It was now coming up on six-thirty and Kay was bored out of her mind. The man that Tabitha had conjured up for her was doing nothing but standing around. Ivy was sitting by her father talking about their upcoming wedding. Ivy thought she was so smug the way she got rid of her mother but the joke was truly on Ivy because her mother was in fact her father's wife. Even though she had no proof to prove it, she knew that Ivy would one day get hers. Whitney had put on music. On cue, Eve and Julian had gotten up and began to dance to the slow music. Her imaginary date had come up behind Kay and asked her if they should dance too. Kay swatted him away and made her way out to the porch for some fresh air.
August was one of the most nastiest days in Summer. Still, it felt much better being out here then inside with the rest of the fakes. She wished that Miguel was here right now. Then she'd have someone to talk to and dance with. Kay felt a hand on her bare shoulder. She turned around to see who had startled her out of her thoughts. He stood there smiling at her. There was silence for the longest time until Kay decided she couldn't take it anymore.
"Can I help you?" Kay asked almost coldly.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Fox said.
"Why do you care? It's not like you ever bothered to before." She said back.
"I'm sorry Kay. I didn't realize that you were such a cold hearted bitch." Fox said.
"Excuse me Fox!" Kay said angrily.
"Well, I was just saying hi to you that's all. I was wondering why you were ignoring me." Fox said.
"I haven't been ignoring you. I'm just tired and all." Kay responded.
"Yeah I guess you would be. How is Maria?" Fox asked.
"She's doing fine." Kay said.
"I heard she was sick." Fox said.
"Yeah she had a fever. Well, I think I'm going to go back inside." Kay said.
"Hey Kay, since we're friends, I was wondering if you'd like to share this dance with me?" Fox asked.
Kay paused for a moment before agreeing to dance with Fox. It wasn't like one dance with Fox meant anything. It was just two friends dancing. That's all. The music was a soft melody. Neither of them recognized the singer or the song. Then again, it wasn't like either one of them cared either.
Fox was utterly surprised when Kay put her head on his shoulder. The two of them danced closely; ignoring the astonished look on the dinner attendees' faces. Fox held Kay closer as the song was drawing to an end. Instead of letting go, Kay held on into the next song. Fox obliged her for one more dance.
Whitney Russell was sitting talking to Theresa. That's when she saw them. That's when she felt embarrassment and pity from her guests. That's when she felt the need to rip Kay Bennett apart. What was wrong with that girl? She couldn't get Miguel so now she had to go after another man that was taken. Then Whitney quickly thought that it was just her imagination. That's until Theresa turned to her and said something.
"Wow, Whitney! I can't believe that you're letting Fox dance with Kay. I mean they're so close together and she's got her head rested on his shoulder. If they weren't friends, I would think they were lovers." Theresa said.
"Theresa, you don't know what you're talking about." Whitney said.
"Oh come on Whitney! You can't be blind to their chemistry." Theresa said.
"That's what I was afraid of Theresa." Whitney said.
Kay Bennett had forgotten about everyone until Whitney had pulled her and Fox apart violently. Whitney Russell pushed Kay a side and then belted her across the face. The pain from the slap wasn't as bad as the embarrassment from everyone watching. Fox said nothing and only looked on in horror. Ivy got up and rubbed her son's shoulders while staring Kay down.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Kay Bennett?" Whitney asked.
"We were just dancing Whitney." Fox said.
"That wasn't just dancing. She had her head on your shoulder and you were holding her closely and tightly. Now I want to know what's going on." Whitney demanded.
"Nothings going on Whitney. We were just dancing that's it." Kay said rubbing her face.
"No that wasn't just it. You were coming on to Fox. Kay, don't you get it? No one wants you. Fox doesn't want you and Miguel left you to be Charity." Whitney said.
Kay felt the tear drop from her eye and hit her cheek. Without looking at anyone or saying a word, Kay ran out the front door. She fell outside and twisted her ankle in a small hole just left of the Russell's house. However, that didn't stop Kay from getting up and hobbling back to Tabby's as fast as her two feet could carry her. She reached the porch of Tabby's and sat down. Tears were now streaming down her face and her crying had grown so loud that it had awaken Maria up.
"My dear, what are you doing back so early?" Tabitha asked.
"Lets just say that the dinner party was a disaster." Kay said.
"I know. I saw the whole thing. I must give you credit Kay. You had Whitney freaking out when she saw you and Fox dancing so closely. Then again she probably wouldn't have gotten so angry if Theresa hadn't said you both looked like lovers. That definitely was the icing on the cake." Tabitha laughed.
"No, Tabby it wasn't. I made a fool out of myself. I didn't want to go tonight. Now everyone will be talking about me. My father and Ivy will probably march over here and give me the riot act. What's my problem? I'm suppose to be waiting for Miguel to come back." Kay said.
"Stop kidding yourself Kay. You don't want Miguel anymore. You want Fox Crane. I could tell by the way you both were dancing and guess what? Whitney knows it too. It won't be long before she figures out what you two did during the tsunami. Then again, Ms. Whitney Russell should watch herself." Tabitha said.
"What are you talking about?" Kay said.
"Let's just say that during the tsunami, Whitney couldn't get enough of her brother." Tabitha said with an evil wink.
"Are you serious?" Kay's voice revealed a hint of hope at Tabby's news.
Kay went to the bathroom and wrapped her swollen ankle up. She grabbed her purse and her keys and hurried out the door. It was time to get her mind off of tonight's events.
Fox grabbed Whitney by the arm and forced her out to the backyard. He couldn't believe that Whitney would slap Kay like that. Everyone had left before dinner had ended. Everyone except for his mother. She was busy comforting Whitney and telling her that what she had done was right.
"How could you hit Kay like that?" Fox asked.
"Fox, she was all over you." Whitney said.
"No, she wasn't. She was dancing with me. You know very well that she's in love with Miguel and that I'm in love with you Whitney; unless, for some weird reason you're jealous of Kay." Fox said.
"Oh please Fox! Kay is no where in my league. I could never be jealous of Kay. She should be jealous of me." Whitney replied.
"You know what Whitney? That's a bunch of bull shit and you know it. You know Whitney? I'm going to go and leave you to think about the mess you've created tonight. Call me in the morning." Fox said.
"Fox wait! You don't understand. This isn't my fault. It's Kay's fault." Whitney said but Fox had already gone.
Hobbling to the nearest bar didn't seem like a hard task for Kay to accomplish until she had actually gotten out of the house. Harmony's crumbiest most disgusting bar was open for business and that was just fine for Kay Bennett. She hobbled into the crowded bar and watched as everyone's eyes stared intently on the young woman who was hobbling up to the stool for her first, but not last, shot of Jack Daniel's. Kay downed her first shot and waited for the burning to subside before asking for another one. After that the shots kept flowing until everything had become one big blur. Kay felt a hand grab onto her shoulder and swung around to see a blurry smelling man standing over her. From what she could make out he was missing some teeth or maybe that was just the whiskey doing a number on her. Before she could react he had picked her up and had whisked her out of the bar.
Fox Crane was walking by the crummy bar when he saw one of those sleazy men carrying a woman out to his car. At first he couldn't make out who it was but as soon as he had gotten close enough, the horror and astonishment at seeing Kay Bennett wasted and about ready to be raped had passed. Fox had made it over to the drunken man and Kay Bennett in seconds. The negotiation to get Kay Bennett back hadn't taken long at all. All Fox had to do was threaten him and punch a couple of times. Other than that, it was pretty much a normal situation.
"Will you let go of me! I was going home with that nice man over there." Kay slurred.
"You weren't going home with a nice man. You could have been really hurt Kay. You should feel lucky that I found you in time." Fox said.
"Listen will you just please call me a cab so I can get back to Maria." Kay said.
"I'll take you home." Fox said.
Whitney and Ivy sat on a couch in the Russell household talking about the events that had caused such a catastrophe. Whitney was furious with Kay and Fox's little showing. That was more than clear to Ivy Crane. If she had found out about Kay and Fox's romance this summer, she knew that Whitney would dump Fox in a heartbeat. Sam Bennett's little monster would then have an opportunity to seduce her son like she had done only months ago.
"Is there anything going on between Fox and Kay that I should know about?" Whitney had asked her future mother-in-law.
"I don't know of anything going on between those two. They barely know each other." Ivy said.
"Yeah but didn't they become real close during the tsunami?" Whitney had asked.
"Whitney, I'll be honest with you. Fox did save Kay's life but that's all that happened. After that they barely talked." Ivy said.
"Well, that's a relief. The last thing I need right now is Kay Bennett trying to make a move on my man. After what she did to Charity, there's no way I'm going to put up with her bullshit." Whitney explained.
"I don't think you should have to put up with Kay. Believe me I know what Kay Bennett is capable of doing. She's just looking for someone to fill the hole in her life right now that's all. I'm sure once she gets it through her thick skull that Fox is in love with you and not her she'll come around. She knows that this is a whole different situation. You are not weak like Charity was and my son wasn't a moron like Miguel." Ivy said.
"Well that's what I'm hoping. Otherwise, Kay is in for a world of hurt." Whitney said.
Ivy Crane smiled at the thought of Whitney Russell tearing into a helpless Kay Bennett.