Chapter 25 – Dinner Date (part 3)

"You know? How long have you known?" Buzz was clearly speechless by Jessie's direct omission.

"A few weeks." Jessie shrugged. "Since the night of the senior dance."

"That long?" Buzz threw up his hands. "I can't believe Woody told you. I swore him to secrecy."

"I don't think he meant to tell me Buzz. I was upset that night, when he told me. I think…I think he got his wires crossed and…" Jessie paused, her voice shaking suddenly, trying to catch her breath, "We had just broken up, you and me, there was a lot going on and…"

Buzz didn't let her finish. "Yeah, I remember, Karl was there."

Jessie scowled. "Not this again. Buzz, I told you nothing happened between him and me."

"What did happen that night with you two? You bolted from the dance, and then I run into you sitting in the dark at a bus shelter." Buzz recalled the events from only a month or two ago.

"Nothing. We didn't even really talk. Karl wanted to dance, and I wasn't in my right mind." Jessie decided not to tell Buzz she had wanted to make him jealous. "It just didn't feel right."

Buzz looked at her. "What do you mean? You spent a ton of time with him. Rehearsals and practise time. Not to mention you moved in with him."

"I know, but Buzz, we weren't on good terms, you and me. I had to get out of here, and he was really the only other person I confided in."

"You honestly expect me to believe he didn't try anything?"

"He might have." Buzz's face contorted as Jessie said the words out loud. "But Buzz, I never acted on it. Once I realised what I felt for you…" Jessie broke off.

A palpable silence crowded the space between them.

"What you…felt for me?" Buzz said, slowly.

Jessie nodded. She didn't say another word, but dropped her eyes to the floor. Another heavy silence hung in the hallway.

"W-w-what…" Buzz stuttered the word out, but this time it was Jessie who didn't let him finish.

"What did I feel for you? Isn't it obvious?" Jessie raised her eyes to his face again, a determined look coming over her features.

"You never said it out loud." Buzz attempted, feeling rather feeble in his efforts to get a handle on the situation.

"Well, shall I say it now?" Jessie asked, her cheeks colouring slightly. "I think I love you, Buzz."

Bo and Woody had finally seen fit to return to their table for more drinks, having danced – or rather, swayed – to five songs in a row. Now they were ordering more drinks, and Woody had insisted on it being a double round. That meant two glasses of sparkling wine for Bo, and Woody had changed his order slightly, ordering two double whiskies for himself.

As they sipped and chattered their way through the evening, the music and liveliness continued around them. All thoughts of their companions absence was forgotten, as they rediscovered each other, Bo's hand on Woody's arm throughout the evening.

Several of the other ladies in the room stopped as they passed, to compliment Bo on her dress, wanting to know where she bought it, or the accessories. A few even said how fetching her hairstyle was, making Bo flush with shyness a little.

"You really are the Bo of the ball," Woody quipped, taking another sip of his whisky. He had finished the first one already, and was steadily working his way through the second.

Bo rolled her eyes. "Your humour knows no bounds, does it?"

"Hey, I thought that was good." Woody grinned, and Bo was thankful they hadn't driven to the venue that night. Her boyfriend was certainly going to need her to pack him into the back of a taxi at some point.

She took a sip of her sparkling wine, almost finishing the first of the two glasses sitting before her, and silently wondered how many calories she could drink her way through in one evening.

This had to be a dream. It was getting more surreal by the moment. Buzz wished they were in one of the rooms, so he had something to hold onto, should he fall over in amazement.

Jessie knew about Tennessee. Oh, he was going to kill Woody for letting that slip. She hadn't been with Karl, thank goodness, although he still didn't trust the guy. Even though, as far as Buzz knew, Karl was probably miles away in another state doing God-knows-what with his musical skills. Some other poor girl was being enticed away from her boyfriend too, right at that moment.

But over all of that – Jessie had just said the three little words that they had NEVER uttered to each other in all the time they'd been dating. On top of that – they'd been intimate in his truck less than an hour previously. He didn't quite know where to go from here, but he knew he had to say something before she got the wrong idea.

"Jessie?" Buzz reached out to take her hand. "I can't believe you said that. I thought…I thought when Karl showed up…I thought I'd lost you for good."

"Lost me?" Jessie smiled sadly. "You never lost me, Buzz. Not like that, anyway. I'm just sorry that –" she took a breath, and sighed a little. "I'm just sorry we had to go through all this to find each other again."

"We did, didn't we?" Buzz quirked a smile back at her.

Jessie nodded slightly, taking a step into Buzz's arms. "So, what does this mean…?"

"I guess it means this –we – are back together…" Buzz said gently, pulling her into him as she stepped forward. "Hey Jess?"

She'd already snuggled into his chest, her arms wrapped around him tightly. "Yeah?"

"I love you too."

She hadn't been wrong, Bo thought, as she hung up her phone and turned back to look over the room towards the table where she'd left Woody. The taxi company were quite busy that evening, but they had said they would have a driver free in about ten minutes.

"Trust Buzz and Jessie to leave me to deal with this alone," Bo mumbled to herself. At least when Woody had got a bit tipsy at the beach, Buzz had been there to help manhandle his best friend into a car. This time, Bo was going solo, and she didn't know if she had the strength, and if the taxi driver would be understanding enough.

Bo returned to the table, thankful that Woody was still sitting mostly upright and hadn't slid off his chair. She didn't need him making a scene. He'd obviously ordered another round, as there were more glasses – a full one of each – on the table.

Woody had already started his third whisky, grinning at Bo as she sat down gracefully. She baulked at the sight of the third glass of prosecco, pushing it to the side and turning her attention to the second, half empty glass she'd been working her way through before she'd had to place the phone call.

"Your phone's working?" Woody asked her, and she nodded. Woody grumbled something under his breath, pulling his phone out of his pocket, and looking at the screen for a moment. He dropped the phone onto the table.

"No messages, no calls, nothing. I worked hard to get this evening arranged, and they didn't even show up."

Bo realised within seconds that he was talking about Buzz and Jessie. "I know. I hope they're okay. But hey, it was nice, it just being the two of us. It's been fun."

"I know." Woody straightened up a little, taking another gulp of whisky. "But I wanted them to be here."

"So did I. Maybe another time." Bo cajoled him, but Woody shook his head.

"No, by the time we get another reservation here, it'll be too late. Jessie will be off at dance school, and Buzz will be in another state, and we'll be doing different things."

Woody continued to ramble on. "I'll be somewhere with a load of students that I've got to tell about all sorts of things, and they're probably going to shoot spitballs and be rowdy and I don't know if I'm ready for it, honestly, I don't even know what they want, those people I've got to see…" He tailed off to take another swig of his drink, as Bo eyed him.

"Woody, what are you on about?" She asked.

"Those nice people down at the…um…at the school."

"What school?" Bo arched a brow, not understanding him. The whisky her boyfriend was drinking must be stronger than she realised.

"Bo…you silly." Woody chuckled lightly, draining his whisky glass, and slurring his next passage of words. "The stewdent hasss become the teacher. Ya know?"

Blankly, Bo stared at him, and in the silence that descended between them, she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out, and breathed a sigh of some relief. The taxi was early.

"Come on Woody," she spoke, her voice firmer than she felt. "Time to get you home."