Intensity

by S. Briones Lim

  “Can I get it later?” Ruthie squeaked.

  “At my place? Sure.” Cash’s smile reminded Celine of the Cheshire Cat. It gave her a sick feeling in the gut and wondered why it didn’t have the same effect on anyone else. Ruthie, on the other hand, nodded her head enthusiastically.

  “Oh! Wait! How about Celine’s gift?” Ruthie asked, suddenly remembering the baby blue bag in the back of the car.

  “My gift?” Celine repeated in confusion.

  Ruthie grinned. “Cash thought it would be nice to treat you to something. You know, as a congratulations for the conference. Besides, it really wasn’t fair considering he took me shopping all day.”

  Without a word, Cash walked over to the trunk and popped it open. The driver immediately jumped to his feet, but Cash waved him off. “I think I can get a small bag, my man.” He grabbed a sleek looking blue bag from the trunk and sauntered over to Celine. “Here you go, Princess.”

  Celine slowly took the bag from his hands and thanked him, only to be grabbed into a tight hug in response. Ruthie watched the two hug and beamed happily, glad to see Celine was finally off Cash’s crap list. However, Celine wasn’t buying it. She peeked over Cash’s shoulder and gave Brian a bewildered look. He in turn scratched his head and shrugged.

  “Make sure to wear that tonight,” Cash said in her ear. “I picked it out myself.”

  “Um, okay?” Celine didn’t even want to see what was in the bag. If Cash picked it out, she was sure it would hardly cover any inch of her body. Ruthie nudged Celine in the ribs. With a sheepish look, Celine said, “Thanks.”

  Once again, Cash’s award winning smile lit up the city block. Before he could get another word in, Brian grabbed him and nudged him towards the car. “Well, let’s allow these two ladies to catch up,” he ordered.

  Cash snorted. “Because we have that thing?”

  Brian rolled his eyes. “Yes, come on!” He opened the car door (to the driver’s chagrin) and practically pushed Cash inside. Brian then paused and leaned his arms on top of the car door. “So I’ll see you later?”

  Ruthie had the distinct feeling that he was speaking to Celine and not her. Nonetheless, Ruthie took it upon herself to answer. “Of course, old friend, we’ll both be seeing you tonight.”

  With a nod of his head, he entered the car and shut the door. Ruthie plastered a fake grin on her face and began waving at the retreating vehicle. Celine on the other hand…well, she was in no mood to smile.

  Ruthie looked down at her friend sadly. “I thought you said you weren’t mad at me.” Dropping her hand from the air, she linked her arm through Celine’s and the two began to weave their way through 8th Avenue. “Wow, Madison Square Garden,” Ruthie murmured, staring up at the building. “You know, I always dreamt of coming here.”

  “And you would have been able to if you showed up like you said you would,” Celine snapped, freeing her arm from Ruthie’s grasp.

  Ruthie sighed and swung her arms to her side. “Are we okay? Like seriously? I feel like things have been strained between us lately.”

  “Well, yeah, what do you expect?” Celine’s cold tone surprised Ruthie. “I mean, ever since we met Intensity things have just been…weird. Who would have thought people we always loved would put such a rift in our relationship?”

  “But why are they putting a rift in our relationship?” Ruthie asked with exasperation. “There’s really no reason behind it.” Ruthie remained rooted in place, ignoring a purse that rammed her in the small of her back.

  Celine stopped walking and gazed up at her friend. She was quickly becoming used to being bumped around by the New York crowd and ignored the elbows that jutted her gut. With a sigh, Celine told Ruthie, “I don’t think Cash is a great guy. Maybe that’s the reason why I’m acting weird around you. I don’t want to hurt your feelings by telling you that, but at the same time, I think as your sister I should. Honestly, I’ve been torn up about it.”

  Ruthie rolled her eyes. “He’s a good guy, Celine. You just have to get to know him!”

  “Is he really?” Celine snorted. “Tell me again how well you know him. We all met at the same time.”

  “Come off it, Celine,” Ruthie snapped. “You’ve been acting weird because of Brian. I’m not an idiot. He has you squirming in your panties.”

  “First of all, please don’t ever use the word panties again. Second, he’s a friend, that’s it,” Celine argued, all the while trying to convince herself.

  “Sure, so what did you do last night?” Ruthie questioned, crossing her arms.

  “Move it!” a teenaged boy sneered at the two as he jammed a delicious looking hot dog into his mouth.

  “Ooh, is that Grey’s Papaya?” Ruthie asked, glancing at the sauerkraut covered goodness.

  Celine nodded excitedly. “I think so! I really want to try it!” Straightening her face, she crossed her arms over her chest and answered Ruthie’s question. “I just went out.”

  “You went out? In New York? By yourself?” Ruthie snorted. Yeah, right.

  Celine immediately frowned, feeling horribly insulted. “Hey! I can do things by myself, you know! I don’t always have to tag along to have fun!”

  “Okay, so what exactly did you do, then?” Ruthie asked, with raised eyebrows.

  “I ate dinner and relaxed,” Celine lied with a shrug of her shoulders.

  Ruthie scowled, “Stop lying. Your left eye twitches when you lie.”

  Celine brought her hand up to her eyebrow and pressed down. Yup, it was twitching like crazy. With an exasperated sigh, Celine admitted, “Fine. I did go out by myself last night, but…”

  “But?”

  “Brian ran into me,” Celine winced.

  “Brian ran into you? In New York?” Ruthie shook her head incredulously.

  “I’m telling the truth! I was standing in front of where TRL used to be filmed and I just heard him call my name!”

  “Wait, you went there? How was it?” Ruthie asked excitedly.

  “It was amazing!” Celine answered beaming. She gripped Cash’s gift in her hand as she gestured through the air. “I felt like I should have had a giant poster or something. It was surreal! Of course it’s an Aeropostale now, but still.”

  “Hmm, interesting,” Ruthie commented, dodging a tourist gracefully.

  “Anyway,” Celine continued in a serious tone, “I was standing in front of the building and I heard my name. It ends up Brian was in town for business. End of story.”

  “End of story?” Ruthie prodded. “Is that why he was walking you out of the conference today?”

  Celine groaned and hunched over. Her lightweight cardigan fluttered under her arms making her feel even meeker and smaller. “Fine, we had dinner okay? And he took me to karaoke.”

  “Wait, karaoke? You?” Ruthie laughed.

  “I may have been a bit intoxicated,” Celine admitted.

  Ruthie immediately stopped walking. “Intoxicated?” Her eyes bugged out and she shook her head disapprovingly. “Celine! Please tell me you didn’t do something you regret.”

  Celine’s jaw almost hit the ground. She didn’t know whether to feel hurt or angry, but what she did feel was appalled. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d do that!” she hissed. “The only reason we went out was so I could overcome my anxiety about public speaking. Brian thought karaoke was a good fix.” She shook her head once again in annoyance. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d do something so…wrong.”

  Ruthie bowed her head in shame. “I know you wouldn’t ever hurt Noah. I guess I just felt really distant from you lately.”

  “So you automatically assumed I’d do something so vile?” She shook her head in a huff and began walking forward. Ruthie ran to keep up with her.

  “Tell me this then; have you told Noah that you spent so much time with Brian last night?” Ruthie took Celine’s silence as a no. Ruthie let a puff of air out of her nostrils. “I figured as much.”

  “Well, think about the time difference
! It was only four in the morning in Los Angeles when I left for the conference. I just shot him a text,” Celine explained rapidly.

  “Okay, well it’s close to noon there now. Are you going to tell him?” Ruthie prodded.

  “What’s with the inquisition?” Celine laughed half-heartedly. “Of course I’ll tell him! I have nothing to hide!”

  “Right,” Ruthie agreed with sarcasm.

  “I’m serious!” Celine insisted. She rubbed at her neck, still feeling the effects of the previous night.

  “Okay, fine, fine, I believe you.” Ruthie rolled her eyes. Frowning, she slowed down her pace.

  “What’s wrong?” Celine asked, looking around.

  “I think we’re lost.” Ruthie spun around, scanning from left to right. It was no use; all the buildings looked the same to her.

  “No, we’re not,” Celine protested. The deep frown on her face said otherwise. Gulping, Celine wondered, “Should we ask someone?”

  A crowd of people was walking in their direction, bumping into them in the process. Celine almost stumbled back, but Ruthie managed to catch her before she fell on her ass. “Now I know why I never wanted to live in a city.”

  “You live in Los Angeles.” Celine laughed.

  Ruthie smiled warmly. It was nice to hear a genuine laugh coming from Celine again. It had been far too long. “You forget we can drive anywhere we want to in L.A. This place…” Her voice trailed off as she gestured towards the yellow taxi cabs which began to pile up around them, “is not somewhere I’d want to be for an extended period of time.”

  “So you went on a shopping spree.” Celine said suddenly. Still trying to figure out where the heck they were. She glanced up at the street sign and noticed they were near Penn Station.

  Ruthie lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, so what?”

  “No, nothing wrong with that. I’m just stating a fact,” Celine responded nonchalantly.

  “Um, okay?”

  “And I went to a karaoke bar and did an awesome rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” by the way,” she said seriously.

  “I don’t doubt that.” Ruthie laughed.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” Celine asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  “That you’re a closet Journey fan?” Ruthie teased.

  Ignoring her, Celine explained, “That we both had fun without the other! I thought the whole point of this weekend was to be spontaneous and go on adventures together.”

  Ruthie’s frown disappeared. “Oh.”

  Celine nodded her head slowly. “Yeah, precisely.”

  “Well, we can do those things again, right? With each other this time,” Ruthie suggested.

  “First of all, how are we even going to afford a ‘Cash worthy’ shopping spree?” Celine asked.

  “I like that pun,” Ruthie commented.

  “I know, right?” Celine replied with a snicker. Straightening her face, she continued, “Second of all, I am not doing karaoke again. Like ever.”

  “Okay, well what if we just go on an entirely new adventure together?”

  “Like what?”

  Ruthie looked up and noticed the entrance to the subway across the street. With a wicked smile, Ruthie asked, “What do you say to a little public transportation?”

  Celine bit her tongue, deciding not to tell Ruthie that she had already braved the subway system. Instead, she grabbed Ruthie’s arm and the two crossed the street in a hurry.

  Chapter 31

  Celine fumbled with the plastic card and clumsily tried swiping it through the reader. She groaned as the thin plastic slip fell to the ground.

  “I got it,” Ruthie replied with a yawn, snatching the white plastic card off the floor. She slipped it into the little slot and unlocked the door, pushing it open. Taking a step inside the hotel room, she paused about halfway in the door, causing Celine to stumble into her.

  “Hey!” Celine yelped. “What’s the big idea?”

  “There are roses!” Ruthie said excitedly. “Do you think they’re from Cash?”

  Celine shrugged. She truthfully did not care. She was exhausted. Navigating the subway system without an expert was no easy feat. After getting lost about a dozen times and finally succumbing to walking ten city blocks, she was feeling beyond fatigued. Stifling a yawn, Celine asked, “How would Cash even know where my hotel room is?” She abruptly glued her mouth shut and frantically looked over to the extra bed. To her relief, housekeeping had tidied it up with hospital corners and all. There was no hint that anyone had ever slept on it.

  Ruthie excitedly grabbed the little card, which was perched above a spiral shaped clip. A wave of disappointment washed over her face as she read the tiny card. “It’s for you,” she said, holding it towards Celine.

  “For me?” Celine asked. She felt an involuntary leap in her heart, wondering if Brian had sent it to her. She hesitantly grabbed the card and sighed with relief.

  To my lovely fiancé,

  Good luck today, but I know you won’t need it. Wishing I could be there with you.

  I love you,

  Noah

  “It’s from Noah,” Celine breathed.

  “Who else would it be from?” Ruthie plopped down on the extra bed and sprawled on top of the white sheets.

  Celine shook her head quickly. “No, I just meant that I really wished he could have made it. It’s nice that he’s here. Sort of, at least.”

  Ruthie turned herself onto her side and eyed her best friend. Never one to have a good poker face, Ruthie was surprised that Celine was somewhat unreadable. “Are you mad he couldn’t make it?”

  Celine shook her head. “He’s got work. I couldn’t ask him not to work the opening shift. He’s working for us, you know.”

  “Yeah,” Ruthie agreed. “He’s a good guy.”

  “I know,” Celine replied, smiling. “I’m going to call him. Do you mind…?”

  “No, go ahead. I’ll be here, trying to catch some shut eye.” Ruthie took a deep breath and tried to lull herself to sleep. She had a vague feeling that she’d need her energy for that night’s party.

  Twirling her hair around her finger, Celine anxiously listened to the phone ring. What if Noah didn’t pick up? What if he did? Would she tell him about Brian? Would he be mad?

  By the time Noah answered the phone, Celine was on the verge of hysterics.

  “Hey babe.” Noah’s voice instantly calmed her.

  “Hey!” she yelped. Clearing her throat, she continued in a softer tone, “How’s the restaurant going? I’m not bothering you, am I?”

  “Of course not!” She could almost hear him grin over the phone. “You’re never a bother. How was the conference?”

  “Over!” She laughed weakly.

  Noah joined in on her laughter. “Sorry I couldn’t be there. You know if we had known in advance…”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Celine brushed it off. “I know it was a purely last minute thing.”

  There was a pause in conversation. There were never pauses in their conversations. Noah must have picked up on it because he soon asked, “Is everything all right?”

  It’s now or never, Celine.

  “I’m worried you’ll be mad at me,” she whispered nervously.

  “Why?” Noah asked suddenly. The sound of blowing wind made her guess that he had stepped outside. Probably for privacy. Not good. “You’re scaring me,” Noah admitted.

  “Well, you know that friend of mine, Brian? Well, he ran into me here in the city and he took me out for karaoke,” she said quickly.

  Silence.

  “Noah? Are you there?”

  To her surprise Noah burst out in laughter. “You sang karaoke? Please tell me you sung ‘I Will Survive.’”

  Celine sighed with relief and laughed weakly. “You’re not mad?”

  “Why? Because you went out with a friend? Come on, Celine. You know I trust you. I know it’s a guy I haven’t met before, but at the same time you’ve known him since high school, r
ight?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Exactly. I know everything is fine.” He paused for a bit and then asked, “Is Ruthie guilt tripping you about hanging out with him or something?”

  “You can say that.” She chuckled, feeling relieved.

  Noah snorted. “Let me guess, she ditched you to hang out with Cash?”

  “Yup.”

  “That’s the only reason why she’s bothering you about it. It’s because she’s the one who’s guilty. She just wants you to be in the same boat as her,” he replied with thought.

  “I guess…” She wasn’t entirely sure. Brightening, Celine cooed, “Thanks so much for the roses! They were beautiful.”

  “Oh good! You got them! I was beginning to get worried since I haven’t heard from you since that text this morning.”

  “I figured because of the time difference…”

  “I’m only kidding, babe.” He laughed. Celine heard someone shouting for him. Noah’s muffled voice quickly followed. He returned on the line with a sigh. “Sorry, babe, got to run. There’s a minor mishap in the kitchen.”

  Celine nodded her head. “Okay, I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Your flight gets in tomorrow evening, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll see you then. Love you and be safe!” With a chuckle he added, “Sing some more songs if you can!”

  Celine smirked and shook her head. “I love you, too.”

  She clicked off her phone and leaned against the hallway wall. Noah was a great guy. It wasn’t any news to her. She was extremely lucky to have him in her life. She knew that she needed to snap out of whatever funk she was in and get back to normal—quickly. For a moment, she found herself wishing that she had never insisted on meeting Intensity. If she hadn’t, none of this stupid stuff would have ever happened.

  Chapter 32

  “I am so glad I took that nap!” Ruthie exclaimed. She leaned over the hotel sink and began applying a light coat of bright red lipstick. She smacked her lips together, admiring her makeup. Her big brown eyes were lined with a smoky liner, nicely accentuating her long lashes. She usually didn’t pair bold eyes and lips together, but she felt that she needed to make a statement that night.