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"I have already answered that," he replied at once.
"Right," my tone betrayed the hurt that I felt. "I guess I just got confused by the whole pretend-girlfriend thing."
"I am sorry," he said, eyeing me carefully as if I would explode into an angry outburst at any moment. "That was not my intention."
I took a deep breath in and blinked furiously, trying to stop the tears that had welled up in my eyes. Dylan took notice of it and immediately came over to me, taking my hand in his.I was so disappointed but at the same time felt desperate not to make things any more awkward than it needed to be. It felt like I was caught in a web of chaotic emotions that I could not get out of no matter how hard I tried.
"Hey," he said softly, nudging me so that I looked up into his eyes. "I don't like seeing you upset like this."
His voice was so tender, and loving. It only added a layer of confusion to how I felt already.
"How can you..." I struggled to find the words. "How can you switch back and forth like that? It's like one moment, you're this incredible guy who is so sweet and tender with me and then the next, you're back to business."
"I guess I have always been good at compartmentalizing my life," he sighed, still looking into my eyes.
"And which compartment do I fit in?"
"Kathy," he lamented. "Do you really want to have this conversation with me right now?"
"I do," I replied firmly.
"So what? We hooked up a few times," he shrugged, trying his hardest to maintain a nonchalant expression. "That's normal in this generation. And besides, why do you wanna get tied down? There's a whole world out there for you to explore. You are far too young for that."
I stared at him with a blank expression. Did he really give me a spiel about how I am 'too young' for a relationship?I slipped my hand out of his.
"I'll see you in the office tomorrow," my tone was devoid of any emotion.
"Kathy," he tried to follow me out of the room as I took my suitcase and made it out the door. "Don't be like that."
"No," I turned to face him. "You're right. I was just caught up in the act. You should consider working in Hollywood, because you're a really convincing actor."
"I really hope you are not upset with me," he said.
I shook my head and plastered on the most fake smile I could manage.
"Not at all," I said, before opening the door to leave. "I have no reason to be."
I walked out of his apartment building with my head held high, but as soon as I was in my Uber, I burst into tears. With mascara smeared and my vision blurred because of my tears, I hastily dialed Sarah's number on my phone.
"Hello, what's cracking Miss Big Shot corporate worker?" she greeted me in a cheery tone, oblivious to what she was about to be subjected to.
"Sarah," I bawled through the phone, wiping my nose.
"Whoa," she let out, immediately concerned. "What happened?"
"I feel like a total idiot," I said, still crying. At this point, even the Uber driver took notice of me and turned around to hand me a tissue.
"Oh no, girl." Sarah's maternal tone kicked in. "Is it because of this boss guy?"
"Yes," I bawled, now dabbing the tissue the driver had given me all across my tear-stained cheeks. But it was no use because fresh tears kept pouring out. "Can I come over? I really don’t want to be alone right now."
"Of course, sweetheart," she replied. "I'll have your favorite take-out and ice cream waiting for you when you get here."
A few minutes later, I arrived and was firmly seated on Sarah's living room couch with a pint of ice cream in my hands and a small blanket around my shoulders.
"Can you believe that?" I said, after having just finished telling her what had happened over the weekend at Dylan’s place. "He told me that I'm too young to settle down. After leading me on for so many days."
"Are you sure he was leading you on?" Sarah asked carefully. As one of my oldest friends, she was always honest with me and that was one of the things that I appreciated the most about her.
