Chapter 19: Who’s This

Laura trusted Caitlin to always be honest with her. She asked her if she would like to come to meet some “new friends” and assess whether or not the guys were worthy of her time and affection. Caitlin agreed.

“How many men are pursuing you again, Lor?” Caitlin asked.

“Uh...three,” Laura replied.

“Three?” Caitlin exclaimed in shock. “At the same time?”

“Yeah...that’s my concern. I sense that there is some tension. They say they don’t mind, but I definitely want your opinion.”

“Okay. I must say that I think any one man would be more than enough instead of juggling three who know about the others too.”

“Let me tell you, Kit-Cate, it is complicated. They are handsome, charming, and seem quite financially comfortable.”

“Well, feel free to give me sloppy seconds. Whichever two you do not want you could pass my way.

Laura laughed.

“I’m serious Lor. The reason why sorry excuses for manhood like Luke got you in the first place is because the women outnumber the men in this city. Now you are beating the odds. Claim your victory at beating the men at their own game.”

“Yeah...I know. Never would I have imagined that I would have such a dilemma.”

“Are you going to tell me anything about them or am I on my own?”

“See what they are willing to tell you and we’ll compare notes at the end, okay?”

“Okay.”

The buzzer sounded. “I think that’s them, Kit-Cate.”

“Hi guys, come on up,” Laura responded.

She hugged each one upon entrance then introduced them to Caitlin.

She left the guys in the living room with Caitlin while she got some beverages and snacks to serve her guests.

“So guys, has she picked your brains yet?” Laura smiled.

Laura noticed that Don and Caitlin were very close together on a part of the sectional sofa that was meant for one. Alex and Ricky were standing together chatting. Laura offered snacks to her guests, starting with Don and Caitlin.


“You two seem to be pretty cozy. Have you found a common interest other than knowing me?

“Birds of a feather...birds of a feather,” Don replied. “I knew Caitlin looked familiar. I’ve seen her at a few of the clubs, although we’ve never been formally introduced.”

“Yes. I think we danced together a few times after he bought me a drink,” Caitlin added.

“Great,” Laura said with sarcasm inspired by jealousy. “Please don’t let me interrupt your conversation,” she continued. She served Alex and Ricky, then made a bee line for the kitchen.

“What is going on with me? I am casually dating him, all of them. I have no claims on him. After all, we just met. I wouldn’t want to break out in a cat fight with Caitlin. How odd. I think I am jealous.”

Moments later Ricky entered the kitchen. “You’ve been in here for a while. Is everything okay?”

She ran over to him and put her head against his chest and squeezed him hard. “Why does this always happen. No matter what man it is, he’ll pick Caitlin over me.”

“Too much of what’s good for the goose, huh?” Ricky whispered while patting and rubbing her back.

“Fine, if she wants him, so be it.” What could she do? She couldn’t kick them out. She couldn’t scream at either of them to separate and mingle. Why? Then Caitlin would probably get her clutches into another one or both of the remaining three amigos.

Caitlin was so busy she had not even noticed the effect her flirting was having on her hostess.

Ricky allowed Laura to dry her tears on his handkerchief. She was wearing mascara and it ran all over the little white cloth after leaving smudges on his shirt and around her eyes. He kissed her on the forehead.

“It’s your party. Cry it out. Throw them out. It’s your call. Or, you could ignore it and make a mental note about it, then adjust your behavior towards the two.”

“It’s no wonder you are a lawyer. You are skilled at giving advice.”

Ricky was just about to kiss her on the mouth when Alex came into the kitchen.

“Those two are pretty close so I came in to get another drink. Now here I find you two are just about as close and I’m left on the sidelines.”

“Yeah, the appearance of impropriety, I guess. Sorry buddy. There must have been something in the rules we created about this,” Ricky offered as an apology.

Laura was the first to notice the irony of this situation in comparison to the fight the other night at the concert. She extricated herself from Ricky’s affectionate embrace and went to check on all of her guests.

“So, Caitlin, I guess you two know each other?” the anger still in her voice. “You’ve not yet met my other two new friends.” Laura sought to break Don and Caitlin apart so she could find out where she stood with Don after he had spent so much time enamored with Caitlin. He was, after all, a player and players have to play. It is who he was.

She shot a look over at Alex, Ricky, and Caitlin on the other part of the sofa, and they were just talking, not flirting. One-on-one is probably an easier set up for flirting.

Don read her mind, “Laura, Caitlin is just an associate from the club scene. You have nothing to worry about. I want you, not her. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be talking with you now and I wouldn’t have let her slip away to try to do the same thing with your other male guests.”

“Am I that transparent?” Laura asked.

“No. But your prolonged absence and then return with your smudged makeup are,” Don stated. “Women like Caitlin are a dime a dozen. But you, Laura, you are a diamond in a coal mine.”

She kissed him on the cheek, then excused herself to fix her make-up so she could entertain all of her guests.

# # # #
When she returned to her gathering, Caitlin was gone.

Alex explained, “She left. She said she’ll call you later.”

His words had an immediate soothing effect on her. She took her hair down from its bun and kicked off her shoes. She opened herself to spending a quiet night with her three men. Although noticeably happier on the outside, she was disappointed in her friend Caitlin and shocked at herself feeling jealousy for one of her three male love interests.

Caitlin’s behavior pushed Laura toward feelings of exclusivity that she did not consider possible so soon or with the guys’ permission to date all three of them. Not that she was choosing Don, Alex, or Ricky. She liked them all and liked all three of them equally but differently, and felt glad that they were willing to let her get to know them then take her pick.

She had a profound, new understanding at why the guys fought over her thanks to Caitlin’s behavior with Don. She wondered if she and the guys could only enjoy romantic evenings with only all four of them alone together.