In Her Shoes

Chapter 13: Suspicions...

My best friend is being held in the girl of my dreams' arms, and I have no one to blame but myself. What have I done? I stand there like a dummy not able to run or join the embrace. Instead I stand then until Aiden is able to gain some composure and pulls away looking even more wretched than before. Anna held up some cookies she had apparently been carrying a ziplock baggie. 

"Here," she says kindly but firmly, "eat." 

He looked at the cookies thankfully then at her sorrowfully. "Hey listen I'm so sorry about all this, I know we barely just met but it feels like I've known you forever and with this thing with Jesse I just"- 

"Hey," she interrupted shutting him up by putting a dainty finger on his lips, "don't worry about it. That's what friends are for, right?" 

Friends? Tuh, they seem like more than friends to me. 

"Right," he smiles, embracing her in a much smoother hug. Then looking over her shoulder he realizes me at last. "Who's your friend?" he asks with a little frown. 

Awkward. If I had known I'd be a third wheel with these two I never woulda came. Then again....who was I kidding? I would go willingly anywhere Anna dragged me. 

"Oh!" she exclaimed, clearly just remembering me too. If I was Jesse no one would've forgotten me. I was the chandelier in every room. In this body I was a skinny candle stick. "This is the girl I told you about," she said giving him a meaningful look.  

Huh. Curious. 

"...wait..." she turned to me with an embarrassed smile on her face, "we didn't really introduce ourselves did we? I'm Anna. You?" she extended a hand to me again. 

I stared at it. I hadn't forgotten what her hands felt like and how I practically melted inside of them. I sighed, shaking her hand, wishing I could flirt with her. "Jessie...ca..." I shuddered and tried not to visibly grind my teeth into shrubs. 

"You hesitated," Anna noticed. I was surprised she caught that. "Would you like to be called by something else?" 

I hesitated again. Can I say Jessie? Jess? Jay? 

See what I mean? Transgender material. 

"Well...some people call me....Jess..." I utter barely even sure if that's what I want to say "...but Jessica is fine, too I guess..." 

She smiled. "Then I'll call you Jess." 

"And I'll call you Jessica," that from Aiden. I looked at him and he shrugged modestly, "sorry. I call my best friend Jess...it'll be kinda weird, ya know?" 

Double awkward. 

"Mm-hm, yeah I understand," I mutter uncomfortably. What the hell have I gotten myself into? Meanwhile Anna is digging through her bag as Aiden and I standing there awkwardly, me in his personal space and him not knowing how much I actually belong there. 

"Darn it!" she shouts making us jump. 

"Something wrong?" he asks in the softest and most concerned voice. I rolled my eyes. He was "over-nice-ing" it. He did that when he was a kid. He would use this adorable baby-like, cutsie voice when he was hoping to get something but just didn't wanna ask for it. And right now what he wanted was to get rid of me.  

Great. Well I don't wanna be here, either. 

"I forgot the milk, gosh darn it! You two stay here I'll be right back." And without even giving either of us an option to accompany her or object she took off. An even more awkward silence fell between us in her absence.