The Way You Said Hello ~ Chapter Eleven

The next few days passed by me like a blur. Friday night and Saturday morning seemed like a hallucination…like some fantastic dream that I was bound to wake from sooner or later. The rest of the weekend, I wasn't quite myself. My entire world had suddenly been thrown off balance, and I was still reeling from the implications of it. When I returned to school on Monday, no one could quite place what it was, but they noticed something different about me. I felt it too. And I was the only person who knew its cause.

AJ and I talked on the phone together almost every night when we both had time. Some nights I had too much work; some nights he was out of town doing interviews and such. But no matter what went on, we kept in touch.

Both of us desperately avoided mentioning what passed between us as we bared our souls to each other on Friday night, or as we opened our hearts on Saturday morning. It was still too fresh and new, like a scar that had not yet completely healed. He sliced me to the bone; everything he did was raw and honest. It frightened me in a way - but I loved the way he made me think and feel.

By the next Thursday, I was ready to see him again.

~

I was ready to burst inside. Keeping this secret was the hardest thing I'd ever done. AJ and I never actually agreed not to tell anyone about each other, but it seemed implied. However, there was one person I could trust.

"Hello?" I heard through the phone.

I cleared my throat. "Um, yeah, is Ryan there?"

"Hold on a second." I heard some shuffling noises and someone yelling. Finally, I heard on the other end: "Hello?"

"Ryan, I have to tell you something NOW!" I practically shouted.

"Becky? Chill out, girl, and take a deep breath," she said. "I mean, don't I even get a hello? A what's up? Anything at all?" She laughed amusedly.

"This is really important! Trust me!" She continued to laugh. "I never get any respect," I grumbled.

Ryan sighed, "Okay, fine. Spill."

"Well, I need to tell you this, but you're never gonna believe it in a thousand years. So just hold on one second. I'm going to put someone else on three-way, and when I'm back, don't say anything!" I said urgently.

Without waiting for a response I clicked over to the other phone line. I dialed AJ's number and while it was ringing, I turned on three-way calling so Ryan could hear what AJ and I were saying.

While AJ's phone was still ringing, I whispered to Ryan, "Remember, not a word."

"Okay," she whispered.

Suddenly AJ picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"AJ?" I asked.

He sounded glad to hear me. "Hey babe! What up?"

"Listen, I can't talk long right now-" I said quickly.

He interrupted me. "Aww… I was hoping for another three-hour long conversation like last night!" We both laughed easily. I wondered what Ryan was thinking right then. No doubt she was jumping up and down, her eyes popping out of her head, her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

"Sorry! Well, I was just wondering what you and the guys were doing this weekend?" I asked, my voice hopeful. I propped my feet up on my desk and let my eyes wander over the few pictures of AJ I had thumb-tacked to my wall after last weekend.

He thought for a moment. I heard music playing over at his place. "Saturday morning we have rehearsal, but that's all….why?"

"Why don't you come over on Saturday night?" I asked. "We can do something…" I could practically hear his eyebrows rise.

"Ooh…what would that be?" he asked suggestively, his grin showing through his voice.

"Hmm," I teased. "I don't know. Surprise me."

"I like this!" he snickered.

"Well babe, we're not gonna be alone-" I heard him groan-"so don't get any bright ideas. Bring Nick with you. There's somebody I want him to meet." I laughed to myself. Ryan was going to kill me.

AJ sounded disappointed. "Well, okay, that's fine, I guess."

I felt sort of guilty. "Don't worry. I'm sure I can arrange some time for us to be alone," I said softly.

"Great!" his voice cheered immediately. "What time should I be there?"

"Um…seven?" I guessed.

"Sounds good."

I quickly gave him directions to my house and said goodbye. I heard a click as he hung up the phone, and turned off the three-way calling function. "Ryan, you can talk now," I said, smiling. I waited for her to say something, but there was silence on the other line. "Ryan? Helloooo?" Greeeeat…she probably had a heart attack and died. Good going, Becks.

Suddenly she screamed louder than I had imagined possible for the human species. I cringed and held the phone a foot away from my ear until she was finished. Bringing it back to my head, I laughed and said, "Bet you never would have guessed!"

"You could have at least warned me first!" she said angrily, but I knew she wasn't mad.

"But that would have taken all the fun out of it," I giggled.

Ryan was in shock. "How the hell did this happen?"

"It all started with that e-mail I told you about.. then there were the phone calls…and then Pleasure Island. It's a long story that I'll tell you about some other time. But you heard the man: be here Saturday night by six and we can get ready together. You're gonna have the time of your life."

With that, I hung up the phone and grinned. Only two more days and I'd see AJ again. Humming to myself, I pulled out my backpack and started my homework.

~

Continue to chapter twelve

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