From Friends to Lovers

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Suddenly, everything felt wrong.
When Kate pulled away, she realized what she had just done.

In all her anger, and drunken haziness that was still keeping her feeling tipsy, she had just kissed another guy in front of her boyfriend.

She looked up to find Mike grinning in front of her. "You made a smart choice" he smirked. She backed away, feeling utterly disgusted.

She turned around, and he was gone. Rick was walking out, pushing his way through the crowd, she looked around, Javi and Lanie were staring at her, eyes full of confusion. They had seen everything too.

She ran the same way she saw Rick leave. When she was out the door, she called out to him; he was quickly walking down the driveway.

"Rick, Rick, come back."

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she realized what had just happened.
She ran after him. He was walking fast but she managed to catch up with him.

"Rick stop please... Listen to me."

He turned to face her now,
"listen to you, why should I listen to you?"

Kate knew he wasn't waiting for an answer; she had no answer to give him. There was no excuse for what she did in there. And it hurt him badly.

"You know what Kate, I'm tired, I'm exhausted with the amount of writing I've been getting done lately, and so after you hung up on me, I came out, because I knew the minute I'd see you, my fatigue would go away. That your smile would make me new. That your lips would relax me.

So I came here to surprise you, and I find you throwing yourself at those bastards! What am I supposed to make of that!?

I know we haven't met for a week, I know you were mad at me, and all I wanted was for you to understand my work is important. It's a responsibility. I thought you would understand the effort that goes into writing. But that's not even the point.

The point is, you kissed another guy, in front of my eyes. And I'm not even sure what you were trying to prove to me. Were you trying to make me jealous, is that what it was, to remind me that there are so many other guys who would want to be with you?!"

"No Rick..."
Kate was crying. Her heart ached. She had never seen him so angry before. His eyes were cold. He'd never looked at her with eyes that held an emotion other than love. This was really happening.

And she wanted to die right now. Rick was yelling at her. He was hurt. She had hurt him.

"You know what Kate, I see it now, and all I've ever been to you was a toy. You played me. First when you went out with Josh and now by kissing Mike"

"Rick it meant nothing" she cried.

"The hell it did."

"I never meant for it to happen... You mean too much to me Rick"

"then prove it to me Kate. Prove to me that you value me... Cause right now, I feel like crap."
He turned and walked away, anger evident in his every stride..

Kate stood frozen in place. Had she just ruined the best relationship she'd ever been in?

Rick walked home, and went straight to his study. He needed to vent. He needed to take his anger out on something. He frantically looked around the room for something.

He could throw things around, break things, but nothing would be enough. It wouldn't diminish the emotions running through him right now. That image of Kate kissing Mike, it just kept replaying in his head. Like his mind was taunting his heart.

'Why'd you do it Kate? Why'd you have to do it?' he thought.

Kate's feet had somehow taken her back to the party.

She wasn't really sure how, cause right now her head was throbbing. The sound of Rick's broken voice, yelling at her kept playing on her mind. The only thing she could feel was that heartache that was tearing her inside.

She asked Javier to drop her home. It was late and her parents were already asleep. She went up to her room, curled herself up in bed and cried, sobbed bitterly into her pillows. How was she supposed to get him back?
She needed him in her life. Rick was her north star, and she had just driven him away. She had made the most stupid mistake.
'What in the world were you thinking Kate. Kissing another guy? What were you even trying to prove? Were you trying to provoke him?

Well you succeeded. You provoked him to leave you... You provoked him to feel humiliated.
For god's sake, everyone at the party knew you two were going out, and now your stupid drunken instincts had humiliated yourself and also him. You drove him away with your stupidity. And now here you are, crying with heartache, and you deserve this pain for causing him pain.'

She couldn't imagine what must be running through him.

It was 3 am, and Rick was lying awake in bed. He couldn't even dream of sleeping. There was just so much going through his head. And he wanted to forget.

So he broke a promise he had made to himself years ago, the promise to never resort to alcohol when in distress.
'Just a glass of scotch' he told himself as he poured himself the drink in his study. And gulped it down.