Imperfections (9 page)

Nick:

So what are you doing up now?

Let me guess.

Thinking about me.

Cat:

Conceited MF'er, aren't you?

Nick:

Yes. I notice you've added a few new words to your vocabulary.

Cat:

Do you have a problem with that too? I'm not exactly the same person I was when I left. I've changed and I've grown up some.

Nick:

I know you've changed and you're not exactly the same.

I was being an ass earlier tonight.

Cat:

Yes, you were a total and complete ass!

Nick:

Do me a favor, let
's call a truce for tonight.

I miss my friend. The one I could call at two in the morning.

When I was cramming for an exam back in the day, my stress reliever.

You can be mad at me tomorrow.

Cat:

Truce. For tonight.

Nick:

What if I told you I was outside your window right now watching you?

Cat:

I would say you done turned into a stalker. Do I have to call the authorities, Mr. Alexander?

Nick:

Oh, you're a comedian now.

You have jokes, Ms. Reed.

Cat:

No jokes here, Mr. Alexander, I might have to call the police and tell them I have a stalker on my hands.

Nick:

It's a good thing I have influential friends in high places that can make things happen, the way I want them to.

I'm going to call u now, answer your phone.

"Are you really outside?"

"No, but I can be, all you have to do is say the word and I'll be there."

He sounds so sexy over the phone, my own personal sex phone operator, I'm tempted to tell him to come over.

"I think I've seen enough of you for one night. Are you sure you're not in front of my house?"

"I'm absolutely sure I'm lying down in my bed talking to you. Are you in bed?"

"Yes, and I do remember us doing this when you were in college and you couldn't focus on whatever exam you were studying for and we would talk about the most random things."

"Then I would tell you about my day and fill you in on what you had to look forward to in college. I felt better after I talked to you, those conversations helped me to focus and clear my mind again. Talking to you and a strong pot of coffee helped me get through those study sessions."

"Those were the good old days when things between us were simpler."

"Yes, they were. What do you plan to do now that you have finished with school and living in New York again?"

"That's the thing, I don't know, I'm not sure. You go to college for all these years and you think you're going to know by the time you're ready to graduate, and I should, right?"

"Not necessarily. Many people go to college and graduate with a PhD and still don't know what they want to do with their lives. You're intelligent, focused and you're a hard worker. Look at what you've accomplished already, you made it through seven years of college with a full course load while working two jobs, one of them as an unpaid intern and maintained a 3.0 GPA. That's an accomplishment in itself, you'll figure it out. Until you do, your family's there for you and you have me, if you need anything you know all you have to do is ask and it's yours."

"Thanks, but I think I had it easy compared to most people. My dad could afford to pay for my college education, most people are not that fortunate. They're not afforded the opportunity to go to college for free. All I had to do was work to pay for my apartment and my living expenses. I was lucky compared to most people my age."

"That's what I love about you; most people would have bitched and moaned that they had to work when their daddy had money."

"My dad didn't raise me to be a pampered princess, he has strict work ethics and it's his money not mine. He always told us he would put us through school and when it was over we had to make our own way. I don't have a sense of entitlement to anything he's worked for. I don't want to rely on my father's achievements."

"I've never heard you talk like this before, we've had discussions over the years but none like this."

"Looks like there's still more for you to learn about me, isn't there?"

"Yes, there is. Tell me what you might be interested in doing and I can set up a few job interviews for you."

"Just like that, all I have to do is tell you what I want and all of a sudden I have a job interview? What are you, my personal genie in a bottle, are you going to grant me three wishes too?" I start to smile. Nice of him to offer but I wouldn't accept his offer. I can hear the amusement in his voice when he answers.

"No, but I could be. I think it would work the other way better, nod your head, blink three times and call me master, grant me three wishes. I'll know exactly what to do with them."

"Really, and what would they be?"

His voice changes slightly.

"All three would revolve around the same thing with the same person."

I'm quiet for a minute. I'm not sure if I want to know what they are. He breaks the silence.

"That's a conversation for another night. So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm going to start looking for a job so I can get my own apartment."

"Why don't you work for your father?"

"He would love that but I don't want to be a part of that dynamic, family business, Dad and brothers. I want to fly without a net, see where I land."

"I understand. How long are you planning to stay at your parents'?"

"Hopefully not too long. I'm used to having my own space, it's a little of an adjustment telling my parents where I'm going and when I'll be back."

"You're busy tomorrow and what about the rest of the week?"

"I have a lot of things to do; people to see, old friends to catch up with."

"When will you have time for this friend?"

"I'll let you know."

"Don't avoid me, Cat. If you don't come to me, you know I'm going to come to you. Go to sleep, it's late."

"Good night."

"Good night."

I put the phone on the night stand, roll on to my side and dream of Nicholas Alexander, full lips and all.

"Where's my phone? I need a smaller bag."  I'm mumbling to myself and trying to find my phone in my oversized bag that doubles as my everyday suitcase. At the same time I'm trying to open my front door. It's Ava. "Hello."

"Why didn't you answer your phone? I called you about ten times."

"I turned my phone volume down so I could concentrate on finding a job and then I had to run a few errands. It was lost in my bag and I didn't hear it ring."

"How's the job hunt going, find anything good?"

"Hmm, it's okay, I put a few résumés and applications out. A few people are interested in interviewing me for a couple of positions over the next two weeks. I'll let you know how it goes."

"That's great."

"So how are things going with you, and the search for your new boutique?"

"Really good. I think I've found the perfect place. It's in the right location, it's newly renovated, and it was a clothing store before the owner decided to move into a larger building."

"That was fast. I thought it would take you at least a couple of weeks or months to find a place that was right for you."

"I know, me too, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I still have a couple more places to look at before I make a final decision."

"I'm glad things are working out for at least one of us."

"Oh, honey, what's wrong, job hunt got you down?"

"Something like that."

"I think I know exactly what has you feeling blue."

"And what would that be?"

I know no one's home. I drop my bag on the couch and flop down next to it. I'm waiting for her to say the name of the person who has been in my dreams the past two nights, doing the most amazing things to me with his tongue from head to toe.

"A certain cousin of mine with dark black hair and intense gray eyes only for you."

"Ava, I wasn't even thinking about him."

"I'm sure. You were. You're a terrible liar. His eyes were on you most of the night instead of his fiancée where they should have been."

"Were they? I didn't notice."

"You were too busy clutching your wine glass all night."

"I was not!  I was enjoying the atmosphere."

"That and evading the questions about the show stopper of a pendant as Chris put it."

I roll my eyes and groan. "Yes, and you were no help, instead of helping me you were starting trouble."

"I was not. I was tapping into my inner Veronica Mars…I was stirring up things, a little bit. How else was I supposed to find out what's going on between Nick and your sister? Plus I love sticking it to Kate."

I shake my head and cradle the phone against my shoulder and search through my bag for a piece of gum. I don't know why I bother, I can't even find it. I have to clean this bag out tonight. "What does your inner Veronica Mars think she found out?"

"Did you notice that Nick and Kate hardly talked to each other all night and they were not affectionate toward each other at all?"

"I did. But lots of couples don't like to show PDA—"

"Please, Cat, do you really believe that?" She scoffs. The one time I saw your sister with her ex she was draped all over him like a cheap leopard cat suit from the eighties and you're telling me she doesn't like to show PDA? Something is not right and we're definitely going to crack this case wide open, you just leave it to me."

She sounds so sincere I have to laugh. "I did notice the lack of conversation between them."

"Just the lack of conversation! How about the lack of emotion? My God, I would hate to be in that bedroom, it's probably colder than a Frigidaire."

I burst out laughing seeing it in my head. "You're right; something wasn't right. Jay and Vanessa were showing more affection toward each other and they're separated."

"It's not like my cousin to be with his friends or family and not show any type of emotion to the woman he's engaged to."

I don't want to talk about this anymore; she's like a dog with a bone, she's just going to keep digging. I'm going to have to accept this, whatever it is they have going on. If only I can get Ava to see it that way too. I guess that's what makes her so successful with her boutique.

"As much as I would like to sit here and analyze every little thing that happened the other night I can't."

"And why not, you have something better to do?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I'm starving, I need food and I need it now."

"Nice try changing the subject on me, I'm going to have mercy on you and let you go."

"How kind of you." In my best French accent I say thank you. "Merci."

"De rien mon amie," she replies in perfect French.

"It's amazing to me how you can lose your southern accent at the drop of a hat and speak fluent French. I love the language but I totally sucked at it in school."

She promptly loses both French and southern accents. "I have to mix things up, you know what they say about variety, and men do like variety. You know, Nick is fluent in French maybe you can ask him to give you some lessons in the language of love."

This girl. "Goodbye, Ava."

"Wait! My schedule is busy this week but let's do lunch, call me."

"On one condition."

"What?"

"You stop with all the Nick and Kate stuff. No talk of Nick." She lets out a breath of air almost like a deflated balloon.

"Fine, I won't mention his name. Call me."

"I will, bye."

"Later."

I put my phone in my bag and head upstairs to change before I find something to eat.

After my shower I change into my gray yoga pants and a pink top and go down to the kitchen. When I get there I see Sophie in the kitchen cooking something that smells really good. I stand in the door and watch as she stops dicing up a tomato, walks over to the pots, lifts the lids off and smells what's inside. Stirring with her wooden spoon, she brings it to her mouth for a taste and shakes her head; she likes what she's tasted. When I was small, I would watch her cook. She would let me help her and I felt so important she would call me her little chef's assistant. She would talk to me about my day and we would sing songs. Sometimes she would let me comb her long brown hair and I would say, "Sophie, when I grow up I want to have hair just like yours, it's beautiful."