What's this? An update in two days? Yes! I've been super creative since getting my computer back. I love it.
I do not own the song "Catch Me"
Shane stared at Tess in disbelief, his jaw hanging open slightly. He had not seen Tess in close to seven years. The last time had been at Camp Rock, and they didn't exactly leave on the best terms. In fact, he was pretty sure Tess hated him with the white-hot passion of a thousand suns. But he deserved it. He did fuck her, video it, and blackmail her into silence. But it was all in the name of protecting his family, so that made it okay… Right?
"I—uh… Tess…" he searched for the right words, but none came. Finally, he settled on something simple. "Hi."
Her lips curled into a sneer. "Hi?"
"I didn't recognize you," he said quickly. "With the hat and sunglasses and all… Been a long time."
"Not long enough," she muttered, replacing the sunglasses back on her face. She cast a glance at the girl by the swings, then looked to Shane again. "I never thought I'd see you again."
"Me either," Shane admitted, kicking at the grass with his sneaker. "So, is that your daughter?" He looked over his shoulder, towards the swings. "How old is she?"
"She's six," Tess answered.
Shane froze, and what felt like ice spread through his chest. Six. He'd had sex with Tess almost seven years before. That meant there was a possibility that… No, no. He wouldn't be stupid enough to do that twice. Besides, he used a condom. Then again, they weren't always foolproof… Crap, had he done it again?
"Tess, uh," he said in a horse voice, "that's not my—uh, not my…?"
"Oh god, no," Tess said quickly, figuring out where he was going with that. "That's my stepdaughter, Kylie. She's my husband's from his first marriage." She looked down to the baby in her arms. "This one's mine, though."
Shane looked closer at the baby and noticed she was a girl, with blonde hair and careful, watchful eyes, just like Tess.
"She looks like you," he said softly and let out a relieved sigh.
Tess nodded. "Thank you."
An awkwardness hung in the air. Shane could feel Tess sizing him up behind her glasses. Her arms were wrapped protectively around the baby in her arms, as if she thought Shane was going to snatch her from her at any moment. Shane cleared his throat.
"Tess, about what happened at Camp Rock…"
"Oh, you mean you recording having creepy, masked-sex with me and blackmailing me?" Tess asked harshly and raised her eyebrows. "Which was all kinds of illegal, by the way."
Shane winced at her tone. "Yeah, that…" He wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans. "Well, I'm sorry about all that."
"'About all that?'" Tess sneered at him. "You blackmailed me. With a sex tape!" She stood, balancing the baby on her hip. "Do you know what kind of psychological damage that did to me?"
Shane stared at her. "Uh, no…"
"Of course you don't," she spat. "Because you were the one in control of it. And nothing could be pinned on you. I'm the one who went to sleep every night terrified the video would be leaked online. So, I stopped sleeping. I stopped eating, and my paranoia took complete control over my life." She shook her head at him. "I stopped singing because I was constantly worried I would become famous and somehow it would get out there."
Shane nearly rolled his eyes at that. Of course she thought she'd become a famous singer. She thought she was hot shit but the truth was she wasn't even that good. She had an ego to match his, that was for sure. Then again, her mother was famous, and if there was one thing Hollywood loved, it was nepotism.
"I had no idea," Shane said slowly.
"No, you wouldn't, would you?" Tess laughed bitterly. "I mean, it's not like you landed in therapy over it. No, that was me."
"Therapy?" Shane asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah," Tess said dryly, nodding. "I should send you my bill. After all, you're the reason I'm in it."
Shane was dumbstruck. He'd never thought Tess would be capable of feeling any of that. He thought she was heartless, yet here was the proof that she had actual human emotions. And he'd hurt them. Even if it was for what he thought at the time was the greater good. Once again, he was staring at a woman he'd broken.
"Tess, I am so sorry," he said to her. "If I had known—"
"What, you wouldn't have done it?" Tess chuckled sarcastically. "Come on, Shane. Get real. We both know what kind of person you are."
"I'm not that person anymore," he said. "If I could go back and do it over—"
"But you can't," she said with a sigh. "What's done is done, and you can't erase what you did."
"I know that," he said quickly. He'd had that conversation with Mitchie before.
"The only thing we can do is accept what's happened and move on," she said softly, bending down carefully to grab the blanket, baby still balanced perfectly on her hip. "That's what my therapist tells me, anyway."
"Sounds like a smart guy," Shane said, nodding.
"She's a woman," Tess said, rolling her eyes. Typical man. Automatically assuming every doctor is male. "Kylie, come on, we're leaving!" she yelled to the girl at the swings. Kylie pouted at the announcement, but removed her doll from the swings and started making her way to the tree.
"You don't have to leave just because I'm here," Shane said, holding up his hands.
"Actually, I do," Tess said matter-of-factly as Kylie reached her. She handed the blanket to the six-year-old. "Can you carry this, sweetie?" she asked her with a small smile before turning her attention back to the headache of a man that stood before her. "You still don't get it, Shane. So let me spell it out for you." She fixed him with a hard look. "I hate you. I wish you were dead. Nothing would make me happier than seeing you meet a bloody, sticky end. Your mere presence is making me physically sick. We are leaving because seeing you is triggering to me, and I have to call my therapist to see about getting an emergency appointment." The corners of her lips curled upward into a bitter smile. "So thanks for that. Really."
She put her hand on Kylie's back and began leading them away. The girl looked over her shoulder at Shane as they walked, watching him with curiosity.
"Tess, wait—"
"Don't," Tess warned, without stopping or looking back. She just kept moving forward with her children, to the parking lot. It took everything in her not to break down right there. She was biting her lip to prevent herself from crying so hard she was sure she drew blood.
After she fastened both children into their respective car seats she climbed into the driver's side and jammed the key into the ignition. As she turned it, she glanced up at the park. Shane was still standing under the tree, his eyes on the parking lot, fixed on her white BMW.
Tess's vision blurred as hot tears rolled down her face, finally losing her battle with her emotions. She swiped angrily at her eyes and pulled out of the gravel lot, spraying rocks with her tires and praying one of them found its way to Shane's car and cracked his windshield.
Alex slept in on Saturday, and it was glorious. Sometime after one she finally opened her eyes, rolling lazily onto her side from her stomach. She was disappointed to find her wife's side of the bed empty and cold, signaling she'd been awake for a while. Alex groaned and stretched, sitting up. She yawned loudly, looking around the room with tired eyes.
The sound of faint guitar music hit her ears, and Alex didn't have to investigate the noise to know it was Mitchie, no doubt down in her studio working on another song. She climbed out of bed and made her way down the stairs. When she reached the music room at the back of the house she was surprised to hear Mitchie talking to someone, someone with a deep voice.
Upon reaching the doorway Alex discovered that the deeper voice belonged to Nate. His hair was shorter now, buzzed and nearly bald, and he'd let his stubble grow out a little. He sat beside Mitchie on the couch, both holding guitars. They looked up when Alex appeared at the door, a smile making its way to Mitchie's face.
"She's alive," she said, standing and placing her guitar on the couch. She went over to her wife. "Good morning, sleepy head. Or should I say afternoon?"
"Hey," Alex responded. She kissed Mitchie on the cheek before nodding in Nate's direction. "And hey to you, too."
"Good to see you, Alex," Nate said with a nod.
"What's going on here?" Alex asked, crossing her arms over her chest and feeling awkward. She wished she'd known Nate was there before coming downstairs. She would have put on a bra.
"I was having trouble with the chorus of a new song," Mitchie explained. "So, I called Nate, and he came over." She reached out and tucked a strand of Alex's wild bedhead behind her ear. "Did we wake you?"
Alex shook her head. "No, but even if you did I needed to wake up anyway." She yawned, still trying to shrug off the sleepiness. "Is there coffee?"
"I made some this morning," Mitchie said with a nod. "Should still be in the pot."
"It'll be cold now," Nate said with a frown.
Alex looked at him. "Nate, believe it or not, there's this thing called the microwave."
The man's face reddened. "It's not the same," he muttered, fixing his attention back on the guitar in his hands.
"She's not picky," Mitchie said with a laugh. She reached out and grabbed Alex's hand, squeezing it, needing to touch her in some way. "Nate grabbed Chinese on the way over. There's still some in the kitchen."
"Good man, Nate," Alex said, smiling. She brought her and Mitchie's intertwined hands to her mouth and sweetly kissed the singer on the knuckles. "Be right back," she said before letting go of her wife and leaving the room.
When she got to the kitchen she found T-Rex staring intently at the takeout containers on the counter. He didn't even notice her come in, too absorbed in watching the food in case it some how managed to fall off the counter. Alex gently nudged him with her foot as she passed, and he skidded to the other side of the kitchen after having been caught.
"You're so desperate," Alex said as she went to the cabinet and got out a plate.
She served herself a heaping plate of lo mein and sweet and sour chicken and put it in the microwave. While that heated up she poured herself cold coffee into a glass and added creamer and ice. She'd busted Nate's balls about microwaving her coffee, but one look at the bright sunlight outside and she decided iced coffee sounded better.
T-Rex, seeing that Alex now had food, followed her as she left the kitchen and went back to the studio, where Nate and Mitchie were hard at work. They strummed away, talking every now and then about the arrangement of chords as Alex inhaled her food. When she was done she sat in silence, listening to them play and sing to the song they'd been working on. It was one Alex hadn't heard before, and she felt a twinge of jealousy that Nate got to hear it before she did. She knew it was stupid because she'd heard literally all of Mitchie's other songs first, but she couldn't help it.
"What if at this part we pick up the pace a little bit?" Mitchie asked, looking to Nate. "It's so soft and slow, I think it would really spice it up. Here, listen." She began strumming and singing softly. "You've got me laughing while I sing. You've got me smiling in my sleep." She began strumming faster and projected her voice more. "And I can see this unraveling. Your love is where I'm falling. So please don't catch me. If this is love please don't break me," she sang, her voice returning to a softer pitch for the last line. "I'm giving up so just catch me."
Alex clapped and hollered her approval, Mitchie beaming in response.
"I wonder who that's about," Alex joked, smirking.
"Just some girl," Mitchie said, batting her eyes at her wife.
Nate cleared his throat. He always felt odd when Alex and Mitchie flirted in front of him. It wasn't because they were girls, he felt that way around any couple. He was just a very private person, choosing only to show affection to his lovers when alone with them.
"I like it, Mitchie," he said, nodding. "I can hear violins at the beginning, and that last bit definitely lifts the song. Do you have a name?"
"'Catch Me,' obviously," she said, then looked to the other woman. "Alex, I think there's gonna be a really great drum part at the end. Do you want to start working on it?"
"My arm's still sore from yesterday," she said with a pout. It was only a little true. It kind of stung, but when it came down to it, she was just feeling lazy. Besides, she was hoping if they called it quits that meant Nate would leave, and that meant she and Mitchie could enjoy the last bit of their alone time before Shane brought Sam back the next day.
"Okay," Mitchie said with a frown. She really wanted to keep working on the song. That's how she got sometimes. All she could focus on was her music until she felt the song was complete. "Maybe Caitlyn is free and can come by. I could use her input."
Alex resisted the urge to groan in frustration. She knew how Mitchie was when she got herself involved with a new piece. It was best to just let her ride it out.
"I'll call her," Nate said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell phone.
Once again Alex wanted to groan. It didn't seem like Nate was leaving, either. So much for their last day alone.
After another two hours Caitlyn was finally putting her laptop back into its bag, and Nate was packing up his guitar. Alex felt like singing herself, ready to get her wife back to herself again. Not that she didn't love Nate and Caitlyn, but she saw Caitlyn enough during the week. And Nate had been there since that morning. Didn't he have things to do, a life to live?
"Mitchie, I think this is going to be my favorite on the album," Caitlyn told her with a huge smile.
"Me too," the singer agreed, smiling as well. "God, we've been working on this for hours." She glanced at her phone, seeing it was past six pm. "We've been in this room all day," she told Nate.
"Yeah, I think I need to go on a run or something now, stretch my legs" Nate said with a laugh. He was such a health and fitness nut, the only time he ever allowed himself to sit still for that long was when he was working on music, his first passion.
"We could all go swimming," Mitchie offered. "Get outside, get some sun before it sets."
Alex internally screamed. She had to think of something to stop this, and fast.
"Nate and Caitlyn don't have suits," she said quickly. Good one, Russo. That should get them out.
"Caitlyn fits mine, so I can loan her one," Mitchie said. "And I'm sure you can find some basketball shorts Nate could fit." She looked to the man. "Alex shops in the boy section for her shorts, so they might be tight, but it could work."
Nate shrugged. "I don't mind, if Alex doesn't."
Everyone looked to the former wizard expectantly. She did her best not to sigh, feeling cornered. Well shit. There went that plan.
"Sure," she said finally, hiding her disappointment with a fake smile.
They all went upstairs, where Mitchie handed Caitlyn a solid black bikini and took out a white and pink striped one for herself. Alex fished around in her drawer for an old pair of shorts. She found a faded navy pair that had an elastic waist band and handed them to Nate. He inspected them, nodding.
"These look like they'll work," he told her. "I'll go change in Sam's room."
He left, and Caitlyn excused herself to the bathroom to change as well. As soon as the door closed Mitchie turned to Alex.
"Why do I get the feeling you don't want them around?" Mitchie asked in a low voice, so Caitlyn couldn't hear from the bathroom.
Alex sighed as she pulled her own bright blue bikini from another drawer. "I just want to be alone with you, while we still can." She went over to the bedroom door and closed it before removing her shirt. "Is that so wrong?"
"No," Mitchie said, sighing as well. "But we hardly ever see Nate anymore, and it's nice to be with other adults for a change." She removed her own shirt, placing it neatly on the bed. She noticed Alex's on the floor, now accompanied by her jeans. "We've had plenty of alone time these past few days."
"I know, I just—" Alex shook her head as she unhooked her bra and let it drop into her growing pile. "Once this baby comes there's going to be no time for us. Remember how it was after Sam was born? Every spare moment we had we were sleeping because it was so exhausting. And then we had to watch him every moment as he started getting older because he got into everything. Things were just starting to get easier now that he can do a lot for himself, like bathe and dress himself." She placed her bikini top on and fasted it. "I just want to enjoy it while we can before it's too late."
Mitchie bit her lip, watching Alex as she climbed out of her underwear and into her bikini bottoms. The singer went over and took her wife's face in her hands.
"Hey, I get it," Mitchie said softly. "Believe me, I do." She kissed Alex chastely on the forehead before locking onto her gaze. "But we have more resources now than we did before. We have friends we trust, who have, will, and can babysit for us. Also, we have so much money we can totally turn into those rich Hollywood people who hire nannies."
"I don't want to be those people," Alex said quickly.
"Neither do I, but the option is there." Mitchie brushed her thumbs over Alex's cheeks. "It's going to be different this time, I promise. It'll be much easier. Last time we had no clue. We're pros now. We've got this, baby."
Alex stared at her for a moment. "Okay," she said gently.
"And tonight," Mitchie began, removing her hands from Alex's face and winding her arms around her neck, "I will make sure we make most of our last night alone."
"Oh really?" Alex asked with a grin. She wound her arms around Mitchie's torso, pulling her lover into her body. "How?"
Mitchie leaned forward and whispered in Alex's ear, "I'm going to fuck you until you see stars."
After everyone had finished changing Mitchie grabbed four towels from the linen closet and distributed them. Nate held his in front of him to hide the fact that the shorts from Alex were a little snug, particularly in the crotch area. Mitchie and Alex didn't seem to notice, but Caitlyn had, looking away and blushing when Nate caught her glancing.
The water was the perfect temperature, and Mitchie found herself readily jumping into the deep end this time with Alex, their hands joined. Caitlyn and Nate dove in after, splashing the girls on the way.
After swimming around and chatting for a bit Alex retrieved the football from the shed and brought it to the pool. They tossed it around a bit before Nate and Caitlyn challenged Mitchie and Alex to a game.
The two pairs squared off, but it wasn't a fair match. Nate had bulked up over the years, gaining abs and tons of muscles. He easily over took the girls, and it took both Mitchie and Alex to tackle him. When the score got too out of hand Alex and Mitchie reluctantly waved an imaginary white flag in surrender.
"Good job, teammate," Nate said, holding up his hand for a high five.
"Back at ya," Caitlyn said, slapping his hand.
"Cheaters," Alex said and rolled her eyes.
"This isn't cheating," Caitlyn said, gesturing to Nate. "I have a jacked partner. Don't hate."
"Jeez, Nate, what do you eat?" Mitchie said, still trying to catch her breath.
"Lots of protein and veggies," he said with a laugh. "Speaking of… I'm starving. Should probably head out and get some food."
"We can cook," Mitchie said quickly. "We can grill some steaks." She pointed to the grill on the deck.
"Sounds good to me," Caitlyn agreed, looking to Alex. "What about you? Sick of us yet?" She smirked knowingly at Alex, making it clear she'd picked up on Alex's aversion to the swimming plan earlier.
"Nah, not yet," Alex said, splashing her friend lightly. And it was true. After all, once Mitchie promised to rock her world later she'd gotten over her agitation and started enjoying Nate and Caitlyn's company. "We can do steak."
"Do you need any help with that?" Nate asked.
Alex shot him a glare. "No, Nate, I don't need a man's help. I know how to grill."
"That's not what I meant," he said quickly, his cheeks turning red. "I was just trying to be courteous."
"Oh," Alex responded, feeling bad. She was so used to toxic masculinity from just about every straight man she'd ever encountered she didn't know what it was like to have one offer her help out of generosity and not because they were being condescending. "Sorry…But no, no thank you. You guys keep swimming. Mitchie and I've got dinner covered."
She offered a soft smile before swimming over to the side and hoisting herself out of the pool. Mitchie followed her, and together they walked across the yard and to the house.
As Mitchie and Alex worked on dinner Nate and Caitlyn swam around, chatting and catching up. They hadn't seen each other much since Camp Rock, only a few times here and there, but had never really been close. Nate could be hard to talk to, never quite knowing how to open up to anyone. Not even the people he dated. And it's not like they ever spent time alone, just the two of them.
Caitlyn found herself enjoying his company, learning things about Nate she had never known before. He was raised Catholic, but had a lot of problems with the church itself, so chose to practice his faith in private. He was an only child, and his parents had divorced when he was nine. He didn't have very close relationships with either of his parents, and Caitlyn had a feeling that's why he only gave her surface level details, not delving into anything other than the basic facts of his life.
Caitlyn told him about her parents' divorce, and her father's Aspergers. She'd grown to understand the syndrome over the years, educating herself about it. But it was still really tough sometimes.
"You know, the only time we've ever had a real conversation is when we drink together," Caitlyn said, eyes misty.
"Sometimes it helps lower inhibitions," Nate said. "I know I'm a lot more talkative when I drink."
"So you're saying I have to get you drunk to find out your deepest, darkest secrets?" Caitlyn asked him, quirking an eyebrow.
Nate laughed and lowered his gaze. "Maybe."
Caitlyn looked at him, watched as beads of water rolled down his skin, down to his abs. Jesus, when had Nate gotten so fit? He sure as hell didn't look like this the last time she saw him. Then again, he'd also been fully clothed then.
She tore her eyes from the man and grabbed the football that was bobbing just a few inches away.
"How about this," she said, causing him to look at her again. "If I can make it past you, you have to tell me one of your secrets." She held out the ball to him and smirked.
He took it hesitantly. "Caitlyn, it took both Mitchie and Alex to take me down. You really think you stand a chance?" He rolled the ball back and forth in his hands, gazing at her intently.
"I'm tougher than I look," she said. "Besides, that should be good for you. Less chance of me winning and finding out what makes you tick." She poked him in the chest. "What do you say?"
He smiled a little and nodded. "Okay."
Caitlyn backed up and held her hands out for a pass. Nate shook his head and threw it, then readied himself as she caught it. She began moving towards him as fast as she could in the water. He pushed off the bottom and advanced on her. She swerved to the left, almost getting by, but he caught her by the waist at the last second. Nate picked her up and dragged her under the water. Caitlyn let go of the ball and surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of water. Moments later Nate's head popped up, inches from her face. They stared at each other, both out of breath. Nate's cheeks flushed as his eyes flicked to her full lips, then back to intense, nearly golden eyes.
"Guys, dinner!" Mitchie called out from the deck, where Alex was removing the last steak from the grill and putting it on a plate.
"Guess we should go," Caitlyn said, and she swam over to the side of the pool, hoisting herself out. She glanced back to see Nate hadn't moved. "Coming?"
His face turned so red it reached all the way to his ears. "Give me a minute."
"Oh," was all Caitlyn could say in surprise. She tried to hide her smile of amusement as she turned and started walking towards the deck.
Nate let out a large sigh and hung his head, burying his face in his hands.
"Where's Nate?" Alex asked when Caitlyn approached, wrapping her towel around her waist.
"He'll be here in a sex—I mean, a sec." Caitlyn bumbled, cursing her stupid mouth.
"What the actual fuck, Caitlyn?" Alex asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Were you having sex in our pool?"
"With Nate?" Mitchie added, her eyes wide.
"No," Caitlyn hissed, glancing over her shoulder. "Keep your voices down, he could hear you." She sighed and sat in one of the chairs at the picnic table. "Okay, I know you're both gay, but have either of you noticed how hot he's gotten?"
"No," Alex said, sitting in the chair opposite Caitlyn. Mitchie sat next to her.
"I can see it," she said. "He's really built, and he has kind eyes."
"Kind eyes," Caitlyn said with a snort. "Mitchie, have you seen his abs? And the V thing he has going on? Dear lord, I can see why he dates supermodels."
"Not recently, he's been single for a few months," Mitchie said. An idea dawned on her. "Hey, you should—"
"No," Caitlyn said quickly, shaking her head. "Don't go there."
"Why not?" Mitchie asked, picking up her knife and fork to begin cutting into her steak. "He's a great guy, you think he's hot, you're already friends."
"Which is why it would be weird." Caitlyn picked up her own knife and fork. "Seriously, drop it Mitchie."
"When I told you about my feelings for Alex you told me to go for it," Mitchie reminded her. "You told me it was worth the risk. You told me, and I quote, 'Smart listens to the head. Stupid listens to the heart. Sometimes you have to be stupid.'" Mitchie shrugged. "So be stupid, Cait."
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. It figured Mitchie would remember something she said nearly a decade ago. But she had a point. She was the one who pushed her to be with Alex.
"If I recall that was the night you kissed me," Caitlyn said with a smirk, knowing that would gain Alex's attention and divert the conversation away from her love life.
"You guys kissed?!" Alex rounded on Mitchie, jaw hanging open.
Mitchie glared at Caitlyn briefly before turning her attention to her wife.
"You remember the day I overheard you and Harper talking about how you were falling for me?" Mitchie asked, taking Alex's hand.
"Yes…"
"Well, naturally I called Caitlyn to talk about that," Mitchie explained. "It was a confusing time, I was still accepting my feelings for you, and I just wanted to know what it would be like to kiss a girl, so we kissed."
Alex swallowed, glancing back and forth between her wife and Caitlyn, who was casually eating her steak like she didn't just semi blow up Alex's world.
"And?" Alex asked Mitchie.
"And it felt wrong," Mitchie said. "Not because she was a girl, but because it was Caitlyn. Who is like my sister. It felt wrong because it wasn't you."
"She even said that after," Caitlyn said, swallowing her mouthful. "And lucky for you because if I were gay, or even bi, she and I would be married by now."
"I think part of me has always known that," Alex said softly. It was why she got so worked up over what turned out to be an innocent kiss.
"I thought you would have known about this," Caitlyn stated.
"Why didn't I?" Alex asked, staring at Mitchie, who shrugged.
"It didn't seem important," she answered. "It didn't mean anything, and honestly I kind of forgot it happened." She gave her wife a gentle smile. "I'll never forget our first kiss, though."
"At the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," Alex said with a nod and a grin.
Mitchie brought their intertwined hands to her mouth and kissed Alex's fingers sweetly. At that moment Nate walked up, seeming to have gotten his "problem" under control.
"What'd I miss?" he asked, taking a seat next to Caitlyn.
After dinner was finished Caitlyn and Nate helped clean up before saying their goodbyes. They walked to their cars in silence, Nate pausing as he put his guitar in the backseat of his Mustang to watched Caitlyn as she bent over to put her laptop in the trunk. She closed it and turned to find him watching her. He broke eye contact, staring at his shoes and clearing his throat.
"Thanks for not saying anything earlier," he said sheepishly, eyes still locked on his Adidas. "To Mitchie and Alex… about the thing…"
Caitlyn smirked, enjoying how shy Nate got when talking about a normal bodily function.
"Don't mention it," she said, walking over and leaning against the side of his car. "By the way, how'd you get rid of it?"
Nate's cheeks flushed. "I uh," he paused, chuckling, "I think about the fact that Donald Trump is the president, actually."
Caitlyn threw her head back and laughed loudly, causing Nate to laugh as well. He was still incredibly embarrassed, but at least Caitlyn was being so cool about it.
"Really?" she asked, gasping.
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "Just keep telling myself that over and over, and I just go limp."
Caitlyn laughed again, completely tickled by the fact that the deranged Cheeto that spewed hatred and called himself a leader could kill the sex drive of the average red-blooded American male.
"Well I guess now I know one of your deep dark secrets after all," she commented.
He nodded again. "Guess so."
They stared at each other for a moment before Nate broke eye contact, looking at his shoes once more and kicking at the pavement.
"Sorry, about that by the way," he said, referring to his predicament. "It's got a mind of its own, I swear… I didn't mean to offend you, if I did…"
Caitlyn was taken aback. Was he seriously apologizing for that? No guy had ever apologized to her for getting a boner in her presence. Most had asked her to "do something about it" but never seemed to regret it like Nate did. That was… different.
"I'm not offended," she said softly. "In fact, I'm kind of flattered."
"Flattered?" He looked at her quizzically. That was not the reaction he'd been expecting.
"Yeah, I mean, you date some of the most gorgeous women in the world," Caitlyn said, pulling at her fingers. "The fact that I could get that reaction out of you, is kind of mind-blowing to me."
Nate shook his head. "Caitlyn, what are you talking about?" He stared at her.
"Nate, you date models." She let out a sigh. "And I'm just—me. I'm not a model, that's for sure."
Nate watched as her features fell, brown ringlets framing her face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did Caitlyn seriously not know how beautiful she was?
He wanted to tell her that, but he couldn't. The words were on his tongue, but never passed his lips. It wasn't in his nature to say things like that.
"I'm sure lots of guys like you," he said instead, wanting to kick himself when he saw her wince. "What about Gabe?" he asked quickly.
"He cheated on me," Caitlyn said darkly. "With a perky, blonde girl who probably weighed ninety pounds soaking wet." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Guess he liked her better."
Nate felt horrible. He'd meant to compliment Caitlyn, but it seemed all he did was make things worse. Why couldn't he ever say the right thing?
"I'm sorry," he said, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. "He's an idiot. Fuck that guy."
Caitlyn smiled a little and looked up at him tenderly. "Thanks."
Nate nodded and brought his hand back, placing it awkwardly at his side. That seemed right that time. At least he recovered.
"Anyway, it's getting late," Caitlyn said, pushing off his car finally. "I should get going."
"Yeah, me too," he said, watching her walk away. "See ya, Caitlyn.
She paushed when she reached her car, looking at the man over her shoulder. "Bye, Nate," she said, before hopping into the convertible.
Mitchie and Alex watched from the living room window, holding their breaths when Nate reached out and touched Caitlyn's shoulder. They let it out in agitated sighs when he pulled away. Next they both got in their cars and drove off.
"Ugh, they're so annoying," Mitchie said with a huff.
"Mitchie, maybe there's nothing going on there," Alex said, going over to the couch and sitting.
"No, I know there is," Mitchie said, and she began pacing. "We totally interrupted something in the pool. That's why Nate didn't come to eat right away." She snapped. "He couldn't because he had a—"
"Mitchie, please stop," Alex interrupted with a whine. "This whole conversation is way too straight for me."
Mitchie sighed and went to sit beside Alex on the couch. "I just want my friends to be happy," she said with a pout. "I would rather my friends date each other because then at least I know they're both dating decent people."
"But you can't force them together," Alex told her, placing a hand on her back and rubbing gently.
"You're right," Mitchie agreed, looking to her wife. "But you know I like to meddle."
"It's one of the things I love about you," Alex said with a smile.
Mitchie chuckled and shook her head. She wanted to push it further, but Alex spoke the truth. Caitlyn was headstrong and would make her own decisions. Pushing from Mitchie would not help. In the end all Mitchie could focus on was her wife, her relationship.
"Well, we're alone now," Mitchie said with a smirk. "And I believe I was supposed to show you the stars."
Alex smiled widely. "Lucky for me we're already half naked."
Mitchie's eyes roamed to Alex's bikini-clad body. Her fingers itched to remove it.
"Yeah, this is suddenly bothering me," Mitchie said, hooking her finger in the front of the top. "Take it off."
Sorry this chapter was so so heavily Caitlyn/Nate-centric. It's called world building. Hope you enjoyed anyway.
Review, please, my loves.
Until next time.
-DF