Chapter 25: Champagne With Clyde

Gwen was huffing like a dragon when she got back inside her apartment. If it was humanly possible, she would have smoke coming out of her nostrils.
How could Finn think he could tell her what to do? She had every right to go out with whomever she wanted. Now, the first guy that showed interest in her is coincidentally his enemy? What a joke.
She called Stephanie immediately to tell her friend what had just happened. Gwen hated to bring her to every situation she got herself into with Finn, but she had no one else at the moment.
“What? I can’t believe that jerk said that to you!” Stephanie said, completely astonished. “Hell yes you’re going to this dinner. I’ll go to your apartment to stay with Cody. Don’t worry.”
“But what about your appointment?” Gwen asked, worried.
“I'll reschedule it,” Stephanie explained.
“No, you’re not. I don’t want to bother you with my problems, seriously. It’s not necessary, Steph,” Gwen uttered, upset for messing up with her friend’s plans.
“Gwen, it’s fine, alright? You need to go and show him that you moved on, even though we both know that’s not true. He needs to accept that he can’t boss you around,” Stephanie continued, her voice resolute.
But Gwen almost laughed of her words. Of course Stephanie knew she hadn’t moved on. She could read Gwen better than anyone. But she was right. Gwen had to live her life without waiting for Finn forever. That ship had sailed a long time ago. And now she had another chance to meet someone nice, so she would take the opportunity that life had given her.
“Fine. I owe you one,” Gwen agreed after a few more seconds of thought.
She went to her room to get ready and left for work, hoping that she wouldn’t bump into Finn. She couldn’t even think about seeing his face again that day. Fortunately, her wish was granted. Maybe the universe was feeling sorry for her and decided to give her a break at last.
When it was finally time to get off work, Gwen rushed home to get ready. She took a shower, curled her hair and put some make up on. She had to admit that it had been a while that she had put so much effort in getting ready for something. But she wanted to be pretty that night. Not for Clyde, specifically, but for herself as well.
She decided to use a red dress that was lost and forgotten inside her wardrobe, and checked herself for the last time before leaving.
“Mommy, where are you going?” Cody asked curiously, looking at his mother completely fascinated. “You are so pretty tonight.”
“Thank you, baby,” she said, squatting down by his side, placing a kiss on his cheek. “Mommy will have dinner with a friend, and Aunt Steph will watch you tonight, okay? Why don’t you ask her to watch that movie with you?” she suggested, hoping that Cody didn’t make a scene wanting her to stay home with him.
But luckily, Cody was an easy going kid.
“Good idea, mommy. Aunt Steph!” he left the room, screaming around the apartment looking for the woman.
Gwen smiled and followed him.
“Steph, I’m going, alright? Call me if you need anything,” she stopped by the living room to say goodbye. “Cody, behave yourself, okay? Mommy will be home soon.”
Seeing that neither of them were paying much attention to her anymore since they were getting the movie ready, Gwen decided to leave at once.
Clyde said he would pick her up, and even though she had tried to reject his offer, he insisted. She didn’t want to be an imposition, but Clyde didn’t accept her explanation. So, when she left the building, he was already there waiting for her.
She couldn’t help but compare him to Finn. That scene especially was something weird. A few days before, it was Finn the one picking her at home. His sport car, luxury suit and expensive fragrance. And now Clyde was an equal match.
Finn’s car was a bit more low profile, even though obviously equally expensive. But Clyde seemed to be someone who liked to show his goods. His car was red, shiny and big, and his suit seemed to be made of a very delicate fabric. The golden watch on his wrist was the icing on the cake.
“Good evening, Miss Miller,” he said, taking her hand gallantly and kissing it right after.
Gwen gasped in surprise. He kept surprising her with his good manners.
“Good evening. Thank you for picking me up, you didn’t have to.”
“Yeah, like you kept reminding me for a thousand times today,” he joked, smiling at Gwen and making her embarrassed. “I’m just kidding, by the way. It’s not a problem at all, you don’t need to thank me,” he explained, sitting in the car and fastening his seat belt.
Gwen did the same, still looking around the vehicle, mesmerized by it. The leather seats, the technological dashboard, everything was extraordinary.
“So, tell me, how is someone pretty and incredible like you a single mother?” Clyde asked, his attention focused on her.
“How do you know I’m someone incredible?” Gwen teased him with a smile, wondering if it was a good idea to enter that subject.
Clyde smiled back at her, looking ahead right after. Gwen was attracted to him, she couldn’t deny. The magnetic energy inside the car was almost tangible, but for some reason, she couldn’t get Finn’s face out of her mind. She just wanted to knock that image out at once.
“Anyway,” she continued, trying to continue the conversation and forget about the man haunting her thoughts. “I’m sure you heard the news, right?”
Clyde nodded.
“Yes, I did. I can’t say that I wasn't impressed to know that Finn had a son,” Clyde explained, with his eyes still on the road. “So, why aren’t you two together? I’m sorry for being so straightforward and invasive, I just want to make sure I’m not crossing any boundaries here.”
Gwen hid her laugh. And Finn was thinking that he was only approaching her because of their feud. Clyde was concerned about meddling in something he shouldn’t have.
“It didn’t work between us. We are just co-parenting now, so no need to worry,” she concluded, wishing that her explanation put an end to that topic.
“Good, that’s good!” he sounded excited. “We're here. Come on.”
Clyde got out of the car, handed over the key to the valet and circled the vehicle to open the door for Gwen. She was not used to that kind of treatment. She hadn’t told Clyde about her aversion to luxury, so he had taken her to one of the fanciest restaurants in town.
Though she thought she would have to pretend the whole night, Clyde made Gwen remarkably comfortable. The conversation between them flowed nicely. She almost didn’t remember that they were in a place where she couldn’t afford a spoon, let alone a meal.
He ordered a bottle of champagne for them, though Gwen hadn’t seen it offered on the menu. In fact, she didn’t have the courage to look, so she simply asked him to choose something for her.
And before they had the chance to try the entrée, she sensed the presence of two people coming towards their table. Her fingers clenched around the silverware with anger and disbelief, when she saw Finn and Vivienne approaching them with a sneer on their faces.