I Do

Chapter 27 - Neighbor in 3C

I also knew that there was no possible scenario, imaginary or otherwise, that would result in me attending that wedding. How would I be able to sit there, dressed in the baby blue bridesmaids dress, watching him wrap my sister in his arms as they are pronounced husband and wife. 

For the rest of my life. He’ll always be my sister’s and not mine. He never was mine, and he’ll never be mine. 

A knock at my apartment door silences my thoughts. I have yet to meet anyone here in Berkeley and have rarely left the house. I have no idea who could be there, but I throw the blanket off my lap and sit the remote on the ottoman before heading to the door. 

I wrap my baggy sweater tighter around my slightly wider abdomen, standing on my tiptoes to look through the hole. It’s too dark in the hallway to tell, but I can almost make out a distinctly male figure. 

Cautiously wrapping my fingers around the handle, I yank it backward and peek around the wood. 

“Hello?” I say, peering upward. 

I flick the light switch by the door onto the ON side, flooding the entry in dim waves of illumination. I squint in the sudden brightness, rubbing the heel of my hand against my eye. 

“Hi.” I finally get a good look at the man in my doorframe. He isn’t too tall, maybe medium height. His spiked brown hair is close to trendy, I would say, at least for a male. His hazel eyes sit below enormous lashes and a button nose pokes between the planes of his cheeks. He’s quite attractive, but hardly anything like my Jim. 

I mean, Nash. 

“I think your mail was delivered to my apartment’s box. 3C.” He points to his door, across the hall and to the right slightly. He hands me the stack of envelopes. “I’m Bryan, by the way.”

“Beth.” I say, sticking my free hand out to shake his. My shoulder clears the sweater loosely draped on them, and it falls to the floor behind me. I dismiss it, focusing on my neighbor. “You look so familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”

It’s true, I can’t put my finger on it, but he looks so familiar, like I get a sense of deja vu from looking at him. 

He crinkles his brow, thinking. “I don’t think so...I’m a second year Biology major at CAL. Do you go there?”

“I’m a freshman this fall. But I haven’t started classes yet.”

“Oh,” he says, nodding thoughtfully. “What is your major?”

“Literature, with a minor in English.” I am still distracted by the task of remembering where I know him from, and all of the sudden, the answer barrels into me like a train. 

“Oh my God!” I cover my mouth my hands. “You were the biker! The one I almost hit with my car!” I exclaim, feeling a little sick at the memory. 

His face changes. “That was you?”

I nod my head in response, embarrassment stealing my voice. I feel so terrible about that, in some ways I’m glad that I was able to see him again so I could have the chance to apologize, but I also feel so guilty it makes the encounter awkward. 

“I’m so sorry. I guess I was just, um, really distracted.” I sigh. “But it won’t happen again, I promise.”

His face stays solemn for a few long moments, but then he breaks into a smile. “I forgive you.”

“Would you like to come in? I can make some hot chocolate. I haven’t met any other neighbors yet.” I step aside, opening the door further. Having company wasn’t how I imagined my night going, but meeting and making a new friend would be a good distraction. 

“Sure. I have to get going in a little while, but I have time for a cup.” he says, following my gestures inside. 

He shrugs off his coat and hangs it on the hooks next to the door, one of the few amenities I added upon my move. Stepping out of his boots, he follows me into the kitchen. I click off the TV on the way, blushing slightly when I see he notices what I had been watching. 

“Pretty Little Liars? I love that show.” he remarks when I reach to remove the cocoa powder from my cupboard. My shirt rides up and my fingers graze the swollen area as I yank it back down. 

“Really? Every guy I’ve ever met has made fun of me for watching it.” I click the stove on, measuring out scoops of the mix and adding appropriate cups of milk to the concoction. 

“I like it,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. 

I smile, busying myself again. 

An hour later, we sit at the table, occasionally stirring our mugs while we talk about college and PLL. I put my feet on the chair next to me, wincing silently at the swollen feature. I have to remember to take a bath later. 

“Well, I have to get going,” he says, standing and setting his cup back down on the surface of the table. “But maybe tomorrow or the day after I can take you to get some stuff and show you around.”

I swallow loudly. “Um, Bryan, that’s so sweet, but I kind of-”

“Oh, no. Not like that. I’m gay.” he says, interrupting me. My eyebrows shoot so far up my forehead I wouldn’t be surprised if I got permanent wrinkles. 

I couldn’t say it was a complete shock, there were a few warning signs, I just hadn’t been paying much attention to them. 

“So it doesn’t have to be awkward. I’m gay, you’re kind of something,” he smiles, mocking my earlier words. “And we can be Pretty Little Liars buddies and it won’t be weird.” he says. 

“Okay.” 

Once he’s gone, I shut the door and sink against it, mulling over our conversation and pulling on my bottom lip. He knew I was something. Does that mean he could tell I was, whatever I was, with Jim?

I prefer to think of him that way, thinking of him as Nash makes me think of the other person he is, the fiancé to my sister. 

If it’s that obvious, what am I going to do?

You guys finally found out who the biker guy was, and some of you were right, he did come back! 

Honestly, I love being an evil author and torturing you guys, it makes me feel so special that you care so much!

If you are good little readers again, and get 12 votes and 6 comments, I'll update by tomorrow. Deal?

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