The Bucketlist

62 | REELING THE PAST: Part-2

"Wow! What are you doing here?" I asked, rubbing my palms together as I looked at Will- Work clothes, cool shades, and lopsided grin. So, he was here. I let out a sigh when Amanda beamed at me. I rubbed my eyes. Did the alcohol not drain off? Wow, now I was seeing things!

"Don't stand there, you two! Come and have a seat!" She squeaked happily. Wow. What happened to her?

"What are you doing here?" I think out loud, and Amanda takes turns looking at us.

"Oh, I forced him to tag along. Don't mind him." She said quirkily.

What does she mean by not minding him? He was sitting there, pulling his shades off, staring at me constantly, and she was telling me not to bother! The logical question was- How?

"Okay. Why'd you text me?" I said, and Amanda furrowed her eyebrows.

"I wanted to catch up with you!" She said, her voice chirpy, as her red locks made it to the front, and Amanda tucked them behind her ear. Will nudged her in the arm.

"Yes, I am doing it. Cut me some slack." She said in an almost whisper to Will when our eyes met. Fuck. This morning couldn't get more annoying.

"I wanted to apologize." She said, and it didn't cross my mind that Amanda was being 'nice'!

But why? I didn't know what to say. Was I supposed to stay stiff and listen till it gets over, or perhaps storm out of the place and pretend it never happened?

I only nodded, and Amanda cleared her throat.

"First things first, I am sorry for slapping you in public. I lost my calm when Josh told me you had a one-night fling with him after the breakup." She said rather uncomfortably.

"He told you what?" I asked, looking at her wide-eyed.

"Okay. I will repeat it for you. Josh told me you two are-" she went on to say.

"No, stop. We never did anything beyond kissing. Why would you believe him?" I said dramatically, slamming my hand against the table.

Fuck. The pain from the wall had barely subsided.

Note to self: see a doctor.

Will batted his eyelashes when I looked at him, pretending to be oblivious to what was happening.

"Because I liked him. I guess? And you two were dating back then." Amanda said, her voice turning serious.

"What do you mean 'liked' as in the past? Isn't he your boyfriend?" I asked. Maybe, I shouldn't have.

"We broke up. Josh is an asshole." She said. I didn't know whether I was to feel happy for myself. Just smile at her, maybe. I was relieved that at least I did one thing right.

"Oh. So what brings you to Seattle? I am sure you aren't here only to apologize to me." I said, and she stared at Will.

"I am here with my boyfriend." She said, and I felt the same way the pope would feel when someone in the church said condom and abortion in the same sentence. Huh?

Her boyfriend? Why was she staring at Will?

"Okay. That was it." She said, walking out, and I didn't realize I fell for it!

Seeing Will hasn't followed her out, I sighed in relief. So, he wasn't her boyfriend. Thank God. At least one thing wasn't going wrong. But why was he still here? Maybe, to talk. Perhaps, he had missed me too. My heart throbbed at the thought.

"Umm. Hi." He said as the waiter stood by our table. Will flinched at the interruption. Why was he so moody today?

"I will have a margarita," I said. I wasn't going to miss pizza for breakfast. After all that I had seen this morning, I needed food. I hadn't wrapped my head around Amanda's apology yet. What shall I do now?