PLASTIC

Chapter Fourteen

"When I first met you, I was amazed. I wanted to date you. I was really touched by your beautiful smile and the way you carried yourself." The confession was completely unexpected. Cat sat across from Noah in the coffee shop. She never expected him to make such a deep confession. How was it that he liked her, but she never sensed anything?

"Believe me, I wanted to say something to you, but I thought it was too soon to approach you since you had just started working for the company. When I found out you and Ari were dating, it knocked the breath out of me. I couldn't believe it when I saw you on his arm. I always thought you were beautiful, but on that day, you were so amazing I could barely breathe." The way Noah was opening up to Cat was a total surprise. He was always nice to her but nothing that signified he had feelings for her.

She looked out the window. Even now, she could only think of Ari. As much as she wanted to be angry with him, she wanted to just be with him.

"The reason I called you here today is that I am really worried about him. You know Ari is my cousin. I'm not here because he asked me to talk to you. I'm here because he is falling apart. The only time I ever saw him like this was when his ex-fiancée cheated on him." He explained to her.

"What do you mean?" Cat wanted to get to the bottom of everything before she decided what to do about her relationship with Mr. Gold.

"Ari dated a girl named Jeneva Nussbaum from the time they were in junior high until he graduated from medical school. They planned to get married as soon as he got his license to practice. Jenny was devoted to him until she got a bunch of work done and changed the way she looked." He said as he handed her a picture of a teenage boy. He was a cute chubby kid.

"Who is the kid?" She held the picture and looked at Noah for the answer.

"That was Ari in our freshman year of high school. He was kind of on the chunky side and he really didn't hit puberty until he was a senior. Everyone else got taller and leaner but he was still chubby and very awkward. The only thing that made high school bearable for him was Jenny. She grew out of her chunkiness and was really cute. No matter what happened, she was there for Ari." Cat listened closely to the story.

"We all went to Stanford University. Adrien, Ari, Israel, Jenny, Jonah, and I went to the same University at the same time. We were the best of friends. Ari and Israel were once closer than any of us. We were all dorky awkward Jewish kids. We all started changing and growing up. Israel was the first of us to grow up from being a dorky kid with braces and a skinny body to look like a supermodel. His family went to Jerusalem one summer and when he came back, all the girls were crazy for him." He tried to explain their friendship to her.

"At that time, Ari was finishing med school and the rest of us were already working and finished with college. We went to a party and we all got really wasted. Israel offered to take Jenny home. No one thought about it because we have always been cool with each other. Sometime later, Ari called me because he couldn't get in contact with Jenny. He hadn't heard from her for a month. He finished the internship he did in New York. When he made it home, no one could explain what happened to Jenny. Even her family was left out of the loop." Noah paused and looked at Cat. He knew that he was telling her all of Ari's personal business, but he knew the only way she would forgive him was if she understood what went wrong with him.

"Ari went to Israel's house to see if he could help him with the Jenny situation. When he got there, Jenny was at Israel's house. She was practically nude. Israel apologized. Jenny told Ari that she didn't want to get married. She felt like it was immature to think a junior high crush would want to get married after all this time. Jenny walked up to Israel and French kissed him right in front of Ari. She walked off and went up to his bedroom. Israel shrugged his shoulders and said he couldn't control the fact that she wanted him as he kicked Ari out of his house." Noah saw the look of disgust on her face. He knew she was starting to understand. He continued.

"Later he found out she got pregnant by Israel and he forced her to have an abortion. She tried to get back with Ari, but he was too heartbroken and repulsed by what she did. He spiraled down into a deep depression. He felt like she cheated on him because he didn't look as good as Israel and because he had nothing other than his parents' wealth. One day Ari snapped out of it, but he decided to change everything about himself. He decided he would never fall in love again. He said he would treat all women like the whores they were. He was the womanizing asshole you first met when you came here. Once he met you, he stopped all of that." Cat looked at him and he saw the tears she was trying to stifle.

"For the past six years, he has pushed every woman away. He refused to allow any woman to get close to him. When he met you, he was worried because he started to fall for you and he wasn't sure how to tell you about his past. Do you know that he sold that condo as soon as you left? He didn't care about losing money on a quick sale. He was so hurt by you leaving that he wanted nothing else to do with that place. I know he was really stupid, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him. Cat, he cried like a baby when he found out what Israel tried to do to you. If you love him, please give him another chance. He is literally losing his mind without you." After Noah told her everything, he gave her time to think. She wiped away the tears she could no longer hide. They hugged and went their separate ways.

Cat went to Samantha's house and had to listen to her talking about how unhappy Ari was. She even had to admit that she really believed he was in love with Cat because she had never seen him act the way he was acting. She visited with her friend for a little while and then she went home.

No matter what, she could not sleep. She tossed and turned all night thinking about Ari and how she felt about him. 

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