With a sigh, Cat Valentine steps cautiously onto the small yacht she had rented for the day, careful not to lose her balance as a wave hits. She's never really been the biggest fan of sailing, if she's going to be outdoors she'd rather spend the afternoon hiking or at the beach, but lately she's had to be extra cautious about where she spends her time. Ever since the Date Doctor article had been published in The Measure, the amount of paparazzi following her has grown exponentially. At least out on the water it will be harder for them to sneak up on her.
Everyone is trying to get a picture of her looking upset or crying, visibly heartbroken over the fact that the man she had been dating was being coached by a manipulative professional just to get her into bed. She is heartbroken...she won't lie. Robbie was such a good guy...probably the best guy she had gone out with in a while...and she had really liked him. She might have even been starting to love him...but it was all just a lie.
Cat shakes hands with the captain, then moves to the boat's bow where another guest is waiting for her. She's never met him personally, but she feels like she already knows everything about him that she needs to. However, she tries to best to be an open-minded and level-headed person. So when he reached out to her and asked for this meeting, she felt obligated to at least hear him out.
"Mr. Oliver..." She nods as she sets her purse down
"Miss Valentine." Beck stands up when he sees her "Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me."
"Well, you said it was a matter of life and death." Cat reminds him "So..."
There's an awkward tension between the two of them, but Beck had expected that. He knows that she probably hates him, and based on the information she has...well, that's fair. He wants to give her the correct information though, and he figures it would probably be best to get right to it.
"Robbie Shapiro would have sold his soul to make you happy." Beck says bluntly
"So what does that make you then, exactly?" Cat cocks her head to the side as she looks at him "The devil?"
"Alright, I deserved that." Beck nods "My job is not to deceive, Miss Valentine. It's to create...opportunities."
"Like that day in the conference room?" Cat raises an eyebrow at him
"Well, would you have noticed him otherwise?"
"Yes!"
"Oh really?"
"Eventually..." Cat nods, but her expression changes the more she considers Beck's question "Maybe...alright, probably not. But..."
"But?"
"How did you know all of that stuff about me?" Cat asks, a hurt tone in her voice
Beck is unsure of how to answer her, so he looks down at his feet instead.
"Man, you really did your homework, huh?" She continues "Like in high school when everyone used to tease me because I couldn't whistle...and having him dance like an idiot knowing that I can't dance either. Then telling him to spill the soda so that I would feel less like a dork at that basketball game."
Beck has no idea what she's talking about, he hadn't told Robbie to do any of those things. He must looked surprised by her statement, because now Cat looks confused too.
"That was all you..." She clarifies "...wasn't it?"
"No..." Beck shakes his head "Hell no..."
"That was...him?"
"That has 'Robbie' written all over it." Beck admits
"Did you put him up to the inhaler?" Cat asks, now starting to feel a little bit better about the situation "When he dropped me off after the basketball game?"
"Stop it..." Beck rolls his eyes "He didn't show you that..."
"He threw it right before he kissed me..." Cat smiles, biting her lip a bit as she remembers that night
"So, let me get this straight..." Beck shakes his head "All of that...that dorky stuff? That worked for you?"
"Yeah..." Cat smirks "It was adorable."
Beck can't stop himself from laughing, and that causes Cat to laugh as well. They both laugh together for a moment before Cat speaks again.
"So wait...what did you do?"
"Nothing." Beck chuckles, arriving at a huge moment of realization "Absolutely...nothing."
Everything Cat had loved about Robbie had been the things Beck tried to help him hide...he didn't do a damn thing to help this relationship. Robbie had done it all on his own.
"Oh!" Cat leans forward and wraps Beck up in a hug "That's great! I can't wait to-"
"So this was your plan the whole time, huh asshole?" A voice from behind them says angrily "Sail off into the sunset with my girl?"
Robbie had come down the boat as well in hopes of getting one last chance to talk to Cat before she completely wrote him off for good...but this was not what he expected to see when he arrived.
"Robbie!" Cat grins as she lets go of Beck "We were just-"
Before Cat or Robbie has a chance to explain, Robbie lunges at Beck and tackles him to the ground. Normally, Beck would be able to overpower him...they're not really a fair match...but he had been taken off-guard and before long Robbie is trying to, and might even be successful in, choking him.
"Rob!" He manages to get out "It's not-"
"I trusted you!" Robbie exclaims
"Robbie!" Cat exclaims, trying to pull him off of the other man "He came here for you!"
"Who did?"
"Me!" Beck gasps as Robbie removes his hands "I did!"
Car grabs Robbie's shirt and pulls him to feet, smiling at him before draping her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips. Beck smiles too as he stands up, watching the two reunite.
"I...I..." Robbie stammers "I love you, Cat."
"I love you too." She grins before kissing him again
Beck can't believe it. Everything he had been doing, everything he had been telling his clients, it was all a lie. They didn't need his help to make a good impression, they only needed to be...themselves. 'Just be yourself' is really some of the most over-given and overlooked advice...but it's true.
"I'll leave you guys to it." He chuckles as he begins walking towards the ramp to the dock "I have something I need to take care of."
"JADE!" Beck pounds on the familiar apartment door "JADE! PLEASE ANSWER! IT'S BECK! C'MON!"
He stops pounding when he hears footsteps and within a few seconds, he hears the sound of a lock opening as well. Jade appears on the other side of the door, and she does't look overly excited to see him.
"Hi..."
"I tried to apologize to you..." Jade sighs "I can't keep going back and forth like this."
"I know, and I'm sorry."
"What do you want, Beck?"
"You..." He admits "I want...you. For a whole lot of reasons that really don't make any sense to me. I mean we've been on what, two dates? Three if you count that failed dinner at my apartment? But that's what's so crazy...because I know deep down in my gut that...that...you and I are-"
Beck stops talking when he sees another man appear inside the apartment behind Jade. His heart immediately sinks into his stomach...he's too late.
"Everything okay?" The man asks
"Everything is fine." Jade nods "Um, this is...Beck Oliver. I told you about him."
"Right." The man extends his hand to meet Beck "Nice to meet you, Beck."
"You as well..." Beck sighs
"You almost ready to go?"
"Mhm." Jade nods "Just let me grab my purse."
The man steps out into the hallway beside Beck as Jade grabs her purse and locks the door behind her. She loops her arm around his, but turns to Beck before they walk away.
"Maybe it's like you said..." She says to him "Maybe we should both just go our separate ways...and we'll do just fine."
"What if fine isn't good enough?" Beck asks her "What if I want extraordinary?"
"There's no such thing." Jade shakes her head
Serves her right, falling so hard for a guy so quickly. If anything, this whole experience has reminded her why she wasn't dating in the first place. It's easier to be lonely than it is to play all of the games that come with being in love.
Beck watches her step onto the elevator with the other man, and then decides to take the stairs in hopes of beating them to the ground level as soon as the doors close. His cynical attitude the night she tried to speak to him outside of the restaurant is to blame for this, he knows it. He hurt her...probably more than once. He needs to show her that will never happen again, he can't let her walk out of his life.
Jade is already outside by the time Beck reaches the lobby of the apartment building, so he chases after her.
"Jade!" He calls her name "Jade! Wait! I'm just as scared as you are! But I'm here! And this is our time! Right now!"
"Oh yeah?" Jade stops walking and turns to face him "What about before?"
"I'm a guy, okay?" Beck laughs "Since when do we get anything right the first time?"
"Well, I'm a realist." Jade shrugs "And I know what love does to people."
"No, you don't."
"Let's go." Jade grabs the other man's arm and pulls him into their waiting Uber
"I don't know who this guy is!" Beck admits as they climb into the car "And honestly, I don't care. I don't care, because I know that he will never feel the way about you that I do."
"Are you okay?" The man asks Jade
"I'm fine." Jade nods "Let's just go."
"Drive, please."
It might be the stupidest possible thing we could do, but Beck starts chasing the car as it pulls away from the curb. There's traffic, so thankfully he doesn't have to run very fast to keep up.
"You'll never be fine!" He yells to her "And neither will I because-"
He's cut off when another car merges into traffic and almost hits him.
"Beck!" Jade snaps at him through her car's open window "You're going to get yourself killed!"
"Well if that's what it takes..." Beck sighs "I'm taking a leap here, okay? Because that's what people do, they leap. And hope to god they can fly. Otherwise, we just drop like a rock and wonder the whole way down...why the hell did I jump?"
The car reaches a red light and comes to a stop, and Beck is finally able to stop jogging alongside of it and catch his breath.
"Here I am, Jade." He admits "Falling...and you're the only person who makes me feel like I can fly."
"Oh shut up." Jade rolls her eyes
She opens her door and steps out of the car on the other side, running around to meet him. He wraps her up in a hug and she presses a long, 'I missed you'-kind-of-kiss to his lips there in the middle of rush hour traffic.
"You kinda like me a little bit, huh?" He chuckles when they break away
"Nah." She shakes her head "I love you."
"You do?"
"Yeah."
"I love you too." Beck admits with a smile, then looks up to the man still sitting in the car "Dude, I'm so sorry..."
"Oh trust me, he doesn't care." Jade assures him
"He doesn't?"
"Beck Oliver, meet Tyler Parker." Jade laughs "My little brother. He's visiting from New York."
"Hey there." Tyler waves through the open window
"Br...brother?" Beck smirks "You let me think that...wow, I guess I kinda deserved that one, huh?"
"Maybe a little." Jade shrugs "I'm taking him to dinner at this place near The Grove, care to join?"
"I would love that." Beck nods, taking his hand in her's and interlocking their fingers "I'll follow you anywhere you want to go."
