Cathy, we're going to the Bar Fly tonight to wrap up the week. You coming?
No, I'd rather not. I've got work to do for my exams, I don't want to tire myself out and lose focus.
Come on, just for a bit—just to get some fresh air. I'll take you home whenever you want, please.
That's sweet, but I'd rather not be tempted.
I'll miss you. Can I come by tomorrow to give you a quick kiss for five minutes?
Yes, of course.
Great. Well, if you change your mind—Bar Fly from 8 p.m., okay?
************
Hey, it's so nice to all be together again. Marc, we've got a surprise for you!
But it's not my birthday!
Look who managed to join us for a few days.
Victoire?!
Hey Marc, happy to see me again?
Uh… yeah… of course…
Well, don't hide your excitement! You're a terrible liar…
No, I am happy to see you again, it's just that since the last time we saw each other, things have changed for me… and… well… Catherine and I are together now.
Catherine… That's great. So you're happy?
Yes, happier than ever. So I'd really rather she didn't see us like this, all close to each other, because I haven't told her about you.
I understand, don't worry. I know how to behave. You'll introduce her to me though, right?
*************
Hey, babe. You look tired.
Why did you come?
What do you mean, why did I come? What's going on? I asked you yesterday if I could come by today.
Are you kidding me? Want a hint? A brunette who was a bit clingy — does that ring a bell, or did I mix you up with someone else?
So you did end up going to the bar last night, huh.
Yes, I did. But apparently not at the right time. What's the story? I went home crying and I didn't sleep all night.
Listen, it's not what you think.
Uh-oh, that's how it always starts in bad movies. You'd better save this fast.
I spent the week with her on the coast.
Okay, so you weren't just with your friends. You fed me a load of crap.
No, no, not at all. I was with Ben, Thomas and his girlfriend… and Victoire.
Victoire…
She's a friend of Thomas's. I didn't know her before.
But you did after, apparently!
Yes, I slept with her, but…
But what… you were so in love with me that you slept with the first girl who came along? Great…
But Cathy, you're blaming me for something that happened before we were together.
Yeah, but it says a lot, doesn't it? We just had our first weekend together, which was a flop because I hid something important from you, and now I find out you were hiding things from me.
No, I'm not hiding anything. It just doesn't mean anything to me. We had just started getting closer, then you tore me apart and said you never wanted to see me again, so I was completely wrecked. Ben suggests I go away with him to clear my head, I meet this girl, she's into me, so yeah, I had a good time with her for a few days. That's it. I was clear with her from the start — it wasn't a love story, not even a holiday fling, just a hookup. I'm not especially proud of it, so I didn't tell you. I honestly didn't see the point.
Maybe to start a relationship based on trust?
But how would that have made you trust me more? Tell me. Especially when you didn't even dare tell me you were a virgin. If I'd told you about this, I'd have ended up being lumped in with guys like Stephane. And the last thing I wanted was to risk losing you again.
…
Cathy, I didn't know she'd be there last night. You know damn well I wouldn't have told you to come if there'd been the slightest ambiguity. When she arrived, she kissed me and hugged me, that's all. I told her straight away that we were together. She congratulated me — she even wanted to meet you.
I really showed up at the worst possible moment.
Yeah, unlucky for me. Nothing else happened after that, I swear.
You're not going to see her again?
I don't know, how can you ask me that? All I can tell you is that I don't have her number and she doesn't have mine. But I'm not going to start freaking out every time I do something with Thomas, wondering if she'll be there or not. And you shouldn't either. We might run into her again one day, but it doesn't matter. We shouldn't give it any importance. She helped me get through a rough moment. End of story.
It really hurt to see you with her last night.
I know, babe. I'm sorry. But you've got nothing to worry about — I promise you that.
***************
You look bothered, Cathy. What's going on?
Oh, Mel… I don't even know where I stand anymore. I'm completely lost.
Okay, Marc — what stupid thing did he do this time?
How did you guess?
My sixth sense!! He's the only one who can mess you up like this. Come on, tell me.
So… Marc and I talked after our kinda disastrous weekend, and I told him everything. Now he knows that… that… well, you know. You know too.
That you're a virgin. So? How did he react?
He was really shocked. He honestly thought I'd gone further with Stephane. But that's not really the issue. He reassured me — said it wasn't a problem, that he wouldn't pressure me, that we'd take our time.
Hmm… So if everything's fine, where's the problem?
Well, Saturday he was supposed to meet some friends at a bar and asked me to come along. I really wanted to work, so I said no… then I changed my mind and decided to join him anyway. And when I walked into the bar, I spot him from across the room — and this brunette walks straight up to him, kisses him on the mouth, and throws her arms around him.
Oh shit! Who was she?
I didn't know… well, now I do, but I didn't that night. And the real problem is that Marc didn't react at all. He just let it happen. If a guy did that to me, I'd push him away instantly. But him — nothing. So I stormed out, furious, and cried all night.
Okay… and have you talked to him since?
Yeah, the next day he came over. Turns out it was Victoire — a girl he slept with to drown his sorrows on the coast.
Oof… Victoire… that's a whole story right there. He hadn't told you about her?
No. He didn't see the point, since we weren't officially together yet.
Yeah… that's not totally wrong either.
Hey, whose side are you on?
Yours, obviously. But you still have to hear him out. You can't blame him for having a life before you. Just because you haven't done anything doesn't mean he had to wait too.
I know I'm being unfair, but it still feels weird. And I kept thinking about what we said about guys who look elsewhere if you don't sleep with them…
Listen, let's not turn everything into sweeping generalizations. Marc is still kinda different from the rest, right?
Yeah, probably. But he's not going to wait forever either. Can you imagine — if we fight, he might just go and sleep with someone else.
And what — you're going to force yourself to sleep with him just to keep him? That's stupid. How can you even think that? Even if you slept with him, he could still leave you for someone else one day, you know.
Of course I'm not going to do something I don't want just so he won't leave me. But I do think I should maybe plan something that sets the mood, and then we'll see if I actually want to go further. One thing's for sure — with him, I feel safe.