Chapter's song: Sam Smith, "Too Good At Goodbyes" (Love this guy!)
"Scott?"
Why are you calling me?
"Yeah, it's been a while, huh? You've been hard to catch on because you seem to be busy all the time."
I want to say that I have a life, as I'm pretty sure he does as well, but I bit my lip instead.
"Life has been pretty hectic lately..." My lips curve up as I think of Mark, and how I seem to be hopeless around him. I never thought I'd be head over heels for a guy like him, especially him, but here I am.
"I know. I have been trying to send you some code words because I was a coward to reach out to you."
My whole body stays still. Code words?
"Are you the secret admirer?" I hear him laugh and despite all this time, the sound makes my stomach clench.
It's been ages since I talked to him. I was so hurt when he left, like I wasn't enough for him and he had to look for whatever elsewhere.
The thought makes me frown and I feel a deep ache in my heart.
"I'm such a dork, I know. I can't say that I'm sorry, though. Writing you in secret has been the most fun I've had in a while." I frown. What is he talking about? He sounds so different!
"Scott, is everything okay?"
I hear him sigh and my chest tightens. "My life sucks right now, Kate."
My eyes roam all over my apartment. How can his life suck? Wasn't his wife pregnant?
And what to I have to do with anything?
"If I'm honest, I don't know what to tell you Scott. I don't know what you want from me, but now that I know that you're my secret admirer, you know, you can stop."
There's a pause. "I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I?"
Hell yes!
"A bit." I take a deep breath and move in my seat uncomfortably.
"I'm sorry. I guess I just wanted to talk to you, you were my best friend for such a long time, and I just wanted to have that friendship back, I guess."
For a moment, I feel sorry.
Then I remember he dumped me and I want to send him to hell, but as I open my mouth to say so, I freeze.
If we were in a reverse situation, would I want someone to tell me off?
All he's looking for is a friend. I can be one. No matter what happened, I can hear him out. He seems to be in a rough spot right now.
"I can do that, Scott. I can be your friend, but no more flowers or cheesy quotes."
"Deal. I'm very sorry if I made you feel weird or something."
"It's okay." I pull away my phone to check the time. Mark will be here soon. "Do you need to talk like, right now?"
He chuckles. "No. I can call you some other time if you're busy right now. Or better yet, we can meet for coffee."
I crease my brows. I'm not sure if meeting for coffee is okay for me, I don't know how to feel about it.
"Let's start with a call, shall we?"
"Okay. I can do that." He takes a moment to say, "thank you. This means a lot to me."
I swallow hard. "You're welcome."
"Bye, Kate."
"Bye."
We end the call and I stay on the couch with a frown on my face. My heart still feels heavy and as if someone squeezed it for a moment.
I don't know what Scott is going through, and a part of me doesn't want to know. I mean, what if he tells me he's having issues with his wife? That would be extremely awkward and not something that I want to hear. However, I also feel like I can be his friend if he needs one. He must be pretty desperate to call me.
Crap.
This is so messed up.
I arrive to Kate's house after almost half an hour later. It took me a while to lose the paparazzi that was following me, but hell, I don't want Kate to freak out as soon as she steps outside her doorstep. I mean, there will be a couple of photographers after we leave the restaurant, for sure. There's someone out there always. Especially when I'm with a girl. Also, I know it's a matter of time to when they'll figure out that I'm dating Kate, so I figure, the sooner, the better.
Running, I step to her building and climb the stairs to her apartment. I know I have a goofy smile as I ring the bell on her door. Damn. I try to be more discreet, but it's quite impossible, I can't stop smiling.
Kate is frowning when she opens her door and my smile fades a little, but as soon as our eyes meet, her lips tug up and the smile reaches her eyes.
"Hey... missed me much?" I ask before wrapping my arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss.
"Barely," she whispers as I lean to her.
"Ha! You're such a liar, Kate. I know you've missed me and I can only hope that it's at least half of how much I've missed you."
We're super close, our noses are brushing and our lips are barely touching when she stares at me intensely. "I don't know where you take from all these sappy comments, Mark."
I peck her lightly on the lips before pulling away to laugh. "What can I say? You bring out all the cheesiness in me!"
Her smile is so wide that it warms my heart. And yes, I realize how corny I sound even to myself, but I know she has me on the palm of her hand.
"Are you ready to go out?" I grab her hand and I notice how her smile fades a little before she swallows hard.
"As ready as I'll ever be..."
"You'll be fine. I mean, you'll need to dodge whatever the ladies throw your way, because you know, I'm popular like that, but other than that, you don't need to worry."
She chuckles nervously before closing her door. "You're hilarious, Mark."
"I know I am, babe."
At the endearment, she turns to me with a disgusted face. "Babe?"
I freeze. Bloody hell. I thought chicks loved that sort of thing!
"I can look for other endearments, if you don't like that one. Like, my little lump of sugar, or my sweet cabbage."
Kate blinks at me before placing both hands on her hips. "Do I look like a freaking cabbage?"
My lips are twitching as I try not to laugh. "Cabbages are cute and..." I try to come up with something else, but I'm blank, "healthy, so they're good for you. Just like you're good for me too." She narrows her eyes but I see the trace of a smile on her face. "And you wouldn't mind me calling you cabbage, would you?"
She rolls her eyes and let out a breath. "I know I'm probably stuck with it now, Mark. And anything I say can be used against me." She passes a hand across her forehead before giving me a fake smile. "So, I love it."
I chuckle. She's definitely stuck with the nickname now, but what makes me feel all gooey inside is how well she knows me.
Reaching out for her hand, I pull her closer to me and kiss her once more. "Seriously, you seemed a bit worried back there, are you okay?"
She keeps still for a moment and there's a flicker of something in her eyes, but I don't know what it is. "It's nothing, really. Just a call I got out of the blue."
"Are you sure?" I press on. I don't want to push her though. I hope she'll tell me all about it if she needs to.
"Yes, eggplant, I'm sure."
I crack up before raising an eyebrow. "Eggplant?"
She shrugs. "It's healthy too!"
"I think I like something more exotic, like pepper, or something."
Kate laughs. "Sorry dude, you're stuck with eggplant. And this whole vegetable talk is making me hungry."
"Right on, lead the way my sweet cabbage." I chuckle at the end and Kate rolls her eyes, but she smiles anyway.
Aw. I like how unconventionally cute they are :)
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