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It was a few weeks later and Kat was racing around her house trying to find her house keys. Brenda was picking her up to go to the movies and Kat couldn’t remember where she had put them. Her phone started to ring and she picked it up.

 “Just hold on one second Brenda, I can’t find my house keys. I promise I’ll be out in a second.”

 The voice on the other line laughed and Kat realized that it wasn’t Brenda.

“Who’s this?” she asked not recognizing the number.

 “It’s AJ. I was just calling to say hi and to see how you were feeling since I hit you pretty hard.”

 Kat’s face lit up and she sank down onto the couch.

“I’m fine. Not ready for another game yet but I’m getting there.”

“Good to know. Maybe we should pick a game next time that doesn’t involve tackling anyone.”

Next time? There was going to be a next time? All of a sudden, Kat lost her ability to talk.

 “Hello Kat? Are you still there?” AJ asked after a few seconds of silence.

 “Oh sorry. I’m here.”

 AJ chuckled. “Good. I thought maybe you were having second thoughts about accepting my apology.”

 “Nope, the thought never crossed my mind.”

 AJ went silent for a minute. He had wanted to ask her something but he was having a hard time figuring out how to say it.

 “AJ? Are you there?”

 “Yep. I kind of called for another reason. Nick and I are coming back out to Boston at the end of the month to do some writing with a producer out there. We’ll be there for a couple of days and I thought maybe we could all hang out again.”

 Kat didn’t know what to say.

 “Unless of course you’re busy. I know it’ll be June and your school year is going to end. I just thought maybe you wouldn’t mind the company.”

 She still didn’t say anything. AJ felt like a complete idiot for even asking.

 “Never mind. It’s probably….”

 “Yes.”

 “Yes? Yes to company or yes to being too busy for company.”

 “Yes to company.” Kat said with a smile. She couldn’t see it but AJ’s face had broken out into a huge grin.

 “Great! I’ll call you in a couple of days when we work out all the details.”

 “Ok. Bye AJ.”

 “Bye Kat.”

 Kat hung up the phone and sat on the couch. Brenda came in a few minutes later to find her best friend sitting on the couch gazing at nothing with a stupid grin on her face.

 “Have you lost your marbles again?”

 Kat snapped back into reality. “No.” she said and her smile widen.

 “What’s with the dopey grin then?”

 “AJ and Nick are coming back out here at the end of the month and they want to hang out with us.”

 “Seriously?” Brenda asked.

 “Yup.” Kat jumped up from the couch and pulled her friend into a hug. She proceeded to jump around the room while Brenda just sat back and laughed at her. She hadn’t seen her friend this happy in a while.

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AJ and Nick flew out at the end of the month just like they said and Kat met them at the airport. They both hugged her and told her they were happy to see her again.

 “It’s nice to see you guys too.”

 “Nice?” AJ asked teasing her. He and Kat had talked to each other frequently over the last month and he felt very comfortable with her. They found out that they actually had a lot in common and really enjoyed each other’s company even if it was only over the phone.

 Kat laughed. “Ok. Very nice. How’s that?”

 “Better but not great. We’ll have to work on your vocabulary.”

 “Hey!” she said slapping his arm. “I’m the math teacher not the English teacher, remember? That’s Brenda’s department.”

 AJ was surprised by the slap. The only contact they ever had was just a hug and of course the ill-fated tackle. He had to admit that he liked this playful side of Kat and he put his arm around her shoulder.

 “Let’s get out of here before people start to recognize us.”

 The trio, along with Marcus and Ray, the boys’ bodyguards, picked up their luggage and headed to the airport.