Not This Time

Jon: January 30, 1986

     I sat down on the bench as Nina stared out at the view before us in awe. Hiking wasn't really my thing, but she had seemed to like it, and it was worth it to see that smile when we got to the mountain overlook. She turned back to me with a grin, positively glowing, and shook her head.
     "You didn't lie," she admitted, holding the bag of chips she'd brought with her out to me as she approached the bench. I took the bag, waiting for her to continue. "It's gorgeous."
     "Yeah," I agreed, admiring her. I smiled a little and opened the bag of chips, taking in the view as well. "I thought you might like it."
     "I do! Thank you for bringing me here!" she said. She reached into the bag of chips and took out a few. I did the same with a nod. She went on about how nice the hike had been and how clear the sky was. I just listened. She was so excited about everything, it was adorable.
     She looked over at me and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. Her face grew pink and she looked away. She told me that the last place she'd been to that was anywhere near this pretty was a concert in farm country, a long time ago. She couldn't remember who she'd seen, that's how long ago it had been.
     "I used to go to the beach all the time," I muttered, "I don't too much anymore."
     "Why?" she asked, reaching for more chips. I frowned. I shouldn't have brought it up.
     "Dotty," I replied simply, shaking my head. When I looked up at her, she was smiling through the chips she'd just started munching on. Her face was funny. I held the bag of chips out to her and chuckled. She took the bag, and then she asked me the dreaded question.
     "How's it going with her?"
     My smile fell again and I looked away. "She said she doesn't want me to contact her anymore," I sighed. I shook my head. "Said it makes her boyfriend uncomfortable."
     "He's jealous of you," she said, grinning at me. She nudged my shoulder playfully and shrugged. "Who wouldn't be, though? I mean, look at you."
     I glanced at her, unable to contain my cocky smirk at the thought of her complimenting me. Then I thought about it and frowned. "Yeah, but he's got her," I grumbled.
     Nina shrugged. "Not forever," she assured me. She held the bag of chips up. I glanced into the bag, then up at her, and reached in for a snack. She smiled. "You'll have Dorothea in the long run, stop stressing."
     My crunching was loud in my ears as I chewed, thinking about her words. She was so sure of what she was saying. It was almost charming if the situation with Dotty didn't currently seem so hopeless.
     "What makes you so sure?" I questioned, crossing my arms, then kicking my legs out and crossing my ankles.
     She smirked and leaned toward me. "It's destiny, Rockstar," she whispered.
     "I don't believe in destiny."
     Nina's eyebrows shot up in surprise and she giggled, "Well shit! If there's no such thing as destiny, I have no idea what's going on anymore." She grinned at me and I laughed. She was so weird. I loved that she wasn't afraid of being weird.
     She stared, still smiling, into the bag of chips, trying to decide if she wanted more. While she was distracted, I took the opportunity to admire her. My eyes fell first on her amused smile, and then followed her dark blonde hair down over her shoulders. When I realized I'd paused and was staring at her boobs, I closed my eyes and turned my head away.
     "How'd you meet her, anyway?" Nina asked, drawing my attention back to her. She popped a chip into her mouth, her pretty blue eyes staring at me expectantly. I frowned and scoffed.
     "Do we have to talk about this?" I groaned. I didn't want to talk about her anymore. I wanted to get past her already. I mean, I was sitting there next to a beautiful, interesting woman that I wanted to know better. Why couldn't we talk about her instead of Dotty?
     Nina bit her lip, apparently noticing my discomfort with the subject. "Sorry," she said softly, "I wasn't thinking. We don't have to talk about her anymore." She smiled a little and looked around for something else to talk about. I watched her with an amused smirk as she frowned at the limited topics of conversation.
     "I asked her for answers to a history test I hadn't studied for," I relented. Nina turned back to look at me as I smiled sadly at the memory. "When I walked into class that morning and saw her there," I paused and shook my head slowly, "I was done for."
     "Love at first sight?" Nina cooed.
     I nodded, glancing up at her. "You bet." I reached into the bag of chips she was holding. "But back then, she was dating my best friend, Bobby."
     Nina gaped at me jokingly and scoffed, "You stole her from your best friend?" I shook my head but didn't try to speak through the chips I'd just put in my mouth. Nina grinned, and I watched her glance out at the view as I finished my food.
     "I didn't steal her," I retorted, "Let me finish my story." Nina smirked at me and motioned for me to continue. I took a deep breath and went on, "I wrote this song about her that I called Bobby's Girl."
     "Oh my God, you did not!" Nina laughed. I chuckled a little too, but nodded all the same as I crossed my arms again.
     "I did."
     "That's the most adorable thing I've ever heard of, what the hell!" she guffawed, bringing a hand up to cover her laughter like a yawn. I glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow and watched her shake her head in amazement with a smile.
     That smile. It was infectious. I couldn't stop the small smile that was spreading across my face. It felt weird talking to her about my ex-girlfriend, but Nina and I had become very close friends in the past month. I didn't even talk to my band about Dorothea, but Nina practically forced it out of me whenever we were together. It was confusing because she was invested in my supposed relationship with Dotty, but then I was also getting potential signals from her as well.
     I couldn't be sure how she felt about me, but I knew that I liked her. I knew I wanted her. I felt like if I could just get Dorothea out of my head and get over her, then Nina and I might have a shot. It kinda depended on Nina's feelings toward me, though. She was confusing.
     "Anyway," Nina prompted, poking my arm, "Go on."
     I gave her a confused look. "On?"
     "You don't honestly expect me to believe that you wrote her that song and she swooned into your arms, forgetting all about Bobby!" Nina joked. I gave her a wry smirk and shook my head.
     "Bobby joined the Navy," I explained, looking out on the view, "And when he shipped off, he asked me to take care of her." I could feel her disbelieving expression without looking over. I didn't want to meet her gaze. I looked at just about anything else to avoid doing so.
     She scoffed. "You did steal her then!" she accused with a playful grin. "That's low, Rockstar," she joked, "Waiting until a man ships out to steal his girl."
     I looked over at her with an annoyed frown. I could tell from her expression that she was just teasing me, but I still felt compelled to defend myself for some reason.
     "Bobby knew how I felt," I grumbled back with that same annoyed glare. Nina's smile softened just a little, apologetically. She could tell her teasing was getting on my nerves now. I rolled my eyes and continued anyway, "Dotty said that he'd told her she didn't have to wait for him."
     Nina smiled sympathetically. "Let me guess," she began, that teasing tone creeping into her voice once again, "She had planned to wait for him, but then you sang her that song and stole her heart?" I crossed my arms again, not liking the insecure feeling that her teasing brought up. Nina's eyes widened in response to my silence. "Wait, really?"
     I glanced over at her again and nodded with a slight shrug. "That summer, we were on a camping trip with a couple of our friends, and yeah, I played it for her on my guitar."
     Nina seemed genuinely awestruck this time. The amazement in her eyes as she stared didn't feel like a joke. I tried to smile, but her awe was making me uncomfortable. I didn't see the big deal.
     "What?"
     "That whole entire story is so fucking cute, I might actually puke," Nina snickered. She smiled at me and then leaned back against the bench, looking out at the view. She shook her head, still astonished.
     I smirked at her words, the first time she'd said them now just a vague memory. Neither of us spoke for the next few minutes, but it was far from silent. The breeze was blowing faint music up to us from somewhere in the park. Even that, though, was masked by the birds that were twittering and chirping in the trees around us. Out of the blue, Nina spoke up.
     "Did Rick Springfield rip you off when he recorded Jessie's Girl?" she asked. I laughed at that and then shook my head with an amused grin.
     "No, Bobby's Girl didn't sound anything like that," I assured her, "I wish I had written Jessie's Girl."
     Nina nodded in agreement, "Me too!"
     I wasn't sure whether she meant she wished I'd written the song or that she had. I was almost curious enough to ask, but before I got the chance, Nina started singing to herself.
     "Bobby is a friend," she sang quietly, staring down into the bag of chips in her hand.
     "Nooo," I groaned, though I couldn't keep the amusement out of my voice or the grin off my face.
     "Yeah, I know he's been a good friend of mine," she continued, looking up at me. I shook my head at her as she turned to face me so that she could sing to me directly, "But lately something's changed, it ain't hard to define. Bobby's got himself a girl, and I wanna make her mine!" Nina took a deep breath like she would jump up and belt out the next line, but I lunged forward first.
     I threw one arm around her and held my other hand against her mouth to keep her quiet. She stared at me, giggling into the palm of my hand. I leaned toward her with a small smile and looked her straight in the eye.
     "Shut up," I snickered. Her cheeks were burning against my hand. She giggled some more but nodded nonetheless. I let her go. We stared at each other, both ready to move quickly if the other acted.
     Nina took in another deep breath like she would start singing again, but I gave her a playful warning look and she let the breath out in a burst of laughter, leaning toward me. I chuckled too, shaking my head at her as I reached for the bag of chips in her hand. She was ridiculous.
     "We should probably start heading back down now," Nina sighed as she stood. She left the bag of chips with me and went over to the overlook railing. I admired her as she admired the view. Then I rose to my feet as well and joined her at the rail. She glanced at me and smiled as I offered her some more chips. She snickered a little and shook her head.
     As I rolled the bag shut, she looked up at the clear blue sky. She dropped her eyes to me again, watching me stuff the rolled up back of chips into my coat pocket. When I looked back up at her, she grinned.
     "Come on," I said, nodding toward the trail we'd followed up there. She took one last glance at the scene before us and then turned away.
     "I'm glad you brought me up here," she told me quietly as we strolled back through the woods.
     I put an arm over her shoulders and smiled at her. "Happy birthday."
     She smiled up at me, and for a moment I really wanted to lean in and kiss her. But I didn't, and she looked away. I could feel my face flushing. Unexpectedly, she leaned her head on my shoulder. I glanced down at her, but didn't object. I loved that she felt comfortable enough to do that. It felt right.
     We walked like that for a few minutes, talking about nothing in particular. I shifted my arm a little, and she jumped, as if she'd fallen asleep. She pulled away from me and smiled awkwardly. Her face was bright red and she wouldn't meet my gaze.
     "Are you okay?" I asked. God, her face was so red. She nodded, but didn't say anything as she turned to continue down the path. I grinned slightly as she walked away from me. Maybe she liked me after all.