Married to my Heartbreaker

Jealous on the Second Date

CASSIDY

Two days after I reconnected with Mark, I was on my way to work when I nearly got hit by a car. I was already running late because I'd had an issue with the door that morning. Maureen had entered last the previous night and she'd been the one to lock the door. But she had been partially drunk and when we woke up that morning, she couldn't remember where she had dropped the key. Then began a crazed search for the single key we used for the door because Maureen had misplaced every other key we had and the owner of the house was yet to deliver another set that we had requested for.

Eventually, we found the key in the small purse she had taken out the night before, along with various shades of lipstick, and by that time, I was so late that I literally had to run to the bus stop—a very awkward sight due to the heels I was wearing. As I was about to cross the road, I heard a very loud honk as a car seemed to appear out of nowhere and I froze in the middle of the road as if my ability to think had been taken from me. The car veered to one side of the road and screeched to a stop. The driver must have been very skilled because he did it with such precision that neither him, nor me or any other person on the road that morning was affected by that little incident. My heart was thumping loudly in my chest as I stood by the side of the road, thinking about how I'd just avoided death by the hair on my skin. After recovering from my shock, anger settled in and moved towards the still parked car so I could give the driver a piece of my mind. I hadn't expected him to wait after his error, but it was as well as he did. The car seemed familiar as I approached it and I recognized it as Mark’s own at the same moment the door opened and he stepped out of it.

“You nearly killed me,” I yelled at him even after seeing that he was the driver. Only a few people around were spectating what was happening.

“Trust me, I wouldn't have,” he said. He approached me and I could tell that his heart was racing.

“How could you have known that you wouldn't?” I asked.

“I didn't, did I?” He put his hands on my shoulders and guided me towards his car.

It wasn't worth arguing over so I decided to leave it at that. Those watching us continued on their various journeys when they didn't see anything worthwhile.

“Where are you taking me to?” I asked him. We got to the car and he opened the driver's side.

“Do you still wanna take public transport?” He asked.

“Oh. I didn't even think of that,” I said. I got into the car and he started the engine.

“Where are you going?” He asked. A driver honked behind him and he held one hand outside and I didn't need anyone to tell me what he did with that hand.

“Work,” I replied. Only then did I pay attention to his dressing and I liked what I saw.

“Where's your workplace, Sid?” He asked. “I'm not a soothsayer, you know?”

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “It's in the industry district. An electronics company.”

“Any chance it is Wharton Electronics?” He asked.

“How do you know?” I asked in surprise.

“That's where I'm headed,” he replied. “I have an urgent meeting there and I am already running late. Thanks to my rebellious vehicle. I guess you're also late?”

“Yeah. We'd better get going,” I said.

He started driving and we arrived at my workplace more than twenty minutes later. I headed straight to my office while he went to see our board concerning whatever business he had with them. The day went by slower than I expected and what made it worse was the fact that I didn't have much work to do. Mark occupied my mind for the rest of the time I spent at the office, no matter how hard I tried to push him out. Finally, work hours ended and I grabbed my bag and locked my office.

It was almost five o'clock in the evening when I got to the Food Garden. Mark was already waiting for me and he got up to receive me with a smile on his face. We hugged each other and took our seats.

“You look tired,” he observed. “Long day?”

“Not really. I even had less work to do than usual,” I replied. “How long have you been here?”

“Just a few minutes. Should we order now?” He asked. I nodded and he signaled for the waiter to come. A waitress answered instead and I watched a delighted expression cross Mark's face as he saw her.

“Erica!” He exclaimed and I stared at him in confusion.

“Good lord,” the waitress said. “Mark. What a surprise.” She had long blond hair and hazel brown eyes that were almost similar to Mark's.

Mark rose from his seat and pulled her into a hug. A very intimate one. I felt something tugging at my heart and I looked away from them in a bid to get it to stop. But it didn't.

“Is this your girlfriend?” The waitress asked, nodding her head at me. “She's pretty.”

I couldn't tell if she really meant the compliment or not, so I decided to pretend not to hear it.

“She's not,” Mark said and I felt my heart freeze inside me. “Erica, meet Cassidy, an old friend of mine.” He turned to me and gestured to Erica with his hand. “Cassidy, Erica; also an old friend. Although, I've known you longer than I know her.”

“Nice to meet you,” Erica said. She offered her hand for a handshake and I only took it to be polite to her. “Well, I'd better get back to work. We'll catch up later, Mark. How about your orders?”

We gave them to her and she disappeared from our table. She returned a few minutes later with our food and I noticed her slipping a piece of paper to Mark along with his plate of food.

“Call me around eight o'clock. That's when I get off,” she said, before disappearing again. That was the last of her I saw that night. I couldn't enjoy the rest of the date because my mind was distracted with thoughts of Erica and whatever was between her and Mark. It was obvious that she liked him but I didn't know if he also liked her. And I would rather eat sand than to ask him that.

“Excuse me. I need to pee,” I said and stood up from my seat.

“Are you sure?” He asked, scrutinizing me with his eyes. “Or is it because of Erica and I?”

Of course, nothing got past Mark. Embarrassed, I ignore his question and head for the toilet.

Why was I even being jealous of Erica? It wasn't as if Mark and I are dating or anything and we'd only just met each other after years of separation. She and Mark seemed to have been very close and I had detected some sort of attraction between them. Or maybe I was just overthinking things. Whichever one it was, I didn't like it, and that made me annoyed but most of that anger was at myself. I took a few more minutes to collect myself before I returned to our table. Mark smiled at me as I was approaching and as if under spell, I forgot about everything and smiled back at him.