Secret Love Affair

Will you go out with me?

Sandra's POV:

Last week, I got an invitation to Cates' premier party which was tonight. I wondered, walked the hallway one thousand times trying to make up my mind. Should I go and finally face her again, or hide from her forever? For the last four months I have been thinking about what happened last summer. I realized that what happened was my biggest mistake, I broke everything I once cared about. Since then, the three of us stopped talking, we were out of each other's lives. But tonight I can fix that, life has given me a second chance. I get to fix my mistakes and make everything right again.
Once upon a time Cate loved me. Once upon a time she would have given everything up for me, for us. But I rejected her, hurt her, and left her. It was the night Sarah called to say she couldn't hang out, so it was just Cate and I. We both decided that it would be a good idea to go on a beach walk at night, so we took food, champagne, and a yellow blanket to lay on. As soon as we got there, we set the yellow blanket on the soft sand, took out the grapes, cheese, pizza, and the champagne and sat down next to each other. Everything was dark around us, all we had was a small candle that would light up Cate's blue eyes looking straight at mine. In the distance we could hear the deep blue waves hitting against each other as the wind blew towards us.

Everything was perfect at first, we talked, we laughed, we shared our secrets. It was the last time I was actually happy, It was the last time I was truly myself, I just didn't know that yet.
As my car drove into Cate's driveway, I could see her long silhouette standing on the steps. Even though I couldn't see her face, my heart knew it was her. I stepped out of my car, almost tripping over the red dress that was a little too long for me. I didn't know if I should go up to her or not, was she waiting for me? Did she even know I was coming? As soon as I walked up the stairs, she walked away and hid behind a pillar. She was avoiding me, and probably didn't even know I was coming.
I spent the whole night looking for her, trying to find the perfect moment to talk - alone. It was past midnight when I saw her sitting alone beside the pool, her reflection being displayed in the clear pool water. I walked up to her, wondering how I would start the conversation. I could feel my blood rushing through my body, my heart aching to reach out to her. After a year of waiting, she was now in front of me, close enough to feel her touch.

"Hey Cate," I call out to her.
She turned around, almost scared, her eyes searching for a place to hide. I could tell she had a little too much to drink, the wine in her left hand was almost empty, and her expression full of emotion. I couldn't tell if she was happy to see me, or if she detested the idea of having me near her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.
"Tom sent me an invitation," I replied to her.
We didn't even have a 2 minute conversation before she stood up and left.

I knew it wouldn't be easy, not after everything I had done, but I was determined to talk to her and apologize.
A couple of hours later I saw her walk up to the kitchen counter, her footsteps were not straight, her back was arched, she had too much wine.
"Let me help you" I rushed to assist her, grabbing the glass of wine before it landed on the floor.
"Sandra" she looked me straight in the eye.
"Yes Cate." I said while holding my heart before it jumped out of its cage.
"Why are you here?"
"Cate," I replied, not finding the right words. Her eyes were locked into mine, she was still holding on to my hands.
"I wanted to talk to you," I said.
"Why now? You had a whole year to talk to me, why now."
"Cate, I didn't know how to."
"Why did you leave, you decided to walk away." I could see her eyes water, turning a lighter shade of blue.
"Cate, let's not do this here, let's go somewhere private."
I didn't want people seeing her like this, especially not Andrew, he would ask questions.
"I am not going anywhere." she said reluctantly but loud. Everyone was looking now, we were the center of attention. I walked toward the sink, left the empty glass of wine and walked back to where Cate was standing.
"Where is Sarah?" she questioned me.
"I haven't talked to her in a long time either."
"Did you two fight as well?"
"Not really, we just drifted from each other. After everything that happened, things weren't the same."
"It was your fault, you know" she said as she got a hold of my hand once again. She had a strong grip, one that was not gentle or loving but instead full of rage. She was mad about what happened, and she had all the right to be.
"Listen Cate '' I replied back. "I want to make things right, can we please talk some other time? Maybe go out for dinner, or wherever you want to go - please" I begged as I gently held her hand.
"I don't know," she said as her hand quickly pulled away from mine.
"I'll pick you up tomorrow, at five. Please Cate. Give me a chance."
"What about Sarah?"
"We can talk with her later, she wants us to be okay, she always wanted us to be okay."

That is the truth. Sarah walked away because things weren't working back then. But she continuously insisted that I go talk to cate and fix things, even if she didn't approve of what happened at the beach. However, at the time, Sarah took my side which caused her and Cate to fight. Sarah told Cate she wasn't okay with what happened, which led to Cate screaming at her and they haven't talked ever since. Months after that, it was just Sarah and I, but slowly it was just I.
"Okay" she replied, but her eyes were far away.
"Thank you" I said back, I was looking at her, trying to get a connection, a sign, but got nothing in return.