And I may seem all right and smile when you leave
But my smiles are just a front
Just a front, hey
I play it off, but I'm dreaming of you
I'll keep my cool, but I'm feelin'…
-MacyGray, "I Try"
CHAPTER FOUR
My mom is a very smart woman. She taught me how to shave my legs, how to make the best homemade spaghetti sauce that I've ever tasted, even how to change the oil in my car. One lesson that she pounded repeatedly into my head was "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all." This was one of the hardest for me to swallow as a kid, especially when all I wanted to do was complain about how mean my teacher was, or tell her about how Frankie borrowed my crayons without asking and used my favorite color. She would stop me before I could get very far into my complaint.
"Ah ah ah, Jane, if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all."
I love my mom, and like I said, she's one of the smartest women I've met.
So that's why I'm not saying anything about Gabriella Wicks.
"So have you guys picked a date yet?" Frankie asked, tossing a chocolate into her mouth. She and Jane were having a much-anticipated "Girl's Night," as they hadn't had time for just the two of them since Jane had announced her engagement 3 weeks before. Jane poured herself another glass of wine and made a face.
"No, unfortunately… Charlie just can't seem to grasp the concept that weddings take literally months to plan… he doesn't understand why we should pick a date now when we both know we for sure want a summer wedding, and summer is at least 6 months away."
Frankie shook her head. "Men."
"Hear, hear!" The girls giggled and clinked their glasses together. They were taking gulps of their drinks when the phone rang. Jane watched Frankie with an eyebrow raised as Frankie made no move to answer it. Jane giggled.
"Um… am I the only one who can hear that?"
"I'm screening," Frankie replied. The message machine picks up with a click, and they listen to Frankie's dry outgoing message before Zach Collins's voice fills the room.
"Hi, Frankie, it's Zach Collins… again. Listen, I don't know if you got my other messages, but I was just wondering… well anyway, give me a call whenever you get the chance." He rattled off his phone number before hanging up, and Jane cracked up.
"So… Mr. Collins still calling you?"
Frankie rolled her eyes. "Yes. God, I wish he would stop making me feel like such a bitch. I mean seriously, he's called me at least six times and I still haven't called him back. Hasn't he taken the hint?" Frankie shook her head as Jane continued to laugh. She decided to change the subject. "So what have you guys talked about then? Besides the summer wedding?" she asked. Jane slowed her laugh to a giggle.
"Well… I guess we both want it to be relatively small… it doesn't need to be some huge to-do with gazillions of people, and neither of us want it to cost very much money," Jane explained. A thought occurred to Frankie.
"So what do your parents think of Charlie?" she asked. Now Jane looked bashful.
"They haven't met him yet."
Frankie's eyes widened. "What! I thought you were going to take him over for brunch at your parents' house last week!"
"Yeah, that was what was SUPPOSED to happen, but then my dad got the flu so my mom cancelled."
Frankie shook her head slowly. "I can't believe your parents haven't even met the guy you're going to marry."
"I know, I know, and you know what, I already get so much grief from my mother about it, so I really don't need it from you too," Jane said exasperatedly. Frankie giggled.
"Fine, fine, I get it… so what are the plans now for them meeting?"
"Well, we thought about Thanksgiving, but then Charlie and his family were going to visit his grandmother out in California, so that didn't happen… so now the plan is Christmas. We're all really busy until Christmas, so it's just going to have to wait until then."
"Your mom can actually wait until then? I mean, Christmas isn't for another 3 weeks."
"Yes, but not without a whole lot of bitching, believe you me."
Frankie giggled again. "So Charlie's coming home with you?"
"Actually… his whole family is coming to my house for the holidays."
Frankie's eyes widened. "Don't they have 2 sisters too?" she asked. Jane nodded.
"Our house is going to be very full this year over Christmas."
Frankie nodded, then something occurred to her, and she groaned. "This means that I'm going to be seeing a lot of Eddie over Christmas, doesn't it?"
Jane smiled slyly. "I was wondering when you'd figure that out." Jane and Frankie's families were very close – their mothers were still best friends, after all - and they usually had multiple gatherings in the days leading up to and after Christmas. Frankie groaned again and flopped her head down against the arm of the couch she was sitting on.
"I can't believe that prick is going to be there. It's like the one solace I have, where I know I won't see him… and now he's going to be around my FAMILY over CHRISTMAS?"
"What are you talking about? You haven't seen him since we had dinner that night," Jane pointed out, a confused look on her face. Frankie's mouth snapped shut as she realized her slip. She quickly recovered.
"Yeah, I know… guess it just feels that way cuz he's such an ASS."
"You might as well get over it, Frankie… the Bennetts are about to become a big part of our lives."
Frankie narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at her best friend. "This is all your fault."
Jane rolled her eyes and batted Frankie's hand away.
"Oh shut up, you drama queen. It's not that bad." A Cheshire cat grin spread over Jane's face. "In fact, I think you're enjoying your time with the Bennetts more than you're letting on… or, at least, one of the Bennetts in particular."
"Jane, I swear to God, if you start this crap up again-"
"Frankie, SERIOUSLY. I'm not going to let this go until you admit what is so ridiculously obvious."
"Oh yeah, Dr. Phil? And what is that, exactly?"
"That you are attracted to Eddie," Jane stated simply. Frankie scoffed. "No really, Frankie… you may not particularly like him, or like being around him, but you can't deny the fact that you are attracted to him."
Frankie opened her mouth, fully prepared to let out a snappy retort, but froze in that position.
Why exactly was she protesting this so much?
There was nothing wrong with being attracted to that guy. It didn't mean anything – it didn't mean that she liked his infuriating attitude, his lack of manners, or those stupid cocky winks he kept throwing her way…all it meant was that the guy was decent to look at. She wondered if she should admit this to Jane, but when she realized that if she did it would get her lovely best friend off her back, she sighed and conceded defeat.
"Alright, fine, Jane, I admit it… I am attracted to Eddie."
Jane's eyes widened. "Whoa… didn't think you'd actually do it… okay, well, so…?" Jane's eyes prodded her forward. Frankie furrowed her brow.
"So… what?"
"Exactly… so what? What now?"
"So… I'm attracted to him. End of story. There is no 'what now,' there's nothing more to say about it. The guy is mildly good-looking, so what?"
Jane rolled her eyes again. "Are you sure it's not more than that?"
"How could it possibly be more than that? You know him, you know me, you've SEEN the two of us together… I would have to be delusional to actually consider anything deeper than a fleeting thought of 'hey, he's not completely ugly.'" Jane scrutinized Frankie, and Frankie felt herself squirming under her best friend's contemplative gaze. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm just wondering what exactly it is that's holding you back." Frankie opened her mouth to argue, but Jane continued before she got a chance. "Is it because you have this idea that Eddie is totally wrong for you, and you refuse to see that it might be possible that he isn't? Or is it because maybe you see him as a little bit 'beneath' you because he's not as successful as you? Or is it because you're scared to get into any relationship, because it's been so long since you've had one?"
Frankie looked away. "Ouch," she muttered.
Jane sighed. "I'm sorry, Frankie, I didn't mean for it to come out that way… but I'm just really lost as to why you're acting like this. I mean, Christ, haven't you ever heard the expression 'opposites attract'?"
"Of course I have, but the difference is, not only is Eddie the opposite of everything that I am, but all those things that he is that I'm not are things that I find really annoying, or obnoxious, or just… not what I'd want in someone that I dated. Y'know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
Frankie leaned back into the couch, feeling as though she'd just survived some sort of an attack. She sighed – the girl's night now had a definite tense feeling in the air. She didn't want to argue with Jane, she just wanted to have fun and relax with her.
"Franie, I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt your feelings, and I'm sorry that I did. Don't be like this, okay? I don't want it to be tense, I just want to have fun."
Frankie smiled. "Y'know… sometimes it's spooky how much we know each other."
Jane giggled. "Yeah… not to mention, probably not a good thing."
They both giggled and clinked their glasses together again.
"Hello?" Frankie said into the buzzer. She tried to ignore the fact that those damn butterflies were back again, but they seemed to have grown.
"It's Eddie," the voice crackled through the intercom.
"C'mon up." She buzzed him up and then backed away from the wall, wiping her palms on her khakis. She glanced around her immaculate apartment, making sure for the billionth time that everything was in its place. She flittered over to the coffee table where she'd spread out all her party planning supplies – palm pilot, laptop, lists of phone numbers, price quotes, etc etc. She bit her lip, wondering if it was all a bit too much, but before she'd gotten very far into that thought, the doorbell rang. She straightened her shirt as she quickly walked to the door and swung it open. Eddie was lounging behind the door, wearing a red sweatshirt underneath a very worn denim jacket, his hands stuck deep into the pockets of his jeans.
"Hey Eddie, c'mon in," she greeted him. He nodded at her as he followed her into the apartment, and she swung the door closed behind him. She watched as he meandered around her expansive apartment, taking everything in.
"Nice place you got here," he said in true Eddie fashion. Frankie smiled.
"Thanks. Have a seat. Do you want anything to drink?"
Eddie took off his jacket and tossed it over the arm of the couch. "I don't suppose you have a beer, do you?"
Frankie laughed. "No, sorry… I've got wine. You want a glass of wine?"
Eddie gave her a weird look. "Actually, I'm okay… thanks."
Frankie cleared her throat and sat down next to him awkwardly. "Uh, sure… yeah, we should probably just get started." She rifled through her papers, looking for one in particular.
"So you must make a lot of money, huh?" Eddie asked. Her gaze snapped up towards him, and she was amazed, yet again, at his lack of tact. He caught a glimpse of the look on her face. "I mean, since you have such a nice apartment and all." Frankie smirked to herself. Nice recovery.
"I make enough," she responded.
"So… you work for an advertising firm, right?"
"Yeah…" Frankie answered hesitantly. What was with this sudden interest in her life?
"What is it exactly that you do?"
"Uh, well… I help to recruit clients, and then once we have the clients, I help them develop their ideas and I lead a creative team that creates an advertising campaign according to what the client says they want, and then I present it to them."
"So I'm guessing to do that you have to be really organized."
Frankie chuckled. "Well yeah… what makes you say that?"
"Oh I don't know… could be just a hunch… or it could be the palm pilot, day planner, AND huge desk calendar sitting in front of us right now."
Frankie looked down at the coffee table and then laughed out loud. "That's true… although in my own defense, the day planner is Jane's. I stole it from her purse this afternoon so we can use it to pick out a date."
Eddie laughed. "Nice. That makes it a little better."
Frankie looked down at Jane's day planner and flipped it open to that month. "So… what I'm thinking is two weeks from now. It's three days before Christmas, which may be cutting it a little close, but I think most people won't have left town yet, especially if we plan far enough ahead… also, I was thinking it would be a good idea to have it in our hometown, because that way it would be really easy for all of Jane's family to be there, and it's not too far from downtown, only about a half hour drive, and I know the perfect place to have it… so Jane's schedule is open, and so is mine… what about you and Charlie?" Eddie leaned forward so that he could look over her shoulder, and Frankie caught a whiff of his smell – not of expensive, overpowering cologne that most men she knew wore, but a softer smell, like soap with just a hint of aftershave. She turned and looked at him, realizing he had indeed shaved. She could feel her heart beating slightly faster. Eddie said something and then looked up at her, and she felt a fierce blush rise to her cheeks when she realized that she had no idea what he'd just said. She cleared her throat and leaned back on the sofa so she wasn't sitting so close to him.
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, mortified. Eddie gave her a weird look before repeating himself.
"I said, it looks fine to me. At work tomorrow I can sneak over to Charlie's desk and check his calendar, but as far as I know, he doesn't have any conflicts that day, and I know I don't."
Frankie cleared her throat again, trying to clear Eddie's intoxicating smell from her nose. "Okay, great. Well I'll go ahead and make the reservations, unless I hear from you."
"Soooo where exactly are you making reservations?"
"Oh! Right! Might need to explain all that to you." Frankie laughed nervously, running her fingers through her hair quickly as she pulled up the page on her palm where she'd been making preliminary plans for the party. Eddie smirked at her as she fumbled with the stylus. She started going over it, and he leaned close to her again so that he could look at the small screen in her hand. Frankie took a deep breath and forced herself to ignore his nearness.
An hour later they had discussed everything necessary. Frankie had run all of her plans by Eddie – the deejay, the food, the decorations, the place, and so on, and he had approved everything. The only thing they had decided Eddie would be in charge of was getting Jane and Charlie to the party at the right time so it would be a good surprise. After settling everything Eddie headed for the door, pulling on his jacket as he did.
"Well thanks for coming over and helping me organize this, I really appreciate it," Frankie said as she followed him towards the door.
"Yeah, no problem… I know I put up a big fuss, but I really think Jane and Charlie are going to like this."
Frankie smiled, surprised that him saying that was actually a relief to her. "Thanks, Eddie," she said sincerely. "I appreciate that." The two of them stood there, Frankie's hand on the knob of the open door, but for a reason that neither of them really knew, no one moved. They just looked at each other for a moment, and even though he wasn't nearly as close to her as he was before, she could still faintly smell that delicious mixture of aftershave and soap.
"I should get going," Eddie said in a low voice.
"Yeah… you should," she replied.
"Are you saying you want me to leave?"
"Well, you yourself said you have to get going… I'm just trying to help you along." Both of them were smiling now.
"Not much gets past you, does it, Frankie?" he asked. She laughed, but he continued. "No I'm serious… you don't let anything past that hard exterior. You could be feeling the most intense emotion of your life, but no one would be able to tell, because you'd still have that cool, confident smile."
Frankie wasn't sure what to say. "I don't wear my heart on my sleeve, no," she finally said. "But I don't think that's a bad thing."
"Oh neither do I." He paused, and his smile broadened. Her heartbeat increased as he leaned ever so closer to her. "But I did crack that hard exterior, didn't I?"
Frankie raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"Just now, sitting on the couch… you were flustered around me. Admit it."
Frankie let out a loud laugh. "Um… no. I don't think so." Eddie's smile didn't falter.
"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, sweet cheeks."
Frankie's eyebrows shot up even higher. "Um, excuse me, but if you call me sweet cheeks again, I will use my pepper spray on you. Second of all, why do people keep saying that to me?"
"What?"
"Nevermind… there, that enough emotion for you?"
Eddie laughed. "Oh yeah. Plenty." He gave her one last look before turning and walking out the door.
But he didn't get very far.
The two of them had been so wrapped up in each other that they hadn't noticed the short man who had walked up and was standing just three feet away from them outside the door.
"Oh… Zach. Hi," Frankie said in surprise.
"Hi Frankie… Eddie, what are you doing here?" Zach's gaze turned to Eddie, and the look on his face changed slightly, from one of surprise to one of jealousy, and maybe even anger. She sighed. It didn't help matters when Eddie smiled and leaned against the doorframe cockily.
"Well better question, I think, is what are YOU doing here, Zach?" Frankie sighed, touching her fingertips to her forehead. "I mean, it's pretty late for you to be coming over to Frankie's, isn't it?"
"Eddie was just helping me out," Frankie blurted out, just to stop Eddie from being stupid. The two of them looked at her, Zach with confusion, Eddie clearly amused, and she quickly continued. "Um, I mean, I'm throwing a surprise engagement party for Jane and Charlie, and Eddie agreed to help me out with planning it."
"Oh… so you guys are just… planning a party," Zach repeated stupidly. Eddie's smug smile went from Zach to Frankie, then back again, and Frankie had the urge to smack that annoying grin right off his face.
"Yeah… thanks again for doing this, Frankie… I really appreciate it." Eddie leaned closer to her as he said this, putting a hand on her arm. She glared at him as he leaned close and kissed her cheek, trying to ignore the way it made her heart pound harder than before and her breath lodge in her throat. She leaned away from him before he pulled himself away, and smiled at the still-shocked Zach.
"Zach… c'mon in, won't you? Eddie was just leaving."
Eddie watched as Frankie reached out and grabbed Zach's hand, pulling him into the apartment. His face lit up, and she sighed inwardly when she realized that this would undo weeks of ignoring him and trying to force him to take the hint… but it was worth it just to bring Eddie down a few notches. She swiftly pulled Zach into the apartment and pushed Eddie out of it, giving him a sweet smile as she closed the door in his face.
A/N: Yay reviewers! Much thanks to Marshie12, k8bob8, xXx-dee-xXx, and fictitious character! I'm so glad you're all enjoying it, and that you enjoyed the addition of the Wickham-ish character... hehe. Hope you guys like this chapter! Don't forget to review! Thanks guys!