Chapter 2: Phone Calls

The buzzing alarm went off and rang through Princeton's ears. He opened his eyes and his first instinct was to turn that annoying sound off. He reached over, his eyes barely open, and pressed the button on the digital clock that finally brought silence. He let his eyes adjust a little more to the sunlight coming from behind the sheer curtains.

Once it was quiet again, he looked at the clock that read 6:00 AM in digital red numbers. Princeton groaned. He had forgotten to change the alarm last night. That was the time they normally got up on weekdays, but since today was Saturday, there definitely wasn't any reason to get up at this hour. Then again, they did go to bed much earlier than they normally did on Fridays.

Princeton turned around to see if Kate had woken up too. She faced away from him now, but she didn't look like she had moved recently. Princeton stared at her furry back and pondered whether he should disturb her or not. Maybe she felt the same as him and didn't want to face the day yet. He couldn't blame her. She was probably hungover by now after drinking those Long Island Iced Teas last night.

Princeton decided that Kate had been facing away for long enough, and he tugged at her shoulder, turning her over so that she was now facing him in his arms. He planted a kiss on her cheek before greeting her.

"Hey, good morning," he said just over a whisper.

"Mmm," Kate mumbled as she cuddled closer into Princeton's body. He saw that her eyes were still closed, and then felt her quickly fall asleep again in his arms.

Princeton thought of joining her. It wouldn't hurt to get a few more hours of sleep. There were no plans today, after all. He held Kate's warm body close before he felt his heavy eyelids begin to close.

A short while later, Princeton and Kate were both awakened by another startling sound. This time it was the loud ringing of the phone on the bedside. Princeton rubbed his eyes and quickly adjusted to the bright sunlight again. He looked at the clock. 7:43 AM.

"You've got to be kidding me," he grumbled. "What idiot is calling at this hour…?"

"Princeton, what time is it?" Kate asked groggily, also trying to adjust.

"7:43," he answered as he reached over to the nightstand on Kate's side of the bed to answer the phone. "I got it… Hello, Kate Monster's apartment?"

"Princeton?!" a woman's high pitched voice shrieked from the other line.

"Yes?" Princeton asked, surprised.

"Princeton, it's me, Adel!" the voice said.

"Adel?!" His eyes were now wide open.

"Yeah! Oh my God, it has been so long! How are you?! Hey, who's this Kate person? Are you living with someone?!"

"I… Adel how did you get this number?" Princeton asked as he sat up.

"Never mind about that! Princeton, oh my God, guess what? I'm engaged!"

His eyes widened again. "You're what?!"

"Oh my God, Charles, he's so wonderful, you'll love him! He proposed to me! It is so happening! I'm getting married in three weeks!"

"Three weeks?" Princeton asked with disbelief. "Isn't that kind of soon?"

"Well, we thought it would be a while, what with school and the new case he's taking on, but we have some time off later this month and we thought, why not now? It's perfect with summer just around the corner and everything! It's going to be so perfect! You need to come! Of course you need to come! And bring that Kate person with you! I'll let you know all the details real soon!"

"But I-"

"Bye now see you in three weeks!"

Before Princeton could try and stop her, Adel hung up on the other line. He lowered the phone in his hand, not quite knowing what just happened.

"Adel? Who's Adel?" Kate asked with a little annoyance, as she had been sitting up next to Princeton and listening to the conversation.

Princeton turned to his girlfriend, not ready to tell her.

"She's… my sister," he said hesitantly.

Kate's eyebrows rose when she heard this. "Your sister? Who- Ah!"

She suddenly grimaced and placed her hand on her forehead when the splitting pain hit her head. She lay back on the bed and cringed. It felt like her brain was pulsing from inside her skull.

"What the hell? Why does my head hurt so much?!" she asked with confusion.

Princeton then remembered everything from last night. He got fired from the job. He was planning to tell her, but he took her out to dinner instead. Then accidentally got her drunk. He didn't get the chance to tell her anything. Now, it was probably time he started talking.

He nervously supported himself next to Kate. She turned to him, searching for answers. Princeton gulped.

"Kate," he began, "there's something you need to know…"

"I did what?!" Kate asked with shock, slamming her coffee mug on the kitchen table. She was now dressed in a pink robe, which was a huge relief from the chilly morning.

Goddammit, Princeton thought as he shuffled some scrambled eggs in the frying pan on the stove.

"Yeah," he said, "and then I had to drag you home, which took forever, especially since the cops stopped us a few times… Then, you basically got half naked and danced around the bedroom, tried to seduce me… and then you fell asleep after that."

Kate stared in a daze.

"I don't believe any of this," she replied, burying her face in her hands. "And I tried to seduce you?"

"Well, yeah," Princeton said awkwardly, "but I really couldn't let you do anything because you were drunk and how stupid would that have been?"

Kate looked up at Princeton and thought about what he just said.

"Do you want another painkiller?" he asked.

"No, I'm okay," Kate answered. She could already feel her headache begin to die down a little. She sipped her coffee and held her hand to her forehead again, hoping it would go away faster.

Princeton finished the eggs and began dividing them onto two plates on the counter, along with some sausage and toast.

"Here you go," he said, placing a plate on the table in front of Kate and kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, and she turned to make eye contact with him. "And Princeton… thank you for… you know… taking care of me last night."

"Of course," he said with a smile before sitting down opposite of her.

Kate took a bite of her eggs and watched Princeton for a brief minute, wondering what was going through his head. He never said much about his family until now. What did this mean now that he was being invited to come home?

"So… you have a sister you never told me about," she said, breaking the ice.

Princeton stopped. "Yeah," he muttered.

Kate eyed him cautiously. "Princeton… I know whenever I've asked about your family you're not always enthusiastic to talk about them… but I just found out you have a sister, and she's getting married. Don't you think now we should talk more about this?"

"Maybe…" Princeton was avoiding eye contact with her.

Kate tried to think of the best way to approach this. "Well… let's start with your mom. Tell me about her."

Princeton sighed deeply and ran his hand through his jet-black hair before continuing, knowing it was finally time.

"Kate, the truth is… well, to start off, my mom can be a bit of a control freak. She was always on me about my grades and getting involved in activities that I wasn't really interested in… A lot of the time if I showed interest in something she didn't approve of, she didn't hold back on letting me know how she felt about it."

Princeton fell silent for a brief minute, recalling the unpleasant memories.

"Go on," Kate said, curiously learning all of this new information.

Princeton shook his head. "You know, when I was in high school, my mom said the only way she would pay for my college education was if I got into a really nice, high-class expensive college. I mean, not that I was against trying to get into a good school, but looking back on it, I think that was her way of scaring me into working hard to get into that kind of school. No going to college for me unless I worked twice as hard."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "I mean, it worked, didn't it?"

Princeton glared at her. "Would you try to bribe your child like that?"

Kate thought for a few seconds and then nodded her head, knowing he was right. That did seem a little cruel.

"And after all that, I still got stuck with student loan bills," Princeton said resentfully.

Kate gave him a sympathetic look. "What happened after you got into college?" she asked.

"Well," Princeton went on, "my mom really tried to persuade me to study law later, so getting a B.A. in English seemed like a good idea at the time since I didn't know what else to do… But, I really never had any intention of going to law school in the first place, so as soon as I graduated and had the chance, I came to New York to figure out what to do next. At the time it felt like the best option was to move as far away as possible so I could finally start running my own life without my mom trying to hound me all the time."

"But… you're from New Jersey," Kate stated. "That's not that far away."

"It doesn't matter! It's as far away as I could get. I mean, my parents had some money they had saved for me, but I still had to find a place to rent, you know. That alone took out a lot. And my dad helped me get the first job I had, but you know how that turned out."

Kate nodded, remembering he had said he was laid off before that first job even started.

"I just really wanted to make it on my own, you know?" Princeton said. "I didn't reach out to them for anything after that because I felt like I had to find myself and support myself without their help. I don't like the idea of living off my parents anyway."

Kate nodded again, knowing he was right. "That's understandable. How about your father? What's he like?"

"Don't even get me started," Princeton said with a huff. "He's a bit more relaxed than my mom but… Let's just say that living with him for so long, he had a tendency to… embarrass me a lot."

"Really?" Kate asked, half surprised and half amused.

"Yeah," Princeton continued. "Like, uh… Okay, on my twelfth birthday, he put together a whole slideshow of photos that basically outlined my life up to that point to show to my friends. I mean, can you imagine my dad saying 'this is Princeton at one… this is Princeton at two… this is Princeton at five learning to use a toothbrush… on his nose'?"

Kate suddenly burst out laughing when she heard this, which made Princeton furious.

"It's not funny!" he said. "It took me weeks until I was finally brave enough to invite my friends over again!"

"Oh, God," Kate said, wiping the tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. "A toothbrush on your nose? What's that all about?"

"Hey, if you tell anyone about that, I'll never talk to you again!"

Kate only laughed again at this, making Princeton more angry.

"I mean it!" he protested.

"Oh, common Princeton," Kate said. "Your dad probably only did that because he loves you."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Princeton grumbled.

Kate shook her head and wiped away her remaining tears.

"And what about your sister," she continued, "do you get along with her?"

"Well, we get along okay I guess, but she's always been a bit of an over-achiever, which I guess isn't a bad thing, but… I can't prove it, but I think Mom especially favored her more because of it."

Kate frowned. "Why do say that?"

"Because Adel has always gone along with what our mom expected out of us. She was always into politics, running for student body, law and all that stuff. And believe me, Adel can be a bit high-strung. She's kind of a nutcase."

"A nutcase?" Kate asked, craning her neck curiously.

Princeton rolled his eyes. "You would know what I meant if you met her."

He took a final bite of his food and stayed silent. He didn't seem to want to continue the conversation.

"So, are you going to the wedding?" Kate asked.

Princeton looked at her and shook his head. "I don't think so."

"What? Why not?!"

"I told you, Kate, I don't want to see them. Besides, Adel's marrying this guy less than a month after he proposed. Don't you know what that usually means?"

Kate frowned, not sure. Princeton looked at her sternly.

"What," he said, "you never heard of anyone getting married right after they got knocked up?" He followed this with an amused laugh. It was hard to hold it in.

"Princeton that's not funny!" Kate scolded, smacking his shoulder.

He shook his head. "Look, Kate, whether or not that's true, knowing her I can't imagine it's going to last long, okay?"

"How can you say that?! I think you're being a little judgmental."

"I am not!" Princeton picked up his plate and set it in the sink. "Look, Kate, you don't know her. Adel has always jumped into decisions quickly, that's who she is, and I can't say that it's always worked out well for her. And for better or worse, my mom has always taken her side and supported her choices. You know, you didn't have to put up with my parents for twenty-two years of your life. You don't even know them."

"Princeton," Kate said calmly, "they're still your family, and you should at least support your sister's decision to get married."

"I am not going to her wedding, and that is final!" Princeton replied firmly.

As soon as he said this, the phone rang for the second time that day. The phone in the kitchen was conveniently right next to Princeton on the counter. He picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

"You are going to your sister's wedding, Princeton," a woman's voice said on the other end, almost as if she had been listening to their conversation. This startled Princeton at first, but he recognized the voice instantly, and it was no surprise she suspected he was not planning to come.

"Oh, hi, Mom," he replied.

Kate perked up when she heard this, but stayed silent.

"Hi, sweetie," his mother answered back. "Long time no see."

"Yeah… really. Long time…" Princeton said with a grunt. "We were just talking about you."

"We? Who's we?"

"Oh… I mean, Adel! She called not too long ago." He was obviously trying to avoid mentioning who he was with, and Kate gave him a questionable look.

"Oh, I see," Princeton's mother continued. "Princeton, listen to me. I know you haven't made the effort to visit in a while, but you need to come. This is your sister's wedding! It would mean so much to her if you were there." She didn't sound demanding or mad, more like trying to be persuasive.

"I don't know, Mom…" Princeton said wearily.

"Princeton," she continued, her tone becoming more serious, "you have already missed visiting us for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and may I remind you that Mothers Day is tomorrow, and I don't think you're going to be here for that either. Don't tell me you are going to also miss the most important day of your sister's life!"

Princeton did not know how to respond to this. Deep down he didn't really care that he had missed all of those events, but her guilt trip was starting to rub off on him.

"Princeton," his mother went on, "if it's a matter of money, we'll pay for train tickets, but I am expecting to see you here in three weeks, and we will need you here for the whole weekend. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever, I'll come," Princeton gave in hesitantly.

"Good. Well, now that that's settled, I need to go help Adel pick out a wedding dress. We'll send you an invitation soon, okay?"

"Alright, fine."

"See you soon…"

The receiver went dead, and Princeton solemnly hung the phone up. "Nice talking to you too, Mom," he said sarcastically.

Kate wasn't so sure she liked everything she heard. She crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Well, are you going?" she asked.

"No," Princeton replied, embarrassed. "She wants me there for the whole weekend, but I don't think I'll be able to last a minute there."

Kate sighed. He lied to his mother. "Princeton, does your family know that you're living with me?"

Princeton shook his head. "No," he admitted. "I told them I changed apartments because the plumbing was always backing up at my old place. My mom would freak if she found out I was living with someone."

Kate frowned at this statement. There was nothing but lies coming from his mouth. "Do you always lie to your family like that?"

"Kate, it's not like I have a choice! I can't relax unless they hear what they want to hear. If my Mom found out, she would probably come here herself and think of any excuse to get me to leave."

"I still think it's wrong. I wish you would tell her the truth. It would make me feel a lot better about you living here."

Princeton sighed. "Fine… I'll tell her, just give me a little time."

The two were quiet for a minute, until Princeton decided that maybe he should finally tell her about the rest of yesterday before it got to be too late.

"Hey, Kate," he began, "um, I know this is probably not the best time to say this, but… I took you out to dinner yesterday because I… I was going to tell you that I got fired from my job…"

Princeton cringed and turned away, knowing that there was going to be a lot of yelling for the rest of the day. He waited, but he didn't hear anything. Kate didn't say a word. Did she even hear him? He turned back and saw her sitting in the same spot at the table as before, staring at him blankly.

"What?" she said.

"Aren't you going to yell at me?" Princeton asked.

Kate sighed and shook her head, looking down. She was tired of it. More secrets. More lies. That's all she had been hearing all morning.

"Well, there's not much of a point, is there?" she asked with disappointment.

Princeton froze and suddenly felt like his heart had sunk to the floor. A huge rush of shame ran through him as he realized that this was a hundred times worse than getting yelled at. He felt like the most undependable boyfriend in the world. Is this what it had come to? Did she just expected the worst out of him now?

Kate continued to look down and didn't say anything else after this, keeping the room awkwardly quiet and cold. Princeton didn't know what to say or do.

"Um… I think I'm gonna take a shower," he said, scratching the back of his head. Maybe this way he could avoid the awkwardness for a while.

"Fine, go ahead," Kate replied bitterly. She picked up her plate and brought it to the sink. She had lost her appetite and didn't want to eat anymore. Princeton didn't move and watched her, wondering if she was going to be alright.

Kate turned the sink on and pushed the remains of her food down the drain, then set her plate in the sink. She stood there and watched the water continue to collect and overflow on the plate.

Princeton saw that Kate wasn't moving. He knew she was mad, but he still wondered if maybe there was any possible way to make her feel better? He followed his instincts and cautiously walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Kate didn't react. She was too upset to do anything. But Princeton smiled, seeing that she wasn't resisting, and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Kate," he whispered, "let's take a bath together."

"No way!" she complained.

"Ah," Princeton sighed as he stepped into the bathtub filled with soothing hot water and bubble bath.

Kate had already forcibly stepped in as well, so now both sat in the steaming tub, but still covered by the water and thick bubbles. Kate blushed slightly, hugging her knees close to her body. They had been living together for months now, and being together like this had become such a common thing. But she couldn't help it. Princeton was the first person she had ever lived with like this. She still got butterflies in her stomach every now and then in these situations.

Kate was definitely annoyed, but she also couldn't help but appreciate Princeton making the effort for her. She decided to try to forget how upset she was.

"Hey, Princeton," she asked, getting his attention, "do you remember when we first met?"

Princeton thought for a few seconds before answering. "It was the middle of June, I think. Right after I graduated from college on my first day in New York… So almost a year now I guess, right?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah… almost. I can't believe it's only now we're finally talking about your family."

"I didn't mean to…" Princeton said begrudgingly. "It's only because they called me. God, why did I give them your number?"

Kate gigged a little at this. Watching him get frustrated was such an amusement to her. Hearing her laugh, Princeton chuckled with relief.

"I'm glad you're smiling," he said. "You had me worried there."

Kate's smile faded slightly at this comment.

"Don't think I'm not mad at you," she said. "How is it possible that you got fired again, Princeton? How many times has it been now?"

Princeton's relief disappeared. He didn't like Kate being mad at him, but he knew she had every right to be.

"Kate, I'm sorry… I mean, you know it's not like I haven't been trying. I guess I just haven't found a job that I'm really comfortable with yet."

"Hm…" Kate didn't seem impressed.

"But, I swear I'll look for another job right away! I know that we need to find a way to-"

"Maybe I should stop working on the school," she interrupted.

"What?" Princeton wasn't expecting this.

"Maybe I should," she continued. "I could get a job instead. I can put it on hold for a year or two…"

Princeton shook his head. "Kate, no! This is your dream! I can't let you do that-"

"I can't have a dream if I can't pay the rent, Princeton!" Kate snapped.

Princeton was taken aback by her sudden change of tone. Kate stopped and stared back at him, also shocked. She suddenly felt ashamed at herself for letting it go that far. She turned around, looking away from him.

Kate grabbed a sponge on the side of the tub. She soaked it in the water and began to scrub her shoulders with it. At the same time, she played with the bubbles a little, looking distracted.

Princeton watched this, knowing she was really troubled and felt bad. He also shook his head, seeing how silly and stubborn she was being. That sponge didn't even have soap on it. He gently grabbed her hand.

"Hey," he said, silently making her stop.

He took the sponge from her, but not in a forceful way. He soaked it in the hot water again, lathered it with some soap, and then began soaking and massaging her back and shoulders with it. Kate shuddered. He knew she liked being massaged like this.

Goddammit, she thought. Sometimes she really hated that Princeton always knew how to make her feel better. The fact that he was doing this also proved that he had already forgiven her without even having to say anything. Kate was the guilty one now.

"I'm sorry," she said when she realized this.

"For what?" Princeton asked.

"I know you're trying, Princeton. But, sometimes I just don't know if you realize how important it is…"

Kate didn't finish. Princeton continued to massage her back, waiting for her to continued.

"Princeton, why are you here?" she finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you here? With me? Why do you put up with me everyday, especially when I nag on you and I don't always do everything right?"

Princeton sighed. The answer should have been obvious to her. "Because I love you, Kate."

"But… why do you love me?"

Princeton tried to think of the best way to answer this. "Because… when I moved here to Avenue Q, you liked me for me… and you made me feel at home here."

"And that's it?" Kate asked.

"Well you know," Princeton playfully went on, "you're also smart, you're beautiful, you're passionate about what you believe in… You're fun to be with, we never run out of things to talk about-"

"Ok, I get it," Kate said. She was secretly smiling while facing away from him.

"And besides," Princeton continued, "you make me happy. I never thought that would be enough, but it is."

Kate turned in his direction. "You make me happy, too. You know that, right?"

Princeton nodded and he leaned in, planting a quick kiss on the side of her face. She smiled weakly.

"Kate," Princeton said while pulling her hair back, "I'm not going to let you stop working on the school. You've worked too hard put it on hold now."

She looked at him and shook her head doubtfully. "How are we going to get by-?"

"We'll figure it out, alright?"

Kate defeatedly rolled her eyes. There he went again, good ol' optimistic Princeton. She loathed that she constantly bought into his persuasion, but she knew that in reality this was one of the many things she loved so much about him. He really did have the amazing ability to find the positive in just about every situation.

"Princeton," she said, looking into his eyes, "you care too much for your own good. You know that right?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" he asked.

"Of course there is," Kate said, getting a little wound up. "Do you know how many people there are in this world that would love to take advantage of that kind of attitude?"

Princeton shrugged. "Well, when has it gotten me in trouble so far-?"

"Well remember when that penny hit Lucy and you were with her the whole time at the hospital even though she didn't…?"

Kate trailed off, a little surprised at herself for bringing this up.

"Kate, I thought we were passed that," Princeton said sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," Kate said. "It's just… whenever I think about it I can't help but feel a little jealous all over again."

She shook her head and hugged her knees close again, trying to get rid of those thoughts. She remembered the advice Christmas Eve had given her after she and Princeton got back together: No good would come out of reminding him of his past mistakes. But her heart still hurt at this. Princeton always seemed to care so much about others' wellbeing, even for those who didn't reciprocate that same care back.

"If I remember correctly," he said, "weren't you the one who came all to the way to the hospital to make sure I was okay?"

Kate stiffened, knowing she was caught there. "I was… worried because I heard Lucy was in an accident…."

"Uh huh…" Princeton smirked, not buying it for a second.

"Can we talk about something else?" Kate asked with an irritated huff, turning her face away.

Princeton laughed a little. Sometimes she could be so cute when she was angry.

"Did I ever tell you what Lucy said to me right before that penny hit her?" he asked.

Kate cringed a little. She really didn't want to hear this. "What?" she said calmly.

"Something along the lines of… 'no one is special, you're not special, you're no luckier or more gifted than anyone else…' "

Kate scoffed and she felt her stomach turn. She knew things had changed and Lucy was a different person after that penny, but back then, that bitch's attitude always rubbed Kate the wrong way.

"That's ridiculous," she protested, turning back to him. "You're special to me and you're special to everyone else here. And you're so talented and have the biggest heart and anyone who can't see that is a Goddamn idiot!"

Kate looked at him and stopped, realizing she had started to ramble. Princeton smiled though, clearly touched, and he pushed her hair away from her face again.

"Aw, Kate, you do care," he said adoringly with a subtle tease in his voice.

Kate looked down and gave in, knowing she couldn't stay mad at him.

"Of course I care, Princeton," she said. "I just… I can't stand it when I hear things like that. You have so much potential, and sometimes I worry you don't believe that enough…"

Princeton nodded. "Because I keep getting fired?"

"Yeah," Kate said, meeting his eyes again. "And I know you're trying your best and what you've been doing lately isn't ideal… And you want to help more with the school, but if we want it to happen faster I need you to try harder elsewhere right now. You have so much to offer and you have the drive to make incredible things happen when you put your mind to it…"

Kate knew this all too well, remembering that it was he who inspired the neighborhood to collect all that money for her school.

"Well, you can always take something out of that donation money," Princeton said, somewhat teasingly as he knew how she was going to respond.

"Princeton, I keep telling you, I can't legally do that!" Kate exclaimed.

"I know, I know," Princeton said with a laugh. "Sure would be nice though, wouldn't it?"

Kate shrugged, not really wanting to admit it. Princeton wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek tenderly.

"Thank you for believing in me," he said to her.

Kate gave him another weak smile. "Thank you for making my dreams come true."

Princeton rubbed her shoulder with his hand, then encouraged her to turn her body away so that he could massage her back again. She didn't protest. She really did love it when he did this to her.

"Kate, can I ask you a question?" Princeton said after a long minute.

"Of course," she answered curiously.

"Why are you here?"

Kate bit her lip, now thinking of the best way to answer her own question.

"Because… I've never felt more loved with anyone than I do with you, Princeton."

He felt his heart melt when she said this. "Really?"

"Mmhmm," Kate muttered, nodding.

"Even after everything that happened six months ago?" Princeton asked somewhat jokingly.

Kate rolled her eyes again, wishing he wouldn't keep bringing that up. But, he did ask.

"Well," she said, "of course at the time I felt betrayed and I knew I had to try to move on. But I still cared for you and I knew you didn't mean to hurt me…" She paused, letting out a sigh. "And… Even though you did hurt me, I felt like you at least deserved a chance to prove yourself after what you said at the hospital and after you raised the money with everyone. I guess I couldn't deny that…" She swallowed before continuing. "…you were the only person I wanted to be with. I only had feelings for you, and I still do. Despite everything, I didn't want to be with anyone but you…"

Princeton stopped what he was doing when he heard this. Staring at the back of her head, he couldn't help yet another sudden feeling of guilt come over him. But at the same time, he felt an overwhelming sense of love grow even stronger for her. For the first time, he realized that her love was exclusive and unconditional, and it had probably been that way since day one. Realizing this, maybe that's what he had loved the most about her all along.

Kate felt Princeton stop moving the sponge on her back and knew that it was a reaction from what she had just said. She felt guilty again as well. Had she said something to make him feel bad?

"Princeton, it's okay," she said, trying to be reassuring. "Everyone makes mistakes. I'm not blaming you-"

Kate couldn't continue as she suddenly felt Princeton embrace her from behind in a tight hug. He buried his face in her neck and wanted nothing more than to show how sorry he was and how much he knew he loved her. He began to kiss her neck, almost forcefully.

"Princeton," Kate whispered out of surprise as she felt him do this.

She turned around and immediately made eye contact with her lover. It was then that she noticed the tears in his eyes. He did his best to hold them back, looking away in the process, but they were undeniably there. Kate's heart ached with overwhelming empathy for him. He was really crying. She had never seen him do that before. Ever.

"Oh, baby," she murmured, touching his cheeks and looking in his eyes. "I promise, it's okay…"

Princeton quickly silenced her as he nearly plunged his lips onto hers, and that was all the motivation Kate needed to kiss and embrace him back. She ran her fingers through his hair, and Princeton began to do the same, bubbles from the bath being tossed all over. They held each other close, and Kate so badly wanted him to know that everything was okay because she was here. There was no reason to feel bad and no reason to feel guilty. They were together and that should be all that mattered. They would get through whatever life threw at them, just like they'd done before.

Caught up in the moment, Kate could suddenly feel tears appearing in her eyes as well. She couldn't help it, and she suddenly had the urge to make love to him right there in the bathtub. And that's just what they did.

A while later, Kate collapsed on the bed, wearing a towel that tightly wrapped around her body. She let out a satisfied sigh before she felt Princeton embrace her from behind, lying on the bed as well. He wore his blue robe but didn't let it stop him from being close to her.

"Did you drain the tub?" Kate asked.

"I'll do it later," Princeton answered.

"Okay," she said, smiling. "That was… incredible…"

"Mmhmm…" Princeton agreed with a sigh as he snuggled close to her. They were quiet for a moment before he broke the silence. "Kate, I think I've changed my mind."

"About what?" she asked.

"Going to my sister's wedding. I think I'm gonna go."

"Really? Oh, Princeton, I'm so glad to hear that!"

"You were right. No matter what, they're still my family. But… can I ask you something?"

"What?"

Princeton paused before continuing. "Will you go with me?"

Kate's face lit up, and she turned to meet his eyes. "Do you want me to?"

"I think I'll be braver if you came."

"Oh, Princeton! I think that's a great idea!" she said happily, hugging his arm. "And don't worry, it's only for one weekend. I think you'll live."

He smiled at her. "I hope so."

Kate smiled back and leaned in, kissing Princeton tenderly. They both enjoying the sweetness of each other's lips, parting a few seconds later as they both sighed contently. They lay their heads back on the bed with Kate facing away again, feeling the softness of his breath on her wet hair.

"I love you, Kate Monster," Princeton whispered.

"I love you too, Princeton."

The couple got themselves comfy in their embrace. By now it was late in the morning, but they soon felt themselves falling asleep again in each other's arms.