It Should Be Easy

Chapter 12

CARTER

11:03 PM

    I don't see her at first. I was so wrapped up in my head after the meeting that I was startled when I heard Caira's cute little snores. I thought I was going to take a cab home. I had no idea she would wait so long for me.

She slept sideways , her head resting on one arm. The dress she wore had been pushed up her thigh, her mouth was slightly open, and her long legs hung over the end of the couch. After watching her for a few seconds I realized I should wake her up.

Kneeling next to the couch I began to shake her awake, trying not to be rough. "Caira...Caira wake up." Eventually her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, still looking slightly confused. I laughed as she shook her head and fluffed out her wild curls. She smoothed out her eyebrows and rubbed her lips together, using the mirror behind me.

"How long was I out for?" She looks down at me kneeling between her knees.

"I don't know! I had my meeting."

"Oh! Duh. How was it?"

"Oh it was nothing bad. It was about how and when we were getting paid. Gotta get that money, you feel me?" I said, pretending to be a gangsta rapper for a moment.

"Boy get up! Let's go." Caira urges, laughing at me.

We put on our sweaters, I grab her purse, and I follow her through the hallway. "I think Evan might be waiting for us."

"What Caira? How long has he been waiting?"

Clearly she doesn't care. "I don't know...He was here before the play finished I think."

"Caira!" I grab her hand and pull her along, picking up the pace until we run smack into my director's boyfriend, a talent scout. Dramatically he whips off his sunglasses. I would have introduced them but clearly they already knew each other.

"Danny?"

"Caira?" They sounded like excited second graders.

"Is this your girlfriend?" He didn't give me a chance to correct him. "Oh don't look like that! She's gorgeous!"

"Thanks," I mutter, deciding it wasn't important.

"Wow! The world is just so small. Did you know I'll be working with your Dad again soon?"

"Yeah, I think he did mention it!" I could tell Caira was lying.

"And I just spoke with your mom the other day! Tell her I said hello!"

"Will do!"

"Ok, I'll see you around baby! Maybe at the Grammys again!" I started to pull on Caira's hand, rushing her.

"Ok!"

"No sex ya'll!" Caira and I made a face at each other. "Don't do that! I know how you young people are. And good show tonight Honey Bun!"

"Thanks!" I call out as we speed down the hallway. I noticed that Danny didn't know my name, but he knew Caira's. That's what my Dad kept saying about the business; It's all in who you know. Caira definitely had an advantage.

We burst through the doors of the theatre and get into the escalade. "I'm so sorry man," I explain,"the wait was my fault. I-"

"It's cool, man, It's cool." Evan chuckles, looking at me through the rearview mirror. "It's my job."                                                                                                                                               

"See?" Caira says triumphantly. "It's cool." She raises the partition up with a button next to her.

I shake my head. "You've been to the Grammy's before?"

"Umm yes," she answers, putting up her hair. "The Grammy's are overrated. I usually stay home. It's like six hours long. On TV they only show the good stuff." Wow. Only Caira could complain about the Grammy's. "Can I lay down?"

"Yeah." She sprawls across the seats pretty awkwardly and puts her head in my lap. Absentmindedly I play with a few of her curls.

"Tell me about tonight." I tell her about how Fanning had a panic attack right before the show, which made her laugh, and how I could see the director flapping his arms around in the wings the entire time. Before too long she had fallen asleep again, and I began to doze off too.

"We're here Sir," Evan says as we pull up in front of my building. I gently slid out from under Caira and opened the car door.

I don't mean to wake her up, but I do. "Bye Cee-Cee."

She yawns, "Bye Carter."

I lean into the car and squeeze her thigh. "Call me, okay?" I whisper, kissing her beneath her ear. She smiles up at me sheepishly.

"I will. Bye Homie!"

"Bye."

When I get upstairs my parents are asleep, but my mom left a note and some food for me out on the kitchen table.

Good job tonight baby!

Enjoy! See you in the morning

I decide to change my clothes and plug my phone in to charge. It's so dead it won't turn on. I take my mac into the kitchen to put on The Office while I eat, but I see a bunch of iMessage notifications, all from Monica.

Hey babe! Where are you?

We are waiting. How long is your meeting going to be?

We are in the lobby. Did you come through another door?

????

Where are you?

Everyone left. I'm waiting for you so we can meetup.

Call me

I've been waiting here for an hour and a half.

I just saw you get in a car with Caira.

    Immediately I message her back, but there is no response. I feel terrible. I had no idea she would wait for me after the show. I call her, but there is no use when she is drunk. She is yelling at me on the phone, and she can barely hear me because she went to the party with everyone. Tight that she had to pay for the cab, she curses me out, and eventually I hang up on her. Part of me is guilty, but part of me is like thank God.

    I send Caira a snapchat before going to bed. It's a silly face with the caption Thanks for coming. Quickly she replies with a video of her dad dancing around their kitchen childishly. I can hear her laughing in the background. You can see from the marble and shiny surfaces in the big kitchen that they are so fucking loaded. The video is captioned I wouldn't miss it with a kissy face emoji. I would have called, but I was extremely tired and I didn't want her to feel like I was being clingy, especially after the bomb she dropped today.

    If I wasn't thinking so hard I would have told her how I felt too; Maybe we would have hooked up or even done something more, but I couldn't keep violating Monica and I was scared that whatever Caira had been thinking before she may have abandoned. Plus I didn't want to risk ending our friendship. The last thoughts I had were about Caira before I fell asleep.