(Two months later)
“Are you coming Meg? We’re going to Java House for some coffee.” Meg’s friend Ava asked. Cradling her Creative Writing folder to her chest, Meg shook her head.
“I have a paper to write and Taylor is photographing me me for a project.” Ava nodded, falling into step next to Meg.
“Taylor is fine Meg. If you won’t date him, send him my way.” Meg laughed.
“Tay and I have some issues to get through before we even think about dating.” Ava rolled her eyes.
“You have Taylor, Scott McEwen wants to date you, Mark Wilkins is in love with you, and yet you turn them all down.”
“I just want to focus on my friend ship with Tay,” Ava shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ll see you in class Meg.” Ava said, walking off. Meg walked a few blocks to the off campus apartment that she shared with Taylor.
“Tay? Taylor, I’m home!” Meg yelled, throwing her keys on the table. Taylor came into the small living room, holding his camera.
“Hey Meg. I need a new camera.” Meg nodded.
“Maybe you’ll get one for your birthday, since you got me a laptop for mine.” Taylor smiled.
“I can only hope.” Meg went and put her books in her room.
“Are you ready to pose sexy lady?” Taylor asked in a bad southern drawl. Meg nodded.
“Ok, sit by the window and gaze out like you’re waiting for your long lost love to come home.” Meg nodded and stared out the window. She imagined that she was waiting for her husband to come home from a war. She was vaguely aware of the shutter clicking.
“That was great. Now look at me.” Meg turned to face him. “Look at me like your looking at the love of your life. Like you couldn’t possibly love anymore.” Meg didn’t have to try, because she was looking at the love of her life.
****************
“Miss Weiss, you can be the next one to read your descriptive paragraph out loud.” Professor Jungling said. Meg grabbed her paper, went to the front of the class, and smoothed her blue skirt. She took a deep breath and began to read.
“As the sun set on the dusty Oklahoma landscape, I had one hope. That my best friend would come home. I was naive, imagining that we could make it through anything. We both made mistakes but I held his against him. I was so unbelievably hurt by his errors, his mistakes, that I shut him out. I tried to make myself hate him but his compassion, his persistence, chipped away at my hatred. He astounds me. And soon I realized that there was nothing I could hold against him. And soon, I realized that I am in love with him. His intellect, his integrity, and his benevolent and sympathetic personality, I love everything about him. I hope that this won’t affect our friendship in any way, and I conclude with this. I love, endear, adore, cherish, and am very fond of this man. And I hope he feels the same way.” Meg finished and looked at Taylor. His mouth hung open and a look of surprise was on his face.
“Well Miss Weiss, you do have talent. Thank you Megan.” Meg nodded and sat down. Professor Jungling looked around the classroom.
“Mr. Hanson, you’re next.” Taylor went to the front of the room and cleared his throat.
“Her loveliness is uncomparable, her jade eyes as deep and clear as the ocean, she is elegant, beautiful, and lithe. When her hatred was directed my way, it was insufferable and I felt inept, incapable, weak, and feeble. Even though it felt preposterous, I endured, persisted, and ended up gaining back our intimacy, our friendship. And I adore, worship, like, cherish and am very fond of her. I’m glad she loves me too.” Taylor sat down. Professor Jungling cleared her throat. “That’s all for today. Class is dismissed.” Meg grabbed her notebook and quickly left the building. Taylor caught up with her on the quad.
“Did you-” He paused and took a deep breath. “Did you really mean what you said in there?”
“I just did the assignment Taylor.” Meg said, walking off. Why did I just lie? Meg asked herself.
“Meg!” A voice yelled. Meg turned around and saw Ava running toward her.
“Hey.” Meg said as Ava fell into step beside her.
“You’re not in love with Taylor huh?” Ava said teasingly. Meg sighed. “Everybody knew that you were talking about Taylor and vice versa. So you are in love with him.” Meg nodded.
“And I just lied to him.” Ava stopped walking.
“What?”
“He asked me if I meant what I said in there and I told him that I was just doing the assignment.”
“You can be so stupid sometimes Meg.” Meg laughed.
“Don’t I know it.”
“So what are you going to do?” Meg shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m afraid to be in another relationship. I loved Blake very much.”
“So you feel in some, you might be betraying Blake?”
“Exactly! But I love Taylor. I meant every word that I said in there.”
“So tell him that. Let him know that you love him but are afraid of betraying Blake in some way.”
“It’s not that easy. I have to go. I’ll see you later Ava.” As Meg walked off, she felt like she had messed up something great.
**************
“Hi Taylor.” Ava said, sitting next to Taylor on the quad.
“Hey Ava. What’s up?” Taylor asked, shutting his notebook.
“What’s up between you and Meg?” Taylor sighed.
“Even after reading that in class, she told me that it was just an assignment.”
“She lied Taylor. She’s afraid of betraying Blake in some way.” Taylor laughed bitterly.
“It’s always been about Blake. He was my best friend but I’m getting mighty tired of it being all about Blake.”
“I can understand that.”
“Even if we got together, her memories of Blake would get in the way. If she’s lying, then I want all of her. All or nothing.” Taylor grabbed his books and got up to leave.
“What do you mean Tay?” Taylor sighed.
“Sometimes, she gets this distant look in her eyes and I know that she’s thinking about Blake. And then there’s times, like in that classroom, when she looks at me, and she’s really looking at me. I want that or I don’t want anything at all.” Taylor left. Ava sighed. I have a lot of work ahead of me.
Chapter Seven
Previous Chapter
Until The End Index
Home