Why did I agree to take her?
Melissa’s my best friend. We’ve been friends since elementary school when Tanner invited me to their house one night, and Mel decided right then and there that we were going to be “best friends.” I’ll never forget how her brown hair was in low pigtails or the sound of her voice when she vehemently told me that we were friends and I had no choice in the matter. Ever since that day, she followed Tanner and I around like a puppy. She’s a year younger than we are, but we never got annoyed with her. In fact, by the time we reached middle school, she was a solid part of our friend group and has been ever since.
Our friendship tends to not make a lot of sense to people. As more of a reserved person I’ve never been outgoing or forthcoming with my words. Mel teases me about it quite a lot, but I know she appreciates the calm I give her. We’re two very different people who happen to compliment each other.
So why can’t I stop thinking about her?
Like any man, I find Mel attractive. I don’t know many who would say she isn’t. Ever since her freshman year, she’s had guys trailing all over her, making it Tanner’s and my job to keep them from breaking her heart. After we graduated and she was in her senior year, it became more difficult to weed out the guys who weren’t good enough.
My only serious girlfriend, Selene—who I was dating at the time—made my protection of Mel a huge deal. She was convinced that there was more to our friendship, even though I hadn’t thought of Mel like that in years. Sure, at one point I had a crush on her, who wouldn’t have? But she never looked at me that way, so I buried my feelings for her before even having met Selene.
James finishes his set of bicep curls and I can feel his eyes glancing over towards me, observing. He sets the weights down by his feet, removing his headphones before facing me. “Spit it out.” His voice is strained yet clear in his request. He leans forward, elbows on his knees, waiting for me to fess up.
The thing about James is that since we are similar, I can’t hide anything from him. Things that Tanner wouldn’t notice, James would. Like when my mom would make another offhand remark about how great Noah was, how good he was at everything. James could immediately tell that something was wrong.
Breathing heavily through my nose, I place both hands on the weights, leaning forward, my head lowered with defeat. “It’s Mel.” My voice is soft, barely louder than a whisper.
“C’mon man, you’ve gotta give me more than that.”
“I’m taking her out for Valentine’s Day.” I straighten up, pushing myself off the weights and moving to the bench across from James.
“You’re a wealth of information,” he teases. “What about her boyfriend?”
“How do you know about her boyfriend?”
“I’ve known Mel for a long time. She always has a boyfriend.” He chuckles.
“Yeah, well he broke up with her last week. She called me crying about it Friday during Poker night.” Thinking back to her phone call, my anger at the douche who broke her heart rises to the surface.
“What does Mel’s boyfriend breaking up with her have to do with you?” His question is genuine, not yet connecting the dots.
Rubbing my hands through my damp hair, I work up to reveal what’s tormenting me. “She called me crying when she realized that she had made plans for them.” I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose recalling her heaving sobs in my memory. “Without thinking, I told her I would take her.”
James sits up, rubbing his chin in thought. “And now…what? You don’t want to take her? Or worse, you do?”
My voice comes out fiercer than intended. “I would never let Mel down like that. Of course, I want to take her.” Cradling my head in my hands, my voice sounds muffled. “I don’t know what’s going on with me.”
“Well, Gabe, I think you just figured it out.” James’ tone is confident—positive he has gotten down to the root of my problem.
“Care to share with the class?” He smirks at my sarcasm but brushes me off.
“You never got over your feelings for her, bro.” I stare at him dumbfounded, but he continues. “You convinced yourself that your crush was over. You know Selene never believed you when you told her there was nothing there. I think that deep down, you’ve always been waiting for this opportunity.”
Am I not over her?
I stare at my feet, contemplating what James said. It’s been years since I had any romantic feelings for Mel, but could they have always been there? Sure, I haven’t dated anyone seriously since Selene, and that ended a long time ago. I go on dates from time to time, and I’m no saint, but nothing has gone farther than a few dates.
Groaning, I realize that James is right.
“Shit.”
***
It’s an hour before I have to pick Mel up.
The rest of the shift went by smoothly with some minor calls coming in throughout the night. I got home this morning and attempted to keep my mind busy doing anything I could think of.
I ran over to help Mrs. Willow trim some long tree branches that were scraping her roof, stopped in at the hardware store to pick up some supplies to keep in my garage, and even had lunch with my brother.
