"Hey, Alex," Slater greeted with a somewhat sad voice as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets.
Alex who had been pacing the floor rehearsing what she was going to tell Slater, spun around to face him, "Hey," she replied in the same tone.
"Can we talk?" Slater asked lifting his shoulders as he took in a deep breath.
"We can talk. Yes, I would like to talk. To you. About things," Alex answered awkwardly with a stage smile on her face.
Slater removed one hand from his pockets and motioned to the sofa. Alex took a seat on one end, while Slater sat on the other.
"So," Alex began ringing her hands together nervously.
"So," Slater echoed releasing huge sigh.
Alex looked down at her hands as she began, "Slater, I'm sorry for reading your letter out loud to everyone and embarrassing you. It was a selfish, stupid thing to do."
"Yeah."
Alex glanced at him a little surprised at his answer. "Although I did read it very well," she joked.
"Oh, yeah, of course," Slater crinkled his eyebrows in agreement.
"Alex, I didn't run out on you because you embarrassed me. I expect you to embarrass me by doing crazy things," he shrugged, "I ran out because I had to think. And, I think it's time we had a talk about Jessie."
Alex nodded.
"I'm not much on reminiscing or gushing about my feelings," he licked his lips and rubbed his hands on his pants legs. "Jessie was the most serious girlfriend I've ever had and one of my closest friends."
"So, you went steady?"
"I guess you could call it that. Neither of us was big on the term. We were on a lot, but we were off sometimes. At the end of our senior year it seemed like we were on again. But we decided to call it quits since we were going to be so far away when school started. So, we did."
"Now, Jessie's having second thoughts. Are you?" Alex asked looking down at her folded hands.
"Well, yeah, I guess I am," Slater replied nervously.
"You should go to New York, then," Alex said choking back tears. "Look, Slater, I don't need halfway love," she said softly.
Slater looked at her a little confused, "Halfway love?"
"Yeah. You know, where you stay with me, but you're always wondering what it would be like with Jessie. I want the total package. There are plenty of guys who would love to date me," she told him loudly as she lifted her chin with pride.
"I know that," Slater assured her. He got up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll see you when I get back."
When Alex didn't say anything, Slater walked quietly back to his room glancing back at her a few times on his short walk.
Alex sat staring down at her shoes with a frown across her face. When she heard the door close, she softened, "But you're the one I want to love to date me."