Love Lessons

Catherine set down the pen she’d been using to write in her lab notebook. “I’m sorry, Julia, but I’ll be working late this evening. I don’t expect to be able to leave before eight—and it could be even later than that. It has been a very busy past couple of weeks here, and I’ve been putting in some fairly long hours.”

“Working, huh?”

“Yes.” Catherine spoke more firmly this time, having heard the faintest note of skepticism in Julia’s voice. “Working.”

“Okay—so how about tomorrow evening?”

Glad that Julia couldn’t see her expression, Catherine thought about it a moment. Tomorrow was Friday, and Mike had classes. “Yes, I’m free tomorrow evening.”

“So you’re not still seeing that guy?” Julia didn’t have to specify which guy.

“If you mean Mike, yes, I’m still seeing him quite often. But he and I have no plans for tomorrow night.”

Julia had to have heard the note of warning in Catherine’s voice, but she didn’t back off. “You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”

Catherine allowed her silence to provide all the answer Julia was going to get.

“Look, I know you’re thinking that this is none of my business, but I just have to warn you again to be careful. I know this is all heady and exciting right now, but just keep your defenses up, okay? You’ve made a good life for yourself. You’re one of the most confident and well-adjusted people I know. You seemed pretty content with who you are and what you’ve accomplished. I hope you don’t let this affair change any of that.”

Had Catherine not taken a moment to remind herself how badly Julia had been hurt, she might have lost her precarious grip on her patience then. She wanted to snap at her friend that she didn’t need to be given advice on her relationship with Mike. But she kept those comments to herself. Partly because she knew Julia was genuinely concerned. And maybe another part of her was aware that the wisdom Julia had gained through painful experience could prove to be very useful soon.

“I appreciate your concern,” she said eventually, choosing her words with care. “But I’ll be fine, Julia. Mike and I are just having a little fun, you know? I know better than to take it seriously.”

“Well, as long as you’re not getting too emotionally invested,” Julia said doubtfully. “Because, you know, guys like that don’t tend to hang around long. They have very short attention spans.”

“I know.” In fact, Catherine suspected that Mike was already getting restless.

He was a very social person, comfortable in crowds and at parties. They had been avoiding their friends because it just seemed easier to do so than to deal with the complications. It was entirely possible that Mike was getting tired of spending hours in her apartment—which would explain his eagerness to go bowling last Sunday afternoon, even if it meant dashing through a downpour to get to her car.

He had seemed to enjoy the outing. He liked bowling—an active sport performed in a noisy venue with lots of other people around. He seemed to be energized by the noise and bustle, and thrived on competition, even against her pitiful attempts at knocking down the pins. He had been visibly disappointed when she had told him it was time to leave so that she could go to work.

She hoped he had studied that evening, as he had said he would, but she had promised herself she wouldn’t ask him about it—and she had not, even though she’d seen him a couple of times since, and had talked to him almost every day by telephone.

“It’s just a fling, Julia,” she said, shaking her head to rid herself of the uncomfortable musings. “I don’t expect it to last much longer, but there’s no reason I shouldn’t enjoy it while it does. Right?”

“I suppose not. But you shouldn’t let him drive a wedge between you and your old friends, either. After all, we’re the ones who will still be here after he gets bored and moves on.”

She made it sound so inevitable. And so imminent. Not exactly flattering.

Catherine murmured an appropriate response, then agreed to meet Julia for dinner Friday evening, suggesting they invite Karen, as we

ll. She might as well face both of her friends in one evening, though she sincerely hoped they wouldn’t spend the entire time lecturing her about how Mike was probably going to break her heart.

Chapter Thirteen

Mike sat with Bob and Brandon at a table in a downtown club. They had already consumed baskets of buffalo wings and potato skins and fried mushrooms and several beers apiece. Music blared out of speakers all around them, and the mostly young crowd at surrounding tables did their best to converse above the noise. The place smelled like smoke and grease and people, and Mike felt right at home there.

Though it hadn’t been that long since he had last seen them, it was good to be with his friends again in one of their favorite hangouts. He knew quite a few other patrons in the club, at least in passing, and he spent much of the evening returning friendly nods and greetings. This wasn’t a place he thought Catherine would like very much, so he didn’t know why he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

“Mike—look who’s here,” Brandon said, tugging at the sleeve of Mike’s shirt. “It’s Jessica Terry. And, dude, she is totally checking you out.”

Mike glanced in the direction Brandon was not-so-discreetly indicating to where a curvy blonde sat beside an equally striking woman with long black hair. Both were looking their way, and the blonde smiled brightly when Mike’s gaze met hers.

Jessica Terry. He had met her at a party in September and had left with every intention of calling her—and then he’d met Catherine and had forgotten all about Jessica. The way she was looking at him, along with the open invitation in her eyes, suggested that she remembered him.

“Hey, I remember her,” Bob said. “She was at Joey’s party, wasn’t she? Oh, man, she’s hot. And as I recall, you and she did a little making out before that party was over. You probably would have ended up taking her home if she hadn’t, you know, been there with some other guy.”

Oh, yeah, Mike remembered. He had left that party with her number in his pocket and an ache that a cold shower had barely taken the edge off. Funny how he could look at her now and feel nothing. Zip. Nada.