Chapter Twelve: Twelve Minutes Past Eleven
While Caleb was in the bathroom Vanessa, Kim and Emily went up to the counter to get the birthday boy a cupcake. Reid was left alone at the table with Sarah.
"Reid, I need a HUGE favor."
Reid took a deep breath. The last "huge" favor Sarah had asked him for involved a seedy tattoo parlor in a not so great part of Boston. Despite his protests, she insisted "Thor" was the only person she trusted enough to ink Caleb's name on her body. Reluctantly, he agreed to go with her.
Reid learned three things that day.
Number 1: Sarah has no sense of direction.
Number 2: Parallel parking in downtown Boston is a bitch.
Number 3: Thor's primary occupation was not tattoo artist.
Up until that day he'd often wondered 'What if?' Meaning what if Sarah had chosen him over Caleb. He'd answered the question many times with various fantasies, most of which involved Sarah coming out of the women's showers wearing only a bath towel, like she had on the first night they met.
But after spending close to an entire day with Sarah, he realized that aside from tattoos and Harvard, they had absolutely nothing in common. In spite of that, if she wasn't dating one of his best friends, he'd still have sex with her in a heartbeat. Because let's face it: Sarah Wenham was hot.
"It doesn't involve Thor," she added seeing the look on Reid's face.
"I'm listening," Reid said with a sigh.
"Since Caleb and I are spending the weekend at his house for his birthday," she began. "I was hoping you would hang out with Vanessa while we're gone."
"Define 'hang out'," Reid's eyebrows slanted inward.
"I don't know," Sarah shrugged. "Have lunch with her. Watch movies. She doesn't really have any friends here yet."
"Looks like she just made some," Reid pointed to the three girls giggling at the counter.
"All I'm asking is that you make sure she doesn't spend the whole weekend alone in our room. Can you do that for me?"
"I kinda had plans already," Reid lied. Being tethered to Vanessa all weekend wouldn't bode well when he was trying to pick up girls. An image of Ashley in a tiny cheerleading skirt popped into his mind.
"Take her with you," Sarah suggested.
"Sarah…," Reid whined.
"Please," Sarah begged.
"What's in it for me?" Reid asked, knowing that no matter what she said he would give in to her.
"I'll owe you one," Sarah smiled.
"You already owe me one," Reid replied.
Just then Kim returned with a giant cookie the size of dinner plate.
"What do you think?" Kim asked showing them her handiwork. Caleb's name was spelled out in rainbow sprinkles on top of vanilla icing.
"They didn't have any cupcakes, so we had to improvise," Emily explained
"Is that chocolate chip?" Reid asked.
"Yep!" Vanessa beamed as though she made it herself.
"It's perfect!" Sarah clapped her hands together. "Caleb loves chocolate chip cookies!"
"No, he doesn't," Reid looked at Sarah. "He won't eat anything chocolate." They'd been dating over a year - How could she not know that?
In middle school, Danvers fought a losing battle with a serious case of acne. He went to every dermatologist in a hundred mile radius and tried every drug at the Ipswich pharmacy. After almost a year, they finally figured out that his problem wasn't acne. He was having an allergic reaction to cocoa, which wasn't surprising considering his (and Pogue's) addiction to Reeses Peanut Butter Cups at the time.
"He ate the brownies I made," Sarah said indignantly.
"No, Tyler ate the brownies," Reid corrected.
"What about my triple-layer chocolate cake?" Sarah crossed her arms over her chest.
"Uhh, that fell on the floor, so we had to throw it out," Reid fibbed. It was the worst desert he'd ever eaten. Cake should not taste salty.
"I know Caleb eats chocolate." Sarah became even more defensive. "He ate the Hershey Kisses I gave him on Valentine's Day."
Reid held his tongue.
Caleb wasn't one to kiss and tell. However, even he couldn't keep secret what took place in his bedroom on Valentine's Day. He'd made them all swear they would never mention to anyone (especially Sarah) that he'd given them a very detailed account of the events.
Who knew Sarah could be so…freaky.
"Just messing with ya," Reid conceded hastily as he saw Caleb coming out of the bathroom. "Caleb loves chocolate."
That Friday night approximately 6pm
"So, what did you want to do tonight?" Vanessa asked Reid as she scrolled down the Campus Events webpage on her laptop.
"Whatever," Reid shrugged as he batted the cap of his Coke back and forth across the floor.
Caleb and Sarah had already left for Ipswich.
Reid had the room to himself for the weekend.
But instead, here he was, babysitting Sarah's socially-challenged roommate.
"Maybe we could go into Boston?" Vanessa suggested. "There's a bunch of coffee shops, local merchants… and there's a small community theater not too far away."
"That's nice," Reid replied automatically. His attention was more on the bottle cap than the girl sitting across from him. Vanessa was one of those girls you would describe as "very intelligent," with a "really great personality." In other words, Vanessa wasn't very attractive.
"There's a show at 8pm," she continued. "Should I order tickets?"
Reid pulled out his wallet and tossed it toward her. Despite his alleged reputation, he did try to be a gentleman – most of the time.
The keys on the laptop clicked as Vanessa stared intently at the screen.
Reid stared intently at the hem of Sarah's duvet. There was a tiny string hanging down. Reid inhaled then exhaled hard, watching as it flapped against the force of his breath.
Reaching out he wrapped the white thread around his finger and yanked, attempting to break it off. Instead he pulled out more of the hem.
He sighed and pulled again, successfully snapping it at the seam.
He unwrapped the string from around his finger and stretched it between his hands. Then he brought it to his face, pressing it hard against his nose, then his mouth before finally using it to pin his lower lip against his chin.
"Am I that boring?"
He looked over at Vanessa, who sat up on her bed watching him from over her shoulder.
"I know the only reason you're here is because of Sarah."
Reid knew this was the moment when he was supposed to say something nice. He was supposed to assure her that he was here of his own free will and not because Sarah had promised him unlimited use of Caleb's mustang the following weekend.
Instead all that came out was a low "Yeah".
"Well, I have a lot of reading to catch up on, so you're free to go," Vanessa tossed the wallet at him and returned to her laptop. "The show was sold out anyway."
"Uh, are you sure?"
"Go. Enjoy yourself," Vanessa replied distractedly as she began reading something on the glowing screen in front of her.
Reid shoved the leather billfold in his back pocket and got up from the floor. He had his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave when he found himself saying the unthinkable…
"Maybe we could go into town and get coffee…,"
Reid sat on the cramped shuttle cursing at himself. He should have just opened the door and left. But no, he tried to do the right thing and now he was paying the price.
According to Vanessa, the best way to get into the city was via public transportation. The University provided a free shuttle to students into Harvard Square and from there one could get on the T (the subway) and get into Boston.
Whether he drove or was a passenger, Reid was used to going everywhere via automobile. Using MBTA (Massachusettes Bay Transport Authority) was a very new experience and Reid was far out of his comfort zone.
Vanessa sat next to him with a pile of tri-folded maps and MBTA time schedules. He offered up a silent prayer that the night would go by very quickly.
Between the shuttle and waiting for the subway, it took over an hour before they reached Boston. Reid followed Vanessa as she navigated through the underground tunnels eventually getting them back up to ground level.
Vanessa stared in awe at the city around her. The buildings and shops and hoards of people made her jaw drop.
They were blocking the stairwell, and after more than one person uttered a few choice words in their direction, Reid took Vanessa's hand and pulled her forward out of the way.
They walked through the crowded streets. Vanessa was as wide-eyed as a tourist, holding up her phone and snapping pictures.
"Jacksonville is nothing like this," she told Reid.
Every few feet she would stop to look at something, be it a window display or someone on the street. Every time she stopped, he had to stop and then the people behind them had to stop (a few people didn't stop and just bumped into them). Reid was getting more and more annoyed by the second.
Then
Vanessa pulled him into a bead store.
Yes. A bead store.
An entire store filled with nothing but beads.
Reid had no idea such a place existed.
As she rummaged through containers of the colored glass, Reid snuck off into a corner and called Tyler.
"You will never guess where I am," Reid said to Tyler as he answered the phone.
"Jail?" Tyler laughed.
"I wish," Reid snorted. "I'm in a bead store."
"What's a bee store?"
"No. Bead. B-E-A-D."
"Oh," Tyler laughed. "Are you buying Caleb beads for his birthday?"
"No," Reid peeked over at a display to check on Vanessa who was now stringing beads onto a necklace. He turned his back and began ranting to Tyler about his evening so far.
"As much as I love hearing your drama - I have to go," Tyler said after several minutes.
"Why? What are you doing?" Reid asked, slightly miffed that Tyler was blowing him off. He heard several voices in the background then Tyler began talking to someone else.
"Sorry, last minute details," Simms apologized as he got back on the phone. "We're going to a strip club."
"WHAT!" Reid exclaimed.
"Yeah, the guy across the hall's brother is a bouncer at Club Naughty. Supposedly we all get free lap dances – Right man?" There were a few more voices and then some laughter. Reid could almost hear the fist bumping as well.
"Club Naughty? Lap Dances?" Reid whimpered. He almost wanted to cry.
"Bet you wish you were at Columbia right now."
More than anything. Reid thought to himself. Maybe next weekend he would take a road trip to New York.
Official OC Counter:
1. Vanessa Gardella - Sarah's roommate
2. Sara - From Calculus
3. Stacey – Women's Swim Team Captain
4. Ashley - cheerleader
5. Adam Abbot – Aaron's older brother
6. Kim Wilkinson – From English class
7. Emily Hawke – Kim Wilkinson's roommate
