Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (6 page)

 “Don’t,” I
whispered.

  “I want to see
them, Katie, all of them.”

 I started to turn
my head. I couldn’t bear to look at his face and remember the things he had
done to me, but his hand shot up, grasping the side of my face, stopping me.

He spoke in a low
firm voice, “Either you show me yourself, or I’ll take your pants off to see
them.”

 I took a deep
breath and unbuttoned my jeans. I folded the waistband over so he could see all
the bruises.

 He brushed his
finger lightly over one. “I’m so sorry, Katie. I won’t do it again,” he
whispered.

 He leaned over and
kissed every bruise. He turned me to the other side, doing the same before
kissing the two on my belly. Even though it felt wrong, it still melted my
heart to see him do this, to know that he really was sorry for what he’d done.
I buttoned my pants as he stood up. He pulled me into his arms, giving me a
gentle kiss.

 “I love you,” he
said, his voice ringing with sincerity

  “I love you too,” I
replied, meaning it with all my heart.

 As we got into his
jeep, he gave me his cocky grin. “I’m glad your parents trust you,” he said and
winked.

 I looked at him,
suddenly uncomfortable, as I wondered what he meant by that. Seth was different
now, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

Over the next couple
of weeks, things seemed to go back to the way they were before the incident at
his jeep. Seth was gentle and kind, walking me to class and holding my hand.

     He didn’t have
a game that week, so we were going to hang out at my house on Friday night. I
warned him before he came over that my dad would probably want to talk to him.
He’d laughed, and said he could handle it. He arrived at seven, and Mom ordered
pizza for everyone. We sat at the table and Dad said grace. I peeked over at
Seth and saw that he had his head bowed. I closed my eyes and smiled,
remembering what he told me when we first started dating. He’d said that he
prayed before every football game. I smiled and told him I did the same.

 “So Seth, I hear
you’re in love with my daughter,” my dad stated, a bland look on his face.

Really Dad!!
I thought,
cringing. Seth swallowed
his bite and took a long drink of his water. I tensed, afraid of his reply. He
set his glass down and met Dad’s piercing gaze.

 “Yes sir, I am.”

 “Well, we have
certain expectations for whomever Katie dates. She’s told you how she feels
about a physical relationship, and I want to make sure you understand how
important it is that you respect that.”

 I groaned, covering
my face with my hand. “Daddy,” I whispered and shook my head. I wanted to crawl
under the table. Seth reached over and squeezed my leg gently.

“Yes sir. She told
me, and I totally respect that. I will follow whatever decision she has made.”

 Dad smiled, pleased
with Seth’s answer. “Good. I’m glad to hear it, son.”

Dinner continued
with casual conversation flowing between my parents and Seth. I was too
mortified to join in. Dad had already quizzed him during his last visit about
his faith, plans for college, and what he wanted to do with the rest of his
life. Seth had been accepted to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and I
had been accepted to Union University in Jackson. It was sad that we weren’t
going off to college together, but I wasn’t going to change my mind no matter
how much he or Hallie pressured me. She was very upset because she was going to
U of T also and didn’t understand why I wasn’t, especially now that Seth and I
were a couple. I explained to her that I knew from the age of twelve that I was
meant to serve the Lord in some way after college. I didn’t yet have a
direction, but I felt like Union was where God wanted me to go. She said she
understood after that, but every once in a while she would mention it again. My
answer always remained the same- no.

 My parents went
upstairs to their room after dinner, leaving us alone in the living room to
watch a movie. Seth had brought over a scary movie even though he knew I hated
them. I’d never been able to watch them without having bad dreams. This one was
pretty violent and gory, so I clung to a throw pillow and kept my eyes covered
for most of the movie. When it was over, I felt a little queasy.

“You are
unbelievable,” Seth declared.

 I turned to him, a
look of confusion on my face. “Why do you say that?”

“I picked this movie
so you would be scared and snuggle up to me, but instead you held on to that
pillow,” he said, snatching it out of my hands before throwing it to the floor.

I eased back into
the couch, hands raised in front of my body, instinctively protecting myself
for a blow that never came. “I’m sorry, Seth. I didn’t even think about that.”

 He blew out a loud
breath, running his hands through his hair. “I know and that makes it worse.”

 I swallowed back my
sharp reply and kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to cause a fight.

He reached into his
pocket and pulled out his phone, checking the time. “Do you think we could go
for a ride?”

 “Uh, let me go ask
my parents,” I replied, slipping past him.

Seth sighed loudly
as he flopped back against the couch. I hustled upstairs and got permission. As
he helped me into the jeep, he sent someone a text message. I didn’t comment on
it, I wasn’t sure he would tell me who it was anyway.

Once he was inside, I
asked where we were headed but he didn’t answer, only smiled. He drove over to
the rich part of town and pulled into the driveway of a gigantic house I didn’t
recognize.

  “Whose house is
this?” I asked, feeling an uneasy knot form in the pit of my stomach because in
the back of my mind, I already knew.

 He gave me a smile,
as if sensing my unease. It seemed sincere, but in the darkened jeep, I
couldn’t be sure. “JT’s. He was having a few friends over, and I wanted to
bring you by.”

 I stiffened in the
seat, my fears confirmed. I didn’t want to be anywhere near JT, but if I wanted
to spend time with Seth, I would just have to deal with it.

 “Okay, but I can’t
stay long,” I insisted.

He led me inside
through an elegant foyer, past a state-of-the-art kitchen, and into a spacious
game room. Several kids I knew from school stood around with plastic cups in
their hands, full of what, I didn’t want to know. Music blared from hidden speakers,
and curse words flew from the guys sitting on the couch with controllers in
their hands. They were battling it out, their army men fighting to the death on
a giant flat screen television mounted to the wall. It was almost more than I could
handle. My senses were overloaded. I’d never been to a high school party, but I
assumed this was what they were all like
. Where are his parents?
Just as
the thought entered my mind, I spotted an older woman, cup in hand, leaving
bags of chips on a nearby table. Noticing me, she smiled and gave me a small
wave before sashaying away.
Well, I guess that answers my question.

“This is great,
huh?” Seth shouted in my ear, startling me.

In taking in all the
new sights around me, I’d forgotten he was there. “Uh, sure,” I replied, just
to keep him happy.

As I looked around,
I saw a handful of guys huddled around a pool table. JT was one of them. Seth
left my side to join the game, so I scurried over to an empty couch facing the
pool table and sat down. I watched them all bump fists before one of them
passed Seth a cup. JT laughed at something Seth said and glanced over at me. I
kept my face unreadable. I wouldn’t let him get to me. Ever since he accosted
me outside the bathroom that night after the football game, he would occasionally
make little snide comments to me- which I ignored. He studied my face for a
moment, before giving me an almost sincere looking smile. He leaned over to
Seth, whispering in his ear. Seth broke out into a smug grin and nodded his
head as JT handed him his pool stick. JT swaggered over and sat down close to
me on the couch. I looked straight ahead, pretending he wasn’t there.

“Katie,” he purred
in my ear.

 I had to lean to
the side to look at him because he was so close. “JT,” I said flatly, mentally
preparing myself for whatever barbs he threw.

 “Seth tells me your
daddy had a little talk with him about you not wanting a,” he paused, running
his hand along my ponytail before continuing, “physical relationship,” he said,
contempt dripping from his voice.

 I felt heat fill my
cheeks and bit down hard on my lip, trying to fight it.

 “Oh look, I made you
blush,” he said, stroking his finger down my cheek.

 I flinched and
scooted away from him. I looked up, my eyes meeting Seth’s. He grinned but as I
got up to go to him, JT grabbed my hand, pulling me back down on the couch.

 “You can’t leave
yet, Katie. I need to talk to you.”

 I glared at him.
“Say what you have to say, JT, because I’m ready to leave,” I spat out.

He released my hand
and looked deep into my eyes. “Seth really does love you, but he’s not going to
stick around if you don’t ditch this good girl attitude. He can have any girl
he wants, but he wants you. You need to do whatever it takes to keep him. Do
you understand what I’m telling you?” he asked.

I understood exactly
what he was telling me and it was infuriating. “I don’t see how any of this is
your business.”

 He grinned and
leaned close. “Seth is my best friend and always has been. We talk about all
kinds of things, and I hate to see him wasting his time with you.”

 I rolled my eyes.
“Gee, thanks for the unwanted advice, JT.”

 He leaned even
closer, whispering in my ear. I shuddered as his warm breath blew against my
neck. “I’m going to tell you something but if you say anything to Seth, I’ll deny
it. I would be honored if you let me take care of your first physical
experience. You don’t want to waste that on him,” he said and kissed me below
my ear.

 I swallowed hard,
fighting back the waves of nausea as they crashed over me. He was repulsive. I
closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath. I turned and stared into his
bright blue eyes.  Suddenly, I didn’t feel disgust for him anymore. I felt
something else, pity. He had everything going for him but was completely lost.
I couldn’t stop the tear that fell from my eye as my heart broke for JT Grant.

 I reached over, put
my hand over his and squeezed. “I’ll be praying for you, JT,” I said, meaning
it with all my heart.

  I watched as his
cocky grin fell. This time when I stood up, he didn’t try to stop me and I walked
away. I found my way outside and climbed into Seth’s jeep. I didn’t care if he
got angry at me for leaving the party. I’d had enough.

Seth came out twenty
minutes later but didn’t mention JT, so I figured he didn’t tell him what I had
said.

 He dropped me off
at home with a sweet kiss goodnight and started back to his jeep. As he stopped
to open the door, he called out over his shoulder. “Katie, I love you, but
don’t tell my friends that you’ll be praying for them.”

He climbed on in,
started his jeep, and pulled away, leaving me alone on the porch with my
thoughts.
So JT had told him
.
Oh well, I’m not ashamed, and I’m not
going to stop praying for JT- or for Seth.

***

 Our two month
anniversary came three weeks later, and Seth wouldn’t tell me what he had
planned. He said it was a surprise. He showed up at my door with a bouquet of
pink roses.

“Where are you guys
headed tonight?” Mom asked as she dug under the kitchen sink for a vase.

 He winked at me and
replied, “I’m taking Katie to dinner and then we’ll probably see a movie. She
won’t be out too late, I promise.”

 
Liar!!
We
never went to the movies anymore. I only hoped it wasn’t another Friday night
at JT’s house. I didn’t know if I could handle close contact with him again. He
acted even worse towards me ever since that prayer incident. His staring had
become constant, and he had even made a lewd comment about my breasts when Seth
was out of ear shot. I grew more concerned as each day passed.

We said our goodbyes
to my parents and were out the door. I got in the jeep, and as soon as he was
in his seat, I turned to him.

     “So where are
we really going?” I asked, praying it was really out to dinner.

 He chuckled, aware
of my concern. “You’ll see.”

 We backed out of
the driveway and started down the road. I watched out the window, trying to
figure out where we were going. I was nervous but excited to find out what he
had planned. After a few minutes, we turned a corner and I recognized the
street.

     “Are we going
to your house?”

     Seth shot me a
wide-eyed grin. I laughed but still wondered what he was up to. We pulled into
his driveway and he pushed the button that controlled the garage door. As it
opened, I noticed it was empty.
Where are his parents’ cars?
Alarms
began sounding in my head, but I told myself it was okay. Seth knew my
boundaries and respected me. He had been trying to do more things than hold my
hand and kiss me, but had always accepted it when I said no.

He turned off the
jeep and turned to look at me. “My mom and stepdad are out of town tonight, so
we have the whole house to ourselves.”

 I felt myself blush
and lowered my head. “Uh, I don’t think this is a good idea,” I said softly.

 He placed his
finger under my chin, bringing my face up even with his. “You trust me don’t
you, Katie?

 I tried to convince
myself I was just being silly. Seth wouldn’t make me do anything. Sure, he’d
hurt me that one time but he apologized for it and hadn’t done it again.

  “Of course,” I
replied, sliding out of the jeep.

 “That’s my girl,” I
heard him say before I closed the door.

 He led me through
the house and out onto the back deck. I gasped when I saw the white twinkling
lights in the bushes and along the deck rails. My heart swelled. He had done
all this for me.

 “Oh Seth, it’s
beautiful.”

  “It’s not nearly
as beautiful as you.”

 He wrapped his arms
around me and pulled me to him. He kissed me deeply, and I was breathless as we
finally pulled apart.