A Night on the Town

Cate's a young lawyer, straight, beautiful, determined. Voted the girl most likely to have it all at university. Campbell's a young lawyer, straight, sexy, some would say arrogant. He was voted the boy with the hottest arse twice at university. Both have just turned 30. They both work for the same corporate law firm; 2nd most profitable last year, most profitable the two years before that.

Cate puts the key in the door and turns it. The house is silent, just a lamp, or two on. Cate had her interstate trip cancelled, instead had had a teleconference until quite late. She thought she could surprise Rob with a late supper, at his place.

The blues plays quietly from the bedroom. Cate pushes the door open and there is Rob in bed with some girl.

“Oh my god!” Cate hears herself say. She felt the bag with the biscuits and cheese slip from her grip.

Kate takes a week off work and doesn’t see anyone, Mel included.

Cate drinks coffee with her friend Mel most Saturday mornings. Week nights are too hard to catch up, both of them work too longer hours.

“I just had to shut down,” said Cate. “After the five days, I felt the grief and embarrassment subside and I got angry. I raged for the weekend, until I was exhausted Sunday night. Then I slept and went to work.”

“I’m so sorry,” says Mel.

"How long, now, do you think it will take me to find the right guy?" says Cate "And how long after do you think it would be safe with him to mention the c word?"

Mel shrugs. "Don't know. Sometimes they bolt, sometimes they don't. It’s hard to say."

“I’m thirty now, I shouldn’t be single, yet again. At my age.”

“Oh Cate,” says Mel. "You've got to start thinking about men as partners, not sperm donors."

“That’s not true...”

“Rob was the best on paper, you said so yourself.”

“Anyway, I’ve decided I don't want kids... or a man.” Cate feels defiant. “Maybe it's easier? Make the decision now.”

"But that doesn't make any sense," says Mel. "You are only 30."

"Yes it does," says Cate. "It means I can stop thinking about it. Besides, you're always telling me that's when it will happen."

“Cate, that’s denial,” says Mel. “You’ll still have that hungry look in your eye.”

“No, not me,” says Cate. “I’m just going to think about work, from now on.”

Campbell didn’t know why he did it. He’d been home sick and had been watching Jerry Springer. Nat had forgotten her mobile phone. Unusual for her, Campbell thought. He hadn’t seen it in so long, it seemed foreign to him. He flicked to her text messages unthinkingly. He’s a fanatical texter, he always goes straight to his messages on his phone. And there they were, all 102 of them, he’d counted them by the time Nat got home. He’d consumed the good part of a bottle of bourbon too and could recite many of them by heart.

It's 3am and the after-party, Xmas party has just finished. Cate are Campbell are feeling somewhat broken hearted, even if Campbell is admitting nothing.

They find themselves both walking up Collins Street together, both having drunk too much, looking for a taxi.

Handsome Campbell, Cate thinks. She finds herself glancing at his sexy manly arse as he steps out onto the road to hail a taxi. The yellow car pulls up.

"Do you want to share a taxi home?" she asks.

"We live in opposite directions?"

"Not if we both head to my place." It just came out. Cate was a little surprised with her forwardness.

Campbell smiles. "Okay. Sure."

He takes her in his arms and kisses her, as soon as they are in the door. He kisses the back of her neck, as she puts her key back in her bag. She rotates in his arms. His mouth is on hers as she wraps her arms around his neck. His beautiful smile. His scent. His tremble of excitement. Cate suddenly wants it all. Her fingers tremble on the buttons of his shirt as she undoes them.

“You taste good,” Campbell whispers.

She hits her bed on her back with a shirtless Campbell on top of her. Kissing her, his stubble tickles her skin. He feels good; his mouth, his muscular chest, his strong arms, his warm skin on hers, his passion. Big, solid boy pushing her legs apart. She lets him, wants him. He's a big boy, the whispers were true. He stretches her wide open, she moans with delight.

“Oh my god! He was.” Cate can’t stop smiling.

“Good?” says Mel, enthusiastically.

“Good! I’ve never... before.” Cate slaps her hands down on the table. Crockery rattles. The woman sitting next to them jumps, noticeably.

“Never?” asks Mel concerned.

“Not like that!” Cate says too loudly. Jumpy woman looks around again. “And” Kate leans in closer. “I knew he went to the gym,” whispers Cate. “But...” Cate feels her face hurting from her smile.

“Do you think you’ll see him again?”

“Don’t know.” Cate shrugs. “I never expected that.”

“Well,” says Mel. “If I thought that’s what you meant by, only thinking about work from now on, I... I... “ Mel beams and takes Cate’s hand. “I’d have approved earlier, I guess.”

Cate finds Campbell is business as usual, around the office. Smiles. Polite. They go out to a work lunch together. The following week Cate's in the kitchen and Campbell comes in for coffee.

“Hi,” says Cate.

“Hi Cate,” says Campbell. “How’s business?”

“Why?” says Cate sharply. She thinks they can acknowledge what happened. “How’s yours?”

“Oh, good, going...“ He looks at her. He smiles nervously. “You don’t want to talk about work... do you?”

“No.”

“Look... I had a good time.” He smiles.

“Me too,” says Cate.

“It was good.” He shrugs. “But we work together.”

“I just wanted to acknowledge it,” says Cate. “Not let it be...” She was going to say weird, but at the last minute that seems to be the wrong thing to say.

Campbell stirs his coffee. “Maybe, we should work for different firms.” He picks up his cup and sips his coffee. “Then.” He shrugs again. “Maybe.” Trade mark smile.

They gaze at each other. There is something in Campbell’s eyes. Is it interest? Is it fear?

“Friends?” he asks.

“Friends,” she says.

“What do two blue lines on the home test? Cate didn’t know how else to put it. Tears well in her eyes, Mel blurs in her vision.

“What?” Mel asks questioningly, as she looks up from her newspaper. When she sees Cate’s tears, her hand instinctively takes Cate’s.

“Oh, Katie.”

“I think Campbell’s about to become a dad.”

“How long?” asks Mel.

“Oh. Four weeks. Yes. After the Xmas party.”

"So what are you going to do?"

"Tell him."

"No, what are you going to do?"

"Mel, I haven't thought past telling him."

"What!" says Campbell. He closes the door to his office. "Weren't you on the pill?"

"Why didn't you use a condom."

"Why didn't I..." Campbell's voice pitches up. He clears his throat. "Use a condom?" He is incredulous.

“We should have any...”

Campbell rubs his hand backwards through his hair, his eyes widen as his gaze turns back to Cate. “We should have.”