"Okay, Short Stack, you're gonna have to explain that again, because I just don't get it."
"What's not to get? It's a makeup date, the meaning's right there in the name!"
"Uhh…not really. Are you gonna put makeup on each other or something, because the last time Cat did that, Tori ended up looking like a…"
"N-No! It's not that kind of makeup! Cat's…been trying to take me out on a date since New Year's, but I've been…putting it off; but since we're going back to Miami soon, I said we could go on one date to 'make up' for all the times I put it off."
"So why are you so opposed to a date all of a sudden? Didn't you literally ask Tori out on one when you started working with her?"
"You make that sound 'weird' when you say it like that…"
"Like there's any other way to say it?"
"Point taken. But anyway, I'm just a little nervous. I like Cat, but I don't know if I'm ready to date again!"
"…Then why the heck did you kiss her on New Year's, you weirdo?"
"Because…because that dumb creepy guy at the party said I'd have bad luck if I didn't!"
"…Okay, that opens up a whole bunch of other questions, but Tori just got here with our lunch, so good luck with your 'makeup date', Tara~"
"Gee, thanks…Got any advice before you go?"
"Uh, I dunno…I've never dated Cat. Just don't let her near the bibble, I guess?"
"I hope your lunch is cold."
Tara firmly held the large red button on her phone's screen to end the call and she fell back on the living room couch, staring at the ceiling with an annoyed groan.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang, to which Tara promptly opened the front door and saw Cat Valentine with one hand leaning against the door frame in a cute, but enticing way. Cat winked as she caught Tara's gaze and greeted in a singsong-y tone, "Makeup time~!"
Tara stopped herself from staring at Cat long enough to answer, "Did…you say 'makeup time' or 'makeout time'?"
"Well that depends," Cat giggled, "Which one will let me in?"
Tara found herself staring again before stammering, "E-Either, I guess?"
"Works for me!" Cat grinned, hooking her arms around Tara's neck and pulling her in for a kiss. Their lips met for a solid second before Tara roughly pulled away and released herself from Cat's arms.
"I-I'm sorry, that was…" Tara blushed as she failed to come up with a solid excuse, "…that was really sudden…is all."
"That was…'sudden'?" Cat smirked as she wiped her lip off with her thumb, "I seem to remember our first kiss going something like that, no?"
Her face flushing red even faster, Tara sighed and sat back down on the edge of the couch closest to her, "I'm sorry, Cat. I just…wasn't prepared for this."
"Prepared for our makeup date?" Cat's eyebrow quirked in confusion, "But I thought we agreed on doing it today at this time…"
"Not the makeup date!" Tara corrected herself, "I wasn't prepared for…dating again, and I know that's not what you wanna hear right now…"
"Actually…I kinda do," Cat smiled to her, reaching her hands out to take Tara's.
"You do?" Tara hesitantly took her hands and Cat pulled her back up to her feet. "But why? I thought you'd be at least a little wazzed off that I kept putting off going on a date…"
"I kinda was, but I guess you must have a good reason…maybe it's the same reason you started acting squirrelly when you found out I'm friends with Tori and Jade?"
Looking down at their hands, Tara noticed Cat's thumbs rubbing very softly against hers. She then looked up at Cat's very obvious frown and started to form a reply when the doorbell rang again.
Cat quickly let go of Tara's hands to answer the door, to which a woman in a red uniform held two fast food bags and a drink holder in front of them. "Oh, yay! Lunch is here!" Cat exclaimed as if the last conversation hadn't happened.
"I got a Fresh n Fast Food delivery for…Katara?" the delivery girl read from the receipt attached to one of the bags.
"That's, uh, Cat and Tara! Keep the change!" Cat corrected her as she grabbed a wad of cash from her purse and exchanged it for the food.
"Neat," the girl shrugged and stuffed the money in her pocket, "Enjoy your meal."
"You, too!" Cat laughed as she closed the door on the confused girl's face. She turned to Tara after placing their lunch on the dining table. "Now it's date time!"
Flies could have flown into Tara's mouth with how long it was open since Cat answered the door. Shutting it promptly, she opened one of the bags, seeing a fresh burger and a box of fries. "Is this In N Out? How did you…?"
"How did I know you wanted to try it since you got here?" Cat smiled, "Everyone does when they come to California! Also, Jade told me."
"Jade told you? When?"
"When she called me after the last time I tried asking you out…" Cat took a seat across from Tara and laid out her food in front of her, "So…if you don't want to eat out, why don't we eat…in?"
Tara could only smile through her blush, clearly showing her embarrassment as she unwrapped her burger, "Thanks, Cat…or I guess I should say I'm sorry? Where should I started explaining?"
Cat mumbled and shook her head as she took a bite from her burger, "Eat now, talk later. I'm sure you don't want your first bite of In N Out to be mixed with awkward talk. Besides, lunch is always best when it's fresh~"
Chuckling at the turn of phrase, Tara nodded and bit into her burger as well, watching Cat as she did. Somehow, even while wiping stray ketchup from her lips and loudly sipping lemonade through her straw, there was something so…adorable and attractive about Cat that kept Tara staring at her; and maybe even Cat knew that with every little giggle she made as they made eye contact. Even though they didn't speak during their meal, and the food was better than Tara expected, all that ran through her mind was how she would even begin to explain how dodgy she'd been.
Within minutes, their lunch was finished, wrappers, boxes, and drink cups properly tossed in the trash, leaving Cat and Tara on the dining table; the former not-so-subtly sizing up the latter with her eyes.
"So…" Cat finally broke the silence as she rested her chin on her hand, "How was your first In N Out?"
Tara smiled after wiping her mouth clean with a napkin, "Honestly, that was probably the best burger I've ever had! Thank you, Cat!"
Cat giggled in response to the compliment, making Tara's heart leap again and her face turn red as she awkwardly looked away, trying to form another reply.
"You know…" Tara phrased very carefully, "You're a lot different than what Jade and Tori have told me about you—N-Not that they told me anything bad about you! Honest!"
Shrugging, Cat replied, "Well, even if they did, probably everything they've told you is true. But even so, I like to think I'm a little different than I was in high school. But I wouldn't mind telling you some things about me…if you don't mind telling me some things about you?"
Gulping down her initial nerves, Tara nodded, "Sure! That sounds…fair."
"Yay!" Cat clapped, "So…why have you been so dodgy since New Year's?"
Just like that, the nerves shot right back up Tara's back, but she took a deep breath and put together the answer she came up with during their lunch, "Well…first of all, it's nothing to do with you! Seriously, Cat, I think you're adorable, and you're so sweet for getting lunch for us today! But…you're right; when I found out you're Tori and Jade's friend…I started thinking back to my last relationships. D-Do you really want me to continue? I mean, isn't talking about exes a no-no in your current relationship?"
Cat shook her head with a smile, "I kinda had a thing involving ex-boyfriends a year or so ago, so I'm sure compared to that, this won't be so bad. Tell me."
Tara blinked, almost curious to hear that story, but stored the thought away as she continued, "Well, the first person I ever felt…feelings…toward was Jade. In the short time I knew her, she turned my life around. She helped me find a place to live, a job at the record company Tori works at, and we always had fun together. The only thing was…she was already with Tori, and I'll save that can of worms."
She briefly glanced at Cat, who somehow looked like she was enjoying this soul-baring monologue as evidenced by her adorable stare and her chin resting on her hands. "A-Anyway, we were able to work past all that, a-and we're just really good friends now! In fact, Jade helped me with another girl I had a crush on, and we were dating for a good while…right up until New Year's. Turns out she and her own friend were close; almost Tori and Jade close, only they didn't realize it yet—so imagine how awkward that made dates. That long story short, I broke it off…and I've been scared to date again ever since."
Cat's eyes narrowed as she saw Tara's gaze droop down to the table. She gently lifted her head up by her chin and frowned, "So…why did you kiss me on New Year's?"
"I-It was because of this weirdo guy who told me about New Year's Kisses bringing good luck to relationships or something…" Tara blushed harder as she explained and looked deeply into Cat's questioning gaze. "I know it sounds ridiculous, and I was just about to dismiss it…when I bumped into you. I can't really explain it, but when I saw you, the part of me that bought into that nonsense was thinking that maybe my luck was already changing, because it led me to someone so cute, and so thoughtful…"
"You really thought all that of me?" Cat smiled sweetly.
"Well…" a small laugh escaped Tara as she amended herself, "Maybe it was mostly how cute you are~"
A giggle left Cat's mouth as she sat back in her chair, "I appreciate the honesty, at least! Mind if I go now?"
Tara simply nodded and sat back to hear her side.
"I've had my share of messy relationships, too," Cat fiddled with her hair behind her ear as she spoke, "Some people I thought I'd end up with, but we just weren't a match. There was…one girl who was just different; didn't really try to win me over or anything. She was just…a crazy friend, and I liked that about her!"
"She sounds like someone special to you…" Tara flashed a brief smile, thinking the rest of this story won't go as well.
"She was. She and I were roommates for a long time, and we did some crazy stuff together—and I mean crazy! All that time, I didn't think of how close we'd gotten…to the point that I actually started to like her more than a roommate ought to. Too bad I didn't get the chance to tell her."
Her heart sinking, Tara thought her situation felt so trivial compared to Cat's. Instinctively, she reached over and took her hand, saying, "I'm so sorry, Cat. Was this…New Year's?"
Cat nodded shortly, "My roommate went back to Seattle without even a goodbye, and I just didn't want to be around my place without her, so I asked Tori if I could come over. Then I guess you can pick up from there…" She concluded with a slight smile, rubbing her thumb over Tara's hand. "When I saw you, I admit I didn't expect a kiss, of all things to introduce yourself, but then I took it for what it was…crazy."
Smiling more confidently, Tara stood up with Cat. "As far as first impressions go, that was probably the craziest introduction I may have ever done in my life. I hope I'm not inadvertently taking your roommate's 'place' here, Cat…but I'd really like to get to know you better, if you feel the same way."
Cat's smile beamed across her face as she took a step closer to Tara, "I do, because I don't want to wait too long again and miss the chance to tell someone I like them. Maybe that's something I can be grateful for from my 'kinda-ex', right?"
Tara could only chuckle in reply as her hand traveled up to Cat's shoulders and she leaned in for a proper kiss. When she was just inches away, Cat's voice burst out, making Tara almost fall back into her chair.
"OH! I know what we can do now!" Cat dashed past Tara, fishing her phone out of her pocket and placing it on a media speaker next to the TV. "I've always wanted to sing this with someone, but…no one ever wanted to. You sing, right? Like in Tori's showcase?"
"Uh, y-yeah, of course I do!" Tara picked herself up and joined Cat in the living room space. She leaned down to look at the song selection on Cat's phone screen and her eyes widened with surprise, "Oh! I think I know this, but…I've never sung this before!"
"Great!" Cat laughed, setting the speaker up to play the song, "What better way to cement this thing, right?"
Tara was about to reply when the music suddenly kicked in with a synth-pop beat that Cat clapped to before belting out the first verse's lyrics.
[Just Fine by Michael Corcoran]
I'm never that far; no matter where you are!
Believe it, we can make it come true!
We'll do it our way, no matter what they say
'Cause no one's gonna do it for you-hoo-hoo, yeah!
Cat extended her hands toward Tara to lead her into the refrain. Awestruck by how different Cat sounded when she sang, and with little time to prepare herself, Tara joined abruptly with what she remembered of the song.
But I-I-I-I
I'll never say never
As long as we keep it together-er-er, oh!
Seeing Cat laughing heartily to her singing made Tara shake her head and toss all her nerves aside to join in harmony. As if she were falling for her all over again, Tara smiled and winked toward Cat as the chorus drew near.
If you're livin' a dream and you know what it means
Then you can't let 'em change your mind!
Cat smiled back, taking the higher register as they finished the song together, dancing to an audience of each other.
It's the life that we choose and we still break the rules
But it's all gonna be just fine!
Yeah, we're all gonna be just fine!
You and me, we're gonna be just fine~
The two girls hummed the final note together and fell on the couch in laughter. Tara's eyes fell on Cat, who shuffled closer and laid her hand over Tara's.
"I…had no idea you could sing like that!" Tara got the last of her laughs out as she looked at the redhead with admiration.
"What can I say? That's probably the least surprising thing about me, really!" Cat playfully shrugged and fished something else out of her hoodie's pocket. "Speaking of surprises…ta-da!" She held a familiar green plant wrapped in a red ribbon over their heads, shaking it like a bell.
"I-Is that mistletoe?" Tara looked up with utter disbelief, not expecting it in the slightest, "But Christmas was two weeks ago!"
"Well, does it have to be Christmas for two people to kiss under a mistletoe~?" Cat questioned back, looking quite confident in herself.
"Uhh…which answer will end with us kissing?" Tara rebutted, hoping Cat would catch the throwback.
"Either one~?" Cat's reply proved that very assumption for Tara.
"Works for me~" Tara grinned and the two joined in a sweet kiss under the mistletoe, which Cat casually tossed to the side as she wrapped her arms around Tara's neck. Locking her arms around Cat, Tara felt a bliss she hadn't felt in a long time, but this time without any lingering fear or anxiety behind it. Maybe there were still crazy times ahead of her and Cat, but for now, she settled in the hope that the two of them would be…just fine.