"Are you seeing anyone?"
Misty blushed instantly. She brushed her shoulder-length straight orange hair behind her ear nervously, giving Ash a full view of her white nails with cute cat faces and cat footprints on them.
"What's that-" Misty jumped up when Ash grabbed her hand. He looked at her nails. "Oh, it's cat stuff." He let go of her hand. "You really like cats."
"I do." She nodded quickly. She looked at him. She felt her ears get really hot. "And I'm not seeing anyone."
Ash sat back on his chair. "Doesn't it bother you?"
"Huh?"
"The fact that you're single."
Misty frowned. Is this the kind of conversation they were having? "Not really."
"Why?" He looked at her curiously.
"Uhm, I think..." Misty put her hands on her desk. She admired her nail art. "I strongly believe there is always someone out there for you."
"Oh, no, there isn't always." Ash chuckled. "That's cheesy stuff from TV."
Misty shrugged.
"You think you're just going to stay here until someone comes up to you and asks you out? I'm sorry but they lied to you. If this is what you think, then it's going to be just you and your cat Yuko for a long time."
"That's not what I meant." Misty was upset. Ash was really making her upset. He had no idea. It's not just about what he's telling her; it's the fact that it's coming from him. She could take it from anyone but him. "I just said what I think."
"It's wrong."
"I don't care. It's my opinion." It was not usual for Misty to snap like that. Ash has never heard her snap before. She was a very quiet girl; quite quiet.
"Alright." Ash grabbed his jacket from the top of his chair. "Don't get the claws out! I was only saying..."
"It's not funny." Misty looked away.
"Okay, whatever, forget I said anything." Ash stood at the door. "See you tomorrow."
Misty didn't respond. She was giving her back to him.
Ash bit his lip and left.
"Are you a journalist? That's cool!"
Tonight was alright. It really was. Serena seemed genuinely interested in... normal stuff, like his childhood, what he does for a living – no salary questions yet – and even his hobbies, and honestly, it was comforting, especially after that awkward moment he's had at the office earlier.
Misty was clearly upset.
"I guess." Ash smiled weakly.
Serena poured him more wine. She put down the bottle and said, "I think it's okay if I ask you about your age, right?"
"I'm twenty-six." Ash gave her a questioning look.
"I, uhmmmm, don't really go out with guys who are my age or younger than me..." Serena giggled. "But that's alright. You're six years older. It's perfect."
"Oh." Wait, what? Was this girl still in college or something? Well, she did look... young, very young. She told him she worked in a bakery but was that a part-time thing? Ash wasn't great asking questions. He often got his information just from the girl blabbering on her own.
"You know how they say that girls mature before boys? I just don't get along well with guys my age."
"Some people are like that."
"And guys my age don't really think seriously about the future." Serena shrugged. "Like, you should know by now if you want to get married or not, right?"
Ash lay down on his bed. He held the phone with his hands, staring at the black screen. He unlocked it and opened his texts. There was an upcoming call from Gary but he rejected it.
No new texts.
He breathed heavily and clicked the conversation with Misty. He noticed a deleted message from two days ago, and since then, nothing.
He typed:
Ash: Hey Mist sorry about today
He noticed he forgot the 'y'. He thought that was a cute nickname, but he retyped:
Ash: Hey Misty sorry about today
He erased everything and forced himself to sleep.
