At My Wit's End

Ch. 3 The Secret.

Carly's POV

Even after I was back home, it felt like my heart was going to fall out of my chest. I had never been this crazy over any guy in years. They just never had that kind of effect on me. But Marshall? Marshall was different. He was older than I was, but it couldn't have been by much. If he was, for some reason, over the age of 35, he looked damn good for his age. I could tell that he worked out and took care of his body, even under his 20 layers of clothing. My grandmother had always said,

"The looks open the door, but the personality takes the door off its hinges."

The door was wide open, and I was incredibly curious to see if said door would do the same.

I locked my door, threw my keys on the counter, and practically fell onto my couch. Marshall made me so nervous that I was worn me out. Not that I was full of energy before, and I'd have to talk to Ethan about that espresso he gave me because it hardly made a difference. Louie hopped onto the couch with me and lay by my feet, because he knew I was finally tired enough that I would actually sleep. I couldn't help but replay meeting Marshall in my head over and over again as I drifted away.

A few hours later, I heard my phone ring, and for the life of me I don't know why, I thought maybe it was the man of my dreams. It wasn't.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

It was my friend Violet,  who was probably my best friend in New York. We went to college together at NYU. She was my roommate for about a year and a half, until she started seeing her boyfriend Jack, who is this really cool magician. He really only does shows around New York, but he's got really great skills.

Violet is in PR now for an art gallery in Manhattan, and she's always getting us into the most exclusive parties in the city. Violet and Jack were my Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Total power couple.

"I was just taking a nap. I think Ethan gave me a bad batch of coffee."

"I forgot you were off this week," she said, her voice telling me that she was going to explode from whatever it was she wanted to tell me.

"What is it that you want to tell me because I can totally hear it in your voice. It appears Jack is the only one in your relationship that can keep the element of surprise."

"There's this party at The Box on Rivington tomorrow and I'd really like you to come. There's this guy at the venue named Paulo who has a six pack, a sexy accent, and he really wants to meet you."

"First of all, I told you! No more blind dates!!" I yelled into the phone. "Violet, you can't just assume that because I'm single and he's gorgeous that I want to date him."

"Secondly, he works at the venue? Is he a waiter?"

She laughed on the phone, and even though I couldn't see her, I knew she was rolling her eyes.

"What, like you met somebody?"

I didn't answer, because I didn't know how to. I wasn't "seeing" him, at least not yet. We weren't in a relationship. I had only met the guy a few hours before!

"I have a date tomorrow." I said shortly. I wasn't lying to my friend, but I was keeping Marshall's name out of it.

"No shit! With who?"

I shook my head, "I'm not telling. You're not going to ruin this for me, Vi. I'll tell you about it after the date is over."

"Aw, come on! Do you really think I would do that to you and your new beau?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I replied hastily. I loved Violet more than anything in the world, but, sometimes she just stressed me out. I could never have as much energy as Violet did. Especially for my love life. In the past year, dating just wasn't my top priority. After dating a few different jerks, I decided to just stay away from the dating scene. But a year had passed, and Marshall didn't seem all that terrible, so one little date wouldn't be so bad.

"Well do everyone a favor and sleep with this mystery man tomorrow so you can stop being such a moody little-"

"Bye, Violet," I said, cutting her off before she could say anything else further. I pressed the 'end call' button and tossed my phone onto the sofa where I was previously asleep.

Deciding to actually spend my day off doing housework and running errands was harder than you think. Weren't days off supposed to be fun?

Thankfully, a load of laundry was done around 9, and then dishes were done at 9:30. I swept, mopped, and even dusted. My mother had been a clean freak her entire life, so in turn, she would lose her mind if my room wasn't "spotless". My dad would help me clean my room when he was home, much to her dismay. She and I never really did get along during my childhood, but that was a whole other story for a whole other day.

Louie and I watched some TV for a few hours, because sometimes you just needed some mindless reality shows to make you laugh. I tried to stay away from my phone, because I really didn't want to have the means to text this new guy at the palm of my hand. I was not going to ruin this.

After I made myself some dinner, I had a small glass of wine, took a shower, and headed off to bed, Louie following in suit. He didn't like to be alone much at night, and I couldn't agree more. I made a mental note to call my grandparents when I had some time in the next few days, I really missed them.

I quickly turned off the lights after plugging in my phone to charge and kissed Louie goodnight. Today had been a long and wonderful day, so there was a good chance I'd finally get the rest I needed.