Roger was sitting on the couch between John and Freddie. In an armchair opposite them was Brian with Catherine seated on his lap.
Catherine had arrived at their apartment about twenty minutes ago. Brian had introduced her to his friends. She'd looked enthusiastic and told them how happy she was to meet them.
Roger thought she seemed like a very nice person and that made the situation all the more intolerable. Guilt burned in his mind when he looked at the couple in front of him. He wanted to be happy for them, but it was impossible when all he could think about was how badly he wanted to be in Catherine's place. He wondered what it would feel like to have Brian look at him with such affection in his eyes, to have Brian kiss him...
"Roger?"
Roger startled, realizing he'd zoned out. "Yeah?"
"Do you want some tea?" Freddie asked.
"Um–no thanks," Roger replied, smiling in a way he hoped seemed polite. Freddie eyed him suspiciously.
For the next couple of hours Roger tried to keep up with the conversation. He would occasionally nod in agreement to something someone said or laugh at someone's joke. However, talking seemed to be quite a challenge for him on that particular day, so he mostly remained quiet.
Roger tried his best not to let out a sigh of relief when it was finally time for Catherine to leave.
Catherine said goodbye to them all. She stepped closer to Brian and kissed him. They pulled apart and Catherine's lips stretched into a smile. However, Roger noticed the smile didn't reach her eyes that held a glint of something he couldn't quite distinguish.
Catherine had already closed the door behind her when Roger noticed something; she had forgotten her coat. Roger picked up the coat, yanked open the door and ran after her to the driveway.
"Catherine, wait!" he shouted.
Catherine turned around and stared at him with a puzzled frown. Then she noticed her coat in his hand and gave a laugh. "Thank you," she said, taking the coat from Roger. Her cheeks had turned slightly red.
Roger smiled tensely and replied: "No problem."
Suddenly Catherine was standing way too close to Roger. Before he knew what was happening, her lips had touched his cheek and her fingers were caressing his shoulder. Roger stood there, frozen. Catherine smirked at him and started walking away.
Roger decided to pretend the whole incident never happened.
