It's Me, Again

Ch. 15 (Dylan)

As nervous as I had been for my night out with Kate at the pub, it couldn't have gone better. It was a fun night, we won trivia, and she even asked me to hang out with her again this weekend. This is huge. The other times we've hung out in the past few weeks have all been because she needed help and someone to watch her during her recovery. Spending time together those days was nice, but asking me to hang out because she wants to and not because we have is even better.

I walk home with a feeling of excitement for what's to come. Maybe our love story has a happy ending after all. As I walk with a sense of purpose and a smile that seems to be permanently glued to my face, I can't help but feel like everything that is meant to happen is happening. But, the closer I get home, the more my smile falls. The sounds of the city that had just moments ago made me feel alive, now aren't even registering in my ears.

Kate has a boyfriend.

I might not like him, but he exists and I don't want to be the guy who's responsible for them breaking up. The homewrecker. I respect Kate too much to put her in the position of being labeled a cheater. No, I want her to choose me but because she wants to be with me and sees how much I've changed, not because I sabotage her relationship with Carter.

By the next afternoon, I hadn't heard from Kate yet. She probably changed her mind. Got caught up in the fun of trivia night and was carried away. I was tempted to call her. I reached for my phone countless times, but didn't end up dialing. Too proud to be the one to call her first. Or chicken. A few hours later when my phone rang and I saw it was her, I had to restrain myself from answering on the first ring.

"Hey," I answer trying to sound cool and chill.

"Hey, Dylan."

"What's up?"

"Not much, just doing some laundry," she replies.

"Nice. Fresh clothes are always a plus."

What?

I clear my throat, "I mean, laundry's my favorite chore. Love when my clothes are clean and smell good."

Not making it any better dude.

"Yeah, clean laundry is always nice," she chuckles. "Anyway, I know we said maybe we could go for a drive this weekend like old times. I saw online that there's a meteor shower tomorrow. Want to try to drive somewhere where we can see?"

"Oh yeah that would be cool. I think I know a good spot too."

"Awesome. So the meteor shower isn't until like 1 am. I don't think you want to be stuck with me all night," she laughs.

"Pft, who would want that? No one needs to spend that much time together."

My heart sinks a little, but I hold on to the fact that she still does want to hang out.

"Right? So, I was thinking you could just pick me up at midnight? That gives me time to nap beforehand so I don't fall asleep and miss the meteor shower."

"That's a good idea. I should nap too. Alright, so I'll just come get you around 12 then?"

"Perfect. I'll pack some snacks. See you tomorrow."

"See you then."

A meteor shower? At night? Close proximity to each other in my car? This is my chance to show my romantic side - while being reasonable and respectful of course, because boyfriend. But, if my goal is to win her heart back, then this was a great way to show her how thoughtful I can be. Yeah, I made her dinner and brought old photos for her to look at, but we're talking about the night sky here. This is the time when people get all poetic and shit. I can do this.