Who Is This?

Chapter 3

"...and it turned out that he was completely fucking with me, and he wasn't from Paris at all. He wasn't even French, can you believe it? He was Swedish or something. I was so pissed, you cannot even understand how pissed I was."

Cassidy nodded vacantly, hoping she looked as if she was intent on James' story, and not completely zoning out. Which she was. So far she had received a rundown on his childhood, his drug problems when he was eighteen, (which weren't even genuine, he literally just got offered some cocaine and ended up chucking it in the river), and all twelve of his boyfriends. All in his now-becoming-mildly-irritating American accent. 

Which would be wonderful. If Cassidy was writing his fucking biography! At least she had got a free lunch. She'd offered to pay, but he'd insisted, and who was she to argue? So now she was just sitting and trying to look interested in his long, rambling, self-centred stories, praying for some kind of distraction. Anything. Even, like, a bomb or something would be preferable to James' soliloquy. Then her phone rang. Almost helpless with relief, Cass pulled out her phone, murmuring a few disjointed apologies before saying, "Answer call", and pressing it to her ear.

"Hello, it's Tom. Sorry to bother you, but did you try to call me a little while ago?"

"Oh... yes. Yes I did. Sorry. Did it... was it a bad time?"

"No, no! I was just in the middle of fil... Uh... Of–of my shift. At work. But I'm free now. What was it that you wanted to say?"

"I didn't really want to say anything. I just was a little bored, I guess. Oh wow. That sounds really rude doesn't it."

"No, it's fine, I understand." There was a brief, mildly awkward pause, then Tom said, a little shyly,

"I'm glad you called, anyway."

Cass could feel herself going red, and a silly grin creeping its way onto her face. Why was it that she always ended up smiling like a maniac when talking to Tom?

"Well I'm glad you called me back. I almost left you a message, but pulled out just in time."

"I think I would've liked a message from you," Tom protested, and Cass grinned.

"I don't think you would've appreciated the kind of message I would've left. There would've been a lot of panicked rambling involved, along with maybe a few expletives and some awkward apologies for my general existence." 

Tom laughed, and Cassidy felt a flush rising in her cheeks, feeling pleased to have made him laugh.

"How do you know I wouldn't've liked that? How do you know what my message-types are?"

"I'm sorry, I was just going by the general assumption that you would rather not be rambled, sworn and apologised at."

"I'll have you know that those are my favourite kind of messages."

"Well," Cass giggled, instantly horrified with herself for giggling of all things, "I'll be sure to leave just such a one as soon as possible."

"It would be much appreciated," Tom replied, and she could hear the grin in his voice. A light silence fell, and she quickly searched about for something to say.

"Have you sorted out that thing with... Sophie, was it?" She asked, immediately feeling incredibly nosy, and honestly she wouldn't have been surprised if he had made his goodbyes then and there.

"Um, yes," Tom said, a little awkwardly. "I gave her a call, sorted things out."

"Ah." Cassidy wondered if that meant he was back with her. It certainly sounded like it. She shouldn't ask. It was really none of her business. She'd been too inquisitive already. But she just couldn't resist. "Are you two together again, now?"