Love Consequences (Season 2 of Nata & Phillip's Romance)

11. You are not listening

Nata

The coffee shop on the first floor or the building buzzes with routine orders and conversation. I should be packing up my things, but no one told me I can't have a beverage.  If Samson plans to escort me out, he'll have to wait.

"A mocha and a large vanilla latte for Nata." The barista shouts.

I pick up the large ceramic cups and scan the room. Kate waves me over to the table next to the window. I set the mocha in front of her and sit on the chair next to my friend. The lopsided heart in the lattes Phillip makes is a clear winner to the perfect one in my cup. I take a spoon and destroy the pretty design.

"Now is the time to tell me things." Kate lifts her eyebrows.

I put the spoon with the milky brown liquid into my mouth and keep it under my tongue.

"Is Samson being his usually jerk self, or should I actually be worried about you?" Kate's voice has no trace of her usual ease.

I return the spoon into the cup and stir. The metal hits the ceramic with a satisfying clang. I stir some more.

"I'm going to take your silence as a yes."

I shrug but say at the same time. "I'm fine." My answer doesn't sound convincing even to myself.

"I liked it better when you came up with synonyms for 'jerk.' This fake calmness is giving me the creeps. Where were you yesterday? What are you not telling me?" Kate skewers me with her gaze. "Spill."

I take a large gulp of thankfully not-too-hot coffee and wish I could give her a one-word answer that explained everything. But I have many weeks back to unscroll to show her the full picture. So I begin at the end. "I had a long and werid weekend."

"Werid how?"

How much do I want to tell her? I suck air through my teeth. "I was out."

"You actually went out?" The corners of Kate's mouth rise. "Did that involve a date?"

"Sort of."

"'Sort of means you did have a date." Kate's eye sparkle. "Did you actually have some fun?" Her eyebrows do a wavy maneuver that could be interpreted only as suggestive.

"Kate." I plead. I should've insisted that everywas fine. There's still time to squash this conversation. I sit up. "That doesn't matter. I have to deal with the study and—"

"I'd rather you tell me what happened over the weekend then talk about the hoops your ex is going to make you jump through to get your own project back." She purses her lips and skews them to the side.

"They're going to take my project away from me?" The coffee I just swallowed climbs back up my throat. "This is a temporary restriction. I'm not fired."

Kate waves her hands in the air to stop me. "You tell me about your weekend, answer my questions, and I tell you what I found out so far about yesterday's incident."

"And how are you my friend? Friends don't make friends suffer in anticipation."

"Exactly. I'm dying to know what happened on the weekend." Kate leans back in her chair. "And I am your friend." She sips on her mocha. "I'm taking your mind off the thing you can do absolutely nothing about right now and refocusing it on the gossip I'm very much interested in hearing. You get some separation from the current drama, and I get the juicy long-weekend details." She tilts her head. "Win-Win."

"Fine." I sigh in exasperation.

"I like this 'fine' a lot more than the ones you were dishing earlier." Kate rotates her cup in her hands. "Let's start from the beginning. Who was your date with?"