Page 16 of Love Bites
“Broken heart?” Rosa asked.
Was it that obvious? Katheryn wanted to scream. Instead, she swallowed the lump in her throat but didn’t respond to Rosa’s question. She busied herself with the drink the waiter had dropped off. It was fluorescent yellow, with green olives at the bottom. Katheryn toyed with the rim of her glass.
“Been there,” Rosa said, as if Katheryn’s response weren’t at all necessary. “It.... How do they say it in America? Bites. Yes, love bites.”
Katheryn chuckled. “It sure does.” She sighed and leaned her elbow on the bar, resting her chin on her hand, echoing Rosa’s words. “Love bites.”
“But to make you feel better, I will buy you a drink. I think, at the end of the night, we will become great friends.”
Rosa patted Katheryn’s back then waved the bartender over and ordered her a beer.
Despite her initial shallowness, Rosa turned out to be a nice person, if a little shallow. She was a model, though that didn’t really surprise Katheryn. With a body like that and the way he sneered at anyone who was even remotely badly dress kind of gave it away.
Besides her weird beauty obsession, Rosa was great company. She made Katheryn laugh, made her feel comfortable and to her surprise, it was like finding a long lost friend.
A few beers and martinis later, Katheryn felt her face flame warm red. Rosa also looked a bit flushed. “So, why is someone like you single?” Katheryn asked after a bout of laughter.
Rosa flushed deeper than before, and it wasn’t the alcohol.
“Well, you see,” she began, her tone borderline exasperation, but jittery and...in love. “I’m not single. I mean, I am but not for long. There’s this guy—”
“There’s always a guy...”
Rosa laughed. “Well, I’m madly in love with him! We had a romantic encounter a few months ago...” She blushed, brown eyes flashing as she obviously recalled the moment.
“So, you had sex?” Katheryn blurted, reading between the lines, causing Rosa to turn nearly the color of Katheryn’s hair.
“Yes,” Rosa admitted. “And it sparked something in me. I just knew it was true love. That he was the other half of my heart.”
Katheryn didn’t know why she thought of Ignacio, but when the image of his face formed, she pushed it to the back of her mind and slammed that door shut.
“He likes to play hard to get, but I know he’ll come to me, once he realizes he can’t be without me.” Rosa fluttered an exaggerated sigh and fanned herself with a menu.
Katheryn studied Rosa, resisting the urge to tell her the man probably wouldn’t look for her, that the reason he was playing hard to get was because she had been just another hit-it and quit-it on his list.
Bitterness talking,she reminded herself and kept quiet. It wouldn’t do good to crush Rosa’s hopes just to make herself feel better. Better to let her live and relish her fantasy. After all, ignorance is bliss.
Katheryn’s harsh ringtone interrupted their conversation. This time, she didn’t even bother to look at the caller ID.
Rosa eyed her curiously. “Is it the ex-boyfriend again?”
Katheryn shrugged. “Could be my parents.”
“And why do you ignore them?”
“Because I don’t feel like talking and explaining.”
“They do not know you are in Spain?”
Katheryn shook her head.
Rosa’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Will they not be worried?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, you must answer then and explain things. Tell them what happened with the hunter, and they will understand.”
Doubt it.
