But even if we made a small repair to our friendship today, I worry it won’t last long. Because I’ll have to tell her about Myles at some point, and unless she miraculously decides to dissolve the pact or discovers a deep well of forgiveness neither of us knew she had, we’ll be worse off than before.
26PLAYLIST:existential crisis
BY THE END OFmy shift I’ve hit my savings goal, so the next day I take my dad to work so I can take his car to Providence and buy the gorgeous wood Victrola I’ve had my eye on. I can’t stop smiling as I drive it back home. I’m off today, so I set it up right away and spend a good fifteen minutes choosing which record to break it in with (Counting Crows,August and Everything After). I lie on my bed and close my eyes as music fills the room.
When I’m halfway through the second song, I decide that this moment is too good not to share, and I text Gregory. There’s literally no one else I’d want to share this with.As a friend.
Me: You working today?
Gregory: nope
Me: Wanna come over? I have a surprise.
Gregory:
Gregory: on my way
Me: I’ll wait for you on the back porch
I leap out of bed and run a brush through my hair, then grab two cans of soda and head outside with Margarine to wait. Twenty minutes later I see Gregory walking along the shore. He’s taking his time, head bent as he scans the sand by his feet as he goes. Twice he bends down to pick something up and tuck it into his pocket.
He’s wearing board shorts, a white baseball cap, and the T-shirt I lent him the day we brought a pregnant Fiona home. He gives a little wave as he comes up the seagrass path and climbs the steps.
“Still looking for a shark tooth?”
“Yes,” he grumbles. “I’m starting to think you lied to me when you said people find them on the beach.”
“Would I lie to you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I wasn’t lying about that.”
He reaches up to flip his hat backward. “That remains to be seen.”
I can’t help my exasperated grin. “That looks familiar,” I say, looking pointedly at his shirt.
He looks down. “It’s really comfortable.”
“Yeah, I know.”
He gestures to the unopened soda can. “For me?”
I nod, and he walks around the small table to sit across from me on the blue couch. He ruffles the fur on Margarine’s head, then pops the top of the can. “Thanks.”
“Sure.”
He leans forward, resting forearms on his thighs. “So, what’s the big surprise?”
I tuck my lips together for a second, building the suspense, then blurt out, “I’ve been saving up all summer for something awesome, and I finally got it this morning.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“A vintage record player.”
His eyes light up, and my stomach flips. It’s like it hits me all of a sudden, in this moment, just how handsome Gregory is. Way hotter than I thought he was the night we met. Did getting to know him really change how I see him that much? Did Kat’s observation about us together open some new door in my brain? Or is it just because in this moment, he’s the only person I knew who would appreciate how excited I am right now?
“Please say we can go listen to it.”
