Once I'm showered and dressed, I go downstairs to the living room to see my mom, sitting on the couch, watching Family Feud.
I sit down next to her and lean my head on her shoulder before taking a deep breath.
"I really messed up, mom!" I say and I know she has some advice to give as I find the energy to return to campus after spending the weekend at home.
"You did. And if I was Olivia I'd probably avoid speaking to you for a very long time." She responds and I sigh. "But lucky for you, I'm not her."
"You're supposed to be helping."
"And that's why I won't tell you a lie, son. It's going to be difficult to get back in that girl's good graces, if that's what you want." She replies and I appreciate her honesty. "You'll have to earn every conversation and every moment. Which means less talking and more doing! I'm talking flowers, cards, and candy—- most importantly, be consistent. If y'all are supposed to link up at 10AM, be there at 9:55AM. She needs to know you're a man of your word more than ever right now."
"What if none of that's good enough?"
"Then you'll have to cut your losses," she answers and it stings just hearing those words.
•••
When I return to campus later that day, I decide to check my phone after being on 'do not disturb' for the past two days.
And aside from a few teammates in a group chat, I'm not surprised to see Ashton and Yara have been blowing me up.
So I decide to head straight to Yara's room.
"Well, look who decided to come out of his hole!" She says sarcastically as she opens the door.
I don't speak. Instead, I drop my head and she does exactly what I knew she would do.
"It'll be okay, Spence! You're not a bad guy. You just made a mistake." She says calmly as she opens her arms for a hug.
Our embrace isn't long, but it's meaningful. And I appreciate my friend for always being emotionally available for me. Even when I don't necessarily deserve it.
"You can say it," I mumble as I sit down at her computer desk.
"Say what?"
"You told me to tell Olivia sooner rather than later and I blew it. So you were right. You can say that!" I explain and she rubs the top of my head as I exhale.
"I'm not going to do that. Besides, I'm kind of glad all of that text message stuff is over. Now we can get back to why we're here in the first place. Our degrees, basketball, and the occasional party, once or twice a week." She responds.
"I just can't stop thinking about the look on Olivia's face when she heard those numbers," I say to myself. "And what's fucked up is we didn't even get a chance to get started."
"I know it sucks. But maybe it was never meant to be in the first place." Yara tells me as she raises up two sets of silky—revealing pajama sets in her closet mirror.
"You sleep in sweats and a t-shirt. Why do you have those?" I ask as I take a second look.
"There's a pajama party in McGraw House tonight."
"Damn girl, you go to more parties than you go to class."
She giggles. "That's not true. But the AKAs are starting to address me by name."
"Pajama parties, welcome parties—- it's a lot." I counter.
"And that's exactly why I didn't bother to invite you to either. Besides, I know the routine by now."
"Really?" I ask curiously before laying down on my favorite spot in her bed.
"You would've turned me down just to show up and show out for another girl," she says and I fan my hand dismissively.
"I went to one party because I wanted to get to know Olivia. Stop acting like I never show up for you."
"You turned down a perfectly good chance to Wobble, just to turn around and do exactly what I asked you to do with her. But it's not even important anymore." She says dismissively.
"Are you serious right now?" I ask and she shrugs.
"Did I lie?"
"I didn't think it was a big deal, Yara!" I say confused.
"It's not! That's why I said it's not important anymore."
"I'll go," I say plainly.
"What?" She asks.
"Don't act shocked. I'll go to the pajama party because you're not about to make me out to be the bad friend." I say and she laughs.
"I wasn't trying to do that. But I'm not mad you're coming, of course." She admits.
"Okay, well then act like it!" I joke and she rolls her eyes at me before tossing a pillow in my direction.
"But please tell me you're going to wear actual pajamas."
I kiss my teeth in disapproval. "What's wrong with my basketball shorts and t-shirt?"
"You can do better," she tells me and I take a deep breath.
"I guess I'll be taking a trip to Keysha's because this is all I sleep in."
She doesn't speak. Instead, she points to the door and I shake my head as I walk out of the door to see a girl pacing back and forth on the phone.
I overhear her mention Beverly Hills and a dog, which slows my stride.
"Yes. My flight was good, mom. I don't know right now. Liv and I are on Villanova's campus." She says and I can tell by the irritation in her tone that she wants to get off of the phone. "I know mom! Okay, love you! Bye!"
She hangs up and I pretend to be pressing the elevator button.
"Did you say Beverly Hills?" I ask and she shakes her head yes. "So you know Olivia?"
"I'm Aaliyah, her best friend. And who are you?" She questions.
"I'm Spencer."
"Ooh, so you're Spencer?" She counters and I sigh because I'm sure she isn't a fan. And I don't blame her.
"I didn't mean to hurt your friend," I say sincerely and she takes a deep breath before looking me up and down.
"You don't have to convince me. She's the one that's pissed at you."
"Do you have any tips?" I ask. "Never mind, who am I kidding? She won't talk to me anyway."
She takes a deep breath before looking around the empty lobby. "I'm not giving you any tips. That's on you! And I can't believe I'm even doing this. But this isn't for you. This is for my friend. And I know she likes you. So you better not fuck this up."
"I like her too. A lot. So I'm listening," I say sincerely.
"In about thirty minutes, I'm going to need something from the car that I obviously can't get myself. And you better not just be standing here with that same pitiful look you have on your face right now."
•••
Exactly thirty minutes later, I'm standing in the lobby and Olivia walks out just like Aaliyah said she would.
"Really?" She yells as she quickly recognizes she's been set up.
"I met your best friend and she set this whole thing up," I say truthfully.
"She's always doing something," she says irritatedly.
I hand her the flowers that I just picked up from Keysha's store and she gently sets them on the table next to her.
"Spencer, I can't do this right now!" She tugs at the lock door before knocking.
"Please, Liv! Just give me ten minutes." I beg.
"Five."
"Seven," I say and she sighs.
"Just talk."
"You once said you wanted to help me face my fear. And it turns out that giraffes aren't my only fear." I say and she frowns as I hand her a gift bag for her to look inside.
"What are you talking about, Spencer?"
"It took me days of being alone with my thoughts to understand why I kept procrastinating and neglecting the truth. But I know now. And I'm not saying it's right. But I feared losing you, Olivia. And that might be weird to say since we just met. But it's like when you know, you know."
"Did you think about the consequences of omitting the truth?" She ask in frustration.
"I did. But I took my chance anyway. And now I'm asking for a second chance." I admit.
She doesn't speak. Instead, she peeps in the bag and lets out a small chuckle before pulling out a towel with the word 'welcome' on top. Next, she grabs a piece of paper out with my drawing of a trophy on top.
"World's Best Pop-A-Shotter," she reads and I smile after seeing the way her eyes light up. "What's with the teddy bear?"
"That's Nino—- our teddy bear Nina's little brother." I respond. "And the 'welcome' towel represents the party where we first danced."
"And let me guess, the doughnuts represent our trip to Wawa?" She questions and I nod with a cheesy grin.
"Yeah!"
She tucks her smile long enough to speak. "So what does all of this mean?"
"Everything in that bag happened before I found out you were behind those text messages. I bought that stuff as a reminder that you and I had something before I knew. And that's what I want to build off. And if I'm lucky, you'll say yes to us going back to those moments."
She sighs. "So you want us to start over?"
She sums it up, but I refused to just say that. I needed to show her. Just like my mom said. And just like she deserves.
"Please!" I say as I await her response.