
Notes: Follow-Up to Paradise by the Jukebox Light. Thanks to yuppielawyer for cheering me through this.
Somehow, Someday
Inevitably, the bar must close. The lights come up and the last song quickly passes. After the neighborhood regulars vacate, Kris and Katy are the only patrons left in the bar. Katy gathers her purse as Kris swallows down what remains of his beer. Katy is insistent that she be the one to pay the tab, but Kris beats her to the register. He’s forced to tear his eyes away from Katy in order to pay. He sighs as he pulls out a credit card. The transaction puts a sense of conclusion on the evening. They have to part ways.
Kris digs out his cell phone and offers to call a cab. Katy laughs and there’s a defiant sparkle in her eyes. She shakes her head and suddenly, Kris realizes he’s not going home alone. “My apartment isn’t clean,” Kris says, letting the invitation go unsaid.
Katy gives him a sweet smile and her best doe eyes. “I don’t want to go back to my hotel,” she says before pouting. “The bed’s cold, there.”
“Yeah, well…” is all Kris can say before trailing off. He hopes she’s not expecting sex. He’s tired and not sober - there is no way he could get it up tonight.
“It’s not far,” he tells her as they leave the bar and step out onto the sidewalk. “I was planning on walking, but I’m not the one wearing heels.”
Katy snorts lightly. “I think I’ll survive,” she says before twisting a little dance on the balls of her feet. “I could live in these shoes.”
“So, they’re heels made for walkin’?” Kris asks as he pops the trunk on his Focus.
“No,” Katy replies, “but now that you have that boots song stuck in my head, I think they have to be.”
Kris smiles; “These Boots Were Made for Walking” is playing in his head, too.
“Katy?” he prompts as he grabs the guitar and shuts the trunk.
“Hmm?” she murmurs, still dancing to the beat in her head.
“Please, don’t walk all over me in those shoes,” he deadpans. “That would hurt.”
Katy stops dancing mid-twirl. Her blond locks swing around to fly into her face, then fall to her bare shoulder. Tilting her head with a mischievous look, she purrs, “I’ll save that for the boots.”
“Knee-high ones?” Kris immediately asks. There’s a hopeful upswing in his voice.
Katy rolls her eyes slowly and grins. “Of course!”
Kris pauses to collect the mental image of Katy in knee-high, heeled boots. A soft groan is in his throat. He momentarily forgets where he is, what he’s doing, and why he’s holding a guitar. He puts a hand to the top of the car’s trunk before he gives his head a quick, jarring shake. “What were we doing, again?”
Katy smugly chuckles. “Going back to your apartment, sleepy head.”
“Oh,” Kris says, with a nod of realization. “Yeah, let’s do that.”
Katy laughs, again. The sound makes Kris feel a tingling in his hands and chest. It’s a feeling of want for a woman, a feeling he has not felt in several years.
Taking in a deep breath, Kris joins Katy on the sidewalk. “This way,” he says. He gestures at the street in front of them as he walks. Katy falls into step next to him.
“It’s only a couple blocks away,” Kris says before adding under his breath, “Maybe three.”
“Maybe three?” Katy tosses her head back with a laugh. “How long have you lived here?”
“Um,” Kris murmurs. “Two years?” There is a strangled sound of amusement in Katy’s throat. Kris frowns at her. “Whatever. I’m tired and I only go to the Matchbox, like, once a month.” She nods, but continues to snicker. “And you keep distracting me,” Kris adds.
Katy arches one eyebrow. “How am I distracting?”
Kris laughs and gives her a sidelong look. “I think you know why.”
A grin crosses Katy’s face. She glances to the sidewalk and then slowly, up at him. “You’re kind of distracting, too,” she says and nudges his arm.
Kris makes a puffed noise of disbelief. “Not like you.”
Katy breathes out a sigh. She hooks her arm around his. “One day, you’ll see it. One day you’re going to have hordes of women chasing after you like you’re Conrad Birdie.”
“Maybe.”
Katy tightens her grip on his arm. “Definitely.”
“My hair will never be that awesome.”
“Turtle wax works wonders.”
“But the shirt, where would I get one of those?”
“I’m sure your dad can lend you one from his Neil Diamond days.”
Katy looks up, sidelong, to Kris, who is trying to hold back a chuckle, but catching her eye makes them both burst into laughter. Kris doubles over and Katy gives him a playful shove. Kris smiles as he stumbles a few steps before straightening up. Katy fans herself; she’s flushed from the giggling.
“You’re supposed to be tired,” Katy points out.
Kris sighs, thankful that they’ve made it to his building. “I am tired,” he replies with a hint of strain in his voice. “That’s my building,” he says as he points across the street. “I’m on the second floor.”
They cross the car-lined road and pass through a gate. Katy falls back when they near the covered, outdoor stairwell. Kris goes slowly up the steps, hoping her shoes won’t get caught in the old chipped-up wood. She does teeter once, but the railing is enough to steady her. Outside of his apartment, Katy waits at his side as he unhooks his keys from his jeans and turns back the deadbolt.
“It’s gonna be a mess,” he warns her.
“Don’t worry.” She winks at him. “I’m a big girl. I promise I won’t scream.”
Kris pushes the door open and flicks on a light. He then steps back to usher Katy inside. She pauses in the living room to take in the surroundings of the one- bedroom apartment. There is clutter everywhere. The scene hasn’t hit tornado-like proportions, but it’s noticeably unkempt with a few lingering dishes, a pizza box, some discarded mail, an area of crumpled and piled sheet music, and a scattering of video games in front of the TV.
Katy nods as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, at least it doesn’t stink of boy.”
Kris snorts as he sets his guitar case on an overstuffed chair. “Always looking for something positive in the pile of crap,” he says as he gathers up the blanket on the couch and lifts away a mess that he drops into another chair. “I’m glad that part of you didn’t change,” he adds with an easy smile as he rests his hands on the back of the couch.
Katy ducks her blushing face as she toes out of her shoes. “I’m just an optimist,” she says to her feet.
Kris feels a dull ache in his chest. Making her blush makes him nostalgic for what could have been.
“Do you want something to drink?” he asks as he heads into the adjacent kitchen. He flinches at the sight of the dirty dishes and coffee rings on the counter. Cleaning is not one of his regular habits. He goes for the liquor cabinet with his minimal selection and stares at the bottles, none look appealing.
Katy clicks her manicured nails on the counter. Kris wonders what they would feel like in his hair. “I thought you wanted to sleep,” she says pointedly.
Kris sighs and his lips press into a thin, tight line as he nods. “Yeah,” he replies, allowing some of the exhaustion to soften his words, “I really do.”
Katy smiles and tips her head with a playful look on her face. “Then come on, frat boy, show me the bedroom.”
“Frat boy? Would you abbreviate ‘country’?” Kris mumbles as he leaves the open cabinet and takes her hand.
“What?” Katy says with a burst of laughter and a screwed up look of confusion.
Kris shakes his head. “Sorry, it’s an old, really bad joke,” he tells her. He leads them around the edge of the living room and into his bedroom, which isn’t any cleaner than the rest of the apartment.
Katy puts a hand to her face as she looks at the pile of clothes that is spilling out of the closet. “Kris, you really need a girl, so you’re motivated to clean this up.”
“Or maybe,” Kris says with a lopsided grin, turning to face her. “I just need one to be my maid - a bikini maid.”
Katy lets go of his hand and crosses her arms over her chest. She is, clearly, not amused when she gives him a look that makes him feel immediately shamed. Kris lets out a laugh that scrunches his face. He lunges to press a kiss to her cheek. A small pout pushes through his smile as he gently touches her face with his fingertips.
“I’m incorrigible, I know,” he mumbles. His pulse leaps when Katy rests her hands to his chest. She hums and then smiles as she watches her finger make lazy circles over his collarbone. Kris bites down on his bottom lip. It’s unfair how easily she rouses him.
“You’re just silly,” Katy says quietly, tipping her head to look into his tired eyes. “You should sleep.”
Kris’s fingertips slide until he is brushing her face with his warm palm. “I should,” he agrees with a nod. He dips to steal a soft kiss that makes Katy’s hands stall and her eyes flutter closed. “But my bed’s cold.”
Katy smirks against his lips. Her fingers scratch lightly at his chest. “Not for long,” she says in a sultry whisper. Her eyes open to half-mast, but quickly close, again, when Kris cups her face with both hands and pulls her into a kiss. Katy returns the kiss and bounces up on her toes as she embraces him.
Kris soon realizes he has stopped breathing in anticipation of Katy removing clothes. When she doesn’t, Kris breaks the kiss and hugs her to his chest. He lets out a heavy breath as he pets her hair. Katy smiles against his shoulder before she gives him a good squeeze. Kris kisses her temple, and he steps out of her arms. Watching the look in her eyes, he backs them toward the bed.
“We don’t have to-“ instinctively leaks from his lips.
“We’re not going to,” Katy interrupts in a flat tone before she raises her brow to form a stern look.
“Good answer.”
Relief loosens Kris’s tired shoulders, which fall as he sits on the bed. He removes his shoes one at a time as Katy climbs onto the bed. She walks on her knees around Kris, who follows her with his eyes. He smiles slowly as her arms wrap around him to hold his chest. She rests her chin on his shoulder.
“I haven’t slept in my clothes since college,” Katy muses before placing a quick peck on his cheek. A few locks of her silky hair to fall forward.
Kris chuckles and shrugs before he looks over his shoulder, at her. “You don’t have to. I could get you a t-shirt and pajamas or something.”
Katy shakes her head. “You’re in bed and you’re staying in bed.”
Snickering, Kris leans back into her embrace. He tips his head and brings up a hand to hold her face. “I can live with that one.”
Their kiss is soft, albeit at a slightly awkward angle. As she leans over his shoulder to better meet his lips, more of Katy’s hair falls forward and Kris breathes in the scent - a flowery sweetness mixed with the stale smell of a bar. He smiles as her fingers touch his face. Kisses pass until he can feel his cheeks flushing and his lips bruising.
“I know I need to sleep,” Kris says, still leaning against Katy, “but I can’t stop kissing you.”
Katy grins. “Maybe, it’s because you want to make up for lost time?”
“No, that’s definitely it,” Kris says with a soft breath of laughter. “Tonight has been amazing.”
Katy tucks her face into his neck. “You did a pretty good job of sweeping me off my feet,” she whispers against his skin. It makes him flush more as he smiles.
“I’m just playing it by ear.”
“It’s what you’re best at,” Katy says before nudging him in the ribs. “And you’re about to fall asleep on me. Literally.”
Kris sighs out a chuckle. “You make a good body pillow,” he says. Katy laughs.
Kris pulls out of her hold and sits forward. The quick movement makes him dizzy. He closes his eyes as he turns and drags his legs up onto the bed. As soon as his head finds a pillow, Katy is resting her head just below his collarbone. Kris puts a lazy arm around her before he leans up to kiss the top of her head. Katy smiles against his chest, which she scratches lightly with her nails for the second time that night. Kris enjoys the sensation.
Seconds pass slowly as Kris struggles to stay awake. He savors the feeling of Katy rising and falling with his breathing, and the softness of her hair tucked under his arm. His free hand finds and covers her hand on his chest. “Are you sure you’re comfortable?” Kris asks quietly.
Katy lifts her face. She looks calm. “I’m not moving unless you want me to,” she says.
“You’re not cold or anything? You could get under the blankets. I don’t mind.”
She smiles. “I’m fine.” Pausing, she tilts her head. “If you want me to move, just ask me to.”
Kris swallows over the tightness in his throat. He still can’t believe this night is happening. He wishes he wasn’t struggling to keep his eyes open. There’s a lot on his mind.
“What if I asked you to never move?” he says in a thick, sleepy tone.
Katy blinks at him before tucking her face against his chest. “If only you’d said those words ten years ago,” is the last thing Kris hears before he’s asleep.
Kris awakes the following morning to the sound of his alarm - a radio report on traffic - which he needs to reach past Katy to turn off. He does so carefully; he lets go of her to reach across the bed and strains to flick the switch on top of the alarm clock.
“Want me to get that?” Katy asks as he shifts beneath her to lengthen his reach. Kris inches closer to the night stand. His fingers catch on the switch and the radio clicks off. He droops and puffs out a breath.
“Nope,” Kris says curtly. He draws himself back and hugs her. “Sorry, I woke you up,” he rumbles as he leans forward to kiss her hair.
“You didn’t wake me up,” Katy says. She turns her head to rest her chin on his chest, which allows her to look at him. “I was awake before the alarm. I have to get up early to look good for the day job.”
Kris snorts lightly. “I can’t see you having to do much,” he says with a yawn, but suddenly yelps when Katy pinches his side. “What was that for?”
“It was your ‘wake-up’ pinch,” she replies with a warm laugh in her voice.
Kris slowly grins. “I could have sworn I was still dreaming.”
“Why?” Katy asks though she’s already blushing.
Kris brushes back some of her sleep-mussed hair. He slowly recalls everything that happened the night before - including what Katy had said to him when he dozed off. As he stares at Katy, his thoughts come to the conclusion that he never, ever wants to wake up lonely, again.
Kris sighs in sudden frustration. He wants to say something ridiculously romantic to Katy, but nothing comes to him other than a little ditty. “I’m in love and it’s a sunny day,” he, finally, sings in answer. The pitch is a low, almost hoarse voice.
Katy doesn’t hesitate to crawl up for a kiss. Kris’s pulse hits full tilt as he reciprocates and holds her steady as she takes his breath away. The deeply passionate kiss makes his stomach knot with trepidation. He knows that they both have to leave for work and eventually, Katy has to leave for home.
“I guess that was a good enough answer for you?” Kris says with a strained laugh. When Katy pulls back, Kris is startled to see tears pricking at her hazel eyes. “But I didn’t think it would make you cry,” he adds in concern.
“I had to see you last night,” bursts from Katy’s lips. “I had to know if you still felt something. And now, you’re singing to me and…” She shakes her head and kisses him.
Kris holds her tighter. Everything she just said was a beat-down on his heart and soul. He tangles his fingers in a handful of blond hair at the nape of her neck as they share watery kisses. Somehow, he manages to keep himself calm as Katy melts in his arms.
“Katy,” he says quietly between kisses. “Katy, I still love you.”
She breathily laughs through the tears. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
“You could have asked.”
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
“Still…” Kris stutters a breath as his emotions finally get the best of him. “I don’t want to be lonely, anymore,” he says solemnly. He waits for Katy to raise her face. When she does, he stares into her puffy eyes. “I want to wake up with you.”
There’s a hint of a smile on Katy’s face. “Good day, Sunshine,” she mumbles. “You have to sing that to me, every day that I’m here.” She pulls another kiss from his lips. “I love you, Kristopher.”
“I love you, Katherine.”
“Only took us a decade to get that out of the way,” Katy replies grimly and sniffs.
Kris wraps his arms around her. He tightens his hold until she squeals. “Ah, see? I knew there was still a smile in there,” he says before burying a kiss into her hair.
Katy snuggles down as her sobbing ceases. “What are we going to do?” she says with a sigh.
A proverbial stone sinks in Kris’s stomach as reality hits him. She’s going back to California, where she has an amazing job and an amazing life. There is little room for a long-distance relationship with a Nobody from Arkansas. It isn’t practical and there is no way in hell it’s going to work. All they have between them is one pseudo one-night stand and a bunch of words. How can there be a relationship? Kris doesn’t know, but he does know one thing… “I don’t want to lose you, again,” he says earnestly.
“I know.” Katy’s voice is cracking. “I know. I don’t know how to make this work,” she says with a sniff. She huffs and there is a hint of a smile on her face. “You have no idea how aggravating that is for me to say.”
Kris snickers. It marvels him that she’s able to make him laugh when he feels miserable. “How much longer are you here?” he asks as he gives a reassuring rub to her bare arm.
“Until Friday.”
Three days - three work days - were all they had.
After racking his groggy brain for a solution, Kris sighs heavily in defeat. “Well, I’ve never been to California,” he says.
Katy rolls her body and pushes up on an arm to look into his eyes. “You have a life here.”
“Not much of one.”
“But still-“
“You could put me up for a week or so,” Kris interrupts, “and we’ll see what happens.”
Katy narrows a thin frown at him. “You have a job.”
Kris shrugs. “I’ve never liked it much.”
“Kris, this is serious,” Katy says flatly. “California isn’t the answer to everything. Most people don’t make it there.”
“I thought you were an optimist?”
Katy slumps as she ducks her gaze. “I’m also a realist,” she quietly replies.
Kris shifts until he can sit up against the pillows. He lifts Katy’s chin with his fingers to see tears shining in her eyes, again. She apprehensively turns away her face, but Kris drags her back for a soft kiss that turns into kisses.
“Let’s make the best of these next few days and then see what happens?” Kris suggests.
Katy nods as she slides forward to bury her face in his chest. She doesn’t sob, but makes quiet little sniffs that tear at Kris’s heart.
As the moments pass, the bedside clock catches Kris’s eye and reminds him that he is going to be late for work. He knows there will be consequences, but it’s not the first time he’s been late and who knows, he might not be working there much longer.
“Sing me something no one’s ever heard,” Katy says suddenly in such a sweet voice that it warms his bruised heart.
“Really?” Kris blurts and his brow rises. Katy just nods against his chest; he hugs her tighter.
Sing her something no one’s ever heard? What the heck is supposed to do? Sing her the phone book? But Kris knows what she really means. She wants to hear some of his original music, which Kris rarely sings for himself, let alone an audience. It’s strange, though. With her in his arms, he feels like he could sing “I’m a Little Teacup” and not be embarrassed.
Kris clears his throat and Katy cuddles closer. Thoughts of work and heartbreak quickly fall to the wayside. He decides to go with a song that he knows well. It feels pertinent to the moment.
“Sunny days come and gone away,” he sings softly. “And she has let her mind take control today…”
Fandom: American Idol
Pairing: Kris Allen/Katy O'Connell
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word Count: 3,655
Prompt: AU fic. Kris and Katy never got back together after their break-up in high school. Ten years later, they cross paths again.
Notes: Follow-Up to Paradise by the Jukebox Light. Thanks to yuppielawyer for cheering me through this.
Somehow, Someday
Inevitably, the bar must close. The lights come up and the last song quickly passes. After the neighborhood regulars vacate, Kris and Katy are the only patrons left in the bar. Katy gathers her purse as Kris swallows down what remains of his beer. Katy is insistent that she be the one to pay the tab, but Kris beats her to the register. He’s forced to tear his eyes away from Katy in order to pay. He sighs as he pulls out a credit card. The transaction puts a sense of conclusion on the evening. They have to part ways.
Kris digs out his cell phone and offers to call a cab. Katy laughs and there’s a defiant sparkle in her eyes. She shakes her head and suddenly, Kris realizes he’s not going home alone. “My apartment isn’t clean,” Kris says, letting the invitation go unsaid.
Katy gives him a sweet smile and her best doe eyes. “I don’t want to go back to my hotel,” she says before pouting. “The bed’s cold, there.”
“Yeah, well…” is all Kris can say before trailing off. He hopes she’s not expecting sex. He’s tired and not sober - there is no way he could get it up tonight.
“It’s not far,” he tells her as they leave the bar and step out onto the sidewalk. “I was planning on walking, but I’m not the one wearing heels.”
Katy snorts lightly. “I think I’ll survive,” she says before twisting a little dance on the balls of her feet. “I could live in these shoes.”
“So, they’re heels made for walkin’?” Kris asks as he pops the trunk on his Focus.
“No,” Katy replies, “but now that you have that boots song stuck in my head, I think they have to be.”
Kris smiles; “These Boots Were Made for Walking” is playing in his head, too.
“Katy?” he prompts as he grabs the guitar and shuts the trunk.
“Hmm?” she murmurs, still dancing to the beat in her head.
“Please, don’t walk all over me in those shoes,” he deadpans. “That would hurt.”
Katy stops dancing mid-twirl. Her blond locks swing around to fly into her face, then fall to her bare shoulder. Tilting her head with a mischievous look, she purrs, “I’ll save that for the boots.”
“Knee-high ones?” Kris immediately asks. There’s a hopeful upswing in his voice.
Katy rolls her eyes slowly and grins. “Of course!”
Kris pauses to collect the mental image of Katy in knee-high, heeled boots. A soft groan is in his throat. He momentarily forgets where he is, what he’s doing, and why he’s holding a guitar. He puts a hand to the top of the car’s trunk before he gives his head a quick, jarring shake. “What were we doing, again?”
Katy smugly chuckles. “Going back to your apartment, sleepy head.”
“Oh,” Kris says, with a nod of realization. “Yeah, let’s do that.”
Katy laughs, again. The sound makes Kris feel a tingling in his hands and chest. It’s a feeling of want for a woman, a feeling he has not felt in several years.
Taking in a deep breath, Kris joins Katy on the sidewalk. “This way,” he says. He gestures at the street in front of them as he walks. Katy falls into step next to him.
“It’s only a couple blocks away,” Kris says before adding under his breath, “Maybe three.”
“Maybe three?” Katy tosses her head back with a laugh. “How long have you lived here?”
“Um,” Kris murmurs. “Two years?” There is a strangled sound of amusement in Katy’s throat. Kris frowns at her. “Whatever. I’m tired and I only go to the Matchbox, like, once a month.” She nods, but continues to snicker. “And you keep distracting me,” Kris adds.
Katy arches one eyebrow. “How am I distracting?”
Kris laughs and gives her a sidelong look. “I think you know why.”
A grin crosses Katy’s face. She glances to the sidewalk and then slowly, up at him. “You’re kind of distracting, too,” she says and nudges his arm.
Kris makes a puffed noise of disbelief. “Not like you.”
Katy breathes out a sigh. She hooks her arm around his. “One day, you’ll see it. One day you’re going to have hordes of women chasing after you like you’re Conrad Birdie.”
“Maybe.”
Katy tightens her grip on his arm. “Definitely.”
“My hair will never be that awesome.”
“Turtle wax works wonders.”
“But the shirt, where would I get one of those?”
“I’m sure your dad can lend you one from his Neil Diamond days.”
Katy looks up, sidelong, to Kris, who is trying to hold back a chuckle, but catching her eye makes them both burst into laughter. Kris doubles over and Katy gives him a playful shove. Kris smiles as he stumbles a few steps before straightening up. Katy fans herself; she’s flushed from the giggling.
“You’re supposed to be tired,” Katy points out.
Kris sighs, thankful that they’ve made it to his building. “I am tired,” he replies with a hint of strain in his voice. “That’s my building,” he says as he points across the street. “I’m on the second floor.”
They cross the car-lined road and pass through a gate. Katy falls back when they near the covered, outdoor stairwell. Kris goes slowly up the steps, hoping her shoes won’t get caught in the old chipped-up wood. She does teeter once, but the railing is enough to steady her. Outside of his apartment, Katy waits at his side as he unhooks his keys from his jeans and turns back the deadbolt.
“It’s gonna be a mess,” he warns her.
“Don’t worry.” She winks at him. “I’m a big girl. I promise I won’t scream.”
Kris pushes the door open and flicks on a light. He then steps back to usher Katy inside. She pauses in the living room to take in the surroundings of the one- bedroom apartment. There is clutter everywhere. The scene hasn’t hit tornado-like proportions, but it’s noticeably unkempt with a few lingering dishes, a pizza box, some discarded mail, an area of crumpled and piled sheet music, and a scattering of video games in front of the TV.
Katy nods as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, at least it doesn’t stink of boy.”
Kris snorts as he sets his guitar case on an overstuffed chair. “Always looking for something positive in the pile of crap,” he says as he gathers up the blanket on the couch and lifts away a mess that he drops into another chair. “I’m glad that part of you didn’t change,” he adds with an easy smile as he rests his hands on the back of the couch.
Katy ducks her blushing face as she toes out of her shoes. “I’m just an optimist,” she says to her feet.
Kris feels a dull ache in his chest. Making her blush makes him nostalgic for what could have been.
“Do you want something to drink?” he asks as he heads into the adjacent kitchen. He flinches at the sight of the dirty dishes and coffee rings on the counter. Cleaning is not one of his regular habits. He goes for the liquor cabinet with his minimal selection and stares at the bottles, none look appealing.
Katy clicks her manicured nails on the counter. Kris wonders what they would feel like in his hair. “I thought you wanted to sleep,” she says pointedly.
Kris sighs and his lips press into a thin, tight line as he nods. “Yeah,” he replies, allowing some of the exhaustion to soften his words, “I really do.”
Katy smiles and tips her head with a playful look on her face. “Then come on, frat boy, show me the bedroom.”
“Frat boy? Would you abbreviate ‘country’?” Kris mumbles as he leaves the open cabinet and takes her hand.
“What?” Katy says with a burst of laughter and a screwed up look of confusion.
Kris shakes his head. “Sorry, it’s an old, really bad joke,” he tells her. He leads them around the edge of the living room and into his bedroom, which isn’t any cleaner than the rest of the apartment.
Katy puts a hand to her face as she looks at the pile of clothes that is spilling out of the closet. “Kris, you really need a girl, so you’re motivated to clean this up.”
“Or maybe,” Kris says with a lopsided grin, turning to face her. “I just need one to be my maid - a bikini maid.”
Katy lets go of his hand and crosses her arms over her chest. She is, clearly, not amused when she gives him a look that makes him feel immediately shamed. Kris lets out a laugh that scrunches his face. He lunges to press a kiss to her cheek. A small pout pushes through his smile as he gently touches her face with his fingertips.
“I’m incorrigible, I know,” he mumbles. His pulse leaps when Katy rests her hands to his chest. She hums and then smiles as she watches her finger make lazy circles over his collarbone. Kris bites down on his bottom lip. It’s unfair how easily she rouses him.
“You’re just silly,” Katy says quietly, tipping her head to look into his tired eyes. “You should sleep.”
Kris’s fingertips slide until he is brushing her face with his warm palm. “I should,” he agrees with a nod. He dips to steal a soft kiss that makes Katy’s hands stall and her eyes flutter closed. “But my bed’s cold.”
Katy smirks against his lips. Her fingers scratch lightly at his chest. “Not for long,” she says in a sultry whisper. Her eyes open to half-mast, but quickly close, again, when Kris cups her face with both hands and pulls her into a kiss. Katy returns the kiss and bounces up on her toes as she embraces him.
Kris soon realizes he has stopped breathing in anticipation of Katy removing clothes. When she doesn’t, Kris breaks the kiss and hugs her to his chest. He lets out a heavy breath as he pets her hair. Katy smiles against his shoulder before she gives him a good squeeze. Kris kisses her temple, and he steps out of her arms. Watching the look in her eyes, he backs them toward the bed.
“We don’t have to-“ instinctively leaks from his lips.
“We’re not going to,” Katy interrupts in a flat tone before she raises her brow to form a stern look.
“Good answer.”
Relief loosens Kris’s tired shoulders, which fall as he sits on the bed. He removes his shoes one at a time as Katy climbs onto the bed. She walks on her knees around Kris, who follows her with his eyes. He smiles slowly as her arms wrap around him to hold his chest. She rests her chin on his shoulder.
“I haven’t slept in my clothes since college,” Katy muses before placing a quick peck on his cheek. A few locks of her silky hair to fall forward.
Kris chuckles and shrugs before he looks over his shoulder, at her. “You don’t have to. I could get you a t-shirt and pajamas or something.”
Katy shakes her head. “You’re in bed and you’re staying in bed.”
Snickering, Kris leans back into her embrace. He tips his head and brings up a hand to hold her face. “I can live with that one.”
Their kiss is soft, albeit at a slightly awkward angle. As she leans over his shoulder to better meet his lips, more of Katy’s hair falls forward and Kris breathes in the scent - a flowery sweetness mixed with the stale smell of a bar. He smiles as her fingers touch his face. Kisses pass until he can feel his cheeks flushing and his lips bruising.
“I know I need to sleep,” Kris says, still leaning against Katy, “but I can’t stop kissing you.”
Katy grins. “Maybe, it’s because you want to make up for lost time?”
“No, that’s definitely it,” Kris says with a soft breath of laughter. “Tonight has been amazing.”
Katy tucks her face into his neck. “You did a pretty good job of sweeping me off my feet,” she whispers against his skin. It makes him flush more as he smiles.
“I’m just playing it by ear.”
“It’s what you’re best at,” Katy says before nudging him in the ribs. “And you’re about to fall asleep on me. Literally.”
Kris sighs out a chuckle. “You make a good body pillow,” he says. Katy laughs.
Kris pulls out of her hold and sits forward. The quick movement makes him dizzy. He closes his eyes as he turns and drags his legs up onto the bed. As soon as his head finds a pillow, Katy is resting her head just below his collarbone. Kris puts a lazy arm around her before he leans up to kiss the top of her head. Katy smiles against his chest, which she scratches lightly with her nails for the second time that night. Kris enjoys the sensation.
Seconds pass slowly as Kris struggles to stay awake. He savors the feeling of Katy rising and falling with his breathing, and the softness of her hair tucked under his arm. His free hand finds and covers her hand on his chest. “Are you sure you’re comfortable?” Kris asks quietly.
Katy lifts her face. She looks calm. “I’m not moving unless you want me to,” she says.
“You’re not cold or anything? You could get under the blankets. I don’t mind.”
She smiles. “I’m fine.” Pausing, she tilts her head. “If you want me to move, just ask me to.”
Kris swallows over the tightness in his throat. He still can’t believe this night is happening. He wishes he wasn’t struggling to keep his eyes open. There’s a lot on his mind.
“What if I asked you to never move?” he says in a thick, sleepy tone.
Katy blinks at him before tucking her face against his chest. “If only you’d said those words ten years ago,” is the last thing Kris hears before he’s asleep.
Kris awakes the following morning to the sound of his alarm - a radio report on traffic - which he needs to reach past Katy to turn off. He does so carefully; he lets go of her to reach across the bed and strains to flick the switch on top of the alarm clock.
“Want me to get that?” Katy asks as he shifts beneath her to lengthen his reach. Kris inches closer to the night stand. His fingers catch on the switch and the radio clicks off. He droops and puffs out a breath.
“Nope,” Kris says curtly. He draws himself back and hugs her. “Sorry, I woke you up,” he rumbles as he leans forward to kiss her hair.
“You didn’t wake me up,” Katy says. She turns her head to rest her chin on his chest, which allows her to look at him. “I was awake before the alarm. I have to get up early to look good for the day job.”
Kris snorts lightly. “I can’t see you having to do much,” he says with a yawn, but suddenly yelps when Katy pinches his side. “What was that for?”
“It was your ‘wake-up’ pinch,” she replies with a warm laugh in her voice.
Kris slowly grins. “I could have sworn I was still dreaming.”
“Why?” Katy asks though she’s already blushing.
Kris brushes back some of her sleep-mussed hair. He slowly recalls everything that happened the night before - including what Katy had said to him when he dozed off. As he stares at Katy, his thoughts come to the conclusion that he never, ever wants to wake up lonely, again.
Kris sighs in sudden frustration. He wants to say something ridiculously romantic to Katy, but nothing comes to him other than a little ditty. “I’m in love and it’s a sunny day,” he, finally, sings in answer. The pitch is a low, almost hoarse voice.
Katy doesn’t hesitate to crawl up for a kiss. Kris’s pulse hits full tilt as he reciprocates and holds her steady as she takes his breath away. The deeply passionate kiss makes his stomach knot with trepidation. He knows that they both have to leave for work and eventually, Katy has to leave for home.
“I guess that was a good enough answer for you?” Kris says with a strained laugh. When Katy pulls back, Kris is startled to see tears pricking at her hazel eyes. “But I didn’t think it would make you cry,” he adds in concern.
“I had to see you last night,” bursts from Katy’s lips. “I had to know if you still felt something. And now, you’re singing to me and…” She shakes her head and kisses him.
Kris holds her tighter. Everything she just said was a beat-down on his heart and soul. He tangles his fingers in a handful of blond hair at the nape of her neck as they share watery kisses. Somehow, he manages to keep himself calm as Katy melts in his arms.
“Katy,” he says quietly between kisses. “Katy, I still love you.”
She breathily laughs through the tears. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
“You could have asked.”
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
“Still…” Kris stutters a breath as his emotions finally get the best of him. “I don’t want to be lonely, anymore,” he says solemnly. He waits for Katy to raise her face. When she does, he stares into her puffy eyes. “I want to wake up with you.”
There’s a hint of a smile on Katy’s face. “Good day, Sunshine,” she mumbles. “You have to sing that to me, every day that I’m here.” She pulls another kiss from his lips. “I love you, Kristopher.”
“I love you, Katherine.”
“Only took us a decade to get that out of the way,” Katy replies grimly and sniffs.
Kris wraps his arms around her. He tightens his hold until she squeals. “Ah, see? I knew there was still a smile in there,” he says before burying a kiss into her hair.
Katy snuggles down as her sobbing ceases. “What are we going to do?” she says with a sigh.
A proverbial stone sinks in Kris’s stomach as reality hits him. She’s going back to California, where she has an amazing job and an amazing life. There is little room for a long-distance relationship with a Nobody from Arkansas. It isn’t practical and there is no way in hell it’s going to work. All they have between them is one pseudo one-night stand and a bunch of words. How can there be a relationship? Kris doesn’t know, but he does know one thing… “I don’t want to lose you, again,” he says earnestly.
“I know.” Katy’s voice is cracking. “I know. I don’t know how to make this work,” she says with a sniff. She huffs and there is a hint of a smile on her face. “You have no idea how aggravating that is for me to say.”
Kris snickers. It marvels him that she’s able to make him laugh when he feels miserable. “How much longer are you here?” he asks as he gives a reassuring rub to her bare arm.
“Until Friday.”
Three days - three work days - were all they had.
After racking his groggy brain for a solution, Kris sighs heavily in defeat. “Well, I’ve never been to California,” he says.
Katy rolls her body and pushes up on an arm to look into his eyes. “You have a life here.”
“Not much of one.”
“But still-“
“You could put me up for a week or so,” Kris interrupts, “and we’ll see what happens.”
Katy narrows a thin frown at him. “You have a job.”
Kris shrugs. “I’ve never liked it much.”
“Kris, this is serious,” Katy says flatly. “California isn’t the answer to everything. Most people don’t make it there.”
“I thought you were an optimist?”
Katy slumps as she ducks her gaze. “I’m also a realist,” she quietly replies.
Kris shifts until he can sit up against the pillows. He lifts Katy’s chin with his fingers to see tears shining in her eyes, again. She apprehensively turns away her face, but Kris drags her back for a soft kiss that turns into kisses.
“Let’s make the best of these next few days and then see what happens?” Kris suggests.
Katy nods as she slides forward to bury her face in his chest. She doesn’t sob, but makes quiet little sniffs that tear at Kris’s heart.
As the moments pass, the bedside clock catches Kris’s eye and reminds him that he is going to be late for work. He knows there will be consequences, but it’s not the first time he’s been late and who knows, he might not be working there much longer.
“Sing me something no one’s ever heard,” Katy says suddenly in such a sweet voice that it warms his bruised heart.
“Really?” Kris blurts and his brow rises. Katy just nods against his chest; he hugs her tighter.
Sing her something no one’s ever heard? What the heck is supposed to do? Sing her the phone book? But Kris knows what she really means. She wants to hear some of his original music, which Kris rarely sings for himself, let alone an audience. It’s strange, though. With her in his arms, he feels like he could sing “I’m a Little Teacup” and not be embarrassed.
Kris clears his throat and Katy cuddles closer. Thoughts of work and heartbreak quickly fall to the wayside. He decides to go with a song that he knows well. It feels pertinent to the moment.
“Sunny days come and gone away,” he sings softly. “And she has let her mind take control today…”