Priviledge Chapter 2 p B

The next morning she awoke with a smile on her face. She looked at the ceiling and thought about how sweetly he had kissed her the cheek before leaving. She could quickly fall for this guy. His eyes were bewitching and his smile dangerous beautiful. She giggled. She had studied the gracefulness of his lips all night, feeling mesmerized. Her phone rang making her startled. She reached to the floor and picked up her phone.
“Hello.”
“I heard what happened. Are you ok?” she heard Angel say.
“Yeah, thanks to Keith.”
“What?”
Katie sat up. “Look what do you know?”
“Keith got jealous and punched Allen.”
“Allen drugged me, Angel, and Keith kept him from taking advantage of me. I know this because I tried to get away from Keith, but I passed out.”
It was silent for several seconds as Katie waited for a response, but one never came.
“Angel, Allen is a creep.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, maybe Keith isn’t that bad of a guy.”
“Maybe,” Angel’s voice dropped in tone.
“He’s taking me out to dinner tonight. Where do you think he’ll take me?”
“I don’t know. He never takes girls out, but I bet it will be somewhere nice. But listen, I would still be careful of Keith. He has hurt a lot of girls.”
Katie shook her head. The guy Angel talked about didn’t seem like the Keith she saw last night. “Did he take advantage of a lot of your friends or something?”
“Whatever, Katie, you can believe me or not. But maybe you should ask around.”
Katie felt a strain between the two of them. Angel was her friend, her only friend here and Keith really was an uncertainty, “Angel look, I’m just going to go out with him once to say thank you.”
“Okay. Have fun.”
After she said goodbye to Angel, she called Keith.
“Hey, pretty thing,” Keith said when he answered.
The sound of his smooth voice dazed Katie for a second. “Already put me in your phone?”
“Your number has been there since I got it from Angel.”
“What? Angel gave you my number!” Katie shook her head. Why would Angel do that? It didn’t make sense. Katie pressed hand down on her head. Could Angel be lying? Was she playing games because she was jealous of Keith’s attention towards her?
“Yeah, right after we first met. Does that bother you?”
“No,” she lied.
Katie talked to Keith for a couple minutes, but couldn’t focus on what he said. She kept thinking about how Angel betrayed her and she began to wonder if she could trust her.
***
Katie clinched the sides of her black cotton dress as she walked down the steps of her dorm. When she reached the bottom step, she saw Keith through the window — his back was towards the door, but she could tell he looked good in the black jacket and pants he wore.
A smile; just a little one, crossed her face. She tried to dismiss it, but it stayed as she opened the door and walked outside.
Keith turned and scanned her with his eyes, his face brightening. “Wow, you really are the prettiest girl.”
Katie could no longer keep her smile small; it widened as Keith took her hands and kissed her cheek.
“Thank you,” she said.
“No, thank you, for finally letting me treat you nice.”
Keith led her to his BMW and opened the door. She slipped in and looked out the window at people as the car pulled away. She felt like such a princess, but people didn’t stare at the fancy BMW. They were probably to use to the sights of such cars in this small town.
***
Katie let out a small gasp when they walked into the restaurant. Her eyes scanned the lace table clothes and oak red tables. Candles accented fine silverware that surrounded china plates with red flowers painted on them. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She had never been to such a place. Two musicians played violins in a corner creating a calm and romantic atmosphere
The host dressed in a suit approached them and offered to show them to a table.
She wrapped her arms around her waist, realizing she had underdressed compared to the woman in their silk dresses.
Keith placed a hand on the small of her back and gave her a small nudge. She looked up at him and smiled. She hadn’t realized she had not followed the host. She let him guide her to the table and sat down after he pulled out a chair for her.
She was out of her world. She wondered how Keith could just walk into this restaurant and feel at ease.
He ordered a bottle of wine and then asked, “Are you nervous?”
She nodded and then picked up the menu. Her eyes widened when she saw the prices; her father could never afford such a restaurant.
The waiter returned and Keith ordered crab cakes.
“Katie,” he said.
She looked up. He was holding up his wine glass. She picked hers up, hoping he didn’t notice how the glass shook.
Keith touched her glass with his. “To beginnings.”
He took a sip of wine, but she just held hers.
“Are you not going to take a sip?” He asked.
“I don’t believe in drinking alcohol.”
“Why?” He looked confused.
“Because…” she thought about why her father and pastor had told her it was wrong to drink alcohol, but every reason she thought of he would probably find silly, so she just took a sip. She set the glass down, and swallowed. She hated the sharp taste and realized a good reason not to drink wine.
Keith smiled and picked up the menu. “I hear the lamb is really good.”
She looked at the menu. It was the second most expensive thing, next to the filet mignon, but she noticed the Chicken in Orange Sauce was the cheapest thing on the menu.
“I think I’ll have the Chicken in Orange Sauce.”
Keith lowered the menu. “Have you had it before?”
She shook her head.
“Neither have I, but my sister said it’s not good.”
Katie’s eyes widened. “You have a sister?”
“Yeah, she comes down a lot because she’s engaged to Brandon. You’ll meet her soon.”
“Well, I guess we have something in common.”
“Yeah,” he said as a smile crossed his face.
She looked back at the menu, and decided she would get the lamb. He got the filet mignon.
Katie didn’t speak much during the dinner, and mostly just to answer his long list of questions. He seemed interested in finding out who she was. She found out that Keith was in his last year of law school and she thought about how he was following in the footsteps of his father. She made sure to eat everything on her plate, just because the meal was so expensive, and she felt guilty for ordering it.
After dinner, Keith took her to the movies. As they watched the film, he kept his arm around her shoulders twisting a finger into one of her curls. She felt so warm and cherished in his arms. But her thoughts kept turning to the fact, that he wasn’t the type of guy she should date even if Angel was lying. There was no indication he was a Christian. This relationship could go no farther even if he made her feel so special.
When the night was over, Keith invited her back to his place, but she told him she was tired, so he took her back to the dorm.
As he walked her to the dorm, he turned her to face him, placing both hands on her hips. He bent down to kiss her lips, but she lowered her face, so he kissed her on the head. He leaned his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes.
“Can I see you tomorrow?”
She looked at the ground to avoid his blue eyes that were making her melt.
“I don’t know,” she said even though every inch of her screamed yes. “Why not?” He caressed her cheek.
Katie bit her lip. Her whole body trembled. She couldn’t tell him the real reason. He would think she was silly. “Because I have heard too many stories about you.”
“Oh,” he took a step back from her. She looked up. The lightness to his face had disappeared. “Who has told you stories?”
“Angel.”
“Angel, who told you Allen was a great guy?”
Katie nodded, and lost her breath when he took a step towards her and peered down into her eyes. Something about the shinning light blueness caught and held her still
“And Allen would have raped you, if I hadn’t stepped in?”
“But why would Angel lie to me?”
"I don’t know. How well do you know her?”
“Keith, it’s…”
“I think you’re confused on who to trust. I had you passed out in my car. I could have done anything I wanted to you at that moment, but I didn’t. Did I?”
“No.” She lowered her eyes to the ground. She would have to find a better reason to deter him.
She felt Keith touch her chin before lifting her eyes to his.
“I like you.”
“Want to study together?”
He smiled. “Sure.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned for the door.
“Sweet dreams.” She heard as she ducked behind the door.
***
When Katie got to her dorm room, she picked up her phone. She had three missed messages all from Angel wondering why she was out all night; and one reminded her to be careful of Keith. Katie didn’t call Angel, but lay on her bed trying to figure Keith out. She thought of how much she liked him, but her mother had always warned her about the dangers of dating non-Christians.
She tried to form her plan when her roommate walked in with her boyfriend.
They turned on the stereo real loud, ignoring the fact that she was there. Katie bit down real hard, trying to hold in the scream. She shook her head and grabbed a pair of pajamas, heading to the bathroom. How could someone be so rude? She pulled on the pajamas and then headed to the dorm den to watch some TV, but her mind turned to Jeff, and she wondered how he was doing at Campbell University. It was Jeff who had asked her to sign the Purity Pledge during a youth group meeting, and an idea came to her head. She should tell Keith her decision in order to see what he would say.

***
Keith sat on the floor in the living room of his apartment with his head lowered over a small glass plate, covered with cocaine. He brought the straw to his nose took a quick sniff and then lowered his head back against the couch. His black pants and socks blurred a little as the door opened and Brandon strolled in with a girl under each arm
“Hey,” Brandon said.
Keith nodded.
“Thought we’d have a party.” Brandon kissed the blonde and headed to his bedroom with her. The other girl, who had shoulder length brown hair and wore a tight black dress, walked over to Keith. The girl sat down, took the straw and began to snort.
Keith’s eyes lowered to her chest, and he looked as far down her dress as he could.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“You can call me Alley.”
“Alley? Is that not your real name?”
“Why should I tell you,” she said.
“Because…” He touched the edge of the fabric that rested against her chest.
“Did I say you could touch me?”
“You’re snorting my coke.” He tugged at the neckline but stopped when he felt his nose began to run. He stood up.
“What are you doing?” she said.
“Just a bloody nose, I can’t snort coke without getting one of these. It’ll be gone in a second.”
“Matthew Wilkerson’s son has a weakness.”
He laughed at her remark and walked to the bathroom. While he lowered his head over the sink, he tried to focus his mind on Alley’s legs, but he kept thinking of how pretty Katie looked in the black dress. He opened a drawer and pulled out a condom, clinching it in his hands. He waited until he felt his nose dry before he washed his face and returned to the girl.
Keith had sex with the girl on the floor, although for the first time; it was fast and he felt repulsed at her touch. Every time he opened his eyes and looked at the girl, he would instantly close them because he wanted to see Katie. When he was done, he left her on the floor without saying a word and went to his room, locking the door behind him.
***
Katie sat on the brick wall outside her dorm. Keith would be there any second. He had called wanting to study at his apartment, but she knew that wouldn’t be a good idea, so she suggested a picnic. She didn’t have to wait long before Keith. She shook her head as he got out of the car in a dark blue untucked dress shirt and kakis. Even today, for a study date, she felt underdressed in jeans and a tee. They came from two different worlds.
“Hey.” He held up the bag of sandwiches and two bottles of coke.
“You didn’t get those at Subway.”
“Nah, the Cornallia deli.”
She knew the place he was talking about; it was somewhere Angel had taken her once, and all she could afford was a plain ham sandwich and water.
Keith took her to a park in town. They sat on a blanket, and talked as Katie worked on a paper. Keith acted like he was concentrating on his international business law book however his eyes kept drifting to her. She tried to ignore him, but his constant looks made her not able to focus on her paper.
After an hour, Keith took the pencil out from behind his ear, put it in the book and closed it. He leaned back on his hands. “Break time.”
She chuckled. “We’ve only been working for an hour.”
“I study best in spurts.”
Katie closed her I-book.
“What do you want to do when you finish school?” Keith asked.
“I’m going to teach like my dad.”
Keith nodded. His question afforded her the perfect opportunity. “I have another goal, I want to keep.”
“What’s that?”
Katie brought her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
“I want to be a virgin when I get married.”
She watched as his eyes grew bright and excited. “You’re a virgin.”
Katie looked out into the distance, slowly rocking back and forth.
“Why wait till marriage?” he asked.
“Because I only want to sleep with the one for me. And marriage is the only way to insure that.”
***
Keith sat up and crossed his legs Indian style. He looked at the ground, and contemplated what she said. He thought about why he kept inviting her to his apartment and wondered how long he could wait until he either wore her down or left her in rage. He looked at her light blue eyes and felt his body grow warm. He didn’t care, he realized. There was something about her that drew him.
“Well, you know what you need to do?”
“What’s that?”
“Only date guys who’ll respect your decision.”
“That is what I plan to do.” She picked up the laptop, determination in her eyes. He knew how to clinch her.
“Katie, I’d respect your decision.”
He thought that would bring a smile to her face, but she just looked at her laptop. “I mean it, Keith. I will dismiss you from my life if you try anything.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.” She knit her brows; he could tell she was thinking.
“How many people have you slept with?”
“Two,” he answered. He knew the question was coming. “And only girls I had serious relationships with.”
She looked up at him as if she was trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. He focused on keeping his eyes straight, just like how his father taught him. She smiled and he saw her body relax. He knew she believed him.
“Katie, I wouldn’t tell people you’re virgin.”
“Why? I’m not ashamed of it.”
"Yeah, but virgins are a rarity.” He bit down on the side of his lip. “You don’t want the wrong guys preying on you. I’ll have to keep punching people.”
A blush appeared on her cheeks. “Break time is over.” She opened her laptop and began working on her paper. He had won her.