Free Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series) by Michelle Maness

could see them lasting for the long haul but she was content to have them accepted as a couple and to enjoy spending time with him. They continued to date through the holidays and into the spring. He had been understanding when she had gently informed him she wasn’t ready for sex. She couldn’t help but feel, however, that it played a role in him informing her that his ex-fiancée was in town and that he wanted to see her.
    Katherine entered her room and tossed her books onto her bed in irritation before she plopped down with a sigh.
    “What happened?” Amy looked up from where she was sprawled out and studying on her bed.
    “I told Kevin all about me and Adam and how confused I was. He finally convinces me to go out with him, we date for weeks and then today, I find out his former fiancée is back in town and wants to see him. He wants to see her too. He could have mentioned the fact that he was engaged until a few weeks before I met him,” she vented.
    “Yes, he could have,” Amy agreed. “You seem more angry than hurt.”
    “I suppose I am. I can’t help but feel that this comes right back around to sex. I turned him down and now I am dumped. It is Nathan all over again.”
    “If that’s why he dumped you are better off and he did you a favor. I slept with Clark because I wanted to. He never put any pressure on me, in fact, intended to wait because I’m younger than him and still had school. I didn’t want to wait any longer,” Amy shrugged.
    “Yeah, I know. I want a man who will be that understanding,” Katherine sighed.
    “Hey, Kattie, these came for you,” Emily announced as she came into the room with balloons attached to a porcelain teddy bear. Emily was in a couple of classes with Katherine and was a dorm mate from a few doors down.
    Katherine sat up and frowned at the gift.
    “Who’s it from?” Amy asked.
    “’Happy birthday, Kaitlyn. I hope everything is going well for you. Love, Adam,’” she read to her friends.
    “That’s sweet, when is your birthday?” Emily asked.
    “Tomorrow,” she said as she set the bear on her desk.
    “Too bad he’s in another state,” Amy sighed for her.
    “Yes, it is. I still miss him, Amy.”
    “You know, you and Kevin may have been going out, Kattie; but he never really had more than a corner of your heart did he?” Amy was studying her closely.
    “Barely that,” she admitted.
    ***
     
    Katherine was happy to return home for the summer. She visited with her friends, got a job, and enjoyed seeing her mom and dad each evening. It was both welcome and odd to be home after living on her own for a year. She wasn’t accustomed to answering for where she was any longer.
    Over the summer she received several more letters from Adam and one from Kevin apologizing for his behavior, and asking to see her again. She politely declined. She wasn’t going to waste her time on him or any other man until she was through with her education. It would make her life a lot less complicated.
    When fall arrived and a new school year with it, Katherine was happy to pack her things and head to college. Now that she knew the lay of the land and what to expect, she intended to use it to her advantage. She left the elevators to those who didn’t mind the wait and started climbing the stairs. She and Amy would be roommates this year and sharing a suite with Kim and Faith; four women to one bath was very preferable to a community bath. She peered at the floor number over her pile of boxes; one more to go.
    “The stairs seem steeper this year,” her father joked.
    “I think they are in this building,” she acknowledged.
    She emerged onto her floor to find the hall teaming with students.
    “Kattie!” Kim came rushing up and took a box from Katherine as she led the way to their room. “I saw Theo earlier; you are not going to believe what he did with his hair. He shaved it completely off; he’s bald!” Kim shared.
    “Look out inside!” Amy called over her boxes. “I