Juliana

7. Awkward moments

I was leaning against the wall under the awning to the steak house, waiting for whoever the heck my friend had set me up with. Nope. I wasn't wondering who the girl was and what she'd be like. Instead, all I could think of was Juliana and that guy she was going on a date with. I mean, what made him so much better than me? Weren't lab partners supposed to tell each other everything? I groaned and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"Hey, Robbie..." I looked up from my phone and immediately saw my ex, Kylie, standing right beside me. "I totally wasn't expecting to see you here!"

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting to see you either." I forced a laugh. "Small world."

Kylie took a seat on the bench. "Whatcha doing here? I'm in town visiting my grandparents and friends and all that jazz"

I stuck my hands in my front pockets. "Uh. Waiting on a blind date. So far, she's late. I've been waiting for over an hour." I couldn't have felt anymore awkward than I did.

Kylie's nose scrunched. "Oh that's sucky about the waiting and late part. I'm here for the same thing." She smiled.

"Yeah. It sucks, but I'll live. Excuse me for a second though. I'm gonna go call my friend."

"Of course!"

I walked out of hearing distance and called Dalton.

"Is this girl coming tonight, or what man?"

"Robbie, are you under the awning? She just texted me and said she's there."

"Never mind. I think I see her now."

"Cool. Bye man!"

I let out a huff of air when I realized who my date was. Now that I had figured it out, all I had to do now was explain it to Kylie. I strolled back to the awning and plopped down on the bench beside her.

"Uh." I hesitated for a brief second and cleared my throat, "Um. I think we're each other's dates."

She ran her fingers through her auburn hair. "Really? You think so?"

"Well," I sighed. "Considering the fact that we were both supposed to meet our date under the awning, and it's only me and you under here.... one would tend to think that."

"Might as well enjoy the date then." She popped up.

"Yeah. Just that." I said, holding the door open for her.

***

"So, have you started seeing other people yet?" I asked her, cutting off a bite of my medium-rare steak.

"I've tried." She took a sip of her lemon water, which had always been her favorite. "It's just like none of the guys are like you."

I frowned briefly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah.... If only you knew the number of times a guy asked me to sleep with him. It's disgusting. I miss Mississippi a lot, Robbie. Oregon is so dull and boring."

"You probably just need to get to know it better. I mean you lived here what fourteen or fifteen years?"

"I guess you're right." She paused for a second. "I'm not gonna lie about it anymore, Robbie; I'm just gonna come right out and say it. I miss you, and I feel so stupid for breaking up with you and not even wanting to try and give the long distance thing a chance."

"That was pretty stupid of you."

She took a bite of her salad. "I'm being serious now though. I think we should give the long-distance relationship a try."

"I don't know, Kylie. I've pretty much gotten over you and moved on to someone else. It wouldn't be fair really to either of us for us to start seeing each other again."

She faked a smile. "I see your point." She slid her chair back from the table. "I'll see you later, okay?"

You made her leave because you upset her beyond repair, Robbie. Good job. I thought to myself.

***

"Hey, Buddy! How was the date?" My dad asked.

"Not what I was expecting." I grumbled, throwing my keys down on the counter.

"What happened? Who was it with?" Mom started throwing her questions out.

"It ended up being with Kylie, and she even approached the idea of us getting back together."

Mom frowned. "I'm sorry."

To be honest, it frustrated and irritated me a little bit that she was wanting to get back together now. Last year, once she told me she was moving to Oregon because her dad got a better job, I was perfectly okay with trying the long distance thing out. But she wasn't. She was the one who afraid to try it out, so we didn't. And now, after I've moved on, she wanted to try it out.

"It's alright." I answered before going up my room.

I felt my phone buzz, so I took it out of my pocket. There was a text message from Jules.

Juliana: Hey! Just wanted to let you know that I got the data from earlier all put into an Excel document. Do you want me to send it via email or Facebook or put it on a flash drive and give it to you tomorrow at school or what? We got some kick-butt results Also, how did the date go? :D

Me: cool. just send it to me over fb. as for the date, it went okay i guess. it ended up being with my ex. she wants us to get back together. i told her i wasn't so sure that i wanted to. ya know?it's whatever. how'd yours go?

Juliana: My what?

Me: um. your date. with that dude.

Juliana: I don't know what you're talking about, Robbie. I didn't go on a date!

Me: then who was that guy?!

Juliana: What guy, Robbie?!?! There's no guy of any significance other than being my friend in my life. I'm so single; it's kinda pathetic.

Me: juliana.... there was a dude. i saw him with my own two eyes.

Juliana: Oh my gosh, Robbie... You have me so confused! I don't have the slightest clue or idea as to what you're talking about. There's no guy in my life in that type of way! I promise you. I gotta go to bed now, but we can talk about this 'guy' tomorrow morning, okay? Night!

I had to wait until tomorrow?! You had to be kidding me.

I texted her back.

Me: why tomorrow?! why won't you tell me tonight? please jules. pleaseeeeeee

Juliana: Because, Robbie, because. I have a huge AP Physics test tomorrow that I will fail if I don't get enough sleep. Plus, I had to do a lot of socializing earlier, and now, I'm feeling drained, so I'm trying to read a little before bed.

Me: but but... i may die tonight in my sleep and then i'd never know. how guilty would you feel then?! hmmmm ;)

Juliana: No, Robbie. No. I will not give into your peer pressure; I don't wanna talk about this anymore tonight! We can try and figure out what the heck you're talking about in the morning. Patience is key. Now. Goodnight! :)

Me: grrr. night.

I threw my phone on the charger. Today had been a long day, and the fact that Juliana wouldn't tell me who the heck she had gone on a date with just made it seem even longer.