Catherine
"Earth to Catherine." I blinked and looked up to see Rose leaning on my table. I've been spacing out since I arrived at the office, thinking about the roommate the Almighty apparently sent my way.
Rose has been talking non-stop about a science fiction novel she just read. 'I have a good feeling about this one.' she said.
With me questioning my life choices, I was almost late for my meeting with an author. My car, little ol' Bradley didn't cooperate and decided that he'd stop four blocks away from my supposed meeting. It always fascinated me that whenever I asked an author on how they came to write their work, it's either a really touching backstory or they're trying something new. And it's almost always those with the most innocent faces that write the raunchiest ones.
"Dear, it's like reading porn but with a more engaging plot," she said, smiling. She took a sip of her tea and looked at me. I gave her a nervous laugh. She could probably see how red my ears were. I could definitely feel them getting hotter.
She was a sweet woman. She and her husband got married young. Their kids were all grown up and she just wanted something to do to spend the time. She joked about wanting to remember what she used to do so she sometimes added some events from her life into her works.
I wouldn't dare to ask which ones.
After my meeting with her, I went straight to the office. I asked Rose to contact a repair shop and wished Bradley well as he was being towed to the experts.
On my way back, I found what looked like a manuscript at the steps of the office building. I raised an eyebrow as I read its title. The author seemed so sure on what they're writing; Cupid's Guide on Catching.
With this in hand, I was greeted by Rose and now she's asking if I was paying attention to what she was saying. "It's about Terrans and something about uh...mixed breeds?" I said hesitantly. I admit I wasn't paying attention.
"Not at all, Miss Wright. It's about a woman who falls in love with an unknown species while exploring space," she said. She went on about how she loved it when men were innocent in the ways of love. Considering that this 'man' was in space, should they even call him that? I got a bit distracted when she leaned closer. I tried to focus on what she was saying and not what she was wearing. Rose was what my grandmother called 'blessed'.
I didn't mind that mine weren't as 'blessed' as hers. Besides, they don't hurt that much when I run; which is a good thing. Rose knew that I have this frustration with men and how they don't understand that as much as some girls like big breasts, they hurt. Sure it's fun to watch them defy the laws of physics, but it honestly feels like someone put jelly there and connected it to your flesh.
"Are you alright? I know you just broke up with the guy, but I thought you said he was a whiner. Besides, there are way better men out there. If I knew that you're going to be like this, I would've dragged you to a strip club with me the moment you pulled the plug. " She took my hands in hers and looked at me.
"And why the strip club?" I sighed, smiling. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I also have a man inside my house. Whether he's better or worse than Glen was yet to be seen.
"You just got out of a relationship with a loser. Male strip clubs have hot men who can dance. No talking, just entertaining. What more could a woman ask for?" she said matter-of-factly.
I couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to Rose to be the more open-minded one.
"Aside from a lot of thrusting action on stage? A couple of potentially sexually transmitted diseases, I believe." She rolled her eyes and debated that she knew I wouldn't be willing to spend my hard-earned money for some of the club's special services.
"I only told you about entering a strip club, not leaving with one of the strippers," she said.
"And you'd leave with two?" I replied.
She looked at me like she couldn't believe I just said that and I instantly regretted it.
"Rose, I'm so sorry." I didn't get to finish what I was saying when she laughed. Relieved, I relaxed on my chair.
"You always take what I say seriously. It's rare for you to have these kinds of comebacks. What's going on with you today?"
Finally! Someone to talk to about what happened.
"Well there's —" I paused when someone knocked. An intern peaked in and nervously looked at Rose and I.
"Miss Catherine there's a...a..." I frowned when she started stammering. Noticing that her cheeks were stained pink. She was one of the interns who usually talked about me with her friends in the bathroom.
I for one know that they've been tempted to call me Head Mistress whenever they see me.
She took a step back and the person she was talking about opened the door wider. I suddenly got up from my chair.
"What are you doing here? How'd you know where I am?"
He entered the room with a mischievous smile on his face.
"I told you I'd pick you up, didn't I?"
Sure, working hours were over but I didn't think he would come through!
"You can leave now." I turned to the intern as she stood there staring at him. I could almost feel the disappointment she felt. He did turn around to give her a smile. The poor girl almost fainted. And it didn't miss my attention when she mouthed 'Call me.' before she left.
Rose was standing beside me now. I looked at her and I almost laughed when I saw how she examined him. Now here's the thing about Rose; she can talk about guys and their physique, but when a guy is in front of her, she just inspects him with her eyes.
"Catherine Wright, is this why you're not paying attention a while ago? Which strip club is it? I need me one of those," she whispered near my ear and my eyes widened before simply pinching her side.
Great. My friend thinks Damon's a stripper.
I tried to keep a straight face when he turned back to us, a smile still on his face. Rose approached him and smiled back, offering her hand.
"Rose Williams and you are...?" I almost rolled my eyes. She only introduces herself with her full name when she finds a person interesting.
So you're admitting he's interesting?
I shook my head, shaking the thought away.
"Damon Grace, ma'am." He shook her hand briefly and looked at me.
I was tempted to smile back, but remembering that I had ruined make-up on our first encounter, and was under-dressed on the second, made me frown instead.
His expression quickly changed to a confused one. He excused himself and went to pick up my bag on the side of my desk. He walked towards the door and opened it. He raised his brow, as if asking me why I wasn't moving. How can I tell Rose about what's distracting me if the distraction was there to take me home?
"I— We're going, Rose." I had to say something or we'll be stuck at the office. She looked at me and nodded. I'm not even sure if she understood as I walked past her. Damon smiled at Rose one more time before following me out of the building.
I knew people were staring. Who wouldn't? If you saw a hot guy carrying the headmistress' bag, who wouldn't want to look? I felt him touch my elbow so I had to stop and look at him. He just had to stop me in the lobby. I couldn't maintain eye contact so I decided to look at our shoes instead.
I was feeling uneasy. It was usually just home to work and vice-versa for me. There was no opportunity for chitchat with other employees or asking how their holidays were. My hands felt cold. I felt him put his hand on my chin, gently lifting so our eyes would meet.
"Why are you in a hurry? When we're walking, wouldn't it be nice if we walked next to each other? Not behind or in front of me. Right, bonbon?" He was looking at me so intensely that I just nodded and waited for him to stand beside me before I started walking again. I was about to turn towards where I parked Bradley when he touched my wrist gently. "We're riding my bike." It didn't sound like an inquiry.
"Excuse me, but I do not want to leave Bradley." I insisted. The repair shop was kind enough to bring him over a while back and parked him nearby.
Looking at Damon and his confused face, I wanted to inform him that he couldn't tell me what to do . Except that time at the lobby, that was a moment of weakness I was not proud of. That will never ever happen again. In the first place, he shouldn't be appearing like a teenager's pimple the night before prom.
"Bradley?" he frowned. I grabbed my bag from his hands. He didn't even budge. I rolled my eyes and pointed at my mini cooper at the far end of the parking lot. I felt him loosen his hold on my bag.
"That's Bradley." I turned to see him looking at me blankly. He wasn't laughing but I have a feeling that he was about to.
I was prepared to hear jokes about me naming my car. That's what Rose did when she found out. I had to listen to endless car puns after that.
"You named your mini cooper, Bradley? Bradley...Cooper?" he said carefully. I nodded.
Then slowly, a smile made its way to his face.
I froze.
Holy shiznick.
I get what the intern was feeling now. It felt like we were sharing a joke. I couldn't help but smile back.
He froze. He placed his hand on my face, rubbing my cheek with his thumb as he stared right into my eyes.
What did I do to get this kind of reaction from him? My heart felt like it was in my throat. My hands felt clammy and I didn't know where to look.
That was when he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I didn't realize that I was holding my breath before he removed his hand from my cheek.
"Your car will still be here tomorrow, bonbon." He placed his hand on the small of my back before gently urging me to walk towards where his bike was.
I saw two helmets dangling on the handles and I almost smiled. He gave one to me as he put his on. I've ridden a motorbike before, but more on the scooter kind.
The seat was higher than I expected. How in the name of Santa do I get on this monster of a bike? He looked at me, confused as to why I wasn't doing anything. So I did what I was asked. Not so gracefully, but I managed. After securing my bag, he took my hands and wrapped them around his midsection.
Okay, Catherine. Breathe. Breat-good grace, what am I holding? Mine doesn't feel this hard.
It's safe to say that it took a lot from me to keep my hands still during the ride home. It was getting dark. I remembered the first time we met and I just had to ask.
"Why wasn't your bike's headlight on?" I had to get my mouth near his ear, which was stupid. We were both wearing a helmet. I thought he wasn't able to hear me since he kept quiet. When we reached an intersection, he replied.
"I can see perfectly fine in the dark, bonbon."
Before I could tell him that that was a bunch of baloney, the traffic light flashed green and we drove off. I wasn't used to feeling this much wind on my skin in the city, that I thought my soul got left behind. He was going to get us home or he would die trying.