Authors: Monica Alexander
Aftershocks (22 page)
I held up my hand again. “Just answer the questions.”
“Sort of. Yes. Yes. Are you satisfied?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, wondering if hearing the truth out loud had realy been the best idea. I could feel the tears start to prick the backs of my eyes and needed him to leave before they started faling. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me cry.
“You need to leave,” was al I said.
“Abbs, don’t do this,” he said, as he started to get up. “Please let me explain.”
“No,” I said, as firmly as I could. “There’s nothing to explain. You took advantage of the fact that you were single for a night, and stupid me, I fel for it.”
“Abby, stop it. Please. It’s not like that.”
I laughed, a short non-humorous laugh. “Okay, fine. It’s not like that. Whatever. Just keep on deluding yourself.”
He crossed the room to me and put his hands on either side of my upper arms. “Abby, it’s not that simple. I like you. I just–”
I shrugged his arms off. “You can’t be with me. You like Alexis more. You don’t want to ruin our friendship, blah, blah, blah. I get it.
It’s fine. Just go.”
“Abbs,” he said, pleading with me, but for what I wasn’t sure.
“You. Need. To. Leave,” I said, and I could hear my voice start to tremble. It would only be a matter of seconds before the waterworks started. I turned away from him, so he wouldn’t see me break down.
I heard him walk across the room and open my bedroom door.
“I’l cal you later,” he said, as he paused in the doorway.
“Please don’t,” I said, and I knew he could tel I was crying.
Connor didn’t listen. He caled me that night – several times. Then he caled me on Sunday. My phone rang three times while I was at work, then Luke’s phone rang, and I knew it was Connor.
“Hey man,” I heard Luke say. “Just working. Yeah, she’s here. Hey, Abby.”
I looked up from where I was organizing some children’s ski jackets. A family of five had just been in and tried on almost everything on the rack. It was a mess.
“Connor’s on the phone for you.”
“I don’t want to talk to him,” I said, not offering any more details than that.
“Ok-ay,” Luke said, then relayed the message to Connor. “What’d you do man?”
I shook my head, knowing as soon as he hung up the phone Luke would be asking me what was going on. I wished a customer would walk in, so I would be occupied when he got off the phone, but we were in the middle of a lul. Laurie was at lunch, so even she couldn’t rescue me, and Nicky wasn’t due in for another hour.
“Alright, I’l talk to you later,” I heard Luke say, wrapping up his conversation before, as predicted, he sauntered over to me.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Luke,” I said, heading him off at the pass.
“Connor’s realy bummed that you won’t talk to him. What happened between you two?”
“He has a girlfriend,” I said, focusing on getting al the zippers and buttons fastened on a green jacket that one of the kids had obviously enjoyed playing with.
“What does–” Luke started to ask before the light bulb went off. “You like him.”
I didn’t say anything in response. I just kept battling with that stupid jacket. The lining was almost completely unzipped, and it was giving me a hard time as I tried to reattach it.
“You like Connor,” Luke said again.
“Okay!” I snapped. “Yes, I like him, now stop saying that. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Did something happen?”
I started to open my mouth to tel him to let it go when the front door opened.
Surf’s Up!
“Welcome to South Shore,” we both said, as we looked up to see Jack sauntering in, aviator sunglasses perched on top of his head.
“I’ve got it,” I said to Luke, probably snippier than I should have been. I was just glad to leave the conversation we were having.
“Hey Jack,” I said, as cheerfuly as I could. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Hey Abby,” he said, then took pause as he no doubt noticed the dark circles under my eyes. I hadn’t slept much the night before.
“You look like shit.”
Awesome.
“Thanks for noticing,” I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “That’s always what a girl enjoys hearing.”
He turned away from me to flip through a rack of fleece pulovers. “Relax. Wy told me what happened. I’m here to save the day.”
I felt my face turn bright red as I realized how much I wanted to kil Wyatt. I had caled him in tears that morning, just looking to vent. I had not expected him to share my plight with Jack. Just wait until I got my hands on him the next weekend. He was going to wish he never invited me to visit.
“Save the day? What are you, a superhero?”
Jack puffed up his chest. “I like to think so,” he said, and I laughed. I couldn’t help it. He was being kind of adorable. It reminded me of when we’d hung out the year before. This was the Jack I liked best.
I lightly shoved him. “You’re ridiculous.”
He turned to face me, giving me a wide-eyed grin. “No, I’m fun, and you’re going to have fun with me.”
“I’m working,” I said, gesturing to the store around us, although without any customers I wasn’t technicaly doing much actual work.
“Listen, I’ve sort of been through hel and back this year on the girl front, and I think I’m finaly coming out of it. I know what it’s like to want someone that you can’t have – who doesn’t want you.”
“Thanks for that,” I said, wishing he would stop talking. He was grinding the facts in just a little too deep.
He held up his finger as if to make a point. “But I also know that pining over someone doesn’t help. What does help is having fun.”
“Great, I’l keep that in mind,” I said, as I straightened the fleece that Jack had moved.
He roled his eyes like I was so not getting the point. “As Wyatt’s best friend, it is my job to step in where he can’t. Which means I’m going to be your Cruise Director for the next few weeks until you get over Connor. Sound good?”
“Whatever,” I said, not sure what he was talking about.
“You doubt because you don’t know. But you wil.”
I roled my eyes at him, wondering if he was planning to buy anything. “Can I interest you in a new hoodie?” I asked, taking his arm to lead him over to a rack of hoodies we’d just gotten in.
“Can I interest you in a date?” he asked, and I looked at him like he was nuts, because he was.
“No.”
“I’m serious,” he said and honestly looked offended. “Look, you’re realy cute and sweet and fun, and I’m single, and maybe sort of cute.” He smirked at me. “Let me take you out. One date with me, and you’l forget al about Connor.”
The idea was tempting, but I knew it wouldn’t work. Jack was a good friend, and he was cute, but my feelings for Connor couldn’t just be zapped away.
“Think about it,” Jack said, leaning down to whisper in my ear, so close that his lips brushed my earlobe, making me shiver. “It’l be fun.”
He leaned back to appraise me. I was stil eyeing him skepticaly.
“I’l pay,” he finaly said.
“Fine. I’l go out with you,” I said, not able to suppress the smile that had crept onto my lips. He could be realy charming when he wanted to be.
“Awesome. Love it. Best news of the day.” He winked at me as he turned to go. “I’l cal you.”
I laughed. “Don’t forget to cal Wyatt and tel him you fulfiled your duty,” I caled after him.
“Not yet I haven’t, but soon. Getting you to smile was only the first step. There are many other steps I have to take before my duty is considered fulfiled.”
“Wel in that case, I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me.”
Jack just laughed as he walked backward out of the store, lowering his sunglasses to his eyes. I couldn’t help smile at him and shake my head. He got definite points for trying.
My first date with Jack turned out to be on an airplane to Michigan. Our first date kiss happened when we were cruising at 30,000 feet somewhere over Ohio. It was al very cute.
I had thwarted Jack’s attempts to get me to go out with him al week, and when he asked about Friday night, I told him I’d be on a plane to see Wyatt that night. He in turn said that was a coincidence, because so would he, which I found to be infuriating because Wyatt had failed to mention that Jack was visiting him the same time I was.
Of course Jack already knew this, so he just grinned and told me to dress cute for our date. I hadn’t actualy thought he was serious until he was trying to wrestle my bag of peanuts away from me and he landed his lips on mine. Before I knew what was happening, we were kissing, much to the chagrin of the woman sitting next to me who was reading a book about politics.
When we walked off the plane, I was smiling and holding Jack’s hand, thinking that just might have been my best first date ever.
“So are we a couple now?” Wyatt asked, gesturing to our clasped hands when we met him at baggage claim.
At first I didn’t recognize him. He looked so different – relaxed, confident, older maybe. His caramel colored hair was covered by a Michigan hat, and his cheeks were rosy from just coming in from outside. When he smiled, his dimples popped. He looked like he’d filed out or something, and I wondered if he’d started working out with Jeremy.
Wyatt was someone I always described as beautiful. He had this silky light brown hair that he wore longer on the top, high cheekbones, a straight nose and these amazing ful lips. At 6’2” he was that perfect height and had just the right amount of tone to look sexy with his shirt off. He could have been a model for Ken dols. Seriously, if he wasn’t gay and I didn’t think of him like a brother, I definitely would have been into him.
“Wy!” I said, dropping Jack’s hand and wrapping my arms around Wyatt’s neck, hugging him fiercely. I hadn’t realized how much I’d realy missed him until that moment.
“I missed you, kid,” he said, his arms encircling me as he lifted me off the ground. He squeezed me tight, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions in that moment.
When he set me down, I just had to sit back and appraise him as he and Jack exchanged one of those guy handshake/hug things. I couldn’t believe how great he looked.
While we waited for our bags, my cel phone rang. I noticed it was Connor, so I hit ignore, slipping the phone back in my pocket hoping Jack and Wyatt, who were engaged in a rousing conversation about Michigan footbal, didn’t notice.
“Stil screening him, I see,” Wyatt said a few minutes later when Jack slipped away to the restroom.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to say to him, so I figure it’s better if we don’t talk until I do.”
“You could tel him you have a new boyfriend,” Wyatt said, nodding his head in the direction of the men’s bathroom.
I roled my eyes. “Jack is not my boyfriend. We’re just having fun. He knows about Connor – thanks to you.” I gave him a pointed look with my eyes and he just shrugged like he was so innocent. “And he’s been more focused on having fun this year than anything else.
It’s not serious.”
“It could be. Jack’s a good guy, Abbs. I think you should consider him. I know he likes you.”
I bit my lip. “Connor’s a good guy too. He just didn’t act like it last Saturday, but whatever. He was upset about Alexis. I get it. I just wish it didn’t bother me that we hooked up. I wish I could be one of those girls who could turn off their emotions and not feel anything. This would al be so much easier.”
Wyatt put his arm around me. “So you want to be Alexis?”
I laughed. “Hardly.”
“What’s so funny?” Jack asked, as he slid up behind me, his arms threading around my waist.
“You when you talk in your sleep,” Wyatt said. “I was just warning Abby since you guys are going to be sharing a room tonight.”
Jack punched Wyatt on the arm. “Dude, I’m trying to impress her, not freak her out,” he said, faking that he was upset.
I wondered if Jack ever took anything seriously. Everything seemed to be a joke to him these days, but I guessed that was good. I needed something casual in my life. I’d been hung up on Connor since school started which was pretty unhealthy when you thought about it.
I was ready to have some fun. I was sick of waiting around for a guy who obviously didn’t want to be with me.
“What do you mean we’re sharing a room?” I asked, as Wyatt’s words started to register in my brain. “Ooh, there’s my bag.”
Jack jumped forward to grab my suitcase off the conveyer belt before it passed by.
Wyatt just smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I booked a room at a hotel. We’re staying there since it would be pretty impossible to fit al three of us in my dorm room twin bed. Plus, my roommate’s a little bit of a weirdo, so I figured you wouldn’t want to stay there.”
“Ooh, do we get to meet Crazy Chris?” I asked, hoping we would. Chris had gotten even stranger throughout the semester. Wyatt was pretty sure had OCD and ADD which made for a very confusing combination.
“You sure do,” he said, as if presenting us with a prize. “Seeing as Chris never leaves the room, except for classes, he’l be there. But that’s tomorrow. Tonight we’re off to the Marriott.”
“Ful bar in the room?” Jack asked, as he hoisted his duffle bag from the belt.
“Hel yes,” Wyatt said and high-fived Jack. I wondered what on earth I had gotten into that weekend but couldn’t help smiling as it reminded me of junior year when the three of us hung out al the time. I let Connor slip from my mind and tried to focus on just having fun with my friends.
***
Thankfuly, it was Saturday, and Admissions was closed or I probably would have made a giant ass of myself and sealed my fate of not being accepted. Personaly I think it was the beer Connor and Wyatt kept feeding me that made me so irrational but it could have been the atmosphere as wel.