The Bar

15 - Cathy

15

…

Cathy

The situation was karmic, Cathy thought. Maybe she deserved to be bit in the butt by karma, after all she did try going out with two brothers.

Max on the other hand kept on smiling at Cathy. He wasn’t very good at flirting but he tried his best.

Cathy couldn’t concentrate over Max’s fatal attempts to grab her attention. She looked everywhere, searching high and low, tensing at every moving waiter, sighing and hiding behind the menu card.

“You seemed riled up, what’s wrong?” Max touched her hand but Cathy slowly took it away.

“I think we need to order. It’s like I’m starving” she grinned, diverting the topic.

“I already made the order. Chicken, fish and wine, always a good combo” he smirked.

“Sure, yeah, excellent” she gasped and then sipped on her water.

Max looked a bit confused but then mistook her reactions as nervousness and drunkenness for the first date. He tried eyeing the room for any other thing to divert his attention but was unsuccessful. Later he decided to review the menu card one more time when Cathy turned to look towards the kitchen door.

Her eyes widen as the door flung open, gracefully and tall, a fair handsome man stood proud and a slightly cutely inside the dining room viewing his workers work. His blue eyes were bright and the smile on his face was fresh. Cathy tried to turn around so he wouldn’t notice she was here but it was too late. It was like he could sense her in the room, Carters eyes feasted upon the table that had a little roughly cut, brown hair boy seated, engrossed in his menu and a beautiful slim, brown hair girl uncomfortably shifting from side to side sitting opposite him.

Immediately recognizing his kid brother’s hair, Carter proudly walked up to the table and stood above them. Cathy tried putting her lap napkin over face, sometimes tried hiding her face with her hair and once or twice banged her forehead to the table pretending she had a headache and had to rest but it was no use. Carter just needed to have one look and she would be recognised.

“Having a good time brother?” He spoke roughly, smiling at him and still not looking at his date.

“Yes, brother. A great time indeed. I want you to meet Cathy Anderson, the prettiest girl and the guest at our fundraiser, back home”. He was hoping Carter would recall.

Carter was much more aware with only the scent that she left behind where ever she sat, leave talking about recalling her face.

Was it only the fact that all good things came with bad side effects or that only when she decided to play a double role in her life that back luck came so lovingly knocking on her door.

“Hi” Cathy crippled a smile over face, slowly putting down the menu card that she was so efficiently using to hide her face.

“Hello, so how do like the restaurant?” Carter had put on a very artificial smile and low pitched voice.

“It’s beautiful, I really like the decorations” Cathy commented without shifting her eye contact over him.

“I’m so glad you liked it, maybe you should visit more, you know, with more dates” Carter gritted his teeth gazing intently back at Cathy.

“Of course sure, I would love to increase your business here, there, everywhere” Cathy smiled.

“Okay” Max interfered. The intense heat that was building up between Cathy and Carter couldn’t only be felt by Max but also by every single human in that room. “Is everything fine?” He looked at his brother and then Cathy.

“Everything is perfect!” Cathy and Carter exclaimed in unison.

“Great, wonderful… so bro, I’ll see you at home, must give the pleasure of my presence to Cathy too!” Max smiled.

“Sure sure but just before that, I would love to show Cathy the aquarium from where the fresh lobster you have ordered for, swims” Carter grinned.

“I didn’t order for –

Carter pulled Cathy out of the chair and dragged her to his office before Max could complete his sentence. He needed a private word with her and that would be about, right now.

Once Carter pulled Cathy into his office, Cathy stumbled into his chair and grounded herself. Her head was spinning and she was in no mood to argue or try explaining Carter what the hell was she doing with Max.

“There isn’t any aquarium here” Cathy looked stupidly at Carter.

“Right, well I didn’t pull you inside to show you the lobsters, you know why I pulled you inside Cathy Anderson” Carter put his one thigh up on his desk.

“No, I don’t actually recall the appropriate reason as to why you have invited me here” Cathy pulled her chin up.

“Oh come on! What are you doing here with MAX?!” he burst out.

“Um, I have come on a date, why?” Cathy looked at her nails pretending to overlook the tensed expression on Carters face.

“DATE?” He tried to control his tone, “date?” he repeated softly.

“Look Carter, you haven’t made me your girlfriend, nor am I your mistress, sister or wife. I’m not even good friends with you. This relationship thingy that floats between us has no actual name or stance that it has taken. You cannot stop me from falling for someone who actually likes me or at least gives me attention. He is my age and he is in my class and I kind of have a crush on him so if you will excuse me,” Cathy got up, “I have to go to my date” she caught hold of his table and wobbled her way to the door.

“Are you drunk?” Carter questioned, shocked and stunned a little from her previous speech but obviously did not show it.

“A little” Cathy laughed and then walked proudly out of his office and towards Max.

She managed to slowly make her way back to the table where Max was seated. The exquisite food of the restaurant was already served over the table and all Cathy had to do the next minute was start to eat.

The wined flowed down from her lips to her stomach, the soft, gravy filled chicken soothed her growling stomach and the soft cheesy fish lead her to over stuff herself.

Dinner felt good but it also pushed the alcohol out of her system. Cathy was feeling pretty much normal. She cleaned her mouth with her lap napkin and just looked at Max. He was done eating too and awkwardly looking back at her.

“So...” Cathy smiled.

“Yea… I hope you liked dinner.” Max asked.

“Yea, I did” Cathy replied looking at her hands under the table and wondering what to say next.

“So do you want to leave?” Max asked her.

“Yea, I’m pretty tired so I guess that’s a good idea” Cathy admitted.

Without another word, Max helped Cathy out of her chair and they began to get out of the restaurant. Cathy took a look behind to see if Carter was still around but didn’t exactly see him anywhere.

They walked silently together, filling awkward silences with their long sighs. It seemed like it took them forever but they finally got to Cathy’s building when suddenly Cathy decided to just break the awkwardness.

“I had a lovely time, sorry I was a bit drunk”

“That’s alright, guess getting you to my brothers restaurant was a bit of a mood killer” Max rubbed his neck.

“Yea, maybe” Cathy smiled and turned to move inside her building.

“I’ll see you tomorrow in college” Max waved.

“Yea, see you there” Cathy replied and almost bolted it up the stairs… she was feeling incredibly guilty for being so boring. She had no idea what the hell had happened all night. Even though she was on a date with Max all she recalled was spending that cheeky moment she had with Carter in his office. This sucked, it totally sucked, Cathy thought.