When in Paris

(23) Twenty-three

Chapter 23

“I know!” the water in Nathan’s glass sloshed over the rim as he slapped the top of the bar. “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying.”

“Yes!” the bright eyed girl sitting on the stool next to him spun a strand of hair around her finger. “I mean, it’s cool to meet all these family members I never knew existed, but I wish it didn’t have to be such a crowd. It’s a two second hello and then you move on. You don’t actually get to know anyone.”

“Very true,” Nathan nodded. Cathreese took a sip of her water, trying not to look too out of place as she leaned up on the counter next to Nathan. Her eyes surveyed the room, jumping from person to person. Everyone was mingling, laughing happily as they drank wine and reminisced about old times. The girl Nathan had cornered was British and the only one who seemed out of place, which is how he and Cathreese had ended up chatting with her. She was from London and had come alone because her parents couldn’t make it. She only knew her grandparents; the rest of the group was foreign to her. The only slight hiccup in the plan had come when she scanned the family tree to find them on it. Coincidently there had been two Nathan's listed, a father and a son, so Nathan pointed to that. He then introduced Cathreese as his American girlfriend, who he had brought along to meet the family. 

Cathreese swirled her straw in the glass of ice water, tuning out Nathan and Aimee's conversation. They were talking about football, a topic Cathreese knew nothing about. If it hadn’t been for Nathan’s arm draped comfortably over her shoulder, Cathreese probably would have slipped out of the basement room and headed upstairs ages ago. She was starting to feel trapped with all the unfamiliar people around her and she was getting tired of faking answers to questions they asked.

“Cathreese? Is everything all right love?” Nathan squeezed her shoulders in concern. “You look weird.”

“I’m fine. I’m just not a fan of crowds.”

“Let’s go.” Nathan dropped his arm and slipped his hand through Cathreese’s. “It was nice meeting you Aimee.”

The girl gave them a quick wave as they made their way towards the stairs. “You want to leave Ree?”

Cathreese shrugged, “We can stay if you want.”

“Nope,” Nathan pulled her closer to his side. “I accomplished what I wanted. We crashed a party and no one even caught us.”

Cathreese leaned her head against Nathan's shoulder, smiling to herself as they climbed the stairs. She loved seeing him happy.

They emerged at the top of the stairs to see the girls from lunch dancing to a band playing Don’t Stop Believing. Nathan gave Cathreese a look, raising one of his eyebrows in question. She laughed and followed him out on to the dance floor.

“Remember the last time we danced?” Nathan asked as he grabbed Cathreese’s hands and spun her around.

“Of course,” she giggled. “It was my favorite part of the trip. Well, up until you kissed me.”