The absolute first thing I knew was that I loved her. No doubt in my mind. No question about it. I loved her.

However, loving Cat Willet is not always an easy proposition.

First thing, Cat’s a worrywart. Worry about Pru, worry about Marc, worry lately about Wendy. Honestly, it’s one of the things I love about her. She’s the most loyal person I’d ever met. If you were Cat’s friend, she’d move heaven and earth to help you out. It’s admirable.

But it made her worry. It also took time. That, plus field hockey—she was on the team, and very good—and classes and all; well, it piled up on her. As I sat across from her at the Chinese restaurant that night, I realized we hadn’t seen each other in over a week.

As an added bonus, the last time I had seen her, we had been making love, and her painfully-sheltered roommate had first spied on us and then had a nervous breakdown about it.

Like I said, loving Cat wasn’t always easy.

When we first hooked up, last February—our first date was last Valentine’s Day—it was magic. It had been throughout that semester. We were only able to see each other a few times over the summer. Then, we got back here, and it was magic again—but only for a short time.

Something was wrong, something between us, and I didn’t really know what. And Cat wouldn’t say. Being reticent was not like her, which worried me. Then again, we both had baggage, so that I know played a part.

Cat told me that she’d had lots of boyfriends, and none of them lasted. She attracted guys because she was pretty, vivacious, accomplished, smart, a hell of a lot of fun—and then pushed them away because she was intimidating. I understood that—though I wasn’t really intimidated, I could see how people could be. Cat’s no shrinking violet.

My problem was the exact opposite—I hadn’t had many girlfriends before Cat. I wasn’t a virgin, but it was close. And it wasn’t just sex—it was relationships. I just wasn’t used to them. So, there we were—me inexperienced, and her with plenty of experience but most of it bad. It really isn’t much of a wonder that we weren’t exactly cruising right along.

The thing that bothered me, as I said, was that she wasn’t talking. I do understand that she probably wasn’t trying to rock the boat. But she wasn’t happy, not completely, and I could see it.

Anyhow, going out, just the two of us, for a nice Chinese dinner was nice. We chatted about everyday stuff, and then I asked her about some of her friends. I do like them, all of them, and I understand why Cat sometimes worries about them.

"So, how’s Marc?" I asked.

"Great. Fantastic. Wonderful."

"Really?" I said, surprised.

"Really." She gave me a little grin. "He hooked up with Colleen."

"No shit! That’s great." I meant it. Marc was a great guy, and Colleen was fantastic.

"Yeah. I guess they were sitting on the grass one day, and Candy came by, begging for a second chance. Marc, to throw her off the scent, took Coll’s hand and told Candy ‘I have someone new.’ Coll decided she liked it, and kissed him. He came by the next day, kissed her, and the next thing I knew they were headed for her room. They were very loud."

"Good for Marc," I laughed.

"Yup. Then Marc had to go home for the weekend but, when he got back, they talked. And they’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since."

"That is damn good news. I like both of them. How about the rest of the brood?"

Cat sighed. "I don’t even want to think about it. Something happened to Wendy and she won’t talk about it. Pru’s a complete mess, has gone into a shell that nobody can get through. And Marissa still has a secret that haunts her, and doesn’t talk to anybody—and that’s when she’s there, she goes home almost every weekend. I think I’d go crazy if it weren’t for Colleen walking around with that shit-eating grin all the time. Oh, and Yuriko."

I laughed. "I love Riko. Every time I see that girl, I just want to start singing ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’."

"I know. I think she keeps us all sane."

I took the plunge. "And how about you? How’s Cat doing?"

"Cat’s doing fine," she said with a weak smile.

"Are you really?"

"Colin," she said, then took a breath. "I love you. You know that."

"But you’re not happy," I said.

"It’s not that I’m not happy." She sighed. "In fact, it’s so stupid and inconsequential that I don’t know why it bothers me."

"But something’s bothering you. Cat, whatever it is, we can work it out, OK? I love you, too."

"I know you do. Look, I need to get my courage up to talk to you about it. I don’t want to hurt you."

"Cat, we can talk about stuff."

"This one’s a little difficult." She took a deep breath. "Anyhow, this is not the time or place for it anyway, OK?"

"OK. I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy. It’s a little problem. Well, I’m happy with you, I mean. The rest of it......" she trailed off.

I chuckled. "That’s my Cat. Holding up the weight of the world."

"Yeah, and it gets tiring. You done eating?"

"Yeah."

"Let’s get these leftovers boxed. Then you can take me to my room," she grinned.

"That’s a good idea."

We got to the car, and drove back to her house, just chatting. We walked in, ready for some ‘alone time’, but that wasn’t to be—because all hell had broken loose.

--The End--

This is the first story of this story arc. The next is "Fixing A Hole," though this particular scene continues in the next story, "With A Little Help From My Friends."