“Do not say I told you so,” Cat insists as she takes a sip of her iced coffee. Mark and Hallie look at her from across the table. Her black sunglasses hide the dark circles that threaten to swallow her blue eyes.
“So what happened? Is everything okay? Hals was very cryptic on the phone.” Mark says.
“I don’t know what's going on either,” Hallie says.
For a moment Cat sees how very silly this entire situation is, that she called her friends and forced them to meet her Saturday morning to discuss a guy she ran into who she was, what? Dating? No. Seeing? No. Talking to? No. Emailing? Yes, but honestly what does that even mean.
“I am an idiot, you guys. Oh my god.” She starts to laugh.
“Are you going crazy or something? You look like Tammy Fay Baker and now you are laughing?” Mark asks.
“Oh Jesus, seriously. I am a huge idiot.”
“Well at least tell us what happened?” Hallie takes a sip of her coffee and swirls the warm liquid in her mouth.
“I ran into Nick last night at a party.” Cat says.
“Oh shit.” Mark interrupts.
“Let me finish. And he has a fiancé. And I am a total idiot!” The tears start again.
“Oh don’t cry,” Hallie says, “he’s totally not worth the salt.”
“No, I know. It’s just I feel so stupid. What is wrong with me that I would pin all my hopes on some guy who only has time to email me? I just feel so stupid. Really, it has nothing to do with him.”
“I know how you feel.” Mark says. Hallie and Cat exchange confused glances. “I do! I’ve been an idiot in love before, we all have.”
“But not over the internet. It’s like some sort of bad tabloid story.” Cat says a small smile creeping back over her face.
“You wish this was bad enough for a tabloid. This is nursery school scandal to them.” Hallie smiles.
“So what happened?” Mark asks as he leans back in his chair.
When Cat reaches the end of the story she is reluctant to tell them about Dave.
“The worst part of it was that I ran out of the bar like a crazy person, and Dave actually followed me.”
“Of course he did,” Mark says.
“Why would you say that?” Cat asks.
Mark and Hallie exchange a look.
“Honestly Cat, you can be so dense. He is obviously crazy about you.”
“No, no he’s not. He’s just lonely.”
“Seriously, Cat, a guy that nice and that cute is not lonely.”
“You think he likes me,” Cat plays with her straw.
“Cat, why do you think I didn't go out with him? He was totally not interested in me.” Hallie says.
"Really," Cat blushes.
“Of course he likes you, honey,” Mark says.
“Oh my god, I really am an idiot.” Cat puts her hands over her face.
“This time, about Dave, I’m going to have to agree.” Mark smiles.
As Cat walks home she thinks of Dave. She never thought he was flirting with her, but maybe she just didn’t want to see it. She was too focused on Nick. Although she is embarrassed that she wasted so much time thinking about some guy who was never interested in her, she is also glad that it gave her an excuse to get to know Dave in a way she would not have done if she had thought about him as a possibility right from the start. Her pace quickens. She can’t believe she missed everything with Dave.
Cat moves down her block with one goal in mind. She is going to talk to Dave. She marches up the stairs, past her own front door, and knocks at his apartment. She hasn’t thought about what she is going to say only that she wants to talk to him.
She knocks. Cat can hear him inside scrambling to get to the door. She smiles. Why didn’t see figure this out earlier? Of course she’s attracted to him, he’s adorable, and smart and nice. She is shaking her head as he finally opens the door.
“Oh hey Cat. How are you?” He says looking past her down the stairs.
“Hi,” she smiles, “sorry to just barge in on you, I just wanted to apologize for last night.”
“Don’t worry about it. Nick is a total douche, I’ve always known that.” He checks his watch.
“Did I catch you at a bad time? You seem a little frazzled.”
“Actually, kind of, I’m waiting for my ex, Heather, to come over. Courtney told her that I saw them last night and she called this morning. Come in and tell me how the place looks.”
Cat’s heart sank. She missed her chance with Dave.
“Sure, sure.” Cat walks through the door. “The place looks great Dave. It’s so clean.” She scans the room, her eyes fall over the soft leather sofa and dark coffee table. The door to one bedroom is open and the other closed.
“I had to stuff all the junk into that room,” he smiles nervously. “I don’t know what Heather wants. I moved out here to be with her and then she dumped me right after I arrived. I rented this apartment thinking the two of us would live here. I don’t need two bedrooms for myself.” He spits out.
“Calm down, Dave. It’s fine. You're a great guy, she’d be lucky to have you.” Cat smiles at him, “anyone would be.”
“That’s sweet Cat, thanks. I don’t know why I'm so nervous.” Dave runs his hands through his clean hair.
“I’d better get going. Thanks again for last night.” Cat says. “Good luck with Heather.”
“Thanks Cat.” He says practically pushing her out the front door.
Cat slowly takes the steps down to her apartment. This is worse than last night she thinks. How could she let Dave slip through her fingers? She sits down on her sofa debating her next move. There is no way she can sit in her apartment all day. She flips open the computer to find a movie. Instantly a message from Nick pops up.
Oh my god, Cat, I am so sorry. It isn’t want you think at all. I have really enjoyed talking to you these last few months. Everything with Courtney has been so complicated…
Before Cat finishes reading Nick’s message she erases it. She does not care what he has to say anymore. She reaches for her phone.
“Hals,” Cat says, “meet me on my corner in thirty minutes, and be ready to stay out for the rest of the night.” She calls Mark next and jumps in the shower. Cat puts on her favorite dress and dries hair. Her reflection stares back at her and for once she sees the beautiful woman that she has become. She smears on a shimmery lip gloss and grabs her purse. A snoring starts upstairs and for a second she thinks of Dave and allows herself to wonder how his reunion with Heather went, and then imagines them snuggling in his bed before pushing the image from her mind.
She steps outside into the warm summer air and waves at her friends on the corner. She rushes to meet them, to be surrounded by their love and support.
“Hey gorgeous,” Mark shouts.
“Hi, hi,” she says trying to blink the tears out of her eyes.
“So, how did it go with Dave? Did you talk to him?” Hallie asks.
“Shit.”
“Shit.”
“Well, screw him,” Mark recovers, “you're too good for him anyway.”
“Where to,” Hallie asks.
Mark gives her a nasty look.
“What did I do?” She asks as they squish into the backseat of the cab.
“Its break-up drinks, honey. To the Carlyle Hotel on 74th and
“Oh of course,” Hallie says and squeezes Cat’s knee. “Tell us everything.”
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