Crush

Kate balanced on the ladder as her eyes scanning the bookshelves, hoping to find a copy of The Canterbury Tales. After a few moments Kate finally located the leather bound volume, unfortunately the book sat just out of her reach. Kate leaned as far as she dared to try and reach the book, her fingers lightly brushing the spine. 'Just...a...little...further...' she thought when she lost her footing, she braced her body for the inevitable landing. Her eyes were still squeezed shut when she realized that two strong arms were holding her; taking a deep breath she opened her eyes and looked straight into a pair bright green eyes.

A deep rumble vibrated against his chest and she realized that he was trying to hold back laughter; she scrambled out of his arms, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. Kate looked back up at her rescuer, her eyes widened when she realized that her rescuer was none other than: Cade Slater. Kate had a huge crush on him in high school, her heart began to beat a little faster; she couldn't help but hope he remembered her. That thought died fast and hard when he finally spoke.

“Are you okay beautiful?” smiled Cade amusement lit his eyes

“Yes...I-I'm fine,” stuttered Kate slightly cursing her tendency to blush, “thank you for catching me.”

“I'm Cade Slater by the way...”

Kate quickly turned and moved the ladder closer to the book she needed; she began climbing the ladder, hoping he would leave before she could embarrass herself further. Kate snatched the leather bound book and started to climb back down when Cade's velvety rich voice filled her ears.

“You know, I gave you my name,” smirked Cade winking up at her, “and common courtesy dictates that you give me your name in return...or do I get to give you a name...Gertrude?”

'He doesn't remember me...this may or may not be a good thing.' she thought as she firmly placed both feet back on the polished wooden floor. Kate observed him closely as she clutched the book nervously to her chest.

“Kate Thomas.”

“Well, Kate Thomas,” said Cade grinned, “it is a pleasure to meet you.”

When she didn't respond he turned and slowly began to walk away, she felt panic bubble up inside her and when she heard herself call his name Kate felt surprised at her own boldness.

“Cade...do you want to get a drink sometime?” asked Kate blushing harder than ever, “I know a great cafe...of course, if you're busy...”

“I'd love to Kate,” replied Cade smiling wide as he handed her his phone, “why don't we exchange numbers, I'm available this weekend.”

“This weekend works.” gulped Kate a shy smile forming on her lips

Kate stood alone in the aisle once more, feeling completely dumbfounded; 'Holy crap! I have a date with Cade Slater!' Kate giggled before quickly sobering, 'He has no idea who I am...how is he going to react when he finds out we went to high school together?' Kate couldn't think of anything but her upcoming date with Cade for the rest of the day; she wavered between being really excited and incredibly nervous.

The night before the big date with her high school crush, Kate stood in her closet trying to come up with an outfit that would impress Cade. Growling with frustration, Kate stormed out of the closet and grabbed her cell phone; within a few seconds her best friend Layla picked up.

“Kate!” greeted Layla happily, “How's it going?”

“Well, I did a thing,” sighed Kate wearily, “can you come over ? I really need some advice...both fashion and guy advice.”

“I'll bring the cookie dough.”

Before Kate could say anything else, Layla had hung up; a relieved giggle escaped her lips as she layed out her top five outfits out on her bed. Her attention was captured when her phone lit up with a message from Cade.

'Hey beautiful! I was wondering if we could meet up at 1:00pm instead of 10? I've got a meeting that will most likely run over time...I'd rather not be late for our date =)'

'1:00 works great. I'll see at the old theatre on eighth ave...it looks run down on the outside but I promise the inside will blow you away.'

'Can't wait...see you then =)'

Three loud knocks followed by a loud “Comfort food has arrived!” announced Layla's arrival; Kate busied herself in the kitchen while Layla picked out her outfit for the date. 'What am I doing? I shouldn't be doing this...I should just go out with Steve who is nice, reliable and safe.'

“This is what you're going to wear.” stated Layla grinning as she held up a white knee length dress with a peach and blue floral pattern with cap sleeves in one hand and in the other a light blue jean jacket

“This is why I love you,” smiled Kate gratefully, “I was thinking I could wear my pearl earrings with it...”

“Yes,” agreed Layla draping the clothes over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, “so tell me all about cute library guy.”

Kate thought about how different Cade seemed to be now; 'Maybe he grew up from high school...'

“His name is Cade Slater,” said Kate as she began to eat the cookie dough, “we went to high school together, I had a crush on him, he teased me a lot for being a nerd and now I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember me, end of story.”

Layla blinked, shock clearly written on her face, “Sweetie, there is way more to that story...he made your high school life miserable and now your going on a date with him.”

“People change after high school,” reasoned Kate talking around a mouthful of dough, “he could've changed from being a butt head to being a nice guy, right? I'm probably fooling myself, guys like Cade don't go out with girls like me.”

“You are beautiful,” argued Layla eyes wide, “this guy is lucky to get a date with you...so just be yourself and have a good time.”

The next day arrived sooner than Kate would have like, despite Layla's pep talk, her mind whirred with date topics. 10:00 am. Groaning, she began her date routine: shower, make up, hair and clothes. 'Oh for heaven's sake, it's not like we're going to a ritzy restaurant!” she thought angrily wiping her eyeliner off and starting again.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her car keys and purse, heading out the door with butterflies flying furiously in her stomach. The closer she got to the cafe, the more anxious she became, 'Should I tell him that we already know each other or just leave it alone?'

She glared at her reflection in the shade mirror and muttered, “Just enjoy yourself...you can do this...there is no reason you can't date someone like Cade!” with that being said Kate made her way into the cafe. The smell of baked goods filled her nostrils and eased her nerves a little; her eyes scanned the room until she found his green eyes staring happily at her.

“You were right, this place is a gem.” grinned Cade standing to allow Kate to take the bench side of the table, “How did you find this place?”

“Well, I'm a photographer and was just walking around,” explained Kate smoothing the invisible wrinkles on her dress, “I saw this old theatre and it simple captivated me. I've been coming here a few times a week to work and escape the world for the last two years.”

“Wow, that's incredible!” whistled Cade his eyes observing her carefully

“So, what do you do for work Cade?”

Cade couldn't understand why this woman seemed so familiar to him; he found her to be intriguing and he knew he wanted to get to know her better. The conversation soon flowed easily, the date went a lot better than Kate had thought it would. Kate still wondered if she should bring up their past, she didn't want to ruin this incredible moment but she also felt she would be deceiving him if she didn't say anything.

An hour had almost past, yet Cade made no move to end the date. 'This is a good sign, however when I tell him, he will probably run for the hills.' her hands wrapped the mug in front of her. The smell of hot chocolate comforted her a little, she was so lost in thought that she jumped when Cade's hand gently touched hers.

“Is everything okay beautiful?”

“I'm sorry,” apologized Kate cheeks flushing with embarrassment, “I guess I got lost in thought...Cade, I have something to tell you but I...”

“I'm sure it will be okay,” assured Cade concern filled his eyes, “take your time.”

Kate took a couple of deep breaths before speaking, her eyes meeting his as she took another deep breath: “Cade, when you caught me at the library, I recognized you immediately and I saw that you had no idea who I was...” another deep breath, “we went to high school together and well...um, our 'relationship' wasn't exactly great.”

Cade's eyes widened as he listened, recognition dawned in his eyes as he realized that that was the reason the woman sitting across from him seemed so familiar. Guilt twisted his gut, he remembered that he was arrogant with a bit of a mean streak when he was in high school and Kate often payed the price for his arrogance.

“Kate, I am so sorry!” apologized Cade taking her hands in his, “I was a jerk back then and I know that no amount of apologies will ever excuse what I did to you but I promise I am not like that anymore!”

Kate sighed, relieved that he didn't become angry or take off. She smiled at him and squeezed his hands and leaned towards him.

“I really appreciate your apology,” assured Kate smiling shyly at him, “I would really like to get to know this new Cade...that is if you want to see me again.”

Relief coursed through him when he saw that she wasn't angry with him; he met her eyes again this time with a smile.

“I definitely want to see you again Kate.” whispered Cade excitement pierced his heart

“Same time next week?”

“Same time tomorrow?”

Kate smile as Cade continued to hold her hand, she agreed to meet with him tomorrow:

“Same time tomorrow.” a wide smile lifted her lips while a deep blush touched her cheeks