Long Lost Friend
Chapter 2
Catching Up
Gordo called Lizzie the next day after she had returned from work. She was excited at his call, even though she was scared because of the way she had felt the night before while she was kissing Ethan. They talked for a few minutes and then arranged to meet on Saturday at a restaurant for lunch. Despite her fear, she was still excited and anxious to see him.
Saturday arrived quicker than Lizzie expected. She wasn't sure what she should wear. On one hand, she wanted to look nice, but she didn't want Gordo to think she had dressed up for the occasion. She finally decided on a simple denim skirt, a purple camisole with a white button up shirt and purple flip-flops. She put on some silver earrings and the matching necklace, grabbed her purse, her cell phone and keys and headed out to her car. She hoped she could talk to Gordo about car repairs today, and convince him to let her pay for her own damages, as it was her car, and her fault. She quickly drove to the casual restaurant that she had suggested they meet at, thinking of Ethan and they day they ran into each other at the supermarket.
FlashbackLizzie pushed her cart slowly down aisle 2, searching for peanut butter, and thinking about her new job at her old high school, teaching drama. She was so into her search for her favorite peanut butter, she didn't realize where she was going. She was taken from her search when she slammed her cart into another cart. She immediately started apologizing, "Oh, jeez, look at clumsy me! I'm so sorry, sir. Really, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention." It was then that she looked up into the man's tanned face. He was incredibly good looking, with blonde hair and bright eyes. Lizzie immediately found herself attracted to him, and for some reason he reminded her of someone. She gave him a puzzled look and he smiled, saying, "What?"
"You…you just look…so familiar…"
"Really? I've never run into anyone as pretty as you with my shopping cart before…"
She giggled and then said, "What's your name?"
"Ethan," he extended his hand over the shopping carts. She reached for it, liking how warm his hand was and how strong his handshake was. He continued, "Ethan Craft. And may I ask what your name is?"
"Lizzie McGuire."
It took a moment but all of a sudden, it clicked. Then they started firing off questions quickly, without listening to the other.
"Ethan!"
"Liz!"
"It's so good to see you!"
"I haven't seen you since high school!"
"How've you been?"
"What are you up to?"
"Did you go to college?"
"How was college? You got a job yet?"
Lizzie put her hand up and they both silenced, smiling at their immaturity. She walked to him quickly and pulled him into a hug. She broke the embrace and looked up into his eyes and said, "It's nice to see you again, Ethan."
"You too, Lizzie."
He smiled and she blushed, realizing that his smiles still made her melt. She walked back to her cart and they walked along the aisle, talking about old times and what they had been doing since high school. Before Lizzie knew it Ethan had asked her out on a date. It was a dream
End FlashbackLizzie sighed, thinking of their first date, their first kiss, and how quickly they fell in love. It was funny to her how she always seemed to run into old friends, literally. Her cell phone's muffled ringing, buried deep in her purse, broke her thoughts. Because she hated talking on the phone and driving, she pulled over into a neighborhood and began the search for her phone. It was about to go to voicemail when she finally found it. She pulled it out and quickly answered, "Hello?"
"Hey, baby."
"Hey, Ethan! What's up?"
"Well, I was just sitting her, wondering when I'd be able to put a ring on your finger and make it official that we were engaged…"
"Uh huh…"
"And I thought I'd call and ask you if you wanted to go ring shopping with me, so I know what to get and how much money I'll need to buy you your prefect dream ring!"
"Oh, Ethan, that sounds great! When? Next weekend?"
"Why wait a whole week, Liz? Let's go today! I can come and get you at your apartment in an hour…"
"Oh, sorry, honey! I have plans…"
"Plans?"
"Yeah, you remember I ran into Gordo the other day? Literally?" She laughed a little before going on, "Well we planned to meet and catch up today. I'm on my way to meet him for lunch right now…"
"Oh, man! I was so excited about seeing you today…can't you break your plans?"
"Ethan! I'm on my way to meet him now! Besides, I haven't seen Gordo since high school! I want to talk with him and see how he's doing! I've missed him."
There was silence on the other end. Lizzie continued, "Look, I know you're disappointed but you can't really expect me to just break my plans with Gordo because of a spur of the moment decision you've made."
"Well, Liz…I'm your fiancé, and I should be your number one priority…"
"Ethan, you're being ridiculous. I'm not breaking my plans."
"Come on, Liz! Don't you want a ring?"
"Of course I do, Ethan. But I'm not breaking my plans for it! Come on, Ethan! Be serious!"
"I am being serious, Lizzie. It's one day! You can get together with Gor-don anytime!"
"No, Ethan. No. You're right. It's one day. One day I'm spending with an old friend who I haven't seen in a really long time. It's one day I'm missing with you! Get over it and grow up!"
She hung up her phone quickly before she said things she didn't mean. She sat in her car for a second to cool down then continued towards the restaurant to meet Gordo. Why is he being so difficult? We've never fought like this before. It's like he's…jealous! Why should he be? I mean, just because I imagined kissing Gordo last night while I was kissing Ethan…Ethan doesn't know that! He shouldn't be jealous…I'm not going to give up Ethan for Gordo…never.
She arrived at the restaurant, still angry with Ethan for acting so childish. She quickly walked into the restaurant, looking for the familiar curly head. The hostess saw her looking and said, "May I help you, miss?" Lizzie turned to her, startled, and said, "Yes, I'm here to meet a friend, David Gordon? Is he here? He's short, got curly hair, and really bright bluish eyes." The hostess smiled widely and said, "Oh yes, Mr. Gordon got here a little while ago. I'll show you to his table." Lizzie followed her through the surprisingly crowded restaurant right to Gordo's table. She cleared her throat and he turned around. When he saw her his smile spread across his face. He jumped up and hugged her quickly before remembering that she was Ethan's fiancée.
"Hey, Liz!"
"Hey, Gordo!"
She sat down across from him. A waiter appeared quickly and took their drink orders. While they waited, Lizzie told Gordo of her years at college. When the drinks arrived and they had placed their food orders, it was Gordo's turn to tell of film school and achieving his dream. Then the conversation, oddly enough, turned to family. Lizzie asked him, "So how're your parents? Still shrinks?"
He laughed and replied, "Yeah. Its nuts. But I send them a lot of business. You know, psycho depressed actors."
Lizzie laughed and he asked her, "So how's your family? Your parents and Matt?"
"Well, the parents are great. Dad's gotten promoted so he isn't at home as much. Matt's off in college with Melina…you remember they started dating back when we were seniors?" He nodded and she continued, "And guess what? I have a little sister!"
Gordo's eyes widened and he said, "Wow! So she must be like, 6 or something?"
"Actually, no. She's 15."
"Wait…how does that work out? She would've been like, 9 when we were in high school…and I think I would've remembered you having a little sister…"
Lizzie smiled and said, "Well, Mom and Dad were dying for another little girl, but Mom went through "the change" and so she can't have anymore kids. So they went and adopted a 10 year old about 5 years ago."
"Wow! That's awesome! I got to meet her! What's her name?"
"Ellie."
"That's fantastic." The chatted about little things for a while and then their food arrived. Gordo ate a French fry and said, "So when was the last time you talked to Miranda? Did you lose touch with her, too?"
Lizzie swallowed her food and said, "Actually, no. We've remained best friends. I talked to her yesterday, I think. I told her I was meeting you."
"She remembers me?"
Lizzie smiled and nodded and said, "Of course! She told me to give you her phone number so you guys could talk." She pulled out her cell phone and gave him Miranda's phone number. He said he'd call her later in the week. He continued the conversation, "So what's Miranda doing?"
"Well, she's just gotten out of a bad relationship with a guy named Vince. She's happier without him though, so that's good. He was too sleazy for her, anyway. She's a fashion designer now!"
"Oh man, really? What's her label?"
"She's a small designer. She just sells her clothes in her own store. She's got some really cool things! Like this purple cami came from her…and these earrings and matching necklace. She's really talented."
"Well, Randa always was good at mixing and matching."
"That she was..." They ate in silence for a minute and then Lizzie asked, "So, any girls in your life I should know about, Gordo?"
Gordo snorted and said, "Yeah, right. Like being a director leaves much time for a social life. I haven't been out like this in months. Not even with friends."
"Oh, I'm sorry…"
"Yeah, I'm only in town for a few more days, then I'm back in Hollywood, working on a new movie. It should be interesting…"
"So I just met back with my old friend, Gordo and he's already leaving?"
"Oh, now stop pouting, you big baby!"
She smiled and he said, "I'll only be gone for 3 weeks. We're at the "planning and casting stage" of the production, nothing serious. Once we get the script down and out to the cast, I'll be back for a month or two. Plus I have an assistant director so I can leave anytime I need to, as long as I leave him with a plan."
"Now that's better!"
They laughed and kept talking. When they finished lunch, Lizzie pulled out her wallet but Gordo said, "No, on me."
"Gordo! You've already offered to pay for enough for me, not this too!"
"Chill, Liz! It's 20 bucks! I can live with that."
"Speaking of your previous offer, Gordo, I really don't feel right with you paying for both of the damages. Really, I insist on paying for my own and at least some of yours…"
"Liz, I'm a movie director. You're a drama teacher. In all fairness, directors make much more money than teachers. Believe me. The damages weren't that bad. It won't even be a dent in my income. Don't sweat about it!"
"Gordo…"
"Just think of it as borrowing money from a friend."
"I'll pay you back. Believe me, I will. I'm just as trustworthy as I've always been." She smiled and stood up to leave, asking, "Do you want to come by and see my place? It's nothing spectacular, but since you're leaving and all…plus I want to talk to you some more…and maybe Ethan will come over to see you, if he's not too angry with me…" Gordo gave her an inquisitive look so Lizzie explained her phone conversation with him before she arrived. He responded when she had finished, "Wow, I'm sorry, Liz…you could've called me…I wouldn't have minded rescheduling…"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"That's sweet, Gordo…but I really didn't want to do that. Ethan was being immature. It'll blow over. For sure."
"Okay, then…"
They headed out. Gordo followed Lizzie to her apartment in his car. They arrived quickly and he jumped out, looking around him. The outside was gorgeous, considering it was a cheap apartment building. There were gardens and fountains, and the place had a nice paint job. He'd been so into his observations, he didn't hear Lizzie calling his name. He forgot where he was until she came over to him and grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her apartment, laughing. They reached the door and Lizzie pulled out her keys and started to unlock the door. To her dismay, the door was jammed, as it tended to do. She threw herself at it, but it didn't open.
She turned to Gordo and gave him a pleading look and they both pushed on the door until it sprung open and they went flying into the apartment. Gordo hit the floor first and Lizzie landed right on top of him, her face inches from his own. He smiled and said, "Hi." She laughed and said, "Thanks." She looked into his eyes, and forgot all about Ethan and the wedding and that this was Gordo, her best friend. She leaned towards his face, and their lips met in a passionate kiss.
Lizzie pulled back when she heard someone standing at the open doorway, in clear view of them kissing on the floor. She had a strange feeling she knew who it was, but she was afraid to look. She turned her head towards the door and started to sit up. She gasped at who was standing there and immediately cried, "It's not what it looks like! I swear!"
A/N-
I'm evil, I know. Heh heh heh. Okay, so I forgot what my notes were, but if you have any questions, just let me know and I'll try to reply to you. Thank you to all of my reviewers, you guys make me feel so proud! I love you all! Remember that updates will be sloooow, but I'm trying!
Love,
DC