Katie's Corruption - Chapter 12
The End of the Beginning (Part 1)
Katie was standing in line at Café Rouge waiting to be served. It was always rammed first thing in the morning, but even though it was the weekend Katie still needed her caffeine fix. Thankfully that one particular waitress wasn't working today, but Katie had found recently that she didn't really care. If the young pretty waitress had worked out what had happened, that was fine and she had been back to the coffee shop numerous times since Helen had made her cum mere feet from where she currently stood.
As she waited in line while listening to music on her phone, she was startled as she felt an unexpected tap on her shoulder. She turned round and pulled out an ear bud. The face smiling back at her was familiar. Very familiar. It was Jeremy. Her ex. The man that broke her heart. That she hadn't seen for years. Fuck.
"I thought it was you!" He smiled warmly as he took a moment to take her in. Katie did the same, trying to hide the shock on her face. Time had not been kind to him. He looked tired and disheveled, it had clearly been a long time since he'd had a haircut, and his shirt had a noticeable coffee stain on it. This was not the man that he had caught in bed with her best friend before he had left her for someone "more exciting" years earlier. No, this was a shadow of Jeremy, barely recognisable from his former self. Katie had to take a moment to collect her thoughts before responding.
"Jeremy, well, this is a surprise!" Far from a pleasant one, but she wasn't lying. "What are you doing here, I thought you were living in London now?"
His face fell a little at that comment. "Yeah well, that didn't really work out," he said, laughing softly, eyes darting down to the ground to try and hide his embarrassment. "How have you been? You look great!" He flashed her a smile; damn, that smile. She'd forgotten the effect it had on her. No, the effect it used to have on her, that was a long time ago. She snapped herself out of her intrusive thought to respond before the silence in the air got too weird.
"Thanks, that's sweet of you." Katie had always been in pretty good shape, but since starting working out regularly a couple of years ago, her body had filled out nicely, her curvy body becoming more toned with time. She had worked on herself much like a sculptor slowly chipping away at a hunk of marble and she was proud of her work. There was a momentary lull, both unsure of how to proceed with the conversation.
"So, do you fancy catching up a little?" Jeremy asked, "It's been a long time." He smiled softly at her, desperation hiding behind his eyes. "If you don't have somewhere to be, that is?"
Katie smiled softly, "Sure."
By this point they had reached the front of the queue, so they both ordered their drinks before finding a table to sit down at. Katie was still a little uneasy to be spending time again with the first man she had ever loved, but she knew she could make it through.
"So, how have you been?" Jeremy asked warmly as he sipped his coffee.
"Since I found you in bed with my best friend you mean?" Katie asked coldly. Jeremy almost choked on his drink in shock.
"Ok, I deserve that," He replied once he had time to recover. "I'm sorry, truly I am." He looked down at his cup as he spoke. "I was young and stupid. I thought I deserved better than you, but to tell the truth, I was wrong and everything went downhill after we split up."
Katie leant back in her chair, surprised that Jeremy was actually apologetic. She had built him up as a villain in her head for so long that she had forgotten that he was still a person. A person that had hurt her deeply, sure, but everyone makes mistakes and a little bit of the resentment she had held for so long gently slipped away.
"I appreciate you apologizing, I really do," Katie said softly as she reached out to take Jeremy's hand, causing him to look up from his coffee and look into her eyes, surprise written all over his face. "I really loved you Jeremy." She gulped nervously. "And you really, really hurt me. You broke my heart and it took me years to get over it. I'm not saying I can forgive you completely, but, I'm glad I saw you today. I think I've needed closure for some time."
Jeremy smiled; he couldn't believe that Katie had even been willing to speak to him, let alone open up to him like this.
As the tension between the two slowly lifted, they started to catch up on what had happened to them over the past few years. Katie told him about her fitness journey, her job, how her family was doing and much more, although she decided not to mention Kevin and Helen, for now at least.
Jeremy explained how he had met a girl after they had split up. He'd moved to London with her and started partying. It had started off relatively innocently, but eventually drugs became involved and he started to lose himself to them. Eventually the girl left him, he lost his job, his flat, everything. He'd moved back home with his mum and gotten clean and started to rebuild his life, something that he was still working on.
As he talked, Katie started to remember all the good things about him. That he was funny, intelligent and kind. She remembered why she had fallen for him in the first place, and why his betrayal had hit her so hard.
By the time they had finished talking, their cups had long been empty and it was approaching midday. Jeremy's stomach growled, causing Katie to laugh.
"Damn, you must be hungry!" She joked, "I guess it is about lunch time; maybe we should head out."
Jeremy plucked up as much courage as he could muster before speaking. Katie had always been beautiful and time had definitely been kind to her. A lot kinder than it had been to him. Looking at the woman she had grown into, he couldn't believe how stupid and egocentric his younger self had been. If only he could turn back time.
"My flat is actually really close to here, if you want we could nip to mine and I could make us some lunch?" He looked at Katie earnestly, a hint of loneliness and desperation in his eyes. "It's been so nice seeing you and talking to you again. I'd like it if we could at least be friends moving forwards, if you're willing to give me that chance?"
He looked at her hopefully, that cute smile and puppy dog eyes making it hard for Katie to do anything other than agree.
She was unsure of herself and unsure of what to do. She couldn't have imagined speaking to this man just hours earlier and now she was thinking about going back to his flat. There was no denying that she still felt a chemistry between them, despite his heinous actions and after all, she did deserve to have some finality on their relationship.
"OK, sure, but it had better be something nicer than beans on toast, we aren't students any more!" she said, laughing as she rose from her chair.
They walked out of the cafe together and made the short walk to Jeremy's flat. Katie felt more at ease now, seeing Jeremy's confidence growing and flashes of that cute teenager she had fallen for over a decade ago. It was nice to see this side of him again.
They eventually reached a modest looking block of flats that Jeremy now called home. The exterior looked a little rough, graffiti on the walls and some litter blowing around the pavement, drifting on the breeze, but all things considered, nothing too terrible. They got into the lift to head up to the 5th floor and Jeremy slid his key into the door, pushing it open and inviting Katie to step inside.
While his living room was sparsely furnished, it was pretty nice inside and surprisingly clean. Jeremy had been a bit of a slob when it came to housework when they had been together, but it seemed like he had managed to get past that with age. Maybe losing almost everything had made him appreciate what he had now, Katie mused to herself.
"Nice place," she remarked, "How long have you been here?"
"Erm, about six months." Jeremy replied. "I got lucky, a friend of my mum's owns the building and he let me rent it despite my situation. Mum helped me out for the first couple of months until I could find work, but now, it's all mine." His eyes shone with pride as he spoke. "It's my own little space y'know? My safe haven."
He shook his head gently, as if realizing how heavy the conversation had just gotten. "Anyway, I bet you're starving, how do chicken wraps and cous cous sound?"
Katie placed her hand on her chest, feigning being impressed, "My my my, aren't you a little chef!" She laughed warmly, "That sounds lovely Jeremy." Katie's eyes dropped to her feet, "Thank you," she said softly.
"No problem!" Jeremy said excitedly, "You grab a seat and I'll get to work on the grub!"