Thank you to justkimmy for reviewing :)
It's been a week since Roman and Katrina have seen each other, but they've been on each other's mind ever since. When the day came where Roman couldn't take it anymore, not seeing her, he made it his mission to find out where she was today. Even if it was just a glance that he got, he needed to see her. There was this urge inside of him that gave him that determination.
It was a Friday, and those days were always quiet and calm, no matter what the season was and how busy the semester was. It was cloudy outside and you could just smell that rain was going to come today and Roman didn't mind. He walked into his classroom, with his bag and with cargo jeans, a plain grey, short sleeve shirt and his hair was in a low ponytail. His had plain, grey and black sandles and was actually more comfortable in that, than in his usual attire during the week with his suits.
Roman heard a soft knock and when he looked, he saw just the one person that he had been wanting to see for the past week. Katrina was standing at his classroom door and he thought she looked beautiful today. She had on jean shorts, a pink flowy shirt, and her long chestnut brown hair was out and in soft and wet curls. Her bag was in her hand and she smiled up at Roman from the door.
"I was starting to wonder when I would see you again." He admitted.
"You were?" She asked as she walked in and stood close by to him.
He nodded and noticed the piercing in her ear which he seemed to like. "You left me wanting more and we didn't even talk that much. I liked whatever it is that we shared the last time that we talked."
Katrina looked at Roman and thought about how gorgeous he looked. To her, Roman looked normal and it seemed as if he felt natural in the clothes that he was wearing. Those of eyes of his made her feel a bit weak and the way that he looked at her, gave Katrina butterflies and she couldn't help but smile.
"So what does that mean?" Katrina asked him, curiously.
Roman thought for a moment. "Would you like to grab a bite to eat for lunch after I'm done?"
"That sounds good." She replied. "I almost thought that you wouldn't be here today."
"I would say the same for you." Said Roman. "I thought you didn't have any classes this semester."
Katrina shook her head. "I don't. But I help out in the library for like half a day and then I have the rest of the afternoon off. I was off today and so I asked one of my friends if they could bring me here today. I wanted to look for you."
Roman looked at her, with surprise at the admittance. "I don't mind thinking about you. You're a distraction though."
Katrina looked at him and before she could say anything in return, she blushed when she realized what he had meant by that as she saw his eyes traveling up and down.
"I will be staying here then, until you finish." Said Katrina as she went to a seat in the corner and smiled at him. "I could be your guest student for the day."
"You're trying to get me in trouble with my students." He replied with a chuckle.
She grinned innocently as he walked over to her. "I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just patiently waiting for you to finish so we could have some lunch together. That's all."
Just as he was about to say something, one of his students walked in and greeted Roman followed by a few other students who came in afterwards. Roman went to shake Katrina's hand and felt something against their hands. When he pulled away, he noticed that it was a piece of paper that was folded up.
Roman went to his desk and sat down as he opened up the paper and saw some writing on it as well as a phone number. It said the following underneath the number:
'Here's my number. Don't lose it. -Katrina Rodriguez'
Two hours later...
As Roman was driving, Katrina looked out the window as he drove towards a place that she's never been to before. It was like a secret spot that few knew about but it was enough knowledge about it, for the owners to have kept it around for almost twenty years. There's quite a bit of locals that know about the place, and Katrina was about to become the next one.
"This place looks nice." She said as she got out of the car. It looked like a neat, modern version of a beaten down shack, and she still thought it looked nice. Roman was becoming more intrigued by this girl as the minutes went by.
They went inside and she saw that it looked similar to a diner, and it had that family feel to it, which she loved. They took a booth and began to look at the menu to see what they wanted. After ordering, Roman saw his best friend a few tables away and smiled when Dean recognized him.
"Katrina, this is Dean. He's my best friend." Said Roman. "Dean, this is Katrina. The girl I've been telling you about."
She smiled up at Dean and greeted him. The reason behind that smile was the fact that Roman talked about her to his best friend and they barely knew each other.
"Now I see why you're always talking about her." Said Dean as he wiggled his eyebrows, making Katrina laugh.
Dean went back to his table and Roman turned his attention to the blue eyed beauty that was sitting in front of him.
"So where are you from?" He asked.
"I'm from New York." She replied. "Born and raised. I moved here after graduating high school so I could go to college. How about you?"
Roman smiled. "I'm from Pensacola but I went to Georgia Tech for college. I came here about a year or two after graduating."
"How is it that you got into coaching the football team?" Katrina asked.
"I wanted to play football in college, and so I did." Roman replied. "I almost made pro, after graduating but it didn't work out. So coaching is the closet that I can get to football. Have you ever done any sports or are you interested in any?"
Katrina thought for a moment. "I did gymnastics and dance since I was about three. But when I was in my first year of college, I stopped. Though I still try to find opportunities to dance. Stripping will never be one of those opportunities. I don't care how much it pays."
"Roman?" Someone asked. When they both looked, they saw a two toned man walking towards them with a carriage and a women. Roman cursed under his breath when he saw them and looked out the window.
"Seth...Janelle. How have you two been?" He asked.
Katrina could tell that it put him under distress, seeing them and she couldn't help but wonder why.
"We've been good." Replied Seth. "It's nice to see you're doing well." He added when he saw Katrina. She gave them a small smile and tried not to stick her nose in their business.
"Roman, I think we need to talk about what happened." Said Janelle as they looked at him. "It's been almost two years since we've last seen each other and we never got to talk about what happened."
"What is there to say, Janelle?" Asked Roman who now had a bit of hurt in his eyes. For some reason, Katrina cared deeply about how he felt and wanted to make sure that he was smiling. "We can't go back and change what happened and I can't ever forget it."
Seth sighed. "We're not asking you to forget. We're just asking if we could talk it out."
"I'll give you three some privacy." Said Katrina as she was about to get up from the table.
Roman gently grabbed her hand to get her to stay. "No, I want you to know what happened so that you won't get taken by surprise about any of this, later on."
She sat back down and moved closer to Roman as Seth and Janelle sat with them as they kept the stroller with a cute little boy, beside them.
"I met Janelle freshman year of college." Roman began. "We started dating our sophmore year and it was great. Or so I thought. I was in love with this woman and I tried to give her everything that I could, to make her happy. She got pregnant almost a year after we finished college and I was excited because I was going to be a father. Being a father is something that I still want to this day."
Katrina's blue eyes darted back and forth between the three of them as Roman continued to tell the story. "I was there for her throughout the entire pregnancy. Every appointment that had to do with the baby, I made sure that I made every single one of them, even if I was a few minutes late. This was going to be my child and I didn't want to miss a thing."
"The day that she went into labor, Seth came to the hospital." Continued Roman. "Seth and I met at around the same time that I met Dean and Janelle knew both of them pretty well. It's like we skipped the friendship part and went straight into being brothers, all three of us. I didn't think anything of it because Dean was there too. But when I started to think about it, I realized that Dean had just recently moved to where we were from Las Vegas. Seth still lived in Iowa."
"Roman..." Said Seth as if, not wanting him to continue.
He held up his hands, as if telling Seth that he was going to continue, regardless. "I had family in California and they weren't able to make it that day, so how was Seth able to make it from Iowa when the last time I checked, he wasn't anywhere near us the day Janelle went into labor. I pulled him aside with Dean and Seth told me that he was there because he was the baby's father. How could it be is the first thought that ran through my mind. Who wouldn't think that?"
"Seth admitted to me that one day, while I was visiting my family in Pensacola, he was hanging out with Janelle to keep her company. One thing let to another and they had sex, which turned into something that they continued until she got pregnant. Here I was thinking that it was me because there were times when I didn't wear a condom. We got a DNA test done after the baby was born and it turns out that Seth is the biological father which put truth to everything that he told me."
"Roman, we're really sorry." Said Janelle and Seth. "We didn't mean to."
He scoffed. "I don't believe that apology because I don't believe that it's true. You two knew what you were doing and how it could possibly affect us and everything that we shared with each other, yet you continued to do it. So how are you sorry?"
They sat there quiet, with nothing to say, knowing that Roman had a point. "The two of you had me thinking for nine months that the baby was mine. And nobody ever said a thing until Janelle went into labor. Seth then got mad at Dean because he was trying to defend me. I felt stupid and embarrased when I had to break the news to my family. I saw little things and I didn't put any of it together until after it all happened. The late nights that Janelle had on the phone for days at a time. The moments where she would be on the phone, arguing and then all of a sudden act wierd when I came into the room. Seth would come and stay more frequently than what he normally did and came with countless excuses so that we could believe him. The times when I saw a car pulling out of our driveway and not once did I ever press them to tell me anything because I thought that Seth would never to that to me. I left Janelle and severed ties with Seth. I was hurt and embarrased by the situation. So what do the two of you really want to talk about with me?"
Janelle and Seth again, sat in silence knowing that Roman had a right to be upset about the situation. Roman spoke again.
"What I want to know is...why?" Roman asked. "Did I do or say something to make either of you believe that doing what you did to me was the answer?"
"It was clouded judgement." Said Janelle. "We should have known better. We're really sorry, Roman. For everything."
He shook his head. "I don't think that I could ever trust either one of you again. I forgive the both of you because I feel like that is what has helped me move on. Bu tas far as having anything to do with the two of you...that's still up in the air. It's to be determined."
Janelle and Seth nodded their heads in understanding what was said. As they were getting up, the waitress finally bought our food and when she left, Roman excused himself and walked out of the restaurant. Katrina looked up at the two people that were standing in front of me with the baby and the stroller. She asked the waitress if she could make sure nobody touches our food as she went after Roman to check on him.
He was standing by his black Tahoe, with his hands in his pockets. Katrina automatically hugged him when she reached him and felt his arms go around her waist as his chin rested on the blue eyed girl's shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Katrina whispered in his ear.
Roman stood there in her arms for a while, in silence. "I'll be okay. It just bought back memories and even though I'm over it, that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt."
They both pulled back, but stayed in each other's arms as the sky darkened. "You can't count on me, if that makes you feel any better."
He looked into her eyes and smiled. "What do you think people in school are going to say?"
Katrina shrugged. "It's none of their business what happens between you and I. Meaning, I won't tell them a damn thing."
Roman chuckled. "I like you, Katrina."
She smiled and looked up when thunder and lightning started to be seen and heard from all around them. Katrina grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the restaurant where they ate their food and left alone by Seth and Janelle. Nothing was going to ruin the rest of their day today.