The Genesis of Peyton Vol. 2

Chapter Fifteen

    "Speaking of love," I say, poking Vanessa in the side. "Tell me about Nicole."
    She rolls her eyes and smacks me on the arm. "Please, it's nothing close to love."
    I think about why she must know that and quickly let the thoughts pass. "Well, you know what I mean. Tell me about her."
    Vanessa walks past me to sit on the couch where I was sitting. I join her. "There's not much to tell, we only talked for a little bit. She's 23, she works at a bank, she's been single for five months and she has a dog named Rosie."
    "Oh, is that all? You don't know her mother's maiden name or the hospital she was born in?" I ask sarcastically.
    Vanessa laughs and smacks me again. "I have her number but I don't know how this stuff works. Am I supposed to text her the next day or is there like a proper length of time to wait?"
    "Well, first, it's not a one night stand. You met in a bar, I'm sure that happens everyday. Second, it's your life, your rules. If you want to text her, do it!"
    She pouts slightly. "You're right, I'm just a baby. What if she doesn't remember me or doesn't care to know me sober?"
    "Then we find out where she lives and egg her house," I say, my expression unchanging.
    Vanessa rolls her eyes, knowing I'm only partly kidding. She leans up and pulls her phone from her back pocket. "Tell me what to say."
    "I'd start with something simple, maybe 'hey, how are you?'"
    She points her phone at me. "I like that, you're a genius," she says, sardonically. She taps on her phone for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and presumably hitting send.
    "You did it. Now, don't think about it anymore until-," I'm cut off by melodic chimes coming from her phone.
    Vanessa quickly looks down at her phone and then back at me. "She texted me back already."
    I chuckle. "Well, read it."
    She looks down at her phone and reads the message aloud. "Hey, I was just thinking about you. Dinner?" She says the words "question mark" at the end.
    "Say yes," I tell her, encouragingly.
    She nods and starts typing. "I'm sorry, I might have to skip lunch," she says to me, still looking down. "I need every minute I can to get ready. I haven't been on a date in forever."
    "That's ok, I understand. You need help?"
    "Well, yes but sadly I don't think you possess the skills required to change my appearance completely."
    "Oh, stop," I say. "There's nothing wrong with your appearance. You're perfect."
    Vanessa's eyes widen a fraction of an inch before she plasters a huge fake smile on her face. "Thanks babe."
    She plays it off but I noticed the slight change. I wouldn't stop complimenting her but I needed to tame it down a little. Maybe say "you look great" next time.
    "Well, let me get out of your way. I expect to hear everything tomorrow," I say, standing up.
    "First thing," she says, standing too.
    I want to hug her again but decide against it. "I'm glad we're ok," I say softly. "And I'm so excited to hear about your date."
    "Thanks for everything," she says, lightly touching my arm in the same place she smacked me before.
    "Don't thank me. Thank you for forgiving me."
    Vanessa waves her hands in the air. "Ok, enough serious talk, I can't afford to cry this close to a date."
    "Alright, alright," I say, putting my hands up and walking back toward the door. "Have fun, ok? Don't think about it too much."
    "I'll try," she says, following me. "I might puke."
    "You won't puke," I say, laughing. "Call me if you need me to rescue you."
    As soon as the words left my mouth I knew they shouldn't have. Too romantic.
    "I will," she says, dragging the word out a little as if she were annoyed. Have I really been fooled by her acting all this time?
    I step out of the door and feel the words automatically working their way up my throat. I choke them down and pick a different way to say goodbye.
    "See you," I say, the words feeling completely foreign, I know I've never said them to her before.
    "Gen," Vanessa calls. I stop halfway down the walkway and turn to look at her. "You can say it."
    I debate pretending I don't know what she's talking about. I take a quick breath in and smile. "I love you," I say, keeping my voice as light as possible.
    "Love you back," she says with a smile.
    I give her a quick wave and continue to my car.
    Despite the minor bumps, I'm so happy about the outcome. Vanessa and I are friends and at this rate we always will be. I don't see much else that could tear a friendship apart than love.
    I back out of Vanessa's driveway and all I want to do is tell Peyton. I know she's still probably at lunch with her friends so I just text her instead of call. I just say "call me when you can, everything is good".
    When I get back home, the happiness I felt being close to Vanessa is dissipating. I go inside and my mom is waiting patiently on the couch, her face is neutral and ready to hear how it went, good or bad.
    "We're fine, everything is good," I reassure her and myself at the same time.
    "That's great," she chimes. "Just take things slow, you know?"
    "I know, mom." I don't mean for her words to annoy me but they kind of do. "I'll be upstairs."
    I walk up the steps and hear my mom rattling off her afternoon plans and to call if I need anything but I don't retain any of it. All I can think about is the fact that I'm alone. Despite there being people feet away from me, I feel like I'm the only person on the planet.
    Everyone has something to do but me. Everyone has someone to do it with but me. No matter what happens now, my friendship with Vanessa will undoubtedly change. She's dating, she could get into a relationship and then suddenly I'm a third wheel tagging along on what otherwise would be dates, without me. Even if she doesn't get into a relationship soon, I know that I'll have to cut back the amount of time I spend with her. That just leaves more time alone.
    Peyton is all I want, all I ever want but lately she seems even further away than the actual distance between us. Whenever we talk, it feels more like an obligation than something we both want to be doing. I need to see her face, I need to read her reactions and emotions. I decide that when she texts me back, whenever that might be, I'm going to FaceTime her and ask the tough questions about our future.
    I'm ready, right now, to start making plans for my future that involve Peyton, that will put me closer to her. I would go anywhere in this world to not feel alone and I know right now, that place is New York.