Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 3

The next day, Andrew laid in his bed at his apartment, looking up at the ceiling. All he could think about was Kate, the beautiful doctor he'd met at EJ's house the night before. There was something about her that he couldn't explain. He hadn't met anyone like her in a long time. Well, ever, if he was being honest with himself. Andrew had had a few girlfriends in high school and college, and one trainwreck of a relationship since he'd been in L.A., but he'd never been that into any of the girls he'd dated. But Kate was so different, and for some strange reason, he couldn't get her out of his head. He sighed, looking at his phone and sent EJ a text.

"Hey buddy, thanks for the invite yesterday, your house is awesome. So happy for you and Sarah."

He paused, wondering if he should say anything about Kate, when he saw EJ typing back.

"I'm glad you came, friend! Looks like you and Dr. Kate got along pretty well, huh? 😊"

Andrew thought about it. Had he been that obvious about how into her he was? Or had she possibly said something about him to Sarah? He hesitated, starting to feel like a middle school kid as he contemplated how to tactfully ask EJ about her. He decided to call him instead, figuring it would be easier to feel EJ out on the phone.

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure of an actual phone call from you, Siwicki?" EJ teased his red-headed friend a little the minute he dialed him, and Andrew laughed. "Aw, I don't know, thought it'd be easier to chat by phone," he said quietly, and he heard EJ chuckle on the other end of the line. "You want to talk about Dr. Kate don't you?" he asked with a giggle, and Andrew cleared his throat. "Do you have to call her 'Doctor' every time?" Andrew jokingly asked, and then he paused.

"I um...well, I actually did want to talk to you about her, though," he said softly, and EJ smiled to himself. "She's pretty great, huh?" the dark-haired guy asked, and Andrew smiled thinking about her. "Yeah, she is, I mean... she's just something else," Andrew said. "I should have asked her for her number, but she kind of took off in a rush. I dunno, maybe she wasn't that into me," he said slowly, and EJ cleared his throat. "Oh, I don't know, she works a ton of hours, and she has a lot going on in her life," Andrew's friend countered. "It seemed like you guys hit it off," EJ said carefully, thinking about the two. "I could get her number from Sarah if you want." Andrew bit his lip, thinking about Kate. "I mean, do you think I should call her?" the red-head asked his friend, and EJ tried to encourage him. "Yeah, why not? If you're into her, call her," he said simply, and Andrew shook his head to himself. "Yeah, OK, ask Sarah if she thinks it would OK," he said, and EJ grinned, promising to talk to his wife.

Andrew took a deep breath, wondering why he was feeling so strange. There was a nagging feeling in his stomach that he couldn't shake. He kept thinking back to his chat with Kate and how amazing she was. But then she rushed away, and it made him question himself. He had to admit that while he'd had his share of dating experiences with a string of girls over the past year, he was never the most confident when it came to beautiful, smart girls like Kate. But there was just something about her that he couldn't get out of his head, and he grinned a little, daydreaming about her as he headed over to Shane's for work.

He walked into the giant white mansion in Calabasas, finding Morgan, Shane and Ryland all crammed on the huge sectional in the living room, watching a Tana Mongeau video on TV as Ryland sipped on a glass of tequila. He got on the floor and wrestled with Uno and Honey as the dogs licked all over his face, and he let out his famous cackle as the animals climbed all over him.

"Already hitting the bottle, huh Ry?" Andrew asked with a laugh, sitting on the couch next to Ryland as the shorter brunette guy rolled his eyes. "Well, I mean, Shane informed me that you guys were meeting today to outline the horror movie series, so I'm guessing this is the start of you two disappearing for days on end again. I'm drinking my feelings," he said with a giggle, and Andrew shook his head.