Jasmine and Willie were like ocean animals frolicking under water, and they finally came up for air to say goodbye.
“It was nice meeting you, too,” said Jasmine.
“Have a good night,” added Willie.
Jo was surprised they'd even heard her say goodbye or found it possible to tear their tongues away from one another long enough to speak.
Meghan rolled her eyes. She should've known it would be a bad idea to ask Willie to go on a double date. She had thought that it was something that Willie couldn't possibly screw up, but there she was taking Alex to the theater with her early, then making out with Jasmine when she could've been taking her home. Both times she was with Jo when she could've avoided it if only Willie hadn't messed things up. But she couldn't put all the blame on her. After all, she had been the one that was naive and accepted Jo's invite to begin with.
When she figured out Jo wanted more than friendship, she should've said something. Instead, she allowed Jo to continue to think it was a date. Now she was going to drive Jo home, and she prayed that Jo wouldn't try to kiss her goodnight.
Meghan drove her home as promised and not much was said in the car during the duration of the short trip. Meghan found that she couldn't stop thinking about Alex. She was captivated by her smile, her laughter, her eyes, basically everything. She wondered if Alex felt the same way about her. There was something in the way she looked at her, the way she smiled. She wondered what her thoughts had been of her. Did she trace the contours of her face and lips with her eyes the way she did with her? Did she yearn to kiss her tenderly to feel her soft lips against her own? Did she wish she could stay up all night with her just so she could get to know her better? All were good questions, and for now, all would remain unanswered.
Chapter Five
“I had a great time,” said Meghan. She was being completely honest. The part she failed to tell Jo was that she hadn't wanted the night to be a date. She only wanted Jo's friendship.
“Before you go, there's something I want to say.”
Meghan took her hands off the steering wheel where her hands had been firmly placed at ten and two, then rested them in her lap while she half turned toward Jo. She wondered what was coming next. Was she going to ask her out again? Ask to kiss her? She felt her anxiety building up again and started to squirm in her seat. She crossed her legs, uncrossed them, then crossed her feet at the ankles.
Jo cleared her throat. “I had an amazing time with you, Meghan.” She paused for a moment. Meghan could tell that something was on Jo's mind. Her eyes began to water.
“What's wrong?” asked Meghan.
Jo could hardly make eye contact with Meghan. “I don't really know the whole story, and I doubt you'll tell me, but you like her, don't you?”
“Who?” asked Meghan, knowing she was talking about Alex. She wondered if Willie had spilled the beans about her interest in Alex and she was already ready to call her and give her a piece of her mind for making things difficult. But Joanna's response surprised her.
“Willie. You like your friend Willie.”
Meghan didn't mean to make Jo feel bad, but she couldn't help but laugh. “Willie?! Oh, my gawd! You think I like Willie? Heck no, I don't like her. I don't have a romantic interest in her whatsoever. Why would you think that?”
The tears fell from Jo's face as she cried softly. “I don't know. You acted different after we ran into her. You were all nervous and sweaty, and you seemed upset that she and Jasmine were making out.”
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that Willie and me are childhood friends. I don't see her like that. I never have. I just wanted her to drive me home is all, and she couldn't because she was preoccupied with a girl she hadn't seen in months. She irks me sometimes.”
“Okay, then at least tell me if you're not interested in me. I can take it. I know something's amiss about tonight. I just couldn't put my finger on it. But after your friends showed up to the movies, you weren't the same girl.”
Meghan sighed. She wanted to tell her about Alex. Deep down she knew she wanted to get to know her, but the thought of breaking Jo's heart was unfathomable. She had been so nice to her all evening, and all Jo did was like her. She hadn't hurt her feelings or been disrespectful in any way. Heck, she hadn't even crossed any boundaries or tried to hold her hand or kiss her. She couldn't find it within herself to break Jo's heart by telling her that she liked someone else.
“I don't know what you're talking about. I was just surprised to see them there. I'll see you at work tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay, if you say so.” Jo grabbed the handle to open the door, stepped out and walked toward her house. She waved goodbye just as she walked in the door. She watched Meghan drive away and wondered if she was really feeling sick or if she had just feigned an illness to get rid of her.
Meghan, on the other hand, truly did have an upset stomach but, nonetheless, turned on her cellphone as soon as she could to read her messages from Willie to see if she had anything to say about Alex, but was surprised to find a message from Alex in her email.
“Hey, I hope you don't mind that I messaged you. Willie keeps saying that you and I are supposed to meet and hang out, but every time I see you it seems like you're with someone else. If you're not into me, let me know. I'd really like to meet you and get to know you. Write back or call me sometime 555-1228. If I don't hear from you, I guess I'll know my answer. Alex.”
Meghan quickly read over Willie's messages, and it was what she suspected, Willie had given her email to Alex without asking her. How else would she have gotten it? She wondered.
As she read her text messages from Willie, it was confirmed. There was a barrage of text messages from Willie. Pick up your phone. I'm calling you. Alex wants your number or your email address. Is it okay if I give it out? I'm sorry about tonight. I took Jasmine home. Alex really liked you. She thinks you don't like her. Third time's a charm. Let's try to get you to meet up again. Call me back when you get this. The phone was on vibrate and buzzed at least a dozen times as the incoming messages alerted her before it finally stopped. Meghan was unsure if she should speak to Willie first or if she should call Alex. She stared at her phone for a moment, then called Willie.
As soon as Willie answered the phone, Meghan blurted, “What's going on? Why'd you give my number out?”
Willie raised her voice in frustration. “Why didn't you write back to me? I was texting you. Geezus, Alex had all kinds of questions, and I didn't know what to say!”
Meghan sighed. “I know. I had my phone off. I just got all your messages.”
“Technically, I gave your email out. I didn't give her your number.”
Meghan was upset, but not entirely. After all, she did want to stay connected with Alex. She sighed once more. “It's basically the same. I still got notified on my phone. And you didn't even ask me.”
“I thought you'd be happy. She likes you, and you like her, right? I shouldn't have to be the middleman in all this. Maybe that's why things keep falling apart. You should talk to her and make arrangements to meet. No more double dates.”
Meghan sighed. “You're right. I need to talk to her. I want to explain everything.”
“I wouldn't. Just let it go. I didn't know what to say, so I told her that you and Jo were just co-workers. If you keep trying to explain things, it's going to make you look guilty like you're more than friends.”
“Then what am I supposed to say? That I forgot she and I had a date?”
Willie laughed. “No, just tell her you were hanging out with a friend, and you didn't realize she was going to pick the same movie that we were going to see at the late showing. That's kind of what happened. If we had gone to the Arcade Brigade first like we wanted, we would have been at the theater at midnight to see the last showing of King Kong.”
“I suppose that's what I have to say. I have no other excuse for being there.”
“Are you going to call her? Can you call her on three-way, so
I can listen?” Willie giggled.
“No, what are we twelve?”
Willie groaned. “Oh. You're no fun.”
“I'll just talk to you tomorrow. I'm going to phone her now before I lose my nerve. I hope she's still awake.”
“Of course, she is. She just texted me and said you haven't called.” Willie laughed.
“Okay. Goodnight then.” Meghan hung up the line. Willie was still laughing when the call was disconnected.
Chapter Six
Meghan stared nervously at the phone number in the email before entering it into her phone and pushing the green button to call. I'm actually calling her, she thought. I've never actually made the first move before. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as Alex answered the phone.
“Hello?” answered Alex. She hadn't wanted to seem so eager, but she had answered it midway between the first ring even stopped. She and Willie had both changed their cellphone ringtones to an old-fashioned home telephone ringing, and it had been a game between them. They each said a call was important by the number of rings that were allowed. The fewer the rings, the more important a caller was. If it was a bill collector, of course, they rarely answered the phone. If it was a girl they were truly interested in, they didn't want to appear too anxious or desperate, so they tried to wait at least two to three full rings before answering. Alex didn't care about that silly game at the present moment. All she cared about was that Meghan had returned her phone call. And seeming desperate or not by answering on a half ring really hadn't even been a thought that had popped into her mind.
Meghan's voice sounded somewhat shaky. “Hi. I got your message.”
Alex felt as if she wanted to jump up and down, but tried to keep calm. “Yeah? I'm glad you called.” She took a deep breath and sighed.
Meghan grinned. “I thought maybe I should explain.”
“Oh no. Should I be sitting down for this?” Alex didn't want to reveal that she had been pacing back and forth on eggshells wondering if Meghan was going to return her message or call her, but she was still standing, and if this was going to be bad news, she thought it'd be better if she was sitting. She sat down anyway before Meghan responded.
“No, I don't think so. The thing is. I think there was just some sort of misunderstanding. I really did want to meet you, but I had already made plans to hang out with a friend from work.”
“She's just a friend? I got the impression that you were dating. Then Willie mentioned that you both went to see the stars at Make Out Point...” Alex's voice was cut short as Meghan interrupted.
“It's Lookout Place.”
“Oh, right. They changed the name.”
Meghan giggled. “I think it's always been called Lookout Place. That's what I was told anyway.”
“I'm not sure. I just know that it was known for being a place where lovers go to make out. I just assumed you were seeing her. Jo, was it?”
“Yes, her name's Jo, but we're not lovers. We work together.” She hadn't wanted to go into detail, but found herself wanting to dig herself out of the hole she felt she had fallen into. She sighed. “What happened was that she invited me out, and I had assumed that it was just for a friendly outing. I really didn't know she was interested in me until Willie pointed out that inviting me out to go star gazing was typically something you do with girls you're interested in. By then though, I had already said yes and felt obligated to go out with her even though I didn't consider it a date.”
Alex cleared her throat. “You might not have considered it a date, but how do you know she didn't?”
“My guess is she did. I didn't make that clear. I didn't know how to let her down easy. I was going to see her early and show up to the Arcade Brigade or the movie theater's late showing to meet you, Willie, and Jasmine afterward. I hadn't expected to run into you there, and I'm sorry that it looked bad or if it sounds bad.”
“It kind of does. It sounds like you had two dates in one night or tried to plan it that way, but it didn't go as planned.”
“I know that it seems that way, but I swear that I wasn't interested in her. Honest. You're the one I wanted to meet.”
“I was?” asked Alex surprised. She suddenly felt tongue tied. “I mean, I am?”
Meghan thought it was adorable that Alex seemed so much at a loss for words.
“I've wanted to talk to you for a year.”
“A year?” asked Alex.
“Don't you remember we met a year ago? We went fishing with Willie and Melanie.”
“Has it been a year already?” Alex put her feet up on her bed after kicking off her shoes. She felt more at ease since Meghan had expressed interest. She no longer felt as if she was going to explode with anxiety. “I guess Willie told me a bit about your relationship with Melanie and she said you weren't happy with her. It was her idea to have us meet, but when you showed up with her, I thought maybe you were more happy than she thought you were.”
“I think I thought things would work themselves out.”
“They did, didn't they? If you think about it, you were probably both unhappy, but sort of stuck in a relationship of convenience. They worked themselves out because you're both in better places now than you were with each other.”
“I suppose you're right. I hadn't thought about it like that.”
Alex was glad Meghan understood what she was trying to say. “It helps to see things from another person's perspective.”
“I think so. I'm better off without her.”
“So maybe you and I could do something?”
Meghan's eyes lit up as she spoke. “Like what? And when?”
Alex sat up in bed and spoke excitedly. “Now. How about now? The night is still young. We can still have that date.”
“Right now? What did you have in mind?”
Alex began to put her sneakers back on. “A ghost hunt. How would you feel about going to explore somewhere haunted? I have a couple of digital recorders, and we can try to capture some voices.”
Meghan was apprehensive. “Ghosts?”
“I promise it'll be fun,” offered Alex. She was already standing in front of the mirror trying to comb her hair.
Meghan wasn't much interested in ghosts, but the thought of spending some time alone with Alex and doing something that she enjoyed overjoyed her. She had never imagined herself going on any sort of ghost adventure, but she had seen plenty of ghost programs on television. She felt nervous anticipation about seeing Alex again, but she loved that Alex was so anxious to spend time with her.
“Okay, come pick me up. I live on Crystal Cove Drive. 4166 is the house number. Do I need to bring anything?”
“Just your sense of adventure. And maybe a crucifix if you're religious.” Alex laughed.
“That's not funny. Are we expecting to get possessed, have our heads turn around, and spit out pea soup? I don't know any priests or have anyone to shout 'The power of Christ compels you!'”
Alex laughed. “No, we're going to an old cathedral. The church grounds used to be a place of battle where the soldiers tried to protect the grounds from Indians or enemy soldiers. It's supposed to have spirits, but seeing as how it's a church, I doubt there's anything from the dark side.”
“The dark side? Whew...so glad to hear that. I'd hate to run into Darth Vader. My crucifix wouldn't help me much if I did, huh?” Meghan giggled at her own joke. “I'm not so sure they make light saber crucifixes.”
Alex laughed and Meghan was glad that she was on board with her sense of humor.
Within twenty minutes, Alex was at the front of Meghan's house sitting with her dark blue Jeep Wrangler idling. She took a look toward the house at the same time that Meghan just so happened to be looking out the window. She saw the curtain move, then fall back into place. She grinned. Seconds later, Meghan opened the front door and ran out. She was wearing the same outfit as before, but was wearing a long cream sweater. The night had grown a bit more chilly than it had been only hours earlier.
Meghan ran up
to Alex's Jeep and opened the door. “Hi. You got here fast. Did you fly?”
Alex laughed. “I wish. If I'd flown, I would've been here a lot sooner. I was going to come to the door, but you hardly gave me a chance to get out of the car.”
Meghan had a playful smirk upon her lips. “You can save coming to the door for our next date.”
Alex put her vehicle in gear and drove off toward the church grounds. “Oh, you're already planning a second date? How do you know you'd want to see me again?”
“Something tells me I'll want to see you often,” said Meghan grinning. She reached for the radio and fumbled with the buttons searching for a station. She finally left it on oldies station and a song was playing from decades ago. She began singing under her breath. “Do wah diddy, diddy dum, diddy do.”
Alex giggled. “Do you know the words to the song?”
Meghan shook her head. “No, I just know that part. Do wah diddy, diddy dum diddy do.”
“I could tell.”
“Why's that?” questioned Meghan.
“Because that's the only part you sing.” Alex laughed.
“I never really know too many lyrics. But I like singing along with songs, go figure.”
Alex was puzzled. “If you don't know lyrics, how do you manage to sing along?”
Meghan grinned. “I make up my own words.”
Alex began to laugh. “Okay, give me an example of a song that you made up the words to.”
“Hmm...” Meghan thought for a moment. “Okay, I have one. Ready?”
“Uh huh. Go ahead.”
Meghan began to sing the lyrics to Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
“I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.”
Alex interrupted her before she got to the chorus. “I think that's how that song goes.”
“You didn't let me finish.” Meghan continued to sing the chorus:
Forever Page 3
