“I also know your history.”
“History—what do you mean history? I’ve never cheated on anyone in my life, including now.” I tried to keep my voice under control, but it was hard to erase any hint of anger.
“What about your family?”
“So that’s it! Roger is a cheater, so I must be, too. You’re starting to sound like my mother,” I muttered through clenched teeth.
“Your mother never had any proof.”
“And you do?” I stared at her, incredulous.
She pulled out some papers I recognized as my cell phone records. She had printed out a record of all the text messages. Most were to and from Sam. I rubbed my face with both hands, hard. There was no way I wanted to end the conversation with Kat still doubting me, questioning us. But I had promised Samantha I wouldn’t share her secret. Fuck! This was bad.
“Okay, I admit this looks bad—but it’s not what you think. I just can’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?” Her tone was shrill.
I took the wineglass out of her hand and placed it on the coffee table. Taking both of her hands in mine I looked my girlfriend in the eyes. “Kat, I promise you, Samantha and I are just friends. Besides …” My voice trailed off. I had vowed I wouldn’t tell a soul.
“Besides, what?” Kat’s body stiffened, and she pulled her hands out of mine.
“Listen, I can’t tell you. I promised.”
“And she means more to you than me.”
“What? Kat you know that’s not true, and it’s not fair.” I pinned her with a look.
“So you won’t tell me. Is she not into you but you’re into her?”
“Listen, you wouldn’t want me to break a promise to you, would you?”
Her look said, “Knock it off and act like a grown-up.”
“You’re right, Samantha is not into me—” I raised my hand to silence her accusation—“and I’m not into her. She’s going through a lot right now, and …”
“What’s Miss Perfect going through?”
Wow! Kat’s jealousy was shining through in full force tonight. Part of me found it amusing. I probably would have laughed if our relationship wasn’t on the line over it. I had never done a thing to make her question me, or had I? I admit that the papers in front of us did not look good.
I bowed my head in defeat. “She doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“What? Was she passed over for a promotion? Harold is always talking about how well she does at work. How she’ll take over the company someday. How she tips him more than anyone else. How she—”
“She was let go.”
“What?”
“Sam was laid off. Do you remember that day I got drunk with her—that was the day it happened. She needed a friend, and that’s all I am to her. That’s all I’ve ever been to her, and that’s all that I want. I love you, Kat. And only you.”
Kat covered her mouth in shame. “Oh, Cori. I had no idea.”
“That’s what I was telling you—that you didn’t know the full story. She’s ashamed, and she doesn’t want anyone to know.” I thought for a moment and decided to drop a hint. “Especially Lucy.’
“Lucy, why does she…oh.” Kat scratched her chin. “Now I feel like an ass.”
“I’m not saying another word. I feel shitty enough.”
Kat rubbed my back. “Do you have feelings for her? I mean you spend so much time …”
I sighed. “That’s not it, Kat. It’s easier talking to her.”
This caused her eyes to well up, and she pulled her hand off my back as if she’d just been stung by a bee.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, we can relate to each other. Once, I was on top of the world: basketball star, budding author, and people respected me. Now I serve coffee to a bunch of rich snobs who can’t even take a second to say hello or thank you. Samantha has more wiggle room financially, but she can’t stay unemployed forever. We both know what it feels like to be at the top and then to fall flat on our faces. It’s humiliating.”
Kat nodded, trying to understand. “Why can’t you talk to me?”
“Everyone else has lost respect for me, even my own mother, and she’s a loon running around hiring PIs and talking to psychics. I don’t want to lose your respect. I mean, not more than I already have.”
“What does that mean, ‘more than I already have’?” Kat crossed her arms and leveled her stare so I couldn’t escape.
“Come on, Kat. You can’t be proud seeing me in a Beantown Café apron.” I felt my own eyes well up.
“You could be a garbage collector and I would still respect and love you.”
The thought made me smile. “Would you make me sleep in a different room, though? I imagine it’s hard to get the stink off.”
Crinkling her nose, Kat slapped my shoulder. “That’s what perfume is for. Gallons of it.” She laid her hand on my thigh. “I want you to open up to me more. I’m not saying you have to tell me everything you say to Samantha, but just don’t give me the cold shoulder because of your stupid pride.”
Kat flicked the phone bill off the table. A tear dribbled slowly down her cheek. “I’m a mess. A hot mess.”
I wrapped one arm around her, and she rested her head on my shoulder. “That may be the case, but you’re my hot mess. And no matter what, I love you.”
She made a half-giggle, half-sob sound. Placing her hand over my heart and gripping my shirt tightly, she said, “That’s one of the nicest things you’ve said to me.”
“Honey, if that’s true, I’m more of an asshole than I thought. I love you, no matter what. I’m sorry our night was ruined yesterday. I swear to God I didn’t know Samantha and Lucy would crash our dinner. Can I make it up to you and take you to dinner tomorrow night?” A thought crossed my mind. “Or better yet, I’ll borrow Mom’s car next Sunday and I’ll take you to Lexington. I know you want to tour the Louisa May Alcott house. We can make a day of it, and have a nice romantic dinner, just the two of us. And we can even see her grave if you want.”
Kat laughed and wiped her nose with her shirtsleeve. “Nothing says romance like a cemetery.”
“In my defense, it’s a beautiful cemetery.” I nestled my head on top of hers.
“You really didn’t know Sam was in Salem?”
I sighed in frustration. “I really didn’t know. I should have guessed Lucy was from a weird place, but no, I didn’t know we would run into them. Please you can’t keep questioning my friendship with Sam. I know you and Harold spend a lot of time together.”
“Harold! You can’t possibly be jealous of Harold!” She chuckled.
“No, but I imagine you two talk about things you don’t tell me. That’s what friends are for.”
She looked away guiltily. I’d said it just to prove a point, but it made me wonder why she was confiding in Harold and not me. “What do you and Harold talk about?”
“You would never want to hear it.” She winked, but I could tell she wasn’t completely comfortable. “Let’s just say Harold has a lot of questions about things he’s seen in movies.”
“You mean porn.”
“I think Harold’s a virgin.”
“Get out. I mean, I suspected, but still, he’s twenty-seven. Does he have a crush on you?”
“Yes, I think he does. But I think he’s really falling for this Amber chick.” Kat’s face twisted into a smile.
“Really? He doesn’t talk much about her at work. At first he did, but not lately.”
“Tough guys don’t talk to the other dudes. And you, Cori, are one of his dudes. He asked me if I could talk him through his first time.” Kat slapped her thigh and chortled.
“You mean, be in the room.”
“Oh no. That’s not his style. He wants us to have those earpiece things FBI agents use so I can whisper in his ear what to do next. Harold actually wants me to watch him and give him pointers. He’s terrified. They haven’t even kisse
d yet.”
“You’re making this up.” I was laughing so hard my sides started to hurt. “Since we’re being honest, what do you and my mother talk about?”
“Oh, that you’ll never know.” She winked at me.
Chapter Thirteen
When I left Beantown Café, I was in an extra good mood. The Red Sox had won another World Series. More importantly, I had put in my two weeks’ notice, and I meant never to go back after my final shift—not even as a customer. I only had four shifts scheduled over the next two weeks. I was almost home free. Time to celebrate with my stunning girlfriend.
I’d already texted her, inviting her to dinner. Kat had readily agreed and said she had a surprise for me. I envisioned her popping out of a cake, naked.
I didn’t foresee showing up at the restaurant to find out Kat had planned a “Cori is ditching Beantown” party. And she had invited Sam.
When I saw Sam’s bright eyes, I felt guilty that I was getting my shit together while she was still unemployed. Kat didn’t plan it that way, I’m sure. At least I hoped. Kat was never the vindictive type, and now that she knew the whole truth, I’m sure the thought didn’t cross her mind. But I was still surprised to see Sam there.
Walking up to the table, I couldn’t hide my excitement. Yes I felt guilty about Sam, but it felt damn good to finally tell Beantown Café to shove it—hopefully for good. Kat threw her arms around me while Harold and Sam stood there grinning like fools. Sam was a good friend, and not the type to let her own situation put the damper on my mood.
When Kat released me, Harold shook my hand. “I’ll miss you, Cori, but Kat assures me I’ll see you more now that you won’t be working all the time.”
“I hope so. It’ll be nice to get some sleep as well.”
Sam eagerly threw her arms around my neck. “Congrats!” She didn’t say anything else, but her hug was sincere.
I looked at Kat sheepishly while Sam hugged me, relieved to see not a trace of jealousy in Kat’s eyes.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and was stunned to see Lucy and Amber. At first, I was puzzled as to why Kat had invited Lucy. Amber, Harold’s girlfriend, I understood. But Lucy? I barely knew the girl, and vice versa. Why would she give two shits that I was leaving the coffee shop?
Since it was a Monday night, we had the entire back room of the restaurant to ourselves. The front of the joint only had one couple anyway. Good thing. The alcohol never stopped flowing. Even Harold found a drink he could tolerate: vodka mixed with grape Fanta. It wasn’t a manly drink, and I had to chuckle to see Amber drinking a beer while her man had a “kid’s” drink.
Everyone was in an excellent mood, and it was fantastic to feel free. I hadn’t felt this good in a long, long time.
“Now I hope everyone saved room for dessert, because I ordered a cake especially for this occasion.” Kat rose and tracked down our waiter. When she returned, the waiter carried a sheet cake lit up with sparklers. I felt like a giddy five-year-old on my birthday.
The waiter set the cake down in the middle of the table and hurried away. I saw writing on the cake, but couldn’t inspect it too closely, since the sparklers were going off like it was the Fourth of July.
Kat tapped her wineglass with her knife. “Before we dig in, I have a couple of things I want to say. First, Cori, congrats on quitting Beantown Café. I know how much you hated that job. Second”—she turned to Samantha and my heart stopped—“I found out this morning, that congratulations are in order for you, Sam.” Kat paused and glanced in my direction before looking back to Samantha. “Maybe Lucy wasn’t supposed to let the cat out of the bag, but she did. You are now a director at Boston Mutual.”
Sam’s face flooded with color, and Lucy stood on her tippy toes to place a sweet kiss on Samantha’s cheek.
I stood there in complete shock. The entire night I had felt somewhat guilty, but to learn that Sam had landed on her feet and hadn’t told me…no text or anything.
Maybe Sam sensed my thoughts. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier, since this is Cori’s night,” she spoke up, staring into my eyes. “I found out this morning and told Lucy.” Sam waggled a finger in Lucy’s face. “I told her to keep it a secret.”
Lucy flushed and confessed, “I’m sorry, but Kat has a way of getting me to spill secrets.” She said it so confidently that it shocked the hell out of me.
Turning to me, Lucy added, “Cori, I bet she weasels everything out of you even before you know you have a secret.” She raised her glass in my honor.
“Now, don’t make me sound like a crazy girlfriend, Lucy.” Kat placed her hand on Lucy’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear. “But speaking of secrets,” she said aloud. “I hope everyone is liquored up enough—Harold, how’s the vodka treating you?”
Harold chirped, “Good.” Then he hiccupped, getting a laugh out of the group.
“Alrighty, then. I have a game for us to play. Everyone has to whisper a secret to every guest here tonight. I promise not to weasel any of the secrets out.” Kat leaned close to Samantha and whispered something in her ear. Sam’s face paled completely and then flooded with color. I didn’t want to know what Kat had said.
Samantha approached me, a silly grin on her face. “I’m not wearing any underwear,” she whispered. Before I could respond, she moved on to Harold. I’m assuming she said the same thing, since Harold immediately looked eagerly down at her crotch. Did he expect her jeans to fly off magically?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kat share her secret with Lucy, and again I wondered what was said. Lucy didn’t blush. Instead, she looked more confident and winked at Sam. Sam did a double take and then whispered into Amber’s ear. Amber looked at Samantha’s crotch, too.
“Now, I do believe Samantha is telling the same secret to everyone,” I teased.
Sam strutted around the table and stood next to Lucy. “You’ll never know, Cori. No one is allowed to spill the beans.”
“She says she’s not wearing underwear,” declared Harold, who then hid behind Amber.
“That’s not a great secret. Neither am I,” said Kat.
“Me neither.”
I stared at Lucy in awe.
“Or me.” Amber joined the fun.
Harold tried to peek down her jeans, but she swatted his hand away. “Not now. Later.”
The look on Harold’s face was priceless: both thrilled and terrified. I hoped Kat had already given him the birds and the bees talk and demonstrated how to do it using dolls.
To deflect the attention from Harold, Kat piped up. “What did Cori share?”
All eyes were on me. “I don’t believe she’s shared a secret with anyone,” declared Sam.
I stuck my tongue out at Sam, who had ratted on me.
“I think, as punishment, Cori has to share one secret aloud to the entire group.” My girlfriend looked pleased with herself at that.
I sucked in some air. “That’s not fair, everyone else just said they aren’t wearing underwear.”
“How do you know it’s not true?” asked Kat.
“It’s hard to believe that four out of six of us aren’t wearing any.”
“Five,” Harold said.
“Fine, five. If you can prove it, I’ll share a juicy bit of gossip.” I felt confident and flashed Kat a wicked smile.
“Deal. Will everyone confirm for Cori that their partner isn’t lying? Harold is Amber wearing underwear?”
Amber pulled her jeans far enough away, and the look in Harold’s eye told me she was definitely going commando. It didn’t take long for everyone to report that I was the only one with any decency.
“Why do I have a distinct feeling my girlfriend set me up?” I glared at Kat, who feigned hurt.
“Secret, secret, secret …” Sam chanted. Everyone else joined in.
“Okay. I’m not wearing any underwear,” I said.
“Liar!” Kat rushed over and ran her hand down my backside. Then she yanked my pa
nties up, giving me a painful wedgie. “Now you have to confess two secrets.”
“You can’t just change the rules!” I cried.
“Cori, when will you realize I’m always in charge?” Kat strutted off to rejoin the group, by now all chanting “secret, secret” again. Then Kat blurted out, “Spill it, Ace.”
There was no way out of this mess. Kat’s veiled threat was clear. Would she possibly tell the group I liked it when she licked my butt? No. She wouldn’t, would she?
Kat’s smile told me she knew she had me in a corner.
Gritting my teeth, I revealed, “When I was in the third grade, I peed my pants in the playground.”
Sam guffawed and covered her mouth with her hand. After a few seconds, she got control of herself and asked: “Is that why your nickname in high school was Pissdale?”
“I never clarified with those who called me that, but that would be my guess,” I reluctantly agreed.
“Good thing no one at Beantown Café found out. They would probably come up with worse names. And I thought Harry Pooper was bad,” said Harold.
“You know they call you that?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said, without a trace of annoyance in his voice.
“And it doesn’t bother you?” I pushed.
“Not at all. Really, Cori, why would I care about those miscreants? They’re going nowhere with their lives. I have 10,000 Twitter followers.” He puffed out his chest like a warrior who had just slain a dragon.
I had to hold in a laugh. Twitter followers. He judged his self-worth by the number of Twitter followers he had.
Kat winked, telling me not to say anything and to just let Harold enjoy his moment. It was important to him. I had recently signed up to follow his tweets, and I was secretly impressed by how many of his fans interacted with him. He was like a literary tweeting rock star. Even Neil Gaiman tweeted him.
“All right, missy. That’s one secret. What’s the other?” demanded Lucy. I was blown away by her confidence. Had Kat put something in her drink?
“I have a tattoo that only one person has seen, and she’s in this room.” I stared defiantly at Kat. She knew I was lying, and I wanted to see what she would say.
Confessions From A Coffee Shop Page 19
