Chapter 33

Yong
Yong’s roommate, Kat, had briefly dated David. That had come to a crashing halt when he’d brought her home drunk once again. Yong had been attracted to David from the moment she laid eyes on him. Kat had shared that he was both a football and baseball player, and jocks were Young’s weakness. She liked her men big and athletic.

She’d felt horrible about what had happened, especially knowing that Kat had previously gone through a terrible breakup. It had resulted in her roomate dropping out of Yale and coming home at Christmastime, which had caused no end of trouble for Kat.

Kat’s mother ran the local office for Senator Hatley. Her father was the managing partner of the law firm Burrows and Burrows, one of LA’s most connected law firms. Both of Kat’s older brothers worked at the law firm, and the plan had been for Kat to join them.

Her ex was Daniel Hatley, the senator’s favorite grandson. Kat long suspected that some kind of arrangement had been made that would someday find her married to Daniel. They’d been paired together at dinners and the like since they were in high school.

From what Kat had told her, it had just been easier to date Daniel than to fight it. So, when Kat caught him cheating, she took that as a sign and ran when the semester ended. Her parents were upset that she’d rebelled. From that came Kat’s further rebellion, including her tattoos, Goth look, moving in with Yong, and working at a coffee shop until she could figure out her next move.

The coffee shop was close to Sandoval Hall, which everyone called ‘The Palace’ because it was where the rich and famous lived. Kat arrived home the first few days after the students trickled back to campus, complaining about the entitled jerks that came in and hit on her. It reminded her too much of the crowd Daniel ran with at Yale.

If it hadn’t been for the owner, Doreen, Kat might have hit back physically. Doreen was a unique individual. She was always upbeat, loved to blast music in the shop, and had a penchant for younger men. The first time Kat had met David, Doreen had him cornered and was making a move on him. Kat had told Yong that when she first saw David, all thoughts of Daniel had fled her mind.

Yong found it amusing, listening to her roommate switch from a daily ‘poor me’ to an equally daily ‘I met this hot guy.’ It was almost a relief when Kat came home and announced that they had a date.

Yong had to admit that she was curious about what kind of man would cause her roommate to act half crazy. She’d purposefully dressed to see if he had a wandering eye like Kat’s last boyfriend had. David did check her out, but as soon as he saw Kat, he didn’t give Yong a second look.

No time at all had passed on their first date before David brought Kat home, falling-down drunk. Yong first worried he’d gotten her that way so he could take advantage of her. The way Kat was pawing at him, every other guy Yong knew would have taken their shot. When he didn’t, Yong took a second look at David.

She did a quick internet search on him to see if he was a serial killer and found he was the David A. Dawson. That made her want him even more, especially when she found some of his modeling pictures sans shirt.

For the most part, Kat was a great girl. Her only major flaw was that she’d become a binge drinker. Since David didn’t really drink, their relationship was doomed.

On the last date they’d had, Yong hadn’t set out to sleep with David. But when she did ... Holy hell! He made her feel things she’d only read about in romance novels. When Kat caught them, Yong’s perfect moment came crashing down around her.

The worst part was that after experiencing pleasure like that, she knew she would do just about anything for more. The situation was a mess, though, especially when David ghosted Kat. Yong found it amusing that Doreen took the news harder than either Yong or Kat had.

The question was, should Yong tell Kat that she’d had lunch with David?

Especially since all she could think of was his ... his manhood. In her mind’s eye, she saw his rampant member, enormous and thick and pink and straining, so engorged with blood that it was near to bursting. It was attached to a near-perfect specimen of a man, one that should be in a museum, not running loose on the USC campus.

Yong was making stir fry when Kat got home from work.

“How was your day?” Kat asked.

Yong kept her eyes on what she was doing and decided to tell her.

“I had lunch with David.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Yong saw her roommate stiffen.

“He gave me a couple of tickets to his game tomorrow night if you wanted to go with me,” she continued.

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea. It would feel like I’m stalking him after ... you know.”

“When will you ever get this chance again? Never, probably,” Yong said as she poured the contents of the wok into a large bowl.

Yong could see that Kat was not all right with what she’d said.

“Stop judging me with your looks of pity,” Kat said.

“Kat, you need closure.”

“I feel assumptions from you. I feel judgment from you. You don’t know my situation. You don’t know what’s in my heart,” Kat all but sobbed as she ran out of the room.

Kat
Kat had come to realize that she wasn’t really all that mad at either Yong or David. What had happened was on her. If the shoe had been on the other foot, she might not have slept with David’s roommate, but she doubted she would have gone out with him again.

The first time had been an accident. Kat had never before taken the pills her friend gave her to help calm her nerves. When she slammed a drink, the combination had her on her ass way too fast. The second time was all her fault.

She’d gone out on a date with David A. Dawson, for goodness’ sake.

Yes, he acted like a regular guy, but it was still him. Kat had been nervous, which led to having a few too many in a very short time. It didn’t help that she had rarely drunk when she was at Yale. She was not yet able to judge how many was too many.

On top of that, Kat had almost no experience with dating. Daniel had simply shown up at events and was her escort. When she’d been younger, everything was done in front of their parents, so everyone was on their best behavior.

Once in college, Daniel had made it clear that he had his friends, and she should make her own. Her dorm was full of snobs. That was one reason why the people from The Palace put her teeth on edge.

Her sex life had been all but nonexistent. Kat was expected to be the good girl, and she’d played that role through high school. When she got to college, Kat had slept with Daniel a few times. He’d forced the issue by telling her that he wasn’t going to marry someone he hadn’t tried out, so she did it out of obligation.

Their encounters happened late at night after Daniel had been out drinking. It had always been quick and in the dark. He would call, come over, and then lay on top of her until he finished.

When they were together the last time, Daniel had had the nerve to say that he hoped she got pregnant. That way, they could hurry up and get married, and her parents wouldn’t have to waste any more money on her education. Daniel shared that her dad really didn’t want her to join his firm. Kat’s father would rather she raise babies and do charity work if she got bored, leaving the ‘real work’ to men.

Any ordinary girl would have been nervous about going on a date with David. She’d read the tabloids about him spending time with models, actresses, and even a princess. There was no way Kat could compete with them. Plus, he had to expect a certain level of knowledge in the sack. With Daniel, she’d never had an opportunity to ... handle the merchandise, shall we say. If David wanted to do anything besides turning off the lights and putting it in, she was clueless.

It didn’t help that she’d overheard Yong all but lose her mind when she was with David. When Kat had walked in on them, what she’d seen and heard had simultaneously frightened and aroused her. She had heard Yong with her boyfriend last semester, and the girl had never been vocal before. At first, Yong’s screams of passion had made Kat worry she was being killed, or worse. She’d thought noises like that were only in porn videos and were as fake as the rest of it.

Kat had tried to get over David. She’d even gone out with a sweet, nerdy guy. When he’d kissed her goodnight, Kat had flinched. That was all it took for her to know to not accept a second date.

Yong was right. When would Kat ever get another chance? Before she chickened out, she marched out and told her roommate she would go with her to the game.

At work, Kat made the mistake of telling Doreen that she was going to see David. She tried to explain that he had no idea she was coming as Yong’s guest to the game. Since he’d given the tickets to Yong, it meant he wanted to see Yong again, not Kat.

Doreen would hear none of that. She made Kat promise to tell David that if he came back to the shop, his tea would be free, and it wouldn’t be awkward. Which was total BS because Kat knew that Doreen would hit on the poor boy. Kat had almost come to the conclusion that David might be what Doreen needed. If he could shag Doreen as well as it had sounded he’d shagged Yong, her boss might end up satisfied enough to stop sexually harassing the customers.

When work was finally over, she went home to get ready for the game. Kat had decided that if she met him and looked like an ordinary girl, maybe he would give her a second chance. That was why when she came out, Yong just about dropped dead from shock.

“What’s going on? You’re not Goth.”

“I thought I would try something different tonight. Do you think I should go back and change?” Kat asked.

“We don’t have time for that. Let’s go,” Yong said, making up her mind for her.

Yong
The game had been exciting. David had hit three home runs, including the game-winner, in a close one. Yong had no idea that USC baseball had become such a big deal. The stadium was packed, unexpectedly so for a Wednesday night game.