Thanks to my beta Mike!
"Hey, Alicia, what's it going to be this week? I'm going to the video store after my baseball game this afternoon and coming right over."
They had begun this unspoken tradition of Friday's Movie Night. It was not planned, but every Friday they would rent a movie and watch it in Alicia's apartment. Her roommate usually spent Friday nights at her boyfriend's and that allowed them to watch it in peace. That's when their situation became (even) more unclear. During the movie they would lean into each other, caress each other's arm, hair, andback. And during those evenings they've had a lot of moments.
"Oh, sorry, Will. I forgot to tell you, but tonight I have a date."
"What?" He was in shock. When had that happened?! He came to talk to her intending to finally ask her out, but, apparently that was not the right moment once again. "Alicia Cavanaugh has a date? Since when do you date? Well, unless it's with the constitution and in that case, I don't think it's going to mind sharing you with me. We can study together."
She gave him the Alicia-death-stare. "No, it's an actual date. With a guy named Peter. I met him in that post-spring-break-party you dragged me to. He asked me out. I was going to decline, but then I thought of what you said about enjoying your junior year and having experiences before you get married. Plus, Owen was bugging me all spring break on me being the only college girl who was home with her high school brother studying. Telling me I should be in California joining a wet t-shirt contest and doing tequila shots."
"Wow, listen to you." He mocked.
"Hey, I'm not going to start sleeping around like some people, *cough*. It's just a date. It's not like I'm going to marry this guy. And it's not a waste of study time, since it's movie night and I wouldn't be studying anyway."
"Only this way you won't be able to enjoy the pleasure of my company. If you want you can come over afterwards and we can watch the movie at my place then. Well, unless your date is going to end tomorrow morning." He smiled maliciously.
"Will! I'm not even answering that!"
"C'mon Alicia. I've told you about my… reallyshort time relationships. When something's finally going on with you, you're not going to trust me?"
"It's not about that! There is not going to be anything to talk about. Not like you have; I'm a lady. And, Will, you can call them one-night-stands. My date is going to end, maybe, with a good night kiss. If everything goes well."
"And if it goes very well…"
Alicia simply rolled her eyes. Truth be told, she was a little disappointed with Will's reaction. Well, actually, with the lack of it. It was not like she was waiting for some big scene and a declaration of eternal love, but something. He was not even a little bugged. On the contrary, he was eager to hear about it! She may not have been able to read him very well, but she couldn't have been this wrong. The way they behaved towards each other; that was not how friends behaved. It was more than friend-like. She was not only going out with Peter to make Will jealous; she was really following his advice. But she would be lying if she said that she wasn't expecting something to happen. Well, actually something did happen. It proved to her that their relationship didn't go beyond friendship. Although, deep down, she didn't believe that either. A girl knows these things. Maybe he was not ready to give up his college-boy, fool-around life for her. Because he knew how she felt about his flings, how she was not that type of girl. And by being friends they had ruined the casual beginning of the relationship. If anything ever happened, it would already begin at a more serious level.
"So, speaking of spring break, how was yours? Sun, girls and booze?"
"Not really."
"What? That is too last year for you?"
He chuckled: "No, that is every year. No, this time I really got to see California. I went there on spring break for the last 4 years and that's the first time I was anywhere other than at a party, barbecue or club. I went sightseeing and to these small beaches with dolphins and all."
"Wow, listen to you! I'm betting you met a girl and made all these romantic outings with her. What's her name?"
"Why does it always have to be about a girl? I did it all by myself. I went to this party on the first day, but found it all… boring. A bunch of people getting drunk, playing stupid booze games and girls hitting on me, whose names I wouldn't know in the morning; if I had learned them in the first place. So I decided to do something different this time. And I enjoyed it a lot. I even studied a bit after dinner. Because I could actually hear you telling me that we had all these exams coming up after the break." He said and smiled, swallowing down the 'I missed you' he wanted to add.
Alicia looked stunned.
When she didn't say anything, he asked: "Alicia, are you ok? You look weird…"
"Who are you and what did you do to my best friend?"
Will started to laugh. "Nothing, he's here." He gave her his trade-mark boyish smile. "Now, do you believe I'm Will Gardner?"
"You're growing up!" She shrieked and hugged him very girl-like.
The truth was he had tried to go to a party in San Diego with his college buddies, like the years before, but this time he really did find it boring. This drunk wet t-shirted blond came up to him and started to, well, tried to talk to him, she was really drunk, but the whole time he was thinking about Alicia. What she might be doing, probably studying, and how he'd rather do that with her than hear this unknown blond babble about how much she enjoys the gym. And when this other nameless blonde came up talking about med school, a more interesting topic, and not quite as drunk as the last one, he still could only remember their movie nights. How they would discuss the serious films for hours, laugh a lot during the more funny movies, or even feel and look awkward during the romantic ones.
"Either that or we've traded bodies, because I'm going on a date and you're studying on spring break." She laughed.
"I seriously doubt that, because if that was the case, I don't think I would be going out with some guy named Peter."
"True. Or… Maybe you're coming out. That's why you didn't hook up with some wet-shirtedwet t-shirted girl in California."
"You're going to torment me with this forever won't you?"
"Of course! You studied on spring break; on your trip!"
"Well, in this case, I lied. I actually spent the whole week drunk and going from one wet t-shirt contest to another, picking up every girl I could. And I only told you that I studied so you wouldn't bug me about the exams that are coming up."
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You already gave yourself up. You're not going to hear the end of it! Oh shoot! I'm already late for class. I have to go. See you tonight. I'm coming over afterwards."