It was a cold Tuesday afternoon. I skipped my afternoon Calculus class because it was icy outside and I couldn’t bring myself to waste this perfectly good opportunity to curl up on my couch with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and Bailey’s Irish Cream. I had a tendency to slip and fall, after all, and I really couldn’t risk getting hurt so far into the semester. I had my grades to consider.
I had just gotten a nest the of green and blue throw pillows that decorated my drab gray couch to mold perfectly the curves of my body when he knocked on my door. Groaning, I got up and looked through the peephole. Two bloodshot eyes leered back at me. I opened the door and Zac brushed past me toward the couch. I barely had time to smooth my hair and readjust my t-shirt before he made himself comfortable on the pile of blue and green that I had just vacated. I took a seat on the floor across from the couch.
“She dumped me, Annie. Dana dumped me.” Music to my ears. I suddenly felt warm inside, and this time I was pretty sure it wasn’t because of the small amount of alcohol that I mixed with my hot chocolate.
“Oh no,” I said, suppressing a smile and hoping that I looked properly concerned. “What happened?”
“Apparently she needs space.” I couldn’t help noticing how beautiful his long fingers were as they curled, making quotation marks in the air as he said “space.” “She says she needs to be single for a while. She needs to figure things out.” Quotation marks.
“That bitch,” I said, moving from the floor to the open cushion on the couch. “What does she expect you to do, sit around and wait for her?”
“I don’t know, Annie. I just don’t know.” He leaned against me and I put a tentative arm around his shoulder. “How long have we been friends?”
“Two years, and--”
“And in two years, have I ever been a bad guy?” He looked at me, and even through impending tears, his eyes were still the most beautiful I had ever seen. “I did everything for that girl. I took her to the movies. I took her shopping. I even skipped Monday night football with the guys when her grandmother died. And for what?”
“I know, Zac. I know.” I willed my voice to be soothing, despite the tingling sensation that was creeping its way into my stomach. “You’re not a bad guy. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re wonderful. Dana’s just too dumb to see that she’s making a huge mistake.” I rested my forehead against his and smiled softly, or so I hoped. “She doesn’t even deserve someone like you.”
He looked at me with tenderness in his eyes. For the first time, I felt that he actually saw me. “Are your roommates home?” I shook my head. Zac took my hand and headed toward my bedroom.
Later, as I looked at my mussed hair and rumpled clothes, I smiled, thinking about what he said to me as he walked out the door. “Thanks, Annie. I’m so glad we’re friends.” He kissed me on the cheek and winked. “We’ll have to do this again some time.”
I failed calculus that semester, due to a poor attendance record.