Take a Chance on Me

Twenty-three

I feel nervous coming to Alex's house for the first time in months. Not only am I meeting his college friends, but I haven't been here, or seen him since the Christmas party a few nights ago.

As I knock on the door, I go over the reasons why I am here.

1. I need to make a good impression on Alex's friends. If the friends don't like the girlfriend, there is a 0% chance of things working out.

2. I need to apologize for the Christmas party and find way to for Alex to believe that I am not crazy.

3. I want to be with him, even if it is just for an hour, before he leaves for his surf trip with the boys.

The door swings open to a familiar face, one that makes me feel at ease.

"Hey Leah! Come on in. We are just finishing with our suitcases in the living room."

I don't think I've ever been happier to see Chase at the door. He isn't the one I accused of time traveling a year into the future and cheating on me with Jen. Even though that may have happened before I went back in time, I have to understand that it didn't happen in this time period that we are in right now. I have to let it go because the more I linger on it, I will appear crazier than I already do.

I walk towards the group of guys in the living room. As soon as one of them notices me, he nudges the others and they all look at me with big smiles plastered across their faces. I can only assume that this is the first time that they have met a girlfriend of Alex's, considering they weren't one-girl type of guys in college.

"Guys, this is Leah, my girlfriend," Alex says as zips his suitcases and walks over to me, giving me a side hug.

Side hug. Either Alex is acting weird because of his friends or the distance has been growing between us since the party.

"Leah, this is Will, Ben, and Liam. I went to school with them at NYU."

I suck in a deep breath, anxious from the tension in the room. Alex and I clearly need resolution from the other night and the boys are staring at me like I'm a gorilla inside an exhibit at the zoo. Is it really so crazy for Alex to have a girlfriend?

"Nice to meet you guys." I turn to Alex. "Can we talk? Alone?"

"Yeah that's a good idea." He grabs my hand and I follow him up the stairs to his room.

I sit on his bed while he closes the door behind us. What do I say? I know I was acting outright insane from what Gabby told me and all I want to do is put this behind us.

"Alex, I am so sorry for what happened at the party. I drank way too much and I was a complete mess."

He closes his eyes and runs a hand through his hair. "Honestly, it's not even the fact that you drank too much. You definitely did, but that happens. The real issue is that you don't trust me."

How do I explain that I do trust him, but I don't trust Jen, even though I'm not supposed to have any idea who she is. This is so confusing.

"I do trust you, Alex. I do. I don't know what got into me. I think I saw a gorgeous blonde that was making you laugh and I got self conscious." I look down at my jeans, embarrassed to make eye contact with him after my confession.

He sits down next to me on the bed. "Jen is one of my closest high school friends. That's it. If I wanted to be with her, I wouldn't be with you."

"Okay. You're right. I'm sorry. I made a fool of myself in front of everyone. I'm really sorry Alex."

He rubs the small of my back, instantly making me feel better. "It's okay. I just hope you can trust me. We won't make it if you don't."

I rest my head on the crook of his neck, falling into him, closing the distance that has been between us for the last few days. "I trust you. I promise."

We fall back on his bed, facing each other, examining every inch of each other's bodies. "I have one more question," he says. "Chase told me that you were talking about me and Jen and 2019. What was that all about?"

Oh my god. I can't believe I talked about our life in the present. Our life before going back to the past. How do I explain this? He will never understand. He will think I'm a certified crazy person. "Uhh what? I have no idea what you're talking about," I lie.

"Yeah I figured it was just a bunch of drunk nonsense. It's not even 2019 yet!"

Phew. I'm glad he isn't looking too deep into this. Even if I did explain what happened, that I somehow went back in time and got a second chance with us, there's no way he would believe me. If I were in his shoes I know I wouldn't.

Before I can respond, I hear yelling from downstairs. "Alex, time to go!"

Alex rubs my arm and plants a soft kiss on my nose before getting up from the bed. "I guess that's my cue to leave. I'll walk you out?"

I nod and he grabs my hand, both of us descending down the stairs and out the front door.

Hugging him, both of my hands around his neck, I look up to meet his eyes. "I'll see you in a few days?"

"Mhmm." He gives me a deep kiss.

I pull apart, only our fingers barely hanging on to one another. "Don't miss me too much."