A/N: The dynamic duo are back together in this one. Enjoy <3
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IX. All Great Minds Think A Like
I take a sip of my iced coffee outside the coffee and donut shop as I tap away on my laptop. While studying for school, I hear a high pitched scream that I immediately recognize.
Looking up from my laptop, I instantly smile at the woman who's running from across the street at me. Heather Daniels barges into me so hard it nearly knocks my glasses off my face and the front legs of my chair lift up a little, nearly making me fall back. She wraps her arms tightly around me and I hold back a sob as the realization hits me of how much I've missed my life long best friend.
"Oh my gosh Bex I can't believe you're really back!" she squeals excitedly as she takes my appearance in. I do the same as I compare and contrast at how much Heather has changed since I last saw her.
Her hair no longer cascades down her back in waves but is now shorter and straight. It's cut in a bob that stops just above her shoulders, similar to mine. However mine is slightly longer in the front than the back, creating an a-line bob. She looks older but that hasn't taken away from her beauty, it's helped it actually. I notice she's cut back on the amount of make up she use to wear and is now sticking to the natural beauty she always had.
"Since when did you get glasses? You always bragged about your perfect vision as a kid," she jokes while smiling widely at me and flicks at my rose gold Coach eyeglasses with curiosity.
"Oh I've had them for a couple years now. I guess bad vision finally caught up to me," I lie. She'll never know the real reason I had to get glasses. Heather rolls her eyes at me and shrugs as she takes the seat across from me.
"When your grandma came into the shop the other day saying you were coming home I thought she was losing it. It wasn't until I ran into your dad later on that he confirmed it. I'm so glad you're back, I've missed you so much," she smiles with tears forming in her eyes. I reach over and gently squeeze her hand.
"I've missed you too Hev. So tell me how things have been with you," I close my laptop and concentrate on my best friend.
"Oh so much has happened since we last talked. That was what about five years ago?" she looks up with her eyes, deep in thought.
The last time we talked was at my Papa's funeral and it was very brief. Just long enough for her and Maria to give me their condolences before I left. I didn't have time to ask them about anything going on in their lives. If I had, I'm sure I would've learned about Nate's kid. I try to remember if I saw a little boy with them at the time but I can't.
"Are you still with that guy you were with the last time we talked on the phone? What was his name? Trevor I think?" I ponder. The last time I actually talked to Heather was almost seven years ago. I was nearing the end of my sophomore year in college.
"Oh God no! He's way old news. He was just a college fling anyways," she shrugs it off with a laugh.
"Oh," I laugh back. Typical Heather, my non-committal, adventurous best friend.
"No, actually I'm dating Bryan Scott now," she grimaces at me, waiting for my reaction.
"Wait, Bucky Bryan!?" I nearly fall from my chair. Bryan Scott had massive front teeth back in grade school. He'd gotten the nickname then and it just stuck, even through high school when his teeth no longer looked that way.
"Yes and he's not bucktoothed anymore," she playfully shoves at my arm. I can't help my laughter and once we've both calmed down, I take a sip of my iced coffee.
"Actually it's pretty serious. We've been dating for the last two years," she beams at me with pride. I think the longest relationship Heather ever had was maybe a month tops. It's not that she was easy, she just wasn't into commitment at the time. She enjoyed life too much to be settled down. That's perfectly okay. I'll admit I had a few noncommittal relationships in college. Mostly because I was still in love with Nate and couldn't move on with anyone.
"Wow! Well I'm proud of you Hev. It's about time you settled your ass down," I grin at her teasingly.
"So what about you? Anyone special in your life?" she props her elbows on the table, cupping her face in wonder.
"No, there's no one," I shyly smile, avoiding her gaze.
"Oh come on Bex you can't tell me you've been single the last eight years since you've left," she jokes. No I haven't. I was actually in a very serious long-term relationship Heather but you will never find out about that either.
"There were a few boyfriends here and there but no one serious," I shrug and take another sip of my coffee as I play with the straw wrapper laying on the table.
"Mmhmm," she hums and looks at me suspiciously.
"So I heard about what you did to Nate the other day," she begins with a huge grin. Oh God, here it comes.
"I'm actually shocked it wasn't worse than it was. I expected almost ten years of pint up anger would be a lot more violent than a punch to the gut," she jokes and tilts her head back in laughter. I smirk to myself but I don't engage with her in laughter. When she looks at me, she calms herself down and grabs my hand.
"You know what? We should totally go out tonight. Yeah, let's go into town and go clubbing. Isn't that the kind of stuff you do in California?" she grins with excitement.
"Umm, I don't know," I begin but someone catches my eye coming out of the familiar antique store a few shops down. It's Heather and Nate's mom, Maria Daniels. She catches my gaze and instantly beams with excitement. Walking over, she squeals at me just like Heather did. Heather looks over her shoulder at her mom and giggles.
"Oh my God if it isn't my favorite other daughter," she opens her arms wide and I stand to embrace her in a tight hug. Oh how I've missed this woman. She's always been like a second mom to me growing up and after Mom passed away, she really stepped up to make sure I had a mother figure in my life.
"Oh sweet thing how have you been? Look at you! You're absolutely stunning! That California sun did wonders for your skin. Up here in the northern states it's harder to get a good tan," she playfully nudges my arm with a smile while she compliments me. It is true though, my skin tone is a lighter tan but out in California when I was out in the sun a lot, I got extremely tan. Many times people would assume I was Latina.
"Thank you, you look good yourself Maria. I love your hair. It's so pretty," I grab a piece of her long beach waves in between my fingers. Last time I saw her, her hair was shorter and always up in a ponytail.
"Aww thank you baby. I love your hair too. The shorter hair looks good on you. It's similar to Hev's," she smiles and gently grabs a piece of Heathers hair to compare.
"What can I say Mom, great minds think a like," she smiles up at me and sticks her tongue out.
Great minds think a like use to be our saying with each other all the time as teenagers. Every time I trimmed my hair, she'd trimmed hers or if I got a new shirt, she got the same one. All of this being done without telling the other. It was freaky to others a lot of the time. We even made a joke once that we'd probably get pregnant at the same time without realizing it.
"So what are you girls up to?" Maria begins to ask before looking at the table and noticing my laptop.
"Oh baby were you working? I'm sorry if we interrupted you," she grabs a hold of my arm as she apologizes.
"Oh no you're fine. I was actually studying for my online classes. I got a little behind in college and took a break. I'm finishing up the last bit I need to finally graduate," I explain shyly.
I should've been done with college a long time ago but he happened and I was no longer able to continue my education. I'd always wanted to work with children and growing up I did a lot of volunteering in the church nursery and at the preschool. So when it came to decide my main focus of study my junior year of high school, I picked teaching. Kindergarten to be exact.
"You know what honey that's fine. Sometimes we have to take a break to find ourselves and come back to center," she smiles warmly at me.
I don't know why I felt ashamed to tell her. Maria has always been the understanding kind of parent, just like my parents. Even if they were disappointed in you, they'd never degrade you for it or hold it against you. I've always aimed to be a parent like them one day. My children would always know they're loved, supported, and even if they messed up, their mom would always have their back.
"Either way, I'm so proud of you. You did what most people in this little town wish they could do, you left. You went out into the big world on your own to find yourself and see what it has to offer for you. I'm glad you're home now though. The house hasn't been the same since you three were in high school," she smiles thoughtfully and I smile back, remembering both our houses when we'd all be around each other.
"What do you mean Mama? Nate and I still live at home," Heather laughs.
"Yes but it's just not the same without Bex there to stir the pot between you two or real you in when you've gotten out of hand," Maria jokes and I feel a ting of guilt inside. It wasn't just Nate I left behind when I ran away. I left my family and his, the family that was my second home growing up.
"Sure Mama. But back to our plans, I'm trying to convince Bex to go to town with me. We could go out dancing or something to celebrate our reunion," she looks at me triumphantly and I glare back at her.
"Oh that sounds like fun. You should go Bex! Better than staying cooped up in the house with your daddy," Maria smacks me jokingly. Great! Now I really have to go. It's not like I can't go. Susie is covering my shift tonight since I had to cover hers the last two nights since little Jimmy is still sick.
The more I think about going, the more it sounds like a good idea. I could spend time with my best friend like we did back in the day. We are older now and don't have to sneak to have a good time. Plus it will be good for me to break my chains and have fun again. It's been so long since I have that I was beginning to forget what it feels like.
"Fine...I'll go," I finally groan, both Maria and Heather are now bouncing in excitement.
"Awesome! I'll show up to your house around three and we can get ready together," Heather instructs me with animation. Just like the good ole' days.
The rest of the day goes by fast as I'm able to get a couple of my assignments done and ready to turn in next week. Three o'clock rolls around and there's a knock on the front door. Heather lets herself in before it can be answered just like she always did growing up. I can't complain cause I did the same at her house. Even Nate would let himself in like he lived here but my dad loved having another guy around the house to watch sports with or talk about fishing, so he didn't care.
For a long time it was just me and dad, then when I left for college it was just him. Grandma didn't move in until after Papa passed away. Dad got worried about her being alone in that big house. She protested at first but when she realized the small farm was too much for her to keep up with on her own, she gave in. I'm happy that she did move in though. It helped both of them with their loneliness I think. They took care of each other since I was all the way in California, making one mistake after another.
We go up to my room and I sit on my bed as Heather does her usual snooping. She goes through my clothes hanging up and there's not much there, only what would fit in my big duffle bag. She comes across the dress I'd bought earlier after I decided to go. I drove to a shop in Jamestown and decided on a black thin strapped, halter top dress. It goes down to the middle of my thighs, showing off my thick toned legs. It's got a low cut in the back showing off a majority of my back. The front is low cut as well, showing off a good amount of cleavage. Looking down she notices my black strapped high heels and her eyes widen at my outfit as she nods her head in approval.
"You're going to look so hot tonight Bex. All the guys will be drooling over you," she smiles and pulls out her outfit from her bag. It's a black spaghetti strapped dress that reaches up to right above her knees, resembling mine. Her shoes are black heels as well and I begin to laugh.
"Great minds think a like," I smirk.
"Yeah, yeah they do," she laughs as we begin getting ready.
We both decide on beach waves for our hair, with a natural look for our make-up. By the time we're done, we look like we could be sisters. When we head downstairs my dad is sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich. He looks up at the two of us and his eyes go wide.
"Wow, don't you two look beautiful," he stands up and puts his dish in the sink.
"Thank you Daddy," I walk up to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Where are you off to?" he eyes me suspiciously. Oh Lord not the million questions thing. I'm twenty-six years old for goodness sakes.
"I'm taking her into town as my date," Heather smiles at my dad and weaves her arm with mine. Phew. At least he won't think I'm going out to hook up, which I'm not. No tonight is about Heather and I, a girls night.
"Oh that's nice. Well you two have fun and be good. No drinking and driving either young ladies," my dad points at the two of us, giving us a serious look.
"We won't Dad. We'll call a taxi if it comes to that," I smile reassuringly at him, giving him one last kiss before heading out the door.
We take Heather's car into town and on the way there she gossips about drama that's going around town as I listen intently. The closer we get to our destination the more excited I get. It's been a long time since I've done this, too long. I'm going to enjoy myself tonight and not think about the things going wrong in my life, the men, the heart break, none of it.
Tonight is about me and my freedom.