“Why do you always do that,” he asked.
“Do what?”
“You always look for an excuse to stay in your bubble.”
“What bubble? I’m just staying with people I understand. I don’t understand you and your hockey player friends,” she said.
Henry leaned back in his chair. Kara really didn’t want to say no. She actually was interested in going to the party and seeing if anyone else she knew had decided to take the time out to have fun. She was even interested in spending time with Henry, but the people he liked to spend time with always seemed too popular. Popularity and intelligence just don’t mix.
“Why don’t you just go with Victoria, I’ve heard she likes you,” Kara said.
“Ah, Victoria. She’s about as interesting as a brick and about as smart as one,” he said, tossing the handball and catching it.
“Wow, you’re nice to people that like you. I’d hate to see what you’re like to people that hate you,” Kara said sarcastically.
“If you keep turning me down, you just might find out,” he replied.
“If I accept your offer then I’ll be in the same boat as Victoria; I know how many notches you have on your belt,” Kara quipped.
“There’s only one notch that I’m really interested in, but she just doesn’t seem that interested,” he said with a wink.
“She’d be interested if you were a little less full of yourself,” Kara replied.
“And he’d be a little less full of himself if she’d stop living inside of a shell,” he added.
Kara slammed the last of her books closed and started stuffing them into her bag. She wasn’t interested in sticking around and listening to his drivel. It wasn’t the first time they’d had a heated discussion and probably wouldn’t be the last.
“Great, just run away like you always do,” he said.
“I’m leaving because you won’t.”
“Hey, Henry! How’s the date going,” said one of his teammates, jokingly, from the bottom of the stairs.
“Going great, we get married next week,” he shouted with a grin.
Kara rolled her eyes and stood up to leave. Henry stood and shot out in front of her, blocking her path.
“Kara, please. Come to the party tonight. If you come tonight, then I won’t bother you ever again. I promise you’ll have fun,” he said.
She relaxed her shoulders and threw her head back, taking a deep breath.
“You promise, for sure you promise,” she asked.
“Sure, if it’ll get you to go,” he replied.
Kara had wanted to say yes the first time he asked her out. But, his reputation had always preceded him. He’d date unscrupulously and drank like a sailor. Then there were his supposed habits with money.
“Fine,” she said, “but it isn’t a date.”
“You finally said yes! This is the happiest day of my life,” he sarcastically boasted, “I wonder what gown I’ll wear to the ball.”
He danced his way off, down the stairs, until he joined up with his friend. As his final act before leaving, he blew a kiss to Kara.
She regretted having said yes; perhaps she would turn her phone off and pretend to be asleep, instead.
2.
It must have been passed ten when her phone started dancing its way across her nightstand. Her comforter was just the right temperature, and she deigned the idea of moving. Still, she rolled herself to her side and palmed her phone. With a click on the device, she answered.
“What,” Kara mouthed.
“You haven’t shown, I thought you promised,” returned the voice of Henry.
“No, I promised nothing. You just promised you’d leave me alone if I went,” she replied.
“I see you don’t want me to stop bothering you. You’re quite a schemer,” said the smug voice of Henry again.
Kara let out a drawn out sigh.
“How did you even get my number,” she asked.
“I’ll tell you when you get here,” he replied, clicking off the receiver.
Kara was hopelessly stuck. She wanted to stay home and be comfortable. It would be an early day tomorrow, so at least, she had an excuse to leave early.
Having been almost laundry day, Kara was lacking in interesting things to wear, so she just pulled on whatever was lying around and left.
The party was, thankfully, nearby. Kara pulled her jacket a little tighter as she walked the empty sidewalks to the house just down the street. While she walked, she wondered. Why wouldn’t Henry just leave her alone after she said no the first hundred times?
The lights from the party spilled to the roadside, making the shadows of the guests dance in odd ways. Music was playing tastefully loud inside, and the conversation echoed out into the night.