Chapter 226 - Rubbed Off

"While I don't like the idea, Stephen is right. For your sake, I won't be jealous. You must win." There was a gleam in his eyes. Katherine threw back her head in laughter and patted his hair. 

"I must have rubbed off on you. I see flashes of my obnoxious competitive nature in your now." She tilted her head to the side, placing her face in her palm to inspect him. 

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked with his signature smirk. 

"Depends on who you want to win against." They broke out into frenzied laughter. The food was what rabbits eat. Salads, water, and protein, mostly. Katherine followed religiously because she wanted to support him. Stephen, on the other hand, made sure to order savory foods that would add an inch or two to his waist. He didn't seem to mind. 

"Are you teasing us?" Katherine asked blandly as Stephen m.o.a.ned and groaned. The sounds were somewhat lewd and she understood why Stephen and Angelina were so well-matched for each other. They could both work as s.e.x call operators with the sounds they were making in broad daylight. 

"Somewhat," Stephen retorted mischievously, taking a bit bite of his food. Cage rolled his eye, distanced from the emotion.

"Don't worry, he's just showing off in front of you. He behaves when we are alone," Cage reassured her. Katherine sighed and shook her head. She threw a mock look of disappointment towards Stephen before she dug into her food.

The rest of the lunch was pleasant. The problem arose when it was time to pay the bill. Stephen kept his hands away and watched in amus.e.m.e.nt as the couple fought it out. 

"I'm going to pay," Cage said casually, pulling out his wallet from the pocket of his jeans.

"Absolutely not. You're always spending money." And doing his best to spend every ounce of his free time with her. She felt a bit lacking in the relationship sometimes. Moreover, she was the one who orchestrated this whole affair, so it was fair that she paid the bill. 

"When have I..." he trailed off as he saw the obstinant expression on her face. So adorable, he thought. After a couple of minutes of bickering, he finally conceded. He never did have a chance in front of her. They walked out, fingers intertwined while Stephen trudged behind, missing Angelina and pouting. 

He also kept a lookout for anyone who pointed their cellphone towards them. Luckily, no one seemed to bother with Cage that day... or they didn't realize it was him. It was a good day.

They stretched their time until the last minute. Stephen was anxiously glancing at the clock as Katherine and Cage refused to pay him any attention. If Cage could have it his way, he would take a later flight. He could cut down on his rest time so that he could spend it with his adorable girlfriend.

They sat hand in hand until they heard an announcement--the last call for boarding of their flight. Cage couldn't delay any longer.

"Go," Katherine softly told him. It sounded more like permission than anything else. Not that she had any authority to hold him back from his job.

"Get some safely and send me a message," he replied, his eyes filled with sadness. They hugged briefly, not making a big show out of it before Stephen called Cage out and they left i a hurry. It was her first time seeing Cage run towards something.

Fascinating as it was, it made her upset to see him leave. It felt like such a long period of time that they would have to wait in order to see each other. It was fine. She would survive.

As he disappeared into the crowd, Katherine pulled out her cellphone and quickly started to type a message.

[My apartment doesn't feel like home anymore. When I am done with work, I always imagine you being at my side... but you aren't. I can't wait to see you again. Have a safe flight.]

She sighed as she turned around. As she stepped into the cab and left for her apartment, her phone buzzed.

[You're my home now. I can't wait to come home to you. I don't care where that may be. I love you.]

She had the urge to call him and cry but she restrained her emotions and called him to say goodbye... once again. The phone beeped before the operator informed her that it had been switched off. With a sour expression, Katherine continued towards her apartment, her thoughts still lingering on the retreating form of Cage Cavanaugh.

When she entered the apartment, she received a call from a client and quickly shuffled into her room to help them out. She had to make changes and submit the draft on an urgent basis. 

It was about two hours later that Katherine emerged from her room, still in the clothes she had worn outside.

From the corridor, she heard Angelina huff and bang the front door closed. "What happened to you?" Katherine asked curiously as she saw how irritated Angelina looked.

"It was a horrible day," she groaned. "The clothes were amazing but one of the designers of the company I was photo shooting from was an old fling." She threw her bag on the couch and plopped down. She leaned her head against the back and breathed in carefully, trying to cleanse herself of her frustration.

"Which one?" Katherine asked. 

"No one you know. He asked me to go out with him once again. Like hell, I had taken that ride and it was nothing impressive," Angelina shrugged. 

"That's all?" Katherine asked. It wasn't uncommon for this to happen. What had made this encounter bad?

"Nope. I was nice in the beginning and asked how he was doing to be polite. I only got annoyed when he kept asking me out. I said no, obviously, but he got agitated. He got a little handsy, to be honest, and I had to do some damage."