"The One" – Part 58
Summary and additional notes in part 1.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I'm posting a bit early because I'm going to see X-Men! (woo-hoo!) There's more Fiona backstory in this chapter. Enjoy :D
This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's profile for details!)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!
-oOo-
"What will be?" the young guy behind the counter asked them. He had dark hair and wore glasses.
Fiona looked at Gretchen.
"I'll have chocolate with raspberries and granola," she told him. He nodded.
"And you Miss?" he asked Fiona.
"I'll have mango with coconut and milk chocolate," she told him.
"Good choice!" Gretchen complimented her as they moved down the line, to the waiting area.
"Why thank you!" Fiona laughed.
-oOo-
"On one hand I admire his dedication to his craft, but turning down a $50,000 a year job because you 'need space to write' sounds ludicrous! Especially since he was living paycheck to paycheck working temp jobs!" Gretchen stated.
Fiona nodded in agreement. "It would have been more practical to take the job for six months or so, just to save up money," she pointed out.
"Exactly!" Gretchen chuckled. She was telling Fiona about the date she went on last week. Marcel was funny, witty, and attractive. He was also a great conversationalist with interesting things to say. However, after three dates she realized wanted someone more secure. He lived in the moment and didn't plan too far ahead. While exciting, the idea of a partner who was keen to go off backpacking somewhere at the drop of a hat wasn't all that appealing at this stage in her life.
"He didn't want to be tied down," Gretchen concluded. "You dated a writer before, right?"
"Yeah, Daphne," Fiona responded. She was a fashion writer.
Gretchen shook her head. That had been a match made in heaven! "No, there was a guy right? Name started with an 's'?"
"Stuart?" Fiona questioned.
"Yeah, that's the one!" Gretchen confirmed.
Fiona slightly frowned. They dated for a short while when she was in college. He had been a literature major at NYU, and turned out to be a major prick who suffered from fragile ego syndrome. "Ugh! What about him?"
"Wasn't he kind of temperamental too? He was obsessive about having time to write, right?"Gretchen asked.
Fiona shrugged. "Amongst others failings," she said dryly.
"Ouch!" Gretchen laughed. Stuart had been one of two guys Fiona dated besides Adam. Besides Beth, her last three relationships had been with women. Despite being bi herself, Gretchen found it hard to picture Fiona with a boyfriend after all these years! But from Fiona told her, and the pictures posted on FaceRange, what she had with Adam was real.
Fiona grinned. "Lesson learned! Anyone who needs to be coddled is not the right person for me."
They both laughed.
"Do you want to get some more frozen yogurt?" Fiona asked. They had both finished their cups fifteen minutes ago.
Gretchen gave her a look. "Are you trying to fatten me up?" she joked.
Fiona scoffed. "The chocolate flavor is low fat!" she reminded her. Gretchen was always carrying on about her weight. Fiona didn't believe she had to. She felt her friend was a healthy weight. There was no way she would classify her as chubby or overweight.
Gretchen considered her words. "You do have a point…"
"We can go now, or wait until Adam gets here." Fiona glanced at her phone. "He should be here any minute."
Gretchen smiled. "The man of the hour."
Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Apparently so."
"How's the no sex thing going?" Gretchen inquired.
Fiona chuckled. It seemed like everyone she and Adam knew, knew about that! But she figured it was her own fault for having loose lips about it. "We have five days to go! It's rough but we're managing. We ended our sleepovers because they got too hard… literally," she giggled.
Gretchen playfully shook her head. "And Beth thinks you two have been fucking all this time!"
Fiona stiffened and Gretchen regretted her words.
"Right, touchy subject…" she backtracked.
Fiona waved her off. "No, it's alright." Many of their mutual friends would be thinking along the same lines, which was annoying! But she knew that Gretchen knew the truth of their situation. "It's just… I would never do that. I loved her, you know."
"I know," Gretchen responded. "She's just… trying to make sense of the suddenness. I mean, it was sudden."
"Yeah, it was," Fiona conceded.
"And you guys had a dry patch right before," Gretchen continued.
"It's not like I didn't try! We just had… issues," Fiona asserted. One of their last arguments had been about their living situation. While they both loved the townhouse, Beth didn't want them to renew the lease there. She broached the subject of them moving out together and getting their own proper place. It wasn't the first time she had brought it up, but Fiona was resistant. She had been fine with the way things were.
Thinking about it now made her feel guilty, because she and Adam had been dating for less than a month and she was already considering it.
"Hey Fiona," a familiar deep voice greeted her.
She looked up and instantly smiled. Adam had just reached their table. He had gotten a fresh hair cut today. It was cropped short on the sides and slightly longer on the top. He looked great, wearing a gray t-shirt and long cargo shorts.
"Adam!" she said happily as she stood up. They shared a quick kiss.
Gretchen looked on with a small smile.
Fiona turned towards Gretchen. "This is Adam," she introduced them.
"I figured as much!" Gretchen quipped. Fiona's bright smile and giddiness were confirmation enough. Plus the way she looked at him made it obvious that she was head over heels in love.
"Hi Gretchen. It's nice to meet you," Adam said as they shook hands.
She took the opportunity to study him briefly. There were no doubts about it, Adam was a good looking guy! She had seen photos of him on FaceRange, but there was a quality the cameras couldn't quite capture. Physically, he had a lean yet muscular build. He was quite masculine, even more so than Fiona's other male partners, which Gretchen found interesting. He seemed like a jock whereas in the past most of Fiona's partners, female and male, had been creative types.
"Likewise," she told him. "I've heard lots about you."
-oOo-
Adam looked at his girlfriend, unconvinced. They were holding hands as they walked down the hallway towards his apartment.
"I'm the homewrecker," he insisted.
She snorted. "You're being ridiculous!" she refuted.
He raised an eyebrow. "Am I?" he said in teasing manner. He was a little nervous about meeting Fiona's mutual friends with Beth next week. He felt it was going to awkward. At least with Emily they didn't share any actual friends in common!
She slowed to a stop and tugged on his hand. "Come here!"
He looked at her with a lopsided grin, before coming close. They both leaned in and shared a lingering kiss.
"They're going to love you because I love you," she told him after they pulled away. They were going to the dinner party to celebrate Gretchen's book, but whether or not they would attend the launch was still up in the air.
Adam smiled at her, but he knew life wasn't always that simple. "We'll see…" He fished his key out of his pocket and opened the door.
.
tbc
A/N: Which frozen yogurt sounded more appealing – Gretchen or Fiona's? Lol. And hmm… Their conversation provided an interesting look into Fiona's Ex files… We didn't get much insight into what Gretchen thinks of Adam, aside from her first impressions (haha), but I guess we'll find out her opinion in later chapters!
Reviews rock! :D
In the next chapter… There's a time jump to Wednesday! (See, I promised I wouldn't draw this out too long ;-) Adam and Fiona do lunch! And he shares some unexpected news… Plus we'll hear from a fan favorite :D
Another note: Dude, 400 reviews? Insane! Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate every single one! It's nice to go back and see what you guys thought of previous chapters. Thanks again!
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To the folks I can't directly PM:
I3FADAM - Thanks for the kind words! It was kind of a cameo (lol), but we'll see Gretchen and Adam interacting later on.
FADAMisMYlife - I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter! Thanks for review #400! Yeah, it's crazy! When I started it, I didn't think this story would get this long (we're almost up to chapter 60!) or would get so many responses :D