The hip underground club was loud, warm and sweaty. Although Cate felt her body getting hotter with each passing second, she couldn't bring herself to take off the jacket.
Strobe lights were flashing around, illuminating the place. There were too many people and not enough space, especially on the dancefloor. Guys kept ogling at every girl's boobs and trying to touch whatever they could get their hands on. In short, "hesitation" became a foreign word to these people. Tonight, Key appeared to be the only trusted male in the whole area - even though it was his initial idea to come here.
Cate felt very out of place. She kept pulling down her dress, and when she wasn't busy with that she peeled the paper sticker off the beer bottle in front of her. Everyone could see that she wasn't used to these kinds of establishments. Thankfully Krystal was sitting next to her at the bar, coolly dismissing the intense stares she was getting. She knew that her friend wasn't too keen on dancing and hated to be left alone, though she never admitted it and Cate was silently grateful for her consideration.
Being with Krystal was like having a free entry pass. They had yet to pay for even a single drink thanks to her presence. She returned the favors by, once in a while, showering her admirers with a slight nod.
Most men are pretty one-dimensional, Cate couldn't help but think.
They must have thought Krystal would be interested in one of them. But Cate knew better. It wasn't easy to impress her friend; the last guy to do so was way out of their league, and even that didn't last. They didn't stand a chance.
While Cate and Krystal were getting comfortable at the bar, Tory was dancing with a smug guy from overseas a few meters away. Key had excused himself earlier to greet some people he knew would be here tonight.
Cate felt her phone vibrating.
From: James Morelli
To: Caitlin Whitecross
I hope you're having a good night. Stay out of trouble, though. Tell Victoria to stop rubbing up against strangers and sending me pictures of this Latino dude!
Cate sighed and started to chew on her lower lip like always when she was caught in deep thought. James was her elder brother's best friend and senior at the hospital. Now that Celio was overseas, naturally, James seemed to be looking out for her.
"Who are you texting?" Krystal asked, leaning closer because the EDM music kept growing louder.
The bass was hammering against their eardrums. Cate wasn't too fond of the buzzing feeling it left in her ear.
"James," formed her lips.
"Why don't you tell him you like him?" Krystal questioned, causing Cate's eyes to open wide at the unexpected question.
Cate secretly had a small crush on him, but he treated her like a younger sister. It didn't come as a surprise though. As the youngest assistant medical director of the surgical ward and gifted with a quite attractive face, he was surrounded by pretty nurses almost all the time. She didn't expect to stand out.
Cate had never mentioned it before, but Krystal seemed to have caught onto it anyway. There was no point in lying about it, but Cate still shook her head defensively at her friend's suggestion.
"He only treats me as a younger sister, whereas..." She glanced towards Tory, not finishing her sentence.
Officially James and Tory were both single. Usually, the two of them were like cats and dogs. It was as entertaining and annoying as it sounded. But, these last few months Cate felt something had changed. They kept teasing each other, even using Cate as the middleman at times. It seemed like they had gotten closer while remaining oblivious to her growing feelings.
"They are probably just messing around. You know that Tory has other things on her mind right now," Krystal stated, trying to cheer her up.
Tory's dad had not been in good health lately, so as the oldest out of seven in her parents' patchwork family, she worked extra hard to support the other family members. She was even planning on moving back home temporarily during her semester break to help them out.
"The problem is not her, Catie. The problem is that you won't make up your mind. Since your relationship-fail with Tristan, you keep pushing every guy away. But how can you expect to receive anything if you're not expressing your feelings in the first place? It's not like you're sending any signals, you know?"
As much as Cate hated to admit it, her friend had a point there. Ever since finding out that her first love, Tristan, had betrayed her, she had troubles trusting again. She couldn't help it, it was really hard for her to let her guard down. It wasn't that no one after Tristan had shown interest, it was her insecurity which made her push them away. She feared that they, too, would lose interest in her as time went on. As long as no one came near her, she wouldn't be disappointed again and she liked to stay clear of another heartache. But it also hindered her from moving forward in life.
Slowly nearing her mid-twenties, she hadn't managed to develop a normal romantic relationship. Of course, this made her feel even more insecure. And so the cycle continued. It was hard to break free.
It seemed as if her friends couldn't bear to watch it any longer. Cate had noticed that they kept pushing her out of her comfort zone lately.
"You know what? Maybe I should take off this jacket and dance for a while," Cate said, causing Krystal's almond-shaped eyes to grow brighter and her perfectly made-up lips smile.
She looks different without her cold-business-woman expression, almost cute, Cate thought.
Krystal spotted Key behind the huge glass front of the VIP area, far above the dance floor, talking. She signed for them to go there as she grabbed Cate's hand.
Two bouncers were guarding the stairs that divided the commoners from the special quests. However, Krystal was relatively famous around this area. Cate wasn't surprised when the men stepped aside to grant them entrance. When they arrived, she felt her ears relax. The music was much quieter and sounded a little muffled now, allowing people to talk without yelling at each other.
She noticed two guys speaking to Key. They seemed familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint where she had seen them before. In any case, they were talking as if they knew each other quite well. Next to them stood another tall guy. Despite his soft facial features, he was wearing a stoic, almost deterrent expression. His stormy grey eyes were unreadable and he didn't say a word.
A few steps away, she overheard a man arguing with a woman. She was wearing very little but somehow managed to make it seem more sexy than slutty. All the makeup made her look older than she probably was.
"Don't make me regret ever knowing you," the handsome stranger said to her, his voice sounded as sharp as a razor blade.
"Drayce, you know the inevitable ending already. Why are you still going against this?" the woman asked cryptically, her confidence slipping.
He seemed to have had enough of her, ignoring her as he turned away.
Cate found that he had an attractive profile - intense, dark eyes, straight snub nose, full lips, and a sharp jawline. But there was no time to pay more attention, her focus was ripped away from him as Krystal grabbed her focus.
"Excuse us," Krystal interrupted Key's conversation confidently, completely disregarding the guys around her.
Cate couldn't help but be amazed by Krystal's unreachable level of composure. She could have sworn she saw surprise or even admiration on the stoic guy's face, too, but it was gone before she could be sure.
There weren't many girls who managed to act this way around such a bundle of hot males. The proof being a noticeable bunch of women staring with lust around them but made no moves. The guys were good-looking with the slight badass aura that females craved.
Not Cate though. She had enough of bad guys for the rest of her life as they only brought drama. If anything, she was looking for a man with a decent character.
On the other hand, these guys were no match for Krystal's level-headedness. She seemed completely unaffected.
Key looked to the side, surprised by the sudden intrusion. His face, however, softened when he recognized them.
"You need to hold onto this for a moment. Mary and I are going to hit it off tonight," Krystal pointed at Cate with a smirk.
And with that, she pulled Cate's jacket from off her slim shoulders and handed it over to him with the rest of their belongings that would have disturbed them on the dance floor. She then snatched Cate's hairband, letting her long, wavy hair be the only thing to cover her back like a silky veil.
"Glad to see you're enjoying yourself," Key said towards Cate. He sounded genuine except for the playful glimmer in his bright eyes.
She had no time to reply though as her friend had no plans of staying.
"Catch you later!" Krystal grabbed Cate's hand and pulled her away, leading her deep into the dancing crowd.
_________
My dear little Mobsters,
how are you doing?
I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about the friendship dynamic between Cate and her friends. Also, this chapter contains a few little hints on things that will become relevant later on. What do you think they are?
If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a vote. I'd also love to talk to you in the comment section about what you liked/disliked. Please leave your thoughts! I don't bite, promise! <3
Let's chat!
Topic: What are your thoughts on bad breakups? Would you be affected like Cate and struggle to overcome them or are you the type to move on after a bad few weeks?