"I think you should go with her. You need to get your mind occupied with something else." He took two plates out of the cabinet setting them on the table.
I watched as he brought over the eggs and scooped some out of the frying pan onto my plate, and then his own. When he returned to the table, he took up the plate of bacon as he sat down across from me.
"I want to, but I just don't know. What if I have a breakdown or something?" I took some of the bacon from the offered plate. "I don't want to have to explain myself or even make excuses so that I won't have to. She wants me to go with her to this one hotel later on this afternoon and then over to some restaurant about an hour from here. I just don't know what to do." After Thursday's debacle, I decided to take Greg up on his advice and not be comatose, but only because my plan failed so miserably.
"You will be OK. You are way stronger than you think." He takes a bite of his bacon and winks at me.
I simply shrug in response. "So, are you excited about your big date tonight?" I ask putting on a smile. The truth is, I really am excited for him. When he thought that I was still asleep this morning, I over heard him on the phone. They sounded so cute that it almost killed me, almost.
He looked at me blinking, a piece of toast paused from entering his mouth. "Are you asking because you want me to praise you for getting over yourself and letting me actually go out and enjoy myself?"
"No! I am really asking here. Where did the two of you decide to go?"
"We are going back for another performance at Pride."
My eyes grew large as I watched him bite off a piece of toast and then a fork full of eggs like he had just told me that they were just going to catch a movie.
"Really? Oh. My. Goodness. You're already whipped!" I giggle as Greg turns as red as an apple. "Oh, Gabe, you have out done yourself. Maybe I should open up a matchmaking business?
"Eat your food!" He said trying desperately to be serious but his voice trailed off meekly.
"I just knew it, I really did! Man, I wish I could've made a bet on that, it would have been a nice payday." I pick up a piece of toast and piled some eggs onto it suddenly in the mood to eat something and I take a bite. "Oh that's right! He is performing again this afternoon! That's even better. You are going so you can fangirl aren't you?" I wiggled my eyebrows and laughed. This literally made my day. "This has put me in a generous mood, Sir. Take the rest of the day off. I hear by release you from your friendship obligation of babysitting me. Go out and enjoy!"
He laughed into his glass. "You are too gracious. I will remain with you until it is time for him to pick me up. He is doing school work until then."
"I see, well then, we can be couch potatoes until it's time for you to go; watch a movie or three."
He nodded. "So will you go with Janet?"
I fuss over the eggs on my plate. "I guess I can. I don't want you to be worried about me instead of having a good time. If I end up needing a moment, I can run off to the bathroom or something and since the sun is all bright and shinny, I will be able to get away with wearing sunglasses all day to hide my red eyes." This caused Greg to drop his fork away from his mouth and frown. "I am kidding. Kinda. Sorta. Look, I will do the best I can and I will send you selfies of me attempting to have fun, okay?"
He smiled reaching across the table to cover my hand with his. "That is all I can ask of you, my love. However, if it becomes too daunting of a task, give me a call and I will come back post haste. Just try to make sure it is not until after I have had enough fun."
"Deal."
He took another bite of toast. "Are you finished packing at least?"
I shake my head. "Not really, never started. Been a little preoccupied as of late."
"So we can watch a movie while we do the packing and if there is something you need that is not here, we can go out to the store. The busier you become, there will be that much less room in that brain of yours to think about unpleasant things." He said as pushed his chair away from the table to stand. "I would love to come down and visit, when you are there, I love going to Florida. He walked away taking his dishes to the sink.
I nodded as I stuffed the last of my eggs and bacon into my mouth. "Sure! That would be awesome, but wait for the next trip because I will be too busy with work to have any fun time this visit." He came back over to retrieve my dishes and put them in the sink.
I ended up needing to go to the store after all for some basic necessities. How did I not notice that I was out of shaving cream? So nearly three hours after starting, I was finally ready to leave for my trip tomorrow afternoon. Packing is way more fun when you have a packing buddy. I had secretly been dreading packing.
We were currently on the couch watching the latest installment of the marvel universe's Spiderman series at Greg's request that I watch something lively instead of the usual chick-flick. Truth be told, I have actually, finally, come around to liking these movies in recent months. Ian had been dragging me to them for quite sometime, but watching them with Greg is a whole different experience. A little known fact about him? He is actually a huge comic book nerd, but he doesn't let many people know that though, he claims it will ruin his reputation of fabulousness among the in crowd that he does business with.
"So do you think you will tell Riyan that you are into this kind of thing?" I ask suddenly.
"Maybe, but that will be way down the road. You know, after we are already married with two point five pets and a house."
I laugh. "You just continue to surprise me."
"What?"
"Thinking of marriage? I must admit that you have exceeded my expectations.
"Hey, I didn't mean that. It was just a saying, as in he will never find out."
"Sure." He tosses a few kernels of popcorn at me. "Um, make sure you clean that up." He throws a handful this time. "Keep it up, and I will tell him for you!"
"Fine!"
I smile to myself as I eat the bits that landed in my lap and on the cushion next to me; too bad I had already already told him. That very subject was the beginning of the conversation for Riyan and I, and the somewhat selling point of getting him to meet Greg.
My phone buzzes and I fish it out of my pajama pocket half expecting to see a message from Janet. I was delighted in stead when I saw that it was the delivery guy who was currently down stairs with our food.
Greg looks at me expectantly. "The food?" I nod. "Cool. I will get it. You need to pay attention to this part of the movie because it will help you to understand what happens later and it also ties together some of the storyline from the movie before this one."
I simply shake my head because I want him to go down stairs to get the food. If I had mentioned anything about not understanding most of it, he would have felt obligated to stand there and try to explain it while my food went cold waiting in the lobby. I watch him leave before turning my attention back to the movie. There is a very good chance that I will be quizzed on all of this at the end, especially this section.
My phone rings and this time, it is Janet. I pause the movie and answer the call.
"Hey! So are we still on for this evening?" She yells into the phone. I hear some commotion in the back ground and realize she is down at Pride.
I roll my eyes looking at the door Greg walked through moments ago. "Yes. Greg seems to think it will be good for me also if I do this."
"Yes, don't worry you will get into it soon enough." A voice called out to her then and it sounded oddly familiar. "Yes! I am talking to her right now-"
"Gabriel Leighton! Why aren't you here? Are you too busy being a world famous model and can't be seen with us regular people?"
I squeal into the phone. "Jason! How are you babe?"
"I've been doing ok, not as great as you obviously, but good enough. I was hoping you would be here, that's twice now that I have been stood up by you."
"Twice? When was I supposed to see you before?"
"Way back, months ago. I had met that guy who works for Garren. He said he knew you and was going to bring you that night, but you stood us both up that time." He laughed.
"Oh yeah, I had to go out of town for a business trip. If you had let me know that you were going to be there today I would have come there again. I came through on Thursday."
"Yes, and now I hear I will miss you again because you will be in Florida. You are just too popular for me. Anyway I will give this girl her phone back. She is giving me the stink eye."
"Ha! Janet is great, go easy on her."
"I am playing nice, it's just that you will forever be my favorite."
Greg walks through the door then. "Jason, you are the best." He raises an eyebrow at me and I wave him off. He sits the food down on the table before me plopping down onto the sofa next to me leaning close so he could hear. I push him away. "Hopefully, I will get to see you soon. Take care! Janet? Yeah, I can meet you there at four. Okay, see you then." I put the phone on the sofa arm. "Nosey much?"
"Who's Jason?"
"Why do you care? You are off the market now anyhow." I pick up one of the brown bags. "Is this one mine?"
"Oh, I see."
"I was talking to Jason from Basic." This garnered an eye roll. "Aw baby you still mad?" I took out my fries and sub. It smelled great. "He is a nice guy, I can't believe you would still be mad about that."
"Honey, I am over it."
"Good, because you will most likely see him this evening." I take a bite and wait.
"He better hope I don't see him, that rat bastard. He cheated, I swear he did!"
"Oh yeah, you're over it all right." I un-pause the movie, settling back into the sofa. "Please don't embarrass me if you do see him, if you don't think you can behave for my sake, then do it for Riyan's."
He only huffed as he took his own food out of the bag making me chuckle. I assumed he would only behave for Riyan's sake. I recalled the incident in question and laughed out loud this time and Greg ignored me. Jason had a slight crush on Greg, everyone knew, but he had taken things a little too far during that night of after parties and spontaneous games of strip poker. I was pretty sure he cheated as well; anything to make sure his crush was on the loosing side.
: Ten minutes later. :
"I know I have said this before, but if it counts for anything, you were looking really good in those briefs." I barely got the sentence out before being overtaken by laughter. He reaches over to smack my arm but I don't care as I am still laughing. "Oh Greg, I love you so much! You are forever able to cheer me up." I set my food down on the table so that I could jump on and wrap my arms around him. He yelps moving his food out of the way. "Seriously, what would I ever do without you?"