AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maci
December 2015
There were onlya few days left until winter break, and I was never in more need of a vacation.
Finals week had arrived. While everyone else was pretty much done with the semester, I had to stay on campus until Friday since that was my last exam. Bowling Green would be a ghost town by tomorrow.
On the upside, it was officially the season of Christmas, by far my favorite time of year. It was also Katie’s, so naturally our apartment looked straight out of a cozy Hallmark movie. The only light in the living room came from the perfectly placed strands that decorated the windows and hung around the kitchen counters. A cute red and green Christmas tree sat in the corner of the room and our stockings hung off of the TV stand. Katie’s snow globe collection was spread out around the living room and a lit garland ran along the outline of the ceiling.
WhileDr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmasplayed on the TV for background noise, I watched Katie fill up another duffle bag and add it to the corner of the living room. It was slowly becoming a mountain of her belongings.
“Jesus, Katie. You’re only going home for a month.” I took another sip of my wine, and my phone buzzed in my hand. It was Bryson.
Bryson:
Where you at?
He was right on schedule. Every Wednesday night between eight and nine, Bryson’s name would appear on my screen. It had been a month of seeing Bryson once or twice during the school week and usually once on the weekends. We always met up at my place because I was pretty sure if I ran into Jaxon while I was there to see Bryson, I would combust on the spot.
Balancing time slots in my apartment became a talent I never intended to perfect. Wednesday night was Bryson, and Thursday was Jaxon. Friday or Saturday night was Bryson, and Jaxon was usually over on Sundays. Throw Katie and Tyler’s schedule in there, and this place was a madhouse with a revolving door for relationships.
Because Jaxon made it very clear that Bryson was to know nothing about our past, I had to pretend that I barely knew him whenever they were in the same place together. That night of Drunk Driving in my apartment was enough to show me that I never wanted to act like that around Jaxon again. It stung to see how easy it was for Jaxon to erase everything about us.
After my third time hooking up with Bryson, I decided it was time to put a little more clarity into my Fun Dip situation. I never knew what he did outside of our time together, but the way he never let his phone out of his sight was hard to ignore. If Bryson was going to hook up with other girls, that was completely and totally fine with me. Even though I didn’t expect him to be exclusive with me, I did expect him to respect me enough as a friend to be honest about it.
I asked Bryson point blank if he was hooking up with other people and assured him that I didn’t care either way. I stripped my question of any judgment and had even practiced on Katie to ensure there wasn’t an underlying tone in my voice that read, “Please, God, no. Just be sleeping with me.”
In a short and quick response, and to my total surprise, Bryson said he wasn’t.
I took another sip of wine and watched Katie shove a fifth hoodie into her duffel. As much as I wanted to believe Bryson, and I wanted to believe him with every bone in my body, I knew in my gut that he wasn’t telling the truth. I was equally annoyed and angered about it.
A Fun Dip was supposed to be carefree and easygoing. Convenient and low risk. Yet here I was, trying to make sense of why a guy would lie about something when there was no reason to. It was also a very concerning sign that I got butterflies whenever his name lit up my phone screen. I wouldn’t know simplicity if it slapped me right in the face.
I’m at home, but I am helping Katie pack. Girls night.
I slid my phone onto the coffee table and tried not to look disappointed. Katie had to listen to way too many recaps of my inner dialogues already. I just wanted to turn it off for a little bit.
“Are you seeing Tyler again before you leave tomorrow?” I asked, trying to remember the last time Katie even mentioned Tyler.
Katie shook her head and sighed. “I am done with Tyler.”
I caught my next sip of wine just in time before it dripped onto my black tank top. That was the last thing I expected her answer to be.
Katie laughed at my reaction and zipped up her last duffel bag. “I cut it off last night. It was too much work and not worth my time.”
Grabbing the bottle of wine from the counter, she made her way over to the couch and took the empty seat beside me. I took another sip and let her continue.
“Truth is, I didn’t see us going anywhere. I don’t know.” She shrugged and twisted the cap off of the bottle to help herself to a full glass of Moscato. “I just don’t want to waste time with someone who is at a dead end right now. It got to the point where I wasn’t even sure if we were friends, and I didn’t like how he made me feel about myself.”
I nodded, hearing every word she said and needing no more explanation. I envied how easy it was for Katie to see a situation for what it was.
“I love how strong you are,” I admitted and grabbed her hand.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with strength.” She laughed and squeezed my hand back.
“I just want you to be happy. I can’t think of anyone more deserving. And good for you for putting yourself first. We will go prospecting when we get back from break. Find you a more stimulating hookup.”
“Yes, girl.” She clinked her wine glass against mine, and we both peered down at my lit-up phone screen. Bryson’s name was plastered right in the center of it.
