“Man that’s really something about the meeting,” I say, accepting that with how sensitive he is right now, the kid gloves will have to stay on. I’ll keep my commentary nice and vanilla. “How is the wedding planning going by the way?”
“Wonderful. Invites should be out by March. We’re still determining the seating arrangements and everything.”
“Well, brother, I’ve already started sketching out the speech.” I cringe because I know damn well good ole ‘Jen’ likely put the kibosh on that.
Freshman year, we vowed that we would be the best man at each other’s wedding. If I pretend I’m anything less than psyched, he’ll hone in on it.
“Thanks, man. I know I can depend on you to be supportive of Jennifer and I.”
“Completely.” Well, I guess she hasn’t yet — we’ll see how long that lasts.
“So anyway, you think you’re falling for that new girl?”
I relax my posture and smile, remembering Sky and I are playing the long con here.
“Yeah, I do. Things are really different, special with her.” I summon a twinkle to my eye, the same look of madness I see in Ryan oftentimes when he’s with Jennifer. “Now that I think about it, Sky’s got a lot in common with Jennifer. Maybe that’s why I’m falling for her.”
He pinches his eyebrows together. “That’s a really weird thing to say, man.”
Oops. I’m overselling this.
“Ah, I, uh, didn’t mean it like that. Like I’ve never looked at Jennifer like that.” Fuck. I’m backtracking, getting awkward. Ryan cocks his head and gives me a funny look. “What I mean is, I may be feeling some of the things for her that you used to tell me you felt for Jennifer during the beginnings of your courtship. Like she’s not just any old girl.”
Ryan’s eyes widen a little, and he nods as he takes a bite of his taco.
I smile internally.
Blow landed again.
Major parallels between Jennifer and Sky have been incepted.
I’ll let his imagination take it from here.
“Huh.” Ryan shoots me a funny look as he bites into a carrot. “That’s interesting you’re seeing parallels. Have you two hooked up yet?”
“Whoa, whoa, who’s the one asking personal questions now?” I bite back, jokingly.
“You two act so weird together. Sometimes, you seem more like friends than, you know, potential romantic partners.”
“Yeah, right. Like that kiss the other night was totally staged.”
If he only knew.
He chuckles. “Well, it definitely took her by surprise.”
I swallow, and ignore the implications that maybe we weren’t as smooth as we thought we appeared. “We’re hanging out tonight.”
“You avoided my question. Have you hooked up with her or not?”
“If you must know, yes.”
“How far have you gone?”
“Pssh. All the way, of course,” I blurt out, then regret it almost instantly. Not that it would ever come up in conversation, but if it did…our stories wouldn’t match up.
“She coming over tonight?”
“Of course. I think she might be…” I pretend like I’m spacing out, and shake my head out. “Oh, never mind. It’s too early to tell.”
I can tell Ryan’s thinking about me and Sky now, probably filling in the blanks.
This is the same thing Ryan started telling me earlier this year about Jennifer, and I thought he was joking.
I think she might be the one.
Later that night, Skylar comes over. I kiss her hello on the cheek this time.
“Ryan and Jennifer here?” she asks.
“Nope, they’re out doing something together. Wedding planning, maybe? So it looks like it’s just us.”
“Well, I’ve got the wine. What do you want to watch tonight?” she asks.
I open the bottle and pour us each a glass.
“Actually, I got us a new record today, I was thinking we could give it a listen.”
She smiles. “Oh, yes! I love listening to new albums with you.”
I put on the new album I picked up, “William, It Was Really Nothing” by The Smiths.
Skylar sits on her side of the couch, closes her eyes, and bobs her head to the first song. I smile at the fact that we’ve developed a true Saturday night routine this winter. Sky comes over and sits on the couch facing me. I sit far enough away from her so that her feet aren’t touching me.
Tonight, there’s a new, palpable tension in the air though, after what we did yesterday before practice.
We both seem content to just listen to music and not address the giant elephant in the room.
I close my eyes and try to remember that this is just Sky—Cielo—here. No big deal. The coolest girl I’ve ever known. Someone who I’ve always had a beautiful depth of connection with—attraction aside, and easy conversations since the first time we met each other on the plane flying down to Buenos Aires with our school’s program.
But yesterday we escalated our relationship—our real relationship—to another level. I thought about it all last night and today, and the setup is like a dream within a dream. So within our fake relationship, we’re actually having a true friends with benefits scenario?
The song on the album changes. I open my eyes and look down at my right thigh, and I notice her feet are inches from mine.
Were they that close when the album started?
Am I crazy, or is she imperceptibly moving her body closer to mine?
Maybe I’m just reading into her actions more after yesterday.
Since I left her place yesterday afternoon, we’ve still not acknowledged the event that took place.
If it weren’t for the taste of her that lingered in my mouth late into Friday night, I might think it was just a dream.
“So how is Bob doing today?” I finally ask in an attempt to break the ice and broach the subject.
She laughs, grabs her belly, and kicks her feet in the air. I take the opportunity to grab hold of her legs, scoot a little closer to her, and guide her feet into my lap.
“He’s good. A little sad, but he’ll get over it.”
“Why is Bob sad?”
Skylar bites her lower lip. “Because he has competition now.”
“Oh yes he does.” I grin.
She lowers her voice. “And Bob can’t make me feel quite like you did yesterday.”
I swallow. “How often do you use Bob?”
“Very consistently.”
“I don’t know what that means. Is that…weekly, daily, four times a day…?”
“Daily.”
“Would you want me to, you know, be your Bob replacement that often?”
She grins, a little shyly. “I’m a sexual girl, Lucas. I’m not afraid of being open about it. And, well, how often do you think you can handle? I wonder if you’ve got enough gas in the tank.”
I grin. “You don’t think I could handle you? Do you know who you’re talking to? Your challenge is accepted.”
“Oh right, you’re Mr. Don Juan who makes women scream from your room on the reg.”
“Are you a screamer? You were more of a moaner yesterday.”