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He shoots a sad smile my way. “I’m sorry he hurt you, Cate.”
Oh, this pang in my heart really sucks. “Thanks,” is all I manage.
Where is that hole I so desperately need to burrow into and hide? I do not want him to pity me. I do not want him to feel sorry for me. I do not want him to think he needs to make up for what Derek did. I just want us to go back to when we were joking around. Back to my awkwardness on his front stoop.
“So…”
Oh, Hellfire. Here we go.
“…about those tacos?”
I glance up at him and there is a spark in his eye. Those bright green eyes are flashing and I am so grateful he’s intuitive enough to lighten the mood.
“Yeah?” A smile starts to creep across my face.
“What are you doing next Tuesday?” He rests his chin in one of his hands, elbow leaning against the counter.
“Getting tacos with you, of course.” I smile and when I see a text from Eve flash across my phone, I notice the time. “Is that the time? I should be heading out. I’ve got a really early flight in the morning.”
“Did you drive?”
“No, I don’t have a car. I took an Uber.”
He stands up and grabs his keys from the hook on the wall next to him. “I’ll drive you home.”
I throw up my hands in protest. “You don’t have to do that. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”
“It’s no inconvenience, Cate.” Theo starts putting on his leather jacket. “It’s cold and dark outside. You shouldn’t have to wait outside alone for an Uber.”
I thrust my arms into my coat and quickly button it up. By the look in his eyes, and the fact he is already dressed and ready to go, I don’t fight him on this. Plus, it would be nice not having to wait for a ride in the middle of winter. “That would be great. Thank you.”
He motions toward the front door, “Direct away, Captain.”
True to his word, Theo drives me home and like a perfect gentleman, he opens my car door and makes sure I get inside safely before pulling away.
I walk up three flights of stairs and fumble for my keys outside my apartment door. Before I can even put the key into the lock, it flies open, and I see two faces staring back at me.
“Hey Ma. Hey Pa.” I smile at them wearing the matching pajamas I gave them last Christmas. “What are you two doing?”
“Did he drop you off?” Eve asks, a twinkle in her eye.
“Yes,” I squeeze past them and close the door behind me.
“Give us all the details.” Eve pulls me to our pink couch and Tommy sits in one of the mismatched armchairs.
Our apartment is eclectic. None of our furniture matches. There are bright fabric colors and loud patterns throughout the three-bedroom apartment, and we like it that way. It reminds me of Monica and Rachel’s apartment inFriends. We even have the yellow picture frame around our front door’s peephole.
When we all first moved in together, Tommy had no idea whatFriendseven was. But after forcing him to binge watch all ten seasons with Eve and me, he became a loyal fan. He even impressed his girlfriend, Lauren, with hisFriendsknowledge. It's how they started dating. AFriendstrivia game atThe Red Herring. The three of us won trivia night and a free bar tab. Tommy won Lauren.
“We want to know everything.” Eve snatches a few pieces of overly buttered popcorn and tosses them in her mouth.
“Did you make popcorn for this specific reason?” I ask, noticing the television isn’t running a Netflix show in the background.
“Absolutely.” She nods. No shame.
“So, spill already so we can go to bed.” Tommy rests his chin in his hand, his elbow perched on the armrest of the lime green armchair.
I quickly tell them every detail about our Thanksgiving dinner together and watch as Eve polishes off every bit of the popcorn, swatting Tommy’s fingers away, quickly reminding him he said he didn’t want any.
