But I couldn’t help myself, because this was a first for me. I’d never ever had someone to fantasize about before. I was going to take advantage of this small burst of fun in my life.
“So, when’s date number two?” she pressed.
“Well, there was no date number one, first of all. And probably never, if I had to guess.”
“What?!” she said, in her usual high-pitched, whiny voice which she used whenever she didn’t like something. “But why? She’s cute, and you liked her!”
“Because I’ll probably never see her again. I didn’t get her number.”
She pushed my shoulder. “Emily, how could you chicken out? This is the first girl you’ve ever liked.”
“I didn’t exactly chicken out,” I defended myself. “The thought didn’t even cross my mind until I’d walked out of the bar. I was too distracted by your text and worrying about what had happened to your car.”
“Ugh!” She threw her head against the headrest. “My car accident ruined both our days.”
“Eh, it’s fine.” I shrugged, “I really don’t think it would’ve become anything. She was just a girl in a bar.”
“A girl in a bar that you liked! I wouldn’t have wanted to waste the opportunity for you. Especially after you’d had such a shit morning.”
I’d nearly forgotten about that. “Right… well, now it’s your job to distract me.”
“Yeah? How so?”
“Pizza, wine, and trashy reality television?”
She smiled. “Deal. I’m due for a long night in. Especially when I no longer have a car…”
“Good. A night in with my best friend is just as good as any night with some random, cute stranger at a bar,” I told her.
I wasn’t so sure that was true. But I didn’t want to waste my time thinking about the cute girl I’d missed out on.
And clearly, I couldn’t have any distractions right now, anyway. After failing this test, school needed to be my life for the rest of the year.
5
Kaitlyn
I wasn’t really the type to get hung up on one person, unless I’d been dating them for a while, but for some odd reason, I was hung up on that girl I’d met at the bar.
Ever since a few days ago, I couldn’t get her off my mind. I wished I could have gotten to know more about her. There were a million questions running through my mind. What kind of music did she like? What was her favorite television show? Did she like to read?
They all sounded like such mundane questions, but when I thought about her answering them, they suddenly became intensely interesting. There was no denying it; I had myself a little crush.
But it was totally useless, because I hadn’t gotten her number. I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe that was what she’d wanted. It’d seemed like we were vibing, but she’d run off so quickly.
I mean, she totally could’ve had an emergency, but she hadn’t asked for my number, either. There was always that chance she was bad at saying no to people and had to come up with a reason to run out the door. Maybe she’d just been waiting to get a text to pull that act, who knew.
Either way, it didn’t really matter. We were never getting together, that was definite. I probably should’ve tried to stop thinking about her.
On the other hand, it was actually really nice to be thinking about her, because it kept me from thinking about Julia. Since I’d run into Emily, Julia had barely crossed my mind.
In fact, speaking to Emily had reminded me of just how much I needed to move on from Julia. With Julia, I’d never felt any more than judgment for my choice to be a musician. Emily had actually seemed fascinated by it.
Even if I never saw Emily again, I was glad I’d run into her. She’d reminded me that there were people out there who would appreciate my good traits. People who would actually like my creativity, the way Julia used to.
As usual, I was woken up early by the sound of pots and pans banging in the kitchen. Ryan was kind of a health nut and liked to cook himself eggs every morning, which he ate with whole wheat bread.
I didn’t mind him being loud in the morning. How could I? I was an intruder in his world. I wasn’t even paying to be here, so of course I couldn’t complain.