Chapter 6

Jeremy had never been so grateful for a Sunday. Sunday meant he didn't have to face Amanda for one more day and formulate a reason why he had, one, not seen her this weekend, and two, why he had not returned her calls. There was a heavy feeling in the pit of Jeremy's stomach. He wasn't a bad person. He did his homework, hugged his mother, and even flossed his teeth every night. But he was doing a very bad thing. Someone was going to get hurt, and Jeremy didn't want to hurt either Amanda or Jessica. Neither of them had done anything wrong. All they could be guilty of was liking him and trusting him.

Jeremy, hands shaking, clumsily tied his green apron strings. He glanced over at the schedule to see he would be working with. Please not Liz, please not Liz! He begged.

Crap. It was Liz. Just his luck.

Oh no. Suddenly the dark feeling in his stomach sank heavier. In his excitement and nervousness of going out with Jessica he had completely forgotten about Liz. Liz had seen him pick up Jessica yesterday knowing all about his relationship with Amanda. True, she hadn't said anything yesterday, but that was probably because she didn't want to upset her sister who was already recovering from one cheating scumbag.

He needed a good lie. His mind conjured up several possibilities. It made him sick to think that he was actually capable of lying like this.

"Morning Jeremy," a sweet voice called out to him.

"Liz, hey. Uh, good morning," Jeremy stumbled. He mentally raked his brain on anything that needed to be done in the café just to get away from Liz.

Elizabeth slowly fixed herself a mocha. "Ahh, caffeine."

"Late night?" Jeremy smirked.

"Hardly," she laughed. "I was up late reading." She set her cup down. "Listen, that was really nice what you did for Jessica yesterday."

Jeremy lost the ability to breathe. "What?" he choked out.

"Thanks for taking her to lunch yesterday. It was really nice to see her smile and hang out with a nice guy who didn't want to hit on her and use her. Jessica needs friends right now, especially guys. Andy's hanging out with her tonight. I know I've rambled about Jess being lonely for days now. You're a really good friend to us, Jeremy"

She doesn't know! Jeremy thought feeling sick and relieved. Jessica didn't mention that it was a date. Probably laying low from the Will fiasco. Liz just came to her own conclusions. "Uh, thanks. Glad to help." Great, just someone else who thinks I can do no wrong.

"It's really nice that you and Amanda are so comfortable in your relationship that you can help out a friend like that." Elizabeth squeezed his arm. She smiled mischievously at him. "And here she is now."

Jeremy whirled around to see Amanda waiting at the counter. "Hi, Jeremy," she said softly, a little unsure.

Damn, he should have called her back last night. "Morning, baby," he said taking her in. Even though she wasn't her normal put together self, she looked beautiful. She must not have slept well last night as he took in the dark circles under her eyes. I did that to her, he thought feeling guilty. How could he be cheating on her when he still loved her so much?

"I just wanted to see how you were. I didn't hear back from you last night," she said carefully.

It hurt Jeremy to see Amanda act so quiet and weak. Usually Amanda oozed confidence and grace. It worried him how much he meant to her. "Uh, my mom actually forgot to give me your message until this morning. I was going to call you later. I know how you like to sleep in."

Amanda's whole face relaxed and she actually smiled. "Oh, that's all right. I just had big news, I got into Ohio State!"

"That's awesome, I did too!" he said trying to feign enthusiasm.

"Our first acceptance," Amanda said happily. "I'm really psyched about Ohio, too."

"Yeah," Jeremy said noncommittally. Personally, he wanted to stay out west.

"I can't wait to see where else we get accepted, and we can decide our futures."

"Yeah," Jeremy said feeling a little trapped. This was a new feeling. Usually he and Amanda were inseparable and Jeremy loved that.

Jeremy had no idea what he wanted. A nagging thought crept into his brain. Maybe he was acting out like this because he was afraid of having his future tied to Amanda's. He didn't want her to follow him to college and hold back on her own dreams.

However, Amanda's re-found charm and bounce held him captive. Her black hair fell in waves around her face and her green eyes sparkled. Her white skirt highlighted her long legs and her lace pink tank top highlighted her tan. Jeremy suddenly wanted Amanda very badly. Just then, Jessica soft heart shaped face popped in his head. What was wrong with him?

"Amanda, I think we need to talk."

Jeremy was surprised to see her nod, "I agree."

Jeremy glanced over at Liz. "Sure, take a break, I can handle the crowd," she joked, gesturing towards the empty cafe.

Jeremy shot her a grateful smile and led Amanda over to a small table in the front.

"Let me go," Amanda said quickly. "I was thinking last night after I got into Ohio State and was so excited, I want you to feel that, too. I know Ohio isn't your first choice so I don't want you to feel like to you have to go there or fake enthusiasm to make me happy. I'm probably going to go there since they also gave me a tennis scholarship. I realized that as much as I want to be with you, I can't spend four years clinging to you. I trust you, and I don't have any reason to worry. So, if we don't end up going to the same colleges, I still want to give our relationship a try since there's breaks and summers."

Jeremy felt like a dog. Here was the most amazing and talented girl telling him that she loved and trusted him. That she wanted to stay with him through college even though she could easily get any guy she wanted.

"I hate being jealous," she added. "But I also hate the feeling of making someone feel dependent on me."

Jeremy snaked his hand across the table and took her small hand in his. He couldn't believe he was about to tell her about Jessica. He knew what he had to do; he needed to end things with Jessica without hurting her. He already had an amazing girl and he couldn't continue to play with them.

Amanda smiled at him and Jeremy's heart ached with love. He knew he was so damn lucky to have found love that went beyond a crush and hormones while only in high school. He took in her bright smile, her soft, long hair, her kind eyes, the gentle curve of her lips, her tanned shoulders.

"You're amazing," he said softly.

"Thanks," Amanda said beaming. "I should get going here, last minute practice with Coach Goodrich."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"A little," she said shrugging. "It'd be nice to win the state title. Ohio is sending some scouts to watch, so it's kind of a big deal."

"You'll do great. I've always been your biggest fan."

"Except when we were twelve," Amanda said mischievously.

"Yeah, then I wanted to piss you off and beat your pants off," Jeremy said laughing. "Though, I had a massive crush on you. You were pretty hot stuff when you were twelve."

"Yeah, but you showed it by flipping my skirt and snapping my bra! Men," she said rolling her eyes, "Always about the boobs and butt."

"What can I say," Jeremy said chuckling.

"Even though you drove me crazy, I think I liked you too," she admitted shyly.

"Oh ho ho," Jeremy said smiling. "You mean all that time you were only half-heartedly slapping me away?"

"Oh, you," Amanda said giggling as she stood up. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you later."

Jeremy nodded. He then slowly got back up and walked back to the counter. He had no idea how tomorrow would go, but he hated himself for having to break Jessica's heart. Maybe he should get it over with tonight. He didn't think he could live with himself much longer if he didn't.

***

Elizabeth groaned and settled back against her pillows. It had been a long day at the House of Java. There had been a big arts festival all day down the street and they had had a steady stream of chaos since about ten. All Elizabeth wanted was a nice warm bath, a hot cup of tea, and a good book. And also for Conner to be anywhere but at his house tonight. Just as she was about to close her eyes she saw a scrap of paper on her desk. She grabbed for it and opened it up.

Rock Star called

She sighed at Conner's scrawl. What was his hang up? Was it really that difficult to take a message? She could be snuggling with Cody somewhere, or getting ready to snuggle with him, seeing as they were pre-snuggle. She suddenly felt a burst of energy and hoisted herself off the bed and stormed into Conner's room.

Conner was on his bed, back against the wall reading a paperback when she stormed in.

"What is this?" she burst. "I take it Cody called. This is his message?"

Conner raised an eyebrow. "Chill, Lizzie. It's not like he spilled his guts to me over the phone."

She sighed exasperated. "Did he have a message? Does he want me to call him back?" she demanded. She so did not have time for this.

Conner shrugged. "All he said was he'd talk to you soon. Maybe he made other plans," Conner said in a suggestive voice."

Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips. "What is your problem? Do you not want me to be happy? Do you want me to cry over you for the rest of the year, is that what you want?"

Conner snorted. "You can do better than a Chris Cornell wannabe."

"Conner, I've had a long day, I smell like coffee, I have flour on my clothes-"

Conner stood up and sauntered over to her. "You look fine, Liz. In fact you look incredible," he said softly.

Elizabeth's heart caught in her throat. Why did this guy have such an effect on her?

"Yeah, whatever, remember, you can't begrudge me a boyfriend. You dumped me remember?"

"Maybe I made a mistake."

She was floored. Conner never admitted that he made mistakes. She blushed. "Thanks for letting me know he called, I'll just," she said lamely.

As she tried to back towards the door, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.

"I've missed you," he said silkily. He touched her cheek, "the curve of you cheek, your flowery scent, your warmth."

"Oh," Elizabeth said, rooted to the spot. She knew she needed to leave now. She did not want to get sucked back into the Conner and Liz drama. But then, why could she move her feet?

Suddenly his lips were on hers, capturing them in a deep and passionate kiss. Elizabeth let out a small moan of pleasure. Not matter how wrong he was for her, he certainly made her crazy. His hands roamed up her back, pulling her towards him urgently. Before she knew what had happened, she could feel her white t-shirt being pulled over her head. Liz knew she needed to stop before she got out of hand, but she had never wanted someone so badly and her usually sharp mind was elsewhere, like on Conner's waist. She had never let a guy get this far, though not without setting her limits.

Conner's eyes widened as he took in her soft figure.

Suddenly, Liz heard the phone ring and was jolted back to reality. She quickly pulled her shirt down and looked anywhere but Conner. What the hell had she been thinking? Maybe she was just tired from a long day at work, she didn't know.

"Liz?" Conner said with some amusement, his green eyes bright. Liz had never seen him this open and relaxed, but she didn't know what to do. Technically, she was starting something with Cody and she didn't know if she wanted to travel that road again with Conner.

She let out some sort of lame squeak and mumble and then turn and fled back to her room. She grabbed her cell phone just before it flipped to voice mail.

"Hello?" she said breathless.

"Liz, hey! I was worried I was going to miss seeing you tonight."

"Cody?" Liz said tentatively, feeling a blush of embarrassment and shame in her cheeks.

"Who were you expecting?" he said laughing lightly.

"I, um, I'm not sure tonight…"

"Too bad," he said teasingly. I'm just pulling up into your driveway." He clicked off as Liz sputtered. Cody was coming here? Conner was here!

Liz flew around her room in a panic. She quickly brushed her hair, threw on her favorite pair of jeans and a baby blue t-shirt and then flew downstairs to grab the door before Conner did, which meant she almost knocked him down as he was coming downstairs as well.

Conner raised an eyebrow at her. Did anything ever faze him? "You need to go," she hissed. "Cody is here."

A full fledged smile formed on his face. "Go!" she hissed again as she flung open the door and gave Cody what she hoped was her best smile.

"Hey Liz!" he said brightly. "Practice was canceled tonight, and I thought we could hang out. I brought some movies and some subs," he said holding up a bag.

"Great," Liz said breathlessly. "I'm starving. But you know, we could go out…you know, a picnic or something."

Cody gave her an odd look. "Don't you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure," Liz said lamely. "Come on in."

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "You look great. You look just like Kristin Bell."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and she led him to the kitchen. "Let's grab some plates and some soft drinks and then we can head into the den."

"Are your parents here?" Cody was curiously.

"No, they're staying with my sister at one of my sister's friend's house. I'm staying here with Megan Sandborn. She's a sophomore." And her hot older brother she thought.

"How do you like that?" Cody asked as he unwrapped the subs and placed them on the plates.

Liz shrugged. "I miss Jess," was all she said. She really didn't feel like having a serious talk right now. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Conner popped out from behind the pantry, with a large bag of chips in his hand.

Cody shot Liz a questioning look. Liz felt her knees shake. She could not deal with this right now. There was no way Conner was going to make this easy on her.

"Cody, this is um…" she stammered.

"I know who it is," Cody said carefully. "Why is he here?"

Conner smiled over at Liz. "I think our Liz has been a bad girl," he said smoothly. Oh God, he's going to tell she panicked. "I'm Megan's half-brother, so I live here, too."

"Oh," Cody said, unsure of what to say.

"It's not a big deal," Liz quickly assured him. "I sometimes forget he's even here."

"Now Liz, I thought we meant more to each other than that," he said teasingly.

She turned bright red. "He's joking," she told Cody lamely.

"I figured," he said giving Liz an odd look.

"So no gigs tonight?" Conner asked Cody.

"Nah," he said. "Practice was canceled, our singer has a cold. We're playing at the Shack though next week. I'm pretty psyched. We haven't played there in a while."

Liz handed Cody of can of Coke. "So what movies do you have?" she asked brightly. She did not want to prolong this awkward threesome.

"Iron Man," he said excitedly. "Have you seen it?"

"No," Liz said, slightly disappointed. Superhero movies weren't really her thing.

"You're going to love it," he said smiling warmly at her. Liz couldn't believe she had even thought of messing around with Conner. Cody was so sweet stopping by with food and wanting to hang out with her. This was just what she needed.

Liz shot Conner a sweet look. "So, don't you have plans with Tia or Andy?"

"Nope," he said shaking his head. "Iron man's cool with me," as he walked into the den with his chips.

Liz shot Cody and apologetic look. This was going to be a long night.