Page 65 of Meant to Be

CHAPTER 16

Cate

In the days following my debut in the tabloids, I fielded countless phone calls and emails from friends and acquaintances who had either seen thePostor heard about it. Everyone wanted to know what the deal was with Joe. I told them that we were seeing each other, but that it wasn’t serious. We were just having fun. It added up, of course, because that’s how the world saw him. He was the ultimate good-time guy.

Meanwhile, I kept a low profile. I was too nervous to risk getting caught again, and I told Joe I just needed a few days to regroup. On our fourth night apart, he invited me out with some of his friends and family. I declined, opting instead for my paparazzi-free living room with Elna and Curtis. At the end of the night, he called me from what sounded like a pay phone at a bar.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Brother Jimmy’s,” he said.

“Which one?”

“The one on Second Ave.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling excited that he was so close to my apartment.

“Can I come over? I need to see you. Please?” he said, sounding a little bit drunk. Maybe alotdrunk.

My mind ticked through the calculations—the risk of getting busted versus the considerable reward of seeing him—but decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.

“Aw, c’mon. Why not?”

“Because it’s late.”

“It’s notthatlate.”

“Still. It’ll look like a booty call,” I said.

“That’s ridiculous. You’re my girlfriend,” he said. “It’s not abootycall.”

I sighed, thinking that was easy forhimto say when he wasn’t the one getting called a whore.

We talked in circles for a few seconds before I said, “Look, Joe. If you were photographed coming to my place at this hour, exactlyno onewould construe that as you missing yourgirlfriend.”

He sighed, then said, “Okay. Well, can I come see you in the morning? Can we hang out for a little while?”

“I really can’t,” I said. “I have to be at work early.”

“What about after work?”

“Maybe. I just don’t know.”

He hesitated, then said, “Cate, what’s going on here? If we’re going to be together, we have to actually be together.”

“I know….”

“So, what’s the deal? Are you trying to break up with me? Already?”

“Not yet,” I said.

“Ouch.”

“I’m just kidding,” I said with a laugh. “But the other day really shook me. And right now I just want to hunker down andavoid some slimeball photographer chasing me down the street calling me a whore.”

“Oh, Cate.Shit,” Joe said. “He called you that?”

“Yeah,” I said. “He did.”

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