Breathe Me

Chapter- 9

Chapter Nine

Catherine

“YOU DID WHAT?”

I groaned, Joss’s high-pitched voice echoed in my ear, and I tilted my head toward her, lips firm and ready to take her coming assault. Here we go again….

“What were you thinking? You slept with him, and then you ran away like a frightened kitty when he makes you breakfast and treats you like a queen? What the hell is the matter with you?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty nuts to not want to get my heart shattered again by my first love whom, might I remind you, in case you’ve forgotten already, smashed it to smithereens without a second thought. Pretty insane if you tell me.” I huffed, grabbing the remote to her gigantic flat screen, and aggressively started flipping the channels. Nothing good was on, nothing but daytime TV and overdone rom-coms recycling through the movie channels.

“Okay, alright.” She plopped down beside me, making the couch shake under us. “I get that he screwed you over in college. But come on, Cathy. That was years ago. Maybe he’s changed. I saw him at the fair. Definite improvement in the physical department, no?”

“It’s not all about sex, Joss,” I hissed. I dropped the remote, letting it clatter onto the wooden coffee table. Huffing out a breath, I leaned against the back of the sofa, never wanting to pull my hair out more than at that moment.

“I know that, but it’s a definite plus. You can’t tell me you miss that horrible dry spell, can you?” She laughed and retrieved the remote, flipping the TV to a long-running soap that I couldn’t stand and loathed with every cell of my body.

“No, but still….”

“But nothing. Look. He made you breakfast. He told you he’s sorry and was an ass and would do anything to win you back. Well, I’m sure he has his work cut out for him, but why not enjoy it for what it is? Come on, Cathy! What happened to you? You’re no fun anymore.”

“Hey!” I cried out, shaking my head as I jumped up. “You’re not helping.”

“Sorry, but it’s true.”

“I’m not fun? I’m very busy, by the way. I have a successful career, and I worked all hours to get where I’m at. Don’t forget it.” I paced the room, tugging on a strand of hair as I again let Samuel run through my mind.

“I know, sweetie, but you need to have fun, too. Maybe that’s all this is, you need to learn to enjoy it, no matter what. If it gets to a better place, then so be it. If not, well, it was worth the ride. That’s all I’m saying.” Joss sighed, picking up the espresso coffee she’d just made from a home espresso machine, and took a sip. Mine sat cold, abandoned on the table.

“You really think so? Just have a good time, and if he decides to be a jerk again, just brush it off?”

She nodded. A mouthful of drink scalded her tongue as she waved her hand around. “Yes!”