The final grease and dough triangle laid in the box next to the tiny white patio table being gazed upon by three green eyes and two gorgeous blues. The other green eye was fixated on Caitie. Carl couldn’t help it. She had never looked prettier in her sweatpants and high school drama club t-shirt. Caitie stared at the pizza with Carl’s equivalent lust for her, but hating how that extra slice was going to make her feel about herself. Mark just wanted to down in with no remorse and with no care for anyone else’s feelings being considered in the matter.
As Caitie went against her best judgement and reached for it, Carl took the chance to graze her fingers with his. She knew Carl’s intentions. She retreats and makes it appear as she was just stretching out her arm. Carl, not wanting to look like he had been had, continued inward and grabbed the table that keeps the cheese from sticking to the lid. “I wonder how much one of these costs?” he remarks as he shows it to his sloven friend and ex-love. Neither reply verbally nor physically. The sustenance stare down resumes for everyone except Carl who is now directing his whole line of site with Caitie’s brown hair, tiny nose, crooked incisor, and amazingly supple neck.
Caitie, feeling the visual pat down sternly says, “You lost me weeks ago because you wouldn’t look at me when I was to the nines, but now that you don’t have me I can look slovenly and suddenly I’m the most appealing thing in this whole world. Kind of ridiculous, Carl.”
“I don’t know what to say, Cait” retorted the love sick slacker. “I want to make this work.”
A knock on the door allows Mark to quickly exit the awkward situation. Standing on the porch was a striking man in a roughly thrown together dress shirt and tie combination. “Can I help you?” Mark asked.
Before he could answer his greeter Caitie leaped from the couch, “Chad? What are you doing here?”
Carl didn’t need to hear Chad ask Caitie out to the party she talked about wanting to go to while they were in class that morning. Carl didn’t need to smell the flowers to know that Chad knew Caitie’s favorite fragrant plant. Carl didn’t need to see Chad kiss Caitie on her perfect cheeks. Carl didn’t need to feel so low.
Caitie hurried back to her room to get into something cuter than her pants she wore when she was feeling doughy. As the two party goers headed out the door Mark told them to enjoy themselves. The door clicked shut and the room seemed quieter without Caitie not saying anything in it. Mark reached in and grabbed the last slice of pizza and brought it toward his face. “It’s cold” he said. “Maybe we shouldn’t have let this sit out for two days.” But Carl always had a habit of letting things sit too long.