I nod and he kisses me again. “I knew when I saw you at that party, we were going to click.” Soon, the Union looms in front of us and I’m suddenly nervous. What if we get naked? Oh, no! I haven’t done any muffin-scaping. No shaving or waxing. Nada! I look like an overgrown grizzly down below. Oh fuck! What am I going to do? This is so unexpected; I never imagined we’d get past dinner! Maybe I can sneak into the bathroom and use his razor. But then I look at his face and remember he’s sporting a bit of scruff, so I doubt he even brought one for the night. Shit-doodle.
“What is it? Please don’t say you’re having second thoughts. I promise Cate, we can just sit and talk. I only want to spend time with you.”
“I know. I trust you, Drew.” And oddly enough, I do.
As my thoughts travel back to the possibilities, it comes to me. I can say I don’t get naked ever on first dates. Yes. That’s it. Perfectly reasonable and acceptable. We make it to his room and he asks if I care for something to drink. I ask for a water. In minutes, one is in my hand, which I greedily drink.
The way he stares at me, I’m guessing he knows I’m nervous.
“You have regrets, don’t you?”
I shake my head. “It’s not that.”
“Please tell me. I don’t want anything to weigh on your mind.”
My stupid, stupid mouth blurts right out, “I look like an overgrown grizzly below the waist.”
“Huh?”
I suppose being a man, he just doesn’t understand. So I raise my index finger and then aim it directly between my thighs.
It’s obvious when the light bulb goes on because he smiles. Hugely. “It’s fine. I didn’t plan on us getting naked, anyway.”
Okay, so I just told him my deepest darkest most humiliating secret—well almost most humiliating—for nothing? I embarrassed myself to death, for no purpose whatsoever? I want to crawl in a hole and die. I do the only thing I know. I grab the nearest pillow and bury my face in it. The most beautiful man I’ve ever met, with the most gorgeous eyes on the planet, sits before me, and I just told him that my muffin looks like Sasquatch. This goes down as the most humiliating moment of my life, replacing the dickwad. I will never live this down. Ever.
LIVELY MUSIC AND MY LIVELIER coworkers, fill the lounge. But I see and hear none of it. I stare into the mirror on the back of the bar wondering whose reflection I see. I barely recognize the woman staring back at me with the vacant eyes. Drew… Andy is here in town. It’s been three days since I saw him and I can’t get him out of my head.
“Cate, you’re too quiet. This is a celebration. We’ve completed the Caine account. Maybe now we can sleep for more than four hours a night.” Daniel grins and puts a tumbler to his lips. “At least until our meeting next Monday to discuss our next project.”
He laughs at his own joke as Mandy strolls over with two drinks in her hand. She leans down to whisper in my ear. “I’m not sure what’s going on with you tonight, but you will celebrate.”
I take the proffered drink feeling like a daisy downer. She lifts up her glass and my team of coworkers all raise their glasses. Not wanting to be the odd man out, I do the same and plaster a smile on my face.
“To us and especially Cate. Without her last minute save we all might be in the office reworking the project,” Mandy announces.
“To Cate,” everyone toasts.
“To the team,” I counter. “There’s no I in team. We all put in the hours and we all will, hopefully, reap the rewards.”
“Here, here!” comes a chorus of cheers.
I have no idea if we will get bonuses for completing the job on time other than the day off we were given. Still, a girl can hope. I toss back the shot with no idea what kind of liquor it is.
The burn hits my throat and I feel the cinnamon taste not only in my mouth, but in the tears that form in my eyes. It’s a Fireball! When my eyes pop out of my head, Mandy thumps my back as if I were choking. I keep my mouth closed for fear I will breathe out fire like a dragon.
“It’ll put hair on your chest,” Mandy chirps. Her honey brown curls bounce as if she’s unable to contain all the energy she has inside her. “At least that’s what Dad told my brothers when they had their first taste of alcohol.”
“I’m pretty sure my esophagus will never be the same,” I croak.
“Here. Have another?”
My expression freezes as I give her a you’re crazy stare. “You’re kidding me, right? Or maybe you’re just trying to poison me.”
She tosses her head back and barks out a belly laugh. “Cate, I swear we love you. I know you’re worried because you’re the newest member of the team and you might feel as though we’re intimidated that you pulled this one out of the crapper. But honestly, everyone is happy you’re here. Happy clients mean we all have jobs. So take another for the team.”
She’s right. No one has ever made me feel unwanted at work. Worry has clouded my thoughts. What she doesn’t know is that it’s Drew, or rather Andy, that has me rattled. Seeing him after all this time brings to the surface so many regrets.
I pick up the shot and this time I’m ready for it. I clink her glass and chant, “To the team,” before I drink it down.
Mandy’s sly glance at me makes me suspicious. “There is one other thing you should know.”
“What’s that?” I dab at my eyes, hoping the moisture the Fireball caused doesn’t mess up my makeup.
“Daniel has a crush on you.”