Alec had indulged in a little pre-celebration cocktail as soon as he stepped off the stage, so needless to say, he was in a great mood. He was caught up in a euphoric buzz of champagne and highness on life by the time he and Cat arrived at the party, and he subconsciously took his fake boyfriend role a bit too literally.
As they stepped into the swanky jazz club, Alec's hand went instinctively to Cat's waist and it stayed there for the majority of the evening. It was admittedly a bit of a safety measure. If he didn't keep his hand firmly in place at the top of her hip, it would have given in to its betraying propensity to travel to places it had no business being—such as to hold the sides of her face while he kissed her in a most non-platonic fashion.
Alec introduced Cat to the cast and crew as he recounted humorous anecdotes from rehearsals and slipups from the performance that went unnoticed by the audience. She stood close to him, holding his arm, and seemed surprised when a waiter offered her a glass of champagne.
"Oh, no thank you, I'm good," she said quickly. "I'm not quite twenty-one yet."
"There are no rules tonight, bella signora." The waiter smiled sweetly and placed the crystal stem into her hand.
"Go on, Cat. It's okay." Alec smiled, giving her back a quick rub.
"Well," Cat hesitantly replied, returning his smile. "I guess a little won't hurt anything. And it is a special occasion."
She clinked the glass against Alec's. "To you, mister big shot."
Alec chuckled as he pressed his lips into her temple.
"I wouldn't say that," Alec quipped.
"I would. I saw that mug of yours in the Times this morning. You're kind of a big deal now, so it's probably in your best interest to just accept it. And I'll get to say I knew you when."
"And I'll get to say I knew you when, when you finally stop hiding that beautiful voice behind your bedroom door."
Cat scoffed as her jaw dropped. "Shut your mouth, Alec Branneth!"
"What? You have major talent, sweetheart. It could seriously take you places if you would stop being so self-conscious about it."
"I take it you've been snooping around my doorstep again," Cat huffed in annoyance.
"Not intentionally." He chuckled.
"Hmph." She rolled her eyes and then lifted her chin toward him in what appeared to be a blatantly flirtatious manner. "So, I'm your sweetheart all of a sudden?"
"No, you've always been my sweetheart." He smiled and involuntarily tugged her waist toward him, so their hips were firmly planted together. For better or for worse, Alec realized in that moment, he was totally okay with the fact he was one sip of champagne away from carelessly revealing his deepest secret.
"That's news to me," Cat said coyly.
"Pfft," Alec scoffed. "No, it's not."
He noticed she’d slipped her hand over his waist to rest on the small of his back, and they held each other in a way that seemed a bit too intimate for the true nature of their relationship. Her chin was still angled upward, and her face was suddenly a lot closer to his than it had been mere moments before. He also noticed he’d tilted his face downward, and it was immediately apparent their lips were on the cusp of meeting. She didn’t seem to be stopping either, so Alec prepared himself to take the leap, no matter the consequences.
This, however, would not be his moment.
Out of nowhere, Alec's fair-haired bombshell of a leading lady flounced over and pulled him away, her red fingernails gripping his neck.
"Excuse me, handsome! Why have you not come to say hi yet?" the woman playfully scolded.
"Oh. Hey, Monique," Alec replied, breaking his gaze and turning to the sexy woman. "This is my friend, Cat. Cat, this is Monique. She played—"
"Uh, yeah. I know. I was there." Cat laughed. She stuck an arm out to shake Monique's hand. "You were fantastic. And wow! You are seriously even more pretty up close."
"Oh my god, you are just precious!" Monique chortled. "Thank you! It's wonderful to finally meet you. Alec just goes on and on about you."
"He does?" Cat asked.
"Of course, dahling. He positively adores you!"
Cat turned to Alec. "You do?"
"C'mon, Cat." Alec laughed and expertly played off the fact Monique had just totally outed him. "Of course I do! You know you're my favorite girl." He planted another kiss atop her head. "Now, if you ladies will pardon me for a moment, I need to go find Richie. I'll be right back."
* * * *
Alec found Richie by the bar, and the two men engaged in small talk briefly; however, it was immediately apparent to Alec that Richie was chomping at the bit to discuss something specific.
"Now, don’t kill me, Al.”
"Jesus, what now?" Alec groaned, taking a tumbler of scotch from the bartender.
"I want you to consider something. You're getting a lot of attention, and I think we need to do something to up your personal PR just a hair."
"What exactly do you have in mind?" Alec asked, rolling his eyes at what he was sure would be another of Richie's terrible ideas.
"Monique."
"What about her?"
"She likes you." Richie stated the obvious.
"And?" Alec took a sip.
"I think you need to take advantage of that," Richie suggested, causing Alec to choke on his drink.
"Have you lost your damn mind?" He coughed. "I'm not taking advantage of anyone."
"Christ, man! That's not what I mean." Richie cackled. "I think you should date her."
"Since when does my dating, or lack of it, help my career?"
"Since now that the press has taken a fierce interest in you. Imagine all the papers that would sell if the two stars of the hottest off-Broadway show in the city were seen out and about together gettin' all cozy."
"Absolutely not."
"Why not?"
"I just…can't," Alec stammered.
"Come on, Al! What happened to the guy that would do anything and everything to get ahead?"
Alec shook his head. "That's just not something I can do."
Richie grunted and downed a shot of whiskey. "Look. I know you're all hung up on Cat, but—"
Alec jerked around to face his friend. "I am not hung up on Cat!"
"Can I finish please?"
Alec waved a hand flippantly as he rolled his eyes.
"You're like my own brother, Alec. And I know you've had a thing for her since the moment you two met, but you have to accept the way things are with her."
"Really," Alec huffed. "And what exactly is the way things are with her? Go on, enlighten me, since you're such an expert in every aspect of my life."
Richie pressed his index finger into Alec's chest. "You're totally smitten with her, in spite of the fact that she friend-zoned you right off the bat."
"Dude. Fuck you," Alec sputtered, flipping Richie's hand away.
"Hey-hey-hey, hey now…it's me, brother. I'm not tryin' to break your heart, just telling you how it is."
Alec tossed the remainder of his drink down his throat. Even though Richie had actually hit the nail right on the head, Alec wasn't about to fess up. Especially not to Richie of all people. "That's not how it is."
Richie wasn't fooled, however. "Christ, would you listen to yourself? You're in total denial. I'd call you pussy-whipped, except I know you're not gettin' any."
As soon as the words left Richie’s mouth, ice and fire surged through Alec’s veins, causing him to lunge forward and snatch Richie by the collar.
"Talk about her like that again, and I will destroy you," he growled.
"The hell is wrong with you?" Richie shoved Alec's hands off of him. "Excuse me for being blunt, but it's my job to watch out for you, both professionally and personally. And if you can't see that you’ve just taken the place of Cat's dead brother, you're a blind man."
The idea pierced Alec's brain like poison filled dart.
Surely that can't be it, he thought. Or could it?
"Ahh, see, you get it now." Richie seemed to be reading Alec's mind. "You're a charming, handsome guy, and any woman who has spent as much time with you as she has and still isn’t even remotely interested…Well, there's something else going on. And I think you know that. So, it's time to get over her and quit secretly hoping she's gonna come around some day."
Alec still couldn't speak. The idea was a crushing blow to him in a way he couldn't even begin to deal with.
Richie gave him a firm pat on the back.
"Just take minute to digest all of this, and when you're done, think about Monique. It doesn't have to be a sleazy thing. She's beautiful, you have a lot in common, and she really likes you. Let yourself have something good for a change. I'm gonna head out."
I do have something good, Alec wanted to say. Then he considered the idea, perhaps, Richie was right.
He'd always liked Cat so much he didn't want to lose her by complicating things with romantic or sexual advances, even though there was that constantly resounding feeling in the back of his mind. The one that told him he'd eventually find himself in a place with her where they could move past this we're-just-friends-and-that's-it song and dance they'd been doing for the better part of a year. He'd never stopped to think, however, about why, in that café all those months ago, she had immediately called him her friend and never hinted at wanting more. All of a sudden, that feeling seemed less like his intuition, and more like a hope or wish or desire that would never be reciprocated.
Being full of liquid courage, Alec decided, right then and there, it was time to find out which one it was.
* * * *
After the two women watched Alec disappear into the crowd, Monique turned discreetly to Cat.
"You'll have to forgive me if this is too forward of me, dahling," Monique began. "But I simply must know."
"Okay." Cat became apprehensive.
"Are you with Alec?"
"With him? No. No he's just my friend."
"Oh yes, dahling, that's quite clear. But I was just curious whether the two of you had a more…shall we say…intimate aspect to your friendship."
"Oh wow." Cat laughed uncomfortably. "No, definitely not. Not even close."
Monique was immediately delighted. "Splendid! I wanted to make sure I wasn't about to tread on another woman's territory. You two appear to be very close, but he insists that he's single, so I just wanted to check with you."
"Well, he's kind of a hugger and a total flirt, so that's all that is," Cat explained.
She was uncomfortable with the whole conversation, but felt she had no right to be, so she opted to spur the woman's advances. Alec belonged with a beautiful, talented, like-minded woman such as Monique, and Cat just wanted her friend to be happy, so she reluctantly added, "He's definitely single. I've been teasing him for months about how he needs a girlfriend."
Monique chuckled, appearing pleased. "Well, cast romances are almost always a terrible idea, but there are exceptions to every rule. And he's such a good kisser that I just can't help myself."
Cat laughed nervously. "Yeah, you guys…uh…definitely have…uhm…chemistry." She tossed back the remainder of her champagne. "Anyway, I think I need to visit the ladies' room, but it was really cool meeting you, Monique. I'm sure I'll…uhm…be seeing you again."
"Oh, I have a feeling you will!" Monique replied cheerily.
Cat turned to leave and immediately grimaced. It had been her suggestion, her urging, her encouragement, and she knew it was inevitable. However, when she found herself staring it in the face, she couldn't stomach the idea of Alec being with someone, even if she truly believed it was in his best interest. But it was going to happen, whether it was with Monique or someone else. She reluctantly resigned herself to the fact that this was just how things were going to be from now on—whether she liked it or not.
* * * *
After the uncomfortable conversation with Monique, Cat decided a second glass of champagne was a great idea.
She had polished off half of it in pretty short order when she felt a swift pat on her back.
"Later, Cat," Richie called as he headed toward the exit.
"Oh, you're leaving already?" she asked.
"Yep, got a lot of extra stuff on my plate now that Alec's hot shit all of a sudden."
Cat giggled. "Well, he's certainly earned it. Have you seen him around?"
"Yeah, he and Monique found themselves a cozy corner, so I think he's still occupied. If you catch my drift." Richie snickered. "It was good seein' ya."
"You too."
Cat was suddenly filled with that icky feeling once again. Even after all the little hints leading up to that night, and the admission she'd heard from Monique herself, Cat still didn't want to believe it. She took off toward the back of the club to find Alec, possessed by a need to see him she didn't entirely understand.
After a few seconds, she saw for herself Richie was right, and Monique had taken advantage of her knowledge that Alec was a single man.
There he was, leaning against a wall, wrapped up in a passionate kiss with Monique that rivaled the one they had shared on the stage.
Cat lifted her chin in a surrendering nod and swallowed the rest of her champagne in an effort to quell the curious stabbing sensation in the center of her chest.
"Chemistry," she said to herself as she pushed out of the club. "They definitely have chemistry."