There she is. Now is my chance.
I slowly stalked into the dark bar. Although the room was filled with my co-workers, no one noticed me walking up to a stool beside Catherine. She was slumped over her gin and tonic morosely stirring the concoction with a thin red straw.
"Hey, Catherine." I said speaking over the chatter that surrounded us. Her ears perked up first, and then her head jerked to attention. Her eyes widened and a smile was starting to form on her lips. Once she realized who I was, she dropped her head back down.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else." She began to stir her drink again.
"Let me guess, Marc asked you to drinks, didn't he?" My shoulders slumped and I felt discouraged yet again. I was so excited seeing her outside of work to finally have the nerve to ask her to dinner. She lifted her head again and set it at a curious angle. One eyebrow rose ever so slightly. I loved watching the emotions play on her face.
"How did you know that?"
"Everyone in the office knows he has a thing for you. Even the guys on the third floor talk about it." I stopped. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I didn't want her to think I listened to any of the gossip that moved around the floors.
"So, you work with Jake?" She turned her stool towards me and smiled pleasantly. She doesn't recognize me? I didn't think I looked that different from the last time we talked. Well, I did change from my Bethany chosen clothes into a normal outfit and pushed my hair out of the way. "How has Jake been? I was worried when he called in sick last time. It seemed like he took longer to recover than usual." Catherine's brow furrowed. She was worried about me. That's a step at least.
"He is doing fine now." I'll play along for a while.
"That's great! I wonder what he has that keeps him away from work so many times a year. I feel so relieved when he comes back to work after his sick days. I hate to think of him being so sick that he would be unable to work at all."
"Would you like to join me for some drinks sometime? That is only if you are free?"
"You know, I will. How about right now?" she said with a smile.
"I thought you were waiting for Marc?"
"I've actually been waiting for over an hour now. I think I was stood up. But let's keep that between you and me." She winked conspiratorially. I could only chuckle about her positive attitude. Even when she is left waiting at a bar she has a smile ready.
"I hate feeling like an alcoholic so let's make a deal. Whatever I drink, you drink." I said jokingly.
"You're on! I bet I can drink you under the table any day." She smiled with her words but they held a ring of truth.
"You're serious aren't you?"
"I'm dead serious."
"Okay. I guess we will start with your drink." I signaled to the barkeep and smiled roguishly. This was going to be fun.
"I hate the phrase 'marital status'. It only implies that in order to measure your place in the world, marriage is the goal. Why can't marriage be a side option instead of this amazing thing that has to be experienced sooner in your life rather than later?" Catherine was relaxed and no longer smiling politely at anyone. She was a completely different woman. She seemed confident and secure of her place instead of the office Catherine that carefully watched her words. I noticed a lot of unnoticed words slipping from her lips since the third drink.
The bar was about to close and we were the last ones there. I had convinced her to move from gin and tonic to tequila to vodka and she had convinced me to try a large selection of frilly drinks that caused the barkeeper to smirk when I was giving the names.
"You really hated your marriage didn't you?" I asked. By this time we stopped trying to be nice and didn't hold any punches on our questions.
"I didn't necessarily hate being in a marriage but being in a marriage with Richard. He was a cheating bastard and I was just so afraid of being alone that I looked the other way on everything he did wrong."
"I don't understand. How could he cheat on you? I mean you are drop dead sexy. And your eyes are...." I stopped talking and nervously looked down at my coconut dream. When Catherine didn't say anything, I glanced up shyly only to see her sad half smile. I took a deep breath and looked into her beautiful jade green eyes. "You have amazing eyes. It takes a complete fool to sleep in another woman's bed when they have you to come home to."
"Even if I was not having sex with them?" A slightly bemused expression drifted across her face and stole some of the sadness from her lips.
"What do you mean by that?"
"After I found out Richard was sleeping around on me, his first time cheating if he is to be believed, I told him I no longer wanted to be in a sexual relationship with him." She looked away and blushed.
"Are you telling me that you have not slept with your husband for...how long?"
"About two years." She was just about to take her hands away from mine but I held on tighter.
"Yes." I said.
"Yes what?" Catherine's eyes sought his and her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Even if you had not slept with that individual for two years, it takes a fool to be anywhere but by your side." I said. And I meant it. I wouldn't have traded a moment with Catherine. Even if she did not see me the way she did now. Even if she never looked at me again with those soft green eyes, I would never think of going to another woman. And I think she knew what I was feeling because at that moment, she slid off her stool, put her hips in the open V created by my thighs, leaned against my chest and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
She barely lifted her lips off of mine when she whispered, "Thank you." Her lips brushed mine with her words, becoming the most erotic thing I had heard in the longest time. When she stood up straight and looked into my eyes, she uttered my second favorite phrase, "Want to come over to my place?"
