The next morning would mark my departure to New York, and I wasn't sure that I was ready for it.
Connor had helped me to find a flight back home since Jacob had taken his car with him when he left earlier in the week. It was set to leave at 11:00 the following morning, and I was currently wishing that I didn't have to go back.
Returning to New York would mean returning to Amy Summa and the pull that she still had over the orchestra that was supposed to be under me now. Returning to New York would mean returning to a place where I had no home and no one who I could easily stay with on such short notice. Returning to New York would mean returning to a city without Connor, the city I had been in when he had broken up with me.
And yet, that was where I would be headed in 24 hours.
I shoved the last of my makeup into my suitcase on Katie's bed, zipping it up and setting it down on the floor. I was a pretty heavy packer, so it was impressive that I was able to fit everything in a carry-on sized suitcase--especially when I hadn't thought I would be taking a plane in the first place.
I left Katie's room and walked out into the living area, where Katie and Mel were spread out on the couch. The two had gone into a deep, albeit fake, depression since Britt had moved out and moved in with Dan following the engagement party. I understood it to an extent--Britt was definitely the one who cleaned out of the three of them. She had been gone for a day and there were already dishes lying on the couch cushions and trash scattered on the floor.
I rolled my eyes and shut off the television, my action met with groans and complaining from my former roommates.
"Oh, get over it." I snapped. "Britt's not the only one capable of cleaning up after herself. I don't even live here anymore and I can tell that you two haven't washed a single dish since I left."
Katie let out a loud sigh before standing up.
"Don't you have a boyfriend to get to or something?"
I grinned.
"I do, actually. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to keep being the responsible one here."
I was saved from hearing Katie's snarky reply by the buzzing in my pocket. I took out my phone and couldn't help but smile at the name on the screen.
I typed out a response quickly and walked off to the kitchen, ignoring whatever Katie was saying from behind me.
In true Connor Hall fashion, his reply was almost instant.
I couldn't help but blush as I turned off my phone, tucking it back into my pocket as I took a box of cereal out of the cabinet.
It felt pretty good to have those texts back in my life.
***
I stepped out of the car that night and was immediately transported back in time.
It was freshman year. I was stepping out of the old, beat-up sedan that Connor had been driving since high school and turned around to see the giant restaurant behind me, lit up with glittering depictions of moons and stars everywhere. A hostess opened the door for us as we walked inside.
"What is this place?" I asked, turning to look at Connor as the hostess led us to a table in the back corner of the restaurant. It had a single candle flickering in the center of the table, and the tablecloth was a deep blue, contrasting from the white tablecloths at all the tables around it.
"I wanted our first college date night to be special." Connor replied, smiling at me and squeezing my hand in his. "So I called ahead and made a few arrangements."
I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks and quickly rolled my eyes to counteract the display of emotion.
"You're always so--"
"Romantic?" Connor finished my sentence in a different way than I would have directed it as we sat down. "I know."
In the present day, I turned to look at Connor and couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.
"It's Greogria's."
"Of course it is." Connor smiled, taking my hand in his as we walked through the front doors, a different hostess holding the door open for us. "How could you expect anything less?" He turned and looked at the host standing by the computer. "Hall, party of two."
"Right this way, sir." The man nodded, taking two menus and leading us through the restaurant.
We followed him back to a familiar table in the back corner of the restaurant, a single candle flickering on top of a deep blue tablecloth.
"Thank you." I thanked the host as we sat down across from each other. I couldn't help but look around the restaurant in awe; it was exactly the same as I remembered it, and yet everything felt so different; I wasn't the same person I had been when we first visited. Back then, I would never had been able to imagine what would end up happening between Connor and me.
Yet I could always imagine the ending we were getting.
"So, what are you looking forward to the most about going back to New York?" Connor asked as we both perused the menu.
"Nothing, really." I laughed, "I'm excited to finish the season and come back here with you."
Connor smiled at me, his eyes not meeting mine.
"Is everything alright?"
Connor nodded quickly.
"Everything's perfectly fine." He replied, "I'm just an over-thinker."
"I know that." I laughed, "It's something I happen to love about you."
He smiled at me again, his eyes still not completely matching mine as his hands fidgeted in his lap.
"I just want to make sure that we're on the same page here." He began to speak, and I felt my heartbeat quicken; it was a talk I had been dreading. I wasn't sure if I was ready to make any major commitments again, after everything that had happened. I needed time, and I wasn't sure that he did.
"On the same page?" I repeated.
"Yeah, on the same page." He replied. "Like, about where we're heading. I know that in the past we talked about having a future like Dan and Britt are having...you know, getting married, having a normal life..."
"I'm going to stop you there, babe." I shook my head, "That all sounds marvelous in the long run. But for me, it needs to be in the long run. Right now..." I took a deep breath, hoping and praying that I wouldn't offend him with my next words, "...right now I just need to take things slow."
A/N: I know it's Thursday, but I felt bad for all the missing updates so I tried to write an update yesterday but got tired and went to bed. So I finished it this morning!
Regular updates should be back since finals and the holidays are done, so look for those in both TWIMC and Three's Company (an update for which will be up in a few minutes)! Let me know your thoughts...was Connor planning on proposing tonight? Did Syd just ruin it?
-Katherine