Lace & Leather [a Damian Priest story]

7 Enough

Katja POV

I was leaving the hair salon and walking down the sidewalk when the phone in my bag started ringing. I opened my bag and looked for the phone to see who was calling me. When I finally found it I couldn't help but smile. It was Damian.

Over the course of the last week, we talked a lot. And we managed to overcome the weirdness of our night together. I now understood why Damian had shown such a reluctance. When I spoke to him about it, he explained how sorry he was that I had bruised up because of him. He apologized again and again for hurting me. It took me a while to convince him that I had never felt pain at any point. Just the opposite, actually.

"Hello Mr Priest. How are you?" I asked as I answered the call.

"Bluebell... I'm fine. And you? I'm just about to pack my suitcase for tomorrow. And I wanted to make sure I didn't forget your gift." he replied and I could clearly hear the smirk in his voice.

"Gift? What kind of gift?" I asked curiously.

"Oh wait and see. I hope you'll like it." he said.

"That's really mean, mister. Okay, in that case, I won't send you a picture of my new hair either." I replied, a little sulky.

"Oh come on! And that's not mean?" he whined.

"Maybe. I guess we'll both have to wait until tomorrow." I laughed.

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After taking my suitcase to the locker room, I now set off to find Damian. It was crazy how much he had changed me in the last few weeks. Never in my life had I thought that was possible. I actually thought that I was destined to go through life alone. But now it didn't seem so scary anymore. Or well, this one particular man didn't. Other men, on the other hand, that was different story.

I was just about to turn a corner when I suddenly heard my name. Frozen to the spot, I stopped and listened. It wasn't nice, but if it was really about me, I had the right to hear it.

"What's going on between Katja and you? I honestly thought she wasn't into men. Whenever one gets too close to her, she acts so weird." I heard a voice ask. I wasn't sure, but thought it might be Austin Theory.

"Oh dude. That's none of your business. But I can assure you that she definitely likes men. And that's the important word here.... men. Not some sissy boy like you. She knows what's good, kid." I heard Damian say. I'd recognize his deep voice anywhere.

And I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Especially from him. He knew exactly that I was just shy and now? Now it sounded like all I needed to be 'normal' was a real man. How could I have been so wrong about him? I felt a tug in my chest and blinked away the tears.

"Hey! I'm sure I could get her just the same. You're not as irresistible as you think you are!" grumbled Theory.

"Oh yeah? Then go ahead and try it and see what happens. But don't come crying to me when she rejects you." Damian laughed.

I had heard enough. With quick steps, I walked in the opposite direction. I was stunned. How could I be so stupid and trust him? I had actually imagined that we had something special, but I was wrong. So damn wrong. And it hurt. Damian didn't care about me. He didn't care about hurting my feelings by telling another man to try his luck with me. He knew or should know how I would take that.

All of a sudden, all my insecurities were back. Everything he had vanquished came back with full force.

I took out my phone and dialed the number of my PR agent. I tried to take a deep breath, but I couldn't.

"Hello Miss Fay. How are you?" asked Rita.

"Hey, I've been thinking about it.... Does the offer still stand?" I asked, sniffling and heartbroken.