Distant Hearts

A Test

DVDs were left on the table, a half finished bowl of popcorn eaten and two cans of juice were drunk and you are now officially pooped and weren't even thinking about cleaning anything up. You just wanted to go to bed. The rest could wait until tomorrow. Most times when Sara stayed with you, you had a great time. You watched movies, you gossiped about the latest in Disney cartoons that she still loved to watch, you blasted the teen pop music and danced like you hadn't a care in the world but this time around it was a different story. You started out good, but then Sara got grumpy and you were lost after that. Once again, proving your point that you were so not ready for any sort of family anytime soon although you frequently dreamt of one. Addy had picked Sara up about an hour ago and you silently hoped that she had gotten Mark's clone to finally go to sleep, as you didn't have any luck in doing so and you were now so wound up yourself, sleep was the last thing on your mind even though you wanted to slip into a slumber so deep that you wouldn't wake up until late afternoon tomorrow. But Summer, had other plans.

Your cell phone blasted to alert you that she was calling and you groaned before answering. Sure, she was your friend, but this late…err, early in the morning, she better be on her death bed, and you tell her that. "Name one of three things that constitutes you calling me this early and it can not have the name Seth in the first sentence."

"Okay, um, how about a test?"

"Test?" You question her and against your better judgement, start to clean up a bit, pulling the glasses into your arms and taking them to the kitchen.

"Test. Big test. Test that will tell me my destiny as Mrs. Seth Cohen."

"Did you not hear the words, 'Cannot include Seth' come out of my mouth?"

"I did, but I need someone to talk to me while I wait."

"Summer…"

"Lindsay, you graduated in from Northwestern University with a GPA of 4.0, you should be able to figure this out," a long pause from both your ends occupied the line when you finally put two and two together.

"Oh my God, that test."

"Yes, that test. So, talk, you have three minutes and counting."

"Okay, on topic a bit, Mark and Addy are having another girl."

"Really? That's wonderful. Seth got another job."

"Really? Summer that's great. That is great, right?"

"Yeah, it is. It gives us a lot more time together. But new job also entails that he's always on call. That part I could do without, but it's still good. You heard from Ryan lately?"

You knew she was going to bring this up. It had been two months since the ball, since you took your three friends into The Whispering Gallery at MSI and two months since he had kissed you. It was one of the greatest kisses that you had ever received and wished it would've lasted forever always. You wished you would've kissed back a bit more and maybe even asked him to stay. But it was fast for you and you didn't want to put your faith in something that you were still skeptical on in the first place. "I got a couple of emails, that's about it."

"You should call him. No, seriously, you should. I haven't seen him this week but I know Ryan, Linds, and you can always tell when he's starting to fall for someone and all that stuff. He really likes you and I'm not talking just like you, I'm talking like you, like you."

You let out a shallow breath and take in Summer's advice. You want to call him, are actually itching to call him but don't want to seem so eager to start anything that would be long distance. You had only just reconnected again and it was going good…up until he kissed you here, in your apartment. You look around the almost clean living room now, still holding onto the phone and remembering that night like it was yesterday. You were still in that gold dress, your hair down from the twist you had and smiling as he told you his dream of owning his own firm someday. He had big dreams and you could only imagine them coming true.

"How's that three minutes coming?" You ask, blinking and looking away from the couch. "Summer, still there?"

"Still here. I don't think I can do this, Linds."

"Yes, you can. You're Summer Roberts-Cohen, the most amazing woman in Newport with both brains, boobs and sass. You can do this," you try to reassure her, only wishing that you were closer in proximity than a phone line.

"I'm scared," she tells you honestly and honestly, you're scared yourself.

"So am I," you admit, walking into your room and sitting on the bed. "Ready?"

"Ready," she says and you hear her pick up the test that had been sitting on the edge of the vanity. You hear the hesitation in her voice and you realize that you're both in the same boat. You're both not ready….not just yet.