Still Loving You

Part 3

 "Shit," Elizabeth muttered as she heard a phone ringing. She struggled to open her eyes and glanced at the clock. Eleven! Shit! She panicked for a second and then remembered it was Friday and she didn't have any classes. She must have crashed hard. After Brian left, she stayed up until almost three trying to finish that paper. She hated leaving things until the last minute, and once she was in it, she just figured she would keep going.

Groaning, she rolled out of the bed and walked over to the desk, grabbing the phone.

"Hello?" she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Morning beautiful lady," greeted Brian, far too cheery for her right now. She cringed, pulling the phone from her ear a bit. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah," she replied, sitting down in the chair, gently squeezing the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "I was up half the night writing my paper, and I wound up sleeping way too late. I never sleep this late."

"You said that paper wasn't due until next week," he laughed.

"I know, but I was already mostly through it so I figured why not just get it done?"

"My little overachiever," he teased, and she grimaced. She hated when he talked to her like that. It makes him sound more like her father than her boyfriend. She hadn't had a dad in a long time, and she didn't need one. "So, I was thinking maybe burgers tonight. I can grab some from Cosmos, stop and pick out a movie, and be over around seven?"

Her brain was still fuzzy and she was working to process what he was saying. They had a date tonight? Oh yeah, he mentioned it last night after she kicked him out so she could finish her paper. It was his consolation prize for missing out on getting her time. She'd just wanted to get rid of him so she could work.

"That sounds..." she trailed off, remembering her conversation with Robin and Steve at the coffee shop yesterday. "Oh shit."

"Oh shit what?"

"Brian, I'm sorry," she muttered. "I completely forgot. I can't hang out with you tonight. Robin and Steve asked me to go see this new band at the Eclectic. It's been so long since they've had someone new there and this band is supposed to be pretty amazing."

"Oh." She could tell he was trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. "Well, okay. We can do that instead. I mean, I was looking forward to just the two of us, a romantic night in. We haven't had a night like that in a while. It seems like your friends are always around but that could be fun too. What time do you want me to pick you up?"

"Umm...actually, it was just going to be the three of us," she explained. "I'm sorry, Brian. Robin and Steve are pretty excited about us going out and I don't want to disappoint them. We haven't hung out with just the three of us in a while."

"Yeah, the three musketeers and all. I get it," he replied. He was trying to act like it was no big deal but she knew he was bothered by it. It was apparent in the tone he took, the sad little boy tone that grated her nerves.

No matter how many times she told him that she and Steve were just the best of friends, he didn't seem to believe it. Normally, she would go on and on trying to reassure him, but she didn't have the energy right now. No one seemed to believe that Steve and her weren't dating. People can't seem to comprehend that a boy and a girl can just be friends. Sure, they hold hands and hug and even cuddle sometimes. She does those same things with Robin. Her friends provide her a comfort that others just don't. They were exactly what she needed when she rolled into Bryxton, a broken shell of a person. They were a gift bestowed upon her at the perfect time.

"You're amazing," she said instead. "Thank you for understanding, and your idea sounds great. How about we do it tomorrow instead? I will do my very best to convince Robin to go do something with Steve for a few hours so we can have the room all to ourselves."