Chapter Two: Suspicious Mind

"Morning, sweetheart."

A kiss on the cheek and the smell of bacon and eggs awoke Katie. She sat up as Josh placed a plate of breakfast in front of her.

"Aww, you didn't have to do this."

"But I wanted to," Josh smiled sweetly at her. "You deserve breakfast in bed every once in a while."

He sat beside her and watched as she began eating her eggs. His face lit up at the sight of Katie savoring every bite. She had always told him he was a good cook, more so than she was. And her face was testimony to that.

Katie stuck her fork into a piece of egg and held it out for Josh to eat. She hated to be stingy when it came to him cooking her food. She wanted to give him the opportunity to take pleasure in the fruits of his labor as well.

"Is Patrick awake?" Katie asked as Josh swallowed his food.

"No. He's still in bed. I checked in on him after I got up."

"I'm surprised he fell asleep. I thought he would have stayed up all night thinking about Stephanie."

"Can we please not mention her name anymore?"

Josh and Katie glanced over and saw Patrick leaning against the doorway.

"Hey, bro. How you feel?"

"Pretty good," Patrick managed a smile. "I did a lot of thinking last night in bed and I came to the realization that I can't allow Stephanie's infidelity to have control over my life. And as much as it's going to hurt, I'm ready to move on."

"I'm glad to hear that," Katie smiled at him.

"Yeah," Josh nodded. "Hey, maybe we could hit the town tonight and see if we can find you another woman."

"No thanks," Patrick frowned. "I think I'll enjoy being single for a while. I forgot what that actually feels like."

"Yeah, well whatever you do, don't go back to your old ways and start up with your friends with benefits concept," Josh chuckled. "I mean, I know you love sex and all, but there's no reason for that kind of behavior."

"Please," Patrick rolled his eyes. "I haven't done anything like that since before I met Steph…I mean, you-know-who."

"So you're going to be okay?" Katie worried once more.

"Yes," Patrick gave a firm answer. "I may have a moment every once in a while, but I'm back to being the good old me. So you don't have to worry anymore, Katie."

"I can't help but be concerned about you, Pat. You're like a brother to me."

"I know, and I appreciate it. I really do. But it's over. It's done. I'm moving on, end of story. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go downstairs and fix myself up a big bowl of oatmeal, some scrambled eggs, and a tall glass of orange juice."

"It looks like he really is ready to move on," Katie addressed Josh after Patrick left. "The sparkle is starting to come back in his eyes."

"Yeah, and the big breakfast he's having is proof of that. He hardly eats when he's depressed or upset."

"Still, though, this may be all an act to keep us from worrying about him."

"Katie, quit being negative," Josh shook his head. He hated it when she saw pessimism in any situation. He was a positive person who always saw the glass half-full. Negativity had no place in his life. "I know Pat, and if he says he's going to be okay, then he's going to be okay. If he needs our help, he'll ask. But for now, let's just be glad that he realizes he deserves better and wants to move on to greener pastures."

Katie snickered.

"Greener pastures? Where did that phrase come from?"

"Just shut up and finish your breakfast before I finish it for you," Josh teased, shoving Katie's head to the side.

The afternoon came. Patrick and Josh had gone to the gym, leaving Katie home alone, much to her content. She loved being around the guys, but every so often, she needed a break from all the craziness that they brought into their lives.

With nothing to do, Katie decided to take a long bubble bath to unwind and relax. It had been a difficult eighteen hours after finding out about Patrick and Stephanie. Her heart still hurt for Pat, but she couldn't mull over it any longer. He seemed eager to move on and leave everything in the past. And if he could do it, then so could she.

She lay her head back on the spa pillow and closed her eyes. The warmth of the water and the bubbles from the water jets slowly caused her to fall asleep. All was quiet until she heard the ringing of the kitchen telephone. Opening her eyes, Katie pondered whether to answer it or not. She finally decided to let it ring and allow the answering service to respond. She didn't want to move from the coziness of the tub.

Once again, she began to fall asleep. But it was short lived as she heard the slamming of the front door. The guys were back home. Katie sighed deeply. Her mini spa experience had come to an end.

She dried off, slipped into a tank top and shorts, and rushed downstairs. To her surprise, she saw Patrick, but no Josh.

"Where's Josh?"

"He said something about catching lunch," Patrick replied as he stuffed his mouth with a banana. "He said he would be back in about an hour or so."

"Oh."

Patrick made his way over to the couch and sat down. Katie sat down alongside him as he grabbed the remote and began switching through the channels. She sat in silence, thinking deeply while twirling her ponytail in her hand. There was a question she wanted to ask Patrick for the past few weeks, but couldn't find the time. Now was the best time to ask.

"Hey, Patrick?"

"Hmm?"

"Has Josh been acting different lately?"

"What do you mean?" Patrick asked as he began watching a VH1 countdown of the 100 greatest 80's rock bands.

"Well, it's just that for the past couple of weeks, he's been going out of his way for me. He's been making me breakfast in bed, taking me out on expensive dates, and even buying flowers and expensive jewelry for me. That's not like him. I mean, he's not the most romantic guy in the world, but it's not like he's tried before."

"Maybe he's just trying to show you how much he's invested in your relationship."

"Maybe. He may show it when it comes to gifts and all that, but when it comes to his feelings, he's been kind of distant. We haven't had sex in over three weeks. He hardly ever tells me he loves me anymore. And lately, he's been a bit snippy with me. He even got after me earlier for worrying so much about you."

"He's just been busy working through his injury," Patrick explained. "I mean, It's not easy for him to be out with a concussion. You know how much wrestling means to him. And we have our big tag team championship match coming up next month. He has his career on his mind right now, Katie. But that doesn't mean he loves you any less."

"I don't know," Katie shook her head. "I still think something's going on."

"You're being paranoid," Patrick lightly shoved her on the shoulder. "That man loves you to death. And I know for an absolute fact that there isn't anything he wouldn't do for you. I also know that he would never do anything to hurt you. If you are so concerned, why don't you talk to him about it?"

Katie thanked Patrick for his advice before getting up and walking to the phone. Dialing Josh's cell phone, she waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Hey Katie."

Katie was taken back by his response. Josh usually replied by calling her baby or sweetheart. It was the first time he called her by her name over the phone.

"Um, so I was wondering when you were going to be home?"

"Um, I might be another hour or so. I'm here at The Pier eating. Why?"

"Well, because I…"

A woman's laughter could be heard, followed by Josh laughing.

"Josh, who's that?"

"Oh, that's just one of Petey's lady friends. I ran into her at the gym and she invited me to lunch."

"Oh."

"You're not upset, are you? Because if you are, then…"

"No, no! I'm fine with it!" Katie shrugged, indifferent. "I was just hoping we could talk later because there's something on my mind I need to express."

"Well, Patrick's there, isn't he? Maybe you should talk to him about it."

"Actually, it's about us. But, if you don't want to talk about it, then that's fine."

Katie's conduct went from content to instant irritation. Never had he expressed to her that she should talk to Patrick about her problems. It was pretty obvious to her at that point that he wasn't interested in what she had to say. Josh seemed more in tune to the woman he was eating with instead, considering the fact that he was talking to her more than he was talking to Katie.

"What's wrong, Katie?"

"Nothing. I'll just talk to Patrick about it."

"Katie, I…"

She didn't even give Josh a chance to finish. She slammed down the receiver and let out a frustrated groan.

"What happened?" Patrick called out from the living room.

"He's so busy chatting it up with one of Petey's lady friends that he doesn't even have the time to talk to me."

"Petey's lady friend?" Patrick asked, confused by her statement. "He told me that he was going to have lunch with his brother."

"What?"

"Yeah, he told me right before he left that he was going to The Pier to eat lunch with Dan."

"Well, then what's he doing with one of Petey's friends?"

It didn't add up in Katie's mind. Why would Josh tell Patrick one thing, but then tell her something totally different? Unless he lied about it because he didn't want Katie finding out about his lunch meeting with the woman she heard over the phone.

"Something's not right," Katie exclaimed once more. "I can feel it."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the message light flashing. Pushing the button, she stood still and listened to the message that was left by a woman.

Hey, Josh, it's me. I was wondering if you didn't have anything to do tonight that we could hang out. Call me and let me know what your plans are. Bye.

Listening to her voice, Katie instantly matched it up to the woman she heard talking over the phone. Katie didn't mind Josh having girls as friends. In fact, Katie knew who they were and was friends with most of them. But the woman she heard on the answering machine and over the phone she didn't know. If the woman really was one of Petey's friends, then she really had no need to worry. After all, most of Petey's friends were Josh's as well. But if Josh lied to her about that, then she knew something was up. Either way, it was obvious to her that Josh and the woman were close friends.

But how close was too close?

Needing to clear her mind, she dialed Petey's number, hoping to get some sort of answer from him.

"Yeah, I know her. She's a friend of my wife's. Her name's Niki."

"Well, she left a message asking if they could hang out tonight if he didn't have anything to do. But then, I called him five minutes ago, and she's having lunch with him. Am I being paranoid, or is there something more to their relationship than just being friends?"

"Niki knows you are Josh's girlfriend," Petey explained. "And she's cool with that. She knows her limits. She's just a naturally friendly person, just like Josh. Niki is not the kind of person who would steal another girl's boyfriend. After all, she has a boyfriend of her own and she adores him. Believe me, Katie. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Katie breathed a sigh of relief. Petey had brought peace back to her confused mind. And that was something she desperately needed.

"Thanks for clearing that up, Petey. I feel a lot better now."

She hung up and stood in the kitchen, cursing herself for ever thinking that Josh and Niki had anything more than just a friendship. Patrick walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and stared at her as he took a drink.

"So? What did Petey say?"

"I have no reason to worry."

"See? What did I tell you? Josh probably lied about her because he thought you would go off the handle about it."

"I did go off the handle, didn't I?" Katie ran a hand through her curly, auburn hair. "I don't know why I overreacted the way I did. I guess I just got jealous over the fact that another woman was having lunch with Josh. I owe him an apology."

Once again, Katie dialed Josh's number. She apologized as soon as he picked up, alerting him of her feelings. Josh genuinely seemed ashamed of the way he acted toward Katie and apologized for his behavior.

"I'll tell you what. How about we go out tonight?"

As much as Katie loved to go out with Josh, she was starting to become tired of it. They seemed to be doing that same thing almost every weekend. She wanted a change of course for once.

"No, that's okay. Maybe we could rent a movie and stay in tonight?"

"Sounds good. Look, I got to go. I'll be home in twenty minutes, okay?"

"Okay. Love you."

"Same here."

Katie hung up, satisfied with his response. Patrick and Petey were right. She was reading too much into Josh's lunch with Niki. Why couldn't her mind believe that there was nothing going on between the two?

She grabbed her car keys and began heading out the front door, but not before Patrick could call out to her.

"Hey! Where you going?"

"To go rent a movie. Josh and I are staying in tonight."