Chapter 12 The Party

Flashback

Seven Years Ago…

X191016: Send me your photo so I won’t mistake you for someone else. I’m sure there will be plenty of people wearing red sweaters, and I don’t want to mess up by not recognizing you.

Sierra turned her head when she heard a notification from the dating app she was using. For a moment, she put down her hairdryer and read the message.

Her heart raced as she read it—a message from her friend… or whatever she should call him. They had been exchanging messages for six months, but they had never met in person because X, as Sierra called him, had not yet returned to New York. He was studying in the UK and had just finished his degree, returning to New York two days ago. Today was the day of their first meeting.

How did Sierra feel? Of course, she was extremely nervous.

Honestly, this was something she had never done before—using a dating app and connecting with a stranger she had never met. However, she found herself feeling comfortable with what she was doing, and here she was now. She couldn’t believe she was getting ready to meet him.

CatLovers 2410: Didn’t we agree not to exchange photos so we could only see each other for the first time at the meeting?

X191016: That’s a great idea. But trust me, it’ll be hard to spot each other.

Sierra bit her lower lip, trying to reason that what X said made sense.

They had gotten to know each other quite well by exchanging messages and sharing everything about their lives over the past six months. However, how could she find X if she didn’t know his face? Or how could X find her when they hadn’t exchanged real names and only referred to each other in silly ways?

X191016: Trust me, Kitty. This meeting will still be fun. But I want to make sure I don’t walk up to the wrong person.

Yes, X called her Kitty, matching the username she used. Maybe after this, there would be many changes in their chat room, but for a moment, she doubted it. Would their meeting end with something pleasant, or would it lead to the end of their delightful conversations in the chat room?

CatLovers 2410: *Sends a photo.*

X191016: Which one is you?

She almost laughed when she received X’s reply so quickly, in just seconds. She looked at the photo she had sent—a picture of herself with Callie, her best friend.

CatLovers 2410: You’ll know when you see one of us there. Just make sure you don’t mistake me for someone else, X!

X191016: Can’t wait to see you there. :*

Sierra couldn’t hold back her laughter this time. She quickly finished what she needed to do and changed her clothes. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, trying hard to convince herself not to cancel the plans she had made with X.

Oh, please, why was she so nervous? It was just a casual meeting, and she shouldn’t be this overly anxious.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t hold back her nerves when she realized she might be interested in a man she had never met—a man she had only heard over the phone but never knew how he looked.

It sounded ridiculous, especially for a woman her age, to be doing something so classic. But she never thought her whim of creating an account on a dating app would take her this far.

“Sierra, can I borrow your notebook?” Someone opened her dorm room door, and Sierra knew who it was even before turning her head.

“Yes, Callie. You can take it,” she quickly replied.

“Thanks, Sierra. I really—” Callie stopped in the doorway and turned back towards her. “Wait… Either I’m mistaken, or you look different today. Where are you going?” she asked directly.

Sierra smiled as she put her phone into her bag and ensured she had her wallet and everything she needed. “I’m going to meet that guy,” she said.

“That guy… which one?” Callie murmured.

“Oh my God, you make me sound like someone with many men in her life when I don’t even have one!” Sierra squinted her eyes as she put on her shoes.

“I’m saying this because I genuinely can’t remember if you’ve been seeing someone lately. Did I miss something?” Callie walked towards her and sat beside her. “Don’t tell me you’re going to meet that guy from the dating app?”

“Is that a bad idea?” Sierra winced as she realized Callie looked utterly shocked.

Oh, she couldn’t recall how many times her friend had warned her not to take things too seriously with someone she met on a dating app. And now, she was preparing to meet him, unsure how Callie would view her decision.

“I can’t believe what you’re doing.” Callie sighed and shook her head as if to say what Sierra was doing was a terrible idea.

***

“Oh, I just found out you’re so close with Callie that you often hang out together.”

Sierra nodded awkwardly—not knowing what to do.

Honestly, she felt utterly ridiculous now.

After Callie got mad and left her in the hospital corridor, she ran into Damian. Yes, Damian—a close friend of Axton, whom she often met at the office. And believe it or not, Sierra was now in Damian’s car because she had no other choice but to follow him when she realized she didn’t have her wallet as her bag was left in Callie’s car. Her phone battery was also dead, rendering it useless.

“I’ve been friends with Callie since high school, and coincidentally, Callie is dating Axton. I found out about it after working with Axton, and honestly, it was quite surprising.”

Damian glanced at her and gave a brief smile. “Honestly, I was more surprised when I found out you call Axton casually outside when you’re usually so formal with him in the office.”

“Yeah, that’s just how it is,” she shrugged. She managed to charge her phone thanks to Damian’s car, and she was very grateful for that because at least after this, she could order a taxi with her phone. “Could you drop me off near the bus stop? I’ll take a taxi home.”

“What? Why? I can take you all the way home. Why bother taking a taxi?”

Sierra shook her head.

Well, she wasn’t about to let Damian know that she wasn’t just friends with Callie but also living in her house, right?

“No, I can take a taxi. I’m very grateful that you lent me your phone charger; it really helped me. It has enough battery now for me to get home, and I can charge it again once I’m there.”

“You can charge it fully. Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to pay for using the charger or for hitching a ride in my car.” Damian looked at her seriously. “Don’t feel awkward. You helped me a lot when I needed Axton’s schedule while we worked together two years ago. Giving you a ride home won’t bankrupt my company.”

Ah, it seemed Sierra had forgotten something. “Don’t you have work today?”

“Nope. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist; that’s why I came to the hospital. Looks like you’re also not working today.”

“Yes, I had to take Callie somewhere,” she replied.

“I just found out they’re trying to have a baby. Didn’t they get married two years ago? Or am I miscalculating?”

Sierra grimaced as she realized she might have just spilled some secrets she shouldn’t have told anyone.

“Yes, they got married two years ago. But Callie has always wanted children, so she’s been trying really hard.”

“What do you mean ‘trying really hard’? Do you mean they’re…” He stopped speaking and made air quotes with his hands, “They do that really hard?”

Sierra understood what he meant, and she snorted while rolling her eyes. “Should I ask them about that?”

She didn’t know why she even responded to Damian’s joke, but she felt like he had a silly sense of humor.

“That’s a great idea. But I bet you’d end up envying Callie if you found out.”

“Ew!” Sierra looked at Damian with disgust, waving her hand. “Can we please change the topic?”

Damian laughed at her reaction, and Sierra found herself laughing along.

She couldn’t force Damian to drop her off. He had already been kind enough to give her a ride and let her charge her phone. She didn’t want to argue over something that didn’t really matter, and she figured there was no harm in allowing Damian to take her home, especially since she hadn’t visited the place in so long. The problem was she didn’t have her keys. So, she’d probably just look at the house from the outside and order a taxi from there to Callie’s house.

Thinking about Callie made Sierra feel bad again. Maybe once she got home, she’d apologize to Callie for what she said earlier.

“By the way, how could Callie leave you at the hospital alone?”

Sierra turned her head, realizing she’d missed something in the story she’d made up for Damian.

“Well,” she looked around, trying hard to come up with another excuse, “something came up that made her rush home. I overheard her on the phone with her mother-in-law, and it seemed like Axton’s mother was coming over. Callie was a bit intimidated by her mother-in-law, so she rushed home to greet her. I told her to leave me and that I’d take a taxi since she didn’t have time to take me home. Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved with her mother-in-law either.”

All right, after this, Sierra would consider a career as a novelist. She was getting better at making up stories.

“Axton’s mother?” Damian turned his head slightly. “She’s a lovely woman. Why would Callie be afraid of her?”

Sierra blinked. Oh no, she’d made up the wrong story. But hadn’t Callie said her mother-in-law wasn’t a pleasant woman?

“Well, I don’t know what’s really going on. Maybe she’s not afraid; she just wanted to prepare everything properly to welcome her.”

“I’ve met his mother a few times, and she seems nice. You should meet her sometime.”

“That’s completely irrelevant to me since she’s Callie’s mother-in-law, not mine,” Sierra replied, shrugging.

“Oh, that’s not the response I expected from you.”

“Then what were you expecting?” Sierra chuckled softly.

“I was hoping—” Damian’s sentence was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. “Excuse me,” he said as he answered the call.

“Damian, how long do I have to wait at home before you come back? Did you forget today is Maya’s birthday? She won’t let the party start until you’re here,” a woman’s voice said through the phone, making Sierra immediately avert her gaze.

Damian winced, seemingly realizing he’d forgotten something important, and smacked his forehead. “Damn it. Does it have to be now?”

“Do I have to postpone the birthday party?”

Sierra didn’t mind that Damian had the call on speaker—it was the safest way to talk while driving—but she felt a bit awkward now, worried she might overhear something she wasn’t supposed to.

“Are you really not going to attend your niece’s birthday party? Should I come over there and knock some sense into you?”

“Come on, she’s only four years old. She won’t remember whether I was there or not, so I’m not important to her.”

“Maybe not to her, but you’re important to me. I know you’ll come.”

“Come on,” Damian chuckled softly, glancing at Sierra. “I’m with a woman right now, and I can’t just leave her to go to your house, can I?”

“Oh, that’s nice. Why don’t you bring her here? That would be even better.”

“What the hell!” This time, Damian burst into genuine laughter.

"Uncle! When are you coming? I've been waiting for you for ages!" The voice on the phone switched to that of a little girl, clearly upset.

This time, Sierra turned her head again, laughing at Damian, who seemed torn upon hearing his niece’s voice.

“Wait for me there, Sweety. Uncle will be there soon.”

“Okay. I love you!” The little girl blew a kiss over the phone, and Damian returned it with the same gesture.

After the call ended, Damian turned his head toward Sierra, looking at her with evident regret.

Sierra smiled and quickly nodded. “I’ll get off up ahead, and you can head to your niece’s party,” she said calmly.

All this time, she had never truly spoken with Damian beyond formalities, always maintaining professional boundaries in the office. Now, she realized Damian was a sweet man who couldn’t ignore his little niece.

“No, Sierra. I’m not asking you to get off. I just wanted to ask if you’re free this afternoon.”

“What?” Sierra frowned.

“Could you come with me to my niece’s party?”