Part two.
"Did you like the feeling of my mustache?"
"I think so, although I was preoccupied with those overly active lips of yours." What a kisser, she thought; he took my breath away.
I smiled and said, "We can try it again if you're not sure."
"You're too much." Kat honestly wanted more; nevertheless, she playfully swatted my shoulder and walked back to the trail. However, I hadn't heard a definite no.
Not wanting to admit her true desire, Kat had lightly slapped me. Yet in her mind she was thinking about how she could get another kiss like that and remain righteous. After all, she was wearing Dirk's ring.
Nothing more occurred that day of a sensual nature. Our walks continued through Friday of the third week of July, during which nothing out of the ordinary happened. On that Friday we made plans to meet again on the following Monday.
Kat was confused about her romantic feelings. She had known Dirk for a considerable amount of time, and now they found themselves engaged. She believed that Dirk loved her, and she loved him. For the most part, she felt lucky to have connected with him. He was very popular with all of their friends and extremely handsome. Together, they had shared many good times; however, lately those good times had become less common. She felt Dirk was taking her for granted; sometimes he displayed a jealous temper, and his alcohol consumption was becoming excessive. On the other hand, she hadn't known Jeff for very long but enjoyed his company immensely. She felt he always appreciated her, and she liked him more than she cared to admit. Jeff, while handsome in his own right, pales in comparison to Dirk, who possesses a more impressive physical presence. Jeff's personality shines: he is intelligent, confident, caring, and has a wonderful sense of humor. Jeff doesn't seem to have any negatives, yet she hasn't known him for very long and then only as a friend. Thinking back, everything about Dirk seemed positive at the beginning of their relationship as well.
Out of nowhere, on Sunday, I received a message from Kat that made my heart sink. Apparently on Saturday night, she and Dirk had a long discussion about their relationship. They managed to work things out, and they came to an agreement on how they could better cement their connection and create the kind of union they both wanted. Dirk was humble and charming for once; he apologized for the things he had said to Kat and promised to curtail his drinking. While Dirk never admitted to attempting to get rid of her cat, he did tell Kat that he would be nicer to Angel. All he wanted was for her to stop walking with me. It was self-evident to Dirk that I was a major contributing factor to all their problems.
Clearly, Kat still loved Dirk and wanted to be with him. She plainly told me that our walks were at an end. She was sorry but asked me to forget about our friendship since it had to be over and done with. Kat claimed that I would be greatly missed by her; however, she had agreed to stay away from me for their harmony's sake. Finally, she stated, "Jeff, you're too special not to share yourself with some lucky lady. I wish you all the happiness in the world!"
I sent Kat a sad emoji face and said, "I'll miss you, all the best, and good luck." I was devastated; I should never have gotten my hopes up so high. The dream of winning Kat's love was no longer attainable. For days I moped around the house; even Oscar could tell something was wrong. I went to work every evening with a void in my heart and a feeling of deep sadness. Since they reminded me of Kat, I didn't want to visit the trails even though I had regularly walked down there alone on days when we didn't walk together. Finally, after a week or so, I decided I had to shake my melancholy feelings and walk down there again. At first it was tough; the aura of the setting wasn't the same without her cheerful presence. I often found myself missing our conversations and the way she made even the dullest days feel a lot brighter, but each day it got easier. The exercise burned up my negative emotions and stress. My outlook on life slowly improved.
I never saw Kat; obviously, she had quit walking entirely or found another place to walk. It would have felt awkward facing her, so not seeing her was probably a good thing.
After a couple of weeks, I decided to check out several dating sites and found two intriguing women there to date. First dates can be uncomfortable, and I didn't hit it off with either one. It was mostly my fault, as I found myself subconsciously comparing these ladies to Kat. Largely, though, I had settled back into my pre-Kat routines and mindset.
My outlook was back to being upbeat, and my future looked bright when it came to my romantic prospects on those dating sites. I just needed to find the right woman among the multitude of possibilities.
Then unexpectedly, while I walked along by the creek on a Thursday morning in late August, I heard off in the distance, "Jeff, wait up." I turned around to a familiar voice, and here came Kat. She lunged into my arms, hugging and kissing me on the cheek.
"It's so good to see you again, Jeff." I was flabbergasted. What was going on?
"I thought you had to stay away from me; what's up?"
A golden-tanned Kat looked sad and answered, "I know; well, Dirk broke our agreement by coming home super drunk last night just as I returned from the hospital. When I confronted him about it, he yelled at me. I ordered him to sleep on the couch and stated that I wanted him to move out again. Thereafter, he was truly sorry about everything and tried to apologize. I didn't want to hear it and went to bed. This morning, I told him I needed to think, and I still wanted him to move out, at least for now. He wanted to talk me out of it. However, that was a no-go, so he left looking pissed off."
"That's a bummer, Kat." In truth I was far from bummed.
"Can I walk with you again, or am I going to make some lucky lady jealous?"
I replied, "I'll need to check with her."
"Oh, I didn't know."
"I'm just kidding; I would love to walk with you, Kat." The walk was pleasant, interesting, and fun. We caught up on each other's lives. I learned that for the most part, Dirk had been good, and she was still wearing his ring. She hadn't yet decided what to do about their relationship. I shared with her the details of my two dates, and just like before, we chuckled over the most ridiculous things; it was like old times had returned. We expeditiously rekindled our friendship, and it almost felt like nothing had ever happened to change it.
At the end of our walk, I asked, "Would you like to walk with me tomorrow?"
Grinning, she said, "Absolutely, I thought you would never ask."
"Meet me at the same place, same time, and same station."
Amused, she said, "Yes, Mr. Controller, I can flow with that."