Misery

Getting out of the shower, Catherine wrapped a towel around herself and moved to stand in front of the steam-covered mirror. She brought a hand out in front of her and wiped a spot on the mirror so she could look at herself. Her bright red hair hung damp over her shoulders. She’d taken all of her makeup off in the shower, and while she had never had high thoughts of herself before, Catherine realized she was indeed a beautiful girl. Deciding to put no makeup on and let her hair dry naturally, she stepped out of the bathroom, in search for Cam.

She found him in the kitchen, standing in front of the stove. There was a wonderful smell in the air and when she got closer she could see him searing steaks in a pan. She leaned against the refrigerator and watched him, without him knowing. He had never been anything but perfect to her, a thought that had run through her head a lot, and now he had the nerve to cook for her? She laughed lightly, catching Cam’s attention. It wasn’t until she noticed his eyes go wide as they looked up and down her body that she remembered she was only in a towel.

Biting her lip, she stood up straight and wrapped her arms around herself, “I don’t know where you put my things and,” She tensed as he got closer to her. “I didn’t want to put the clothes I wore…” She paused again, Cam even closer to her. “on my way here, back on again…”

The end of her sentence was breathy, as Cam stared directly into her green eyes with his blue ones; she had to smile slightly at the way he did keep his eyes on hers and not on the rest of her, only dressed in a flimsy towel. He brushed her hair off of her shoulder, before placing a hand on the base of her neck where it met her shoulder. Keeping his eyes fixed on hers, he rested his other hand lightly against her cheek, bringing her face closer to his.

Catherine’s eyes widened, but as soon as his lips touched hers, she closed them slowly, bring her hands to rest on his large biceps. Resting her back on the refrigerator again, Cam leaned into her and deepened the kiss when he realized she was kissing back, something he had not expected. Moving the hand that was resting on her cheek to her waist, Cam pressed their bodies closer together.

It was then that Catherine realized the situation they were in. Putting her hands on Cam’s chest and lightly pushing him away and seeing the hurt look in his eyes, she knew what she had done was best. For it to go farther wouldn’t be fair to him. It was clear to her that he held feelings for her, and while she did indeed hold feelings for him, the feelings she held for Adam were bigger and stronger. It simply wouldn’t be fair to lead him on.

“Cam…”

”I’m sorry,” He told her before she had a chance to get a sentence out. “I shouldn’t have - ”

“No, Cam…” It was her turn to interrupt. “As much as I want this, and believe me, I want this…” He smirked. “It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Giving her a confused look, he shook his head, silently telling her he did not understand. Catherine sighed and put her small hand on Cam’s cheek, feeling like it was time to do some confessing.

“I have feelings for you, Cam.”

His eyes widened, “Since when?”

Catherine shrugged, “I don’t know, really. But I first realized it the day… I told you - ”

“That we couldn’t be friends anymore,” He finished for her.

The look on Catherine’s face told him that she felt guilty for what she had done, but he understood and by the reassuring squeeze he gave her hand with his, he told her that. At the time, she was trying to work things out with Adam and with him telling her she deserved more and he could be better for her, he knew she needed to cut all ties with him.

“I was so mad at you for starting that fight with Adam; I came to yell at you, curse you out!” She shook her head, almost not believing what had happened that day. “And I couldn’t yell at you.” She sighed. “As soon as I looked into your eyes – as stupid as this is going to sound – I saw how much you cared about me, and I wished, I wished so bad that Adam would look at me like that.”

Cam shook his head, wanting to interrupt, but Catherine wasn’t done, “I wanted to kiss you.” His eyes went wider. “I wanted to shove you against your locker and kiss you in front of all your teammates; I didn’t care.”

“Why are you telling me this?” He groaned.

Letting out a small laugh, she wrapped her arms around his waist, “I thought it was time I be honest with you. Yes, I do have feelings for you, but the feelings I have for Adam are still there. Until I'm completely over him, there can't be an us.”

Cam smiled at her and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her mouth lightly. When he pulled away, he walked back to the stove and finished making lunch. Catherine let out a light smile herself and grabbed one of her bags after Cam had told her where they were. Returning to the kitchen dressed, the pair ate in a comfortable silence. Neither knew what would happen over the course of Catherine’s stay in St. Louis and both were perfectly okay with that.

Adam hadn’t anticipated waking up in a bed that wasn’t his, especially not the bed of a pretty blond he had never seen before, let alone know her name. He quickly gathered his things and dressed himself, rushing out of the apartment. As he stood, waiting for the elevator, he rested his head along the cool wall. When the elevator dinged signaling its arrival, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Walking out of the apartment building, he realized he didn’t know where he was or how to get home. He didn’t see any taxis driving by, but he didn’t have to worry. Just as he started to walk aimlessly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Reading the text from Troy that asked, “Where are you,” Adam quickly gave him the intersection he was standing on.

He moved to stand against the building he had just passed and it wasn’t any longer than ten minutes when Troy showed up.

“What happened last night?”

“God, Troy…” Adam paused. “I cheated on Catherine.”

Troy sighed, but didn’t say anything. They drove through the busy streets, heading toward Adam’s condo. The whole time he wondered just how he was going to tell Catherine, because he decided that he was going to tell her; if he wanted their relationship to have any shot, he needed to be honest. He had never gone out with his teammates the night before with the intention of cheating, but as the night wore on, he had drink after drink, and the opportunity presented itself, the old Adam shone through easily.

When they were almost to Adam’s condo, Troy offered to take them out to lunch and Adam readily agreed, hoping he could think better on a full stomach.

Their lunch passed uneventfully, with not much talking, and for that Adam was grateful.

“What are you going to say to her when she gets back?”

Adam shook his head at Troy’s question, as they pulled into Adam’s parking garage. Adam really hadn’t thought about how he was going to tell Catherine, he just knew he had to. She would be home the next day, as far as he knew, and he would confess right away, not leaving it to chance that she would find out elsewhere.

When he and Troy reached the condo, Adam was surprised to find Aimee sitting on his couch, tears in her eyes. What surprised him even more was that Troy did not rush to ask her what was wrong; he simply gave her a sad look and wrapped an arm around her.

Deciding to leave the two of them alone, Adam excused himself and wandered into his and Catherine’s bedroom. He took his shirt off and threw it onto the bed, going to the closet to find himself another. When he slid the closet door open, Adam immediately noticed something wasn’t right.

Throwing open the dresser drawers and finding them empty as well, threw him into a wave of panic. Rushing into the living room, both Aimee and Troy’s eyes snapped up to meet his, and the reason Aimee had been crying slapped him in the face.

Catherine knew he had cheated, and she was gone.