Not The One

Ch. 22

The speed at which the winter break flew by was slightly irksome, and I tried not to think about how I'd be back in classes in less than two weeks. I was impatient to see Jazzy, Catherine, and Antoinette, the latter two who wouldn't be back until the Tuesday before school officially began, but a part of me still clung to the lazy days I had left. My birthday had passed, and with the exception of a homemade cake and a two-day trip to Atlanta to go shopping, there hadn't been much of a fuss. Jazzy vowed to do something huge when we were all together again, but I wasn't sure I wanted whatever she was planning, especially if the rest of our friends got involved.

For now, I pushed the thought out of my mind, and drove to Doughnut Queen with Alley riding shotgun. His pitiful meows and soulful cat eyes had convinced me to sneak him to the shop with me. I couldn't bring him inside, so the drive thru would have to do. I quickly changed my mind once I realized how long the line of cars had become and was still growing. The line wrapped twice around the building, so I sighed and locked Alley in the car, turning the heat up. I glared at Alley who licked his paw innocently. "You just had to tag along, didn't you?" I asked him, and he switched to the other paw. I scribbled on the back of flyer from school about poetry club that Alley was fine, the heat was blasting, and I'd be back. Alley purred as I gave him a scratch beneath his chin, then headed inside the shop.

Thankfully the doughnut place wasn't nearly as busy as I'd thought, but with only one girl running the cash register, I worried I'd be in here slightly longer than I planned. Reviewing my order in my head, I made a step towards the counter but stopped when I recognized the person sitting at the booth adjacent from where I stood. My heart quickly sped up, and words temporarily failed me. Anderson saved me the trouble of having to speak first. Our eyes met, and he waved at me. I smiled and came over. "Georgia, this is my mom and my step-dad Jessie," he introduced his parents to me, and I gave a nervous grin. "Nice to meet you guys," I said, and Anderson's mom gave me a warm smile. They had the same eyes and mouth shape; the top lip slightly bigger than the bottom, with blonde hair and a cleft chin.

"Oh, I should probably go and order," I said, thinking of Alley and praying no one would smash my window. But the lure of Anderson and his family were stronger than I thought. "Well come back and have a seat! We're not in a rush this morning," Jessie grinned, his bald head shiny and pink. I left them to order a simple dozen, then came back and sat in the space next to Anderson. If he noticed the way our hands rubbed against each other, he didn't show it. "Our boy was just telling us you have a monopoly on this place," his step-dad said, and I felt my cheeks warm up. "Just because I have a doughnut fix every now and then doesn't mean anything," I turned on Anderson, but he only shrugged. "I think the word you're looking for is addiction," he corrected, and I swatted his downturned wrist with the wad of napkins I'd found on the table.

"Shut up," I grunted, and with a start I remembered his present in my car. "Davis?" the girl at the counter called, and I excused myself to get my food. "Hey, I forgot to give you something before school ended," I told him when I'd walked back. "It's in my car." I'd put this off long enough, and it was now or never. I was worried he wouldn't come with me, or worse, ask about, but he simply stood and told his parents he'd be back. Outside, the drive thru line had shrunk, but not enough to make a difference. "I'm so glad I went inside," I commented, and Anderson agreed. "Yeah, it's been like this since we got here." I kicked a pebble with my shoe and watched it land close to my car.

"I can't really stay long 'cause I have Alley in the car—"

"Your cat is in the car?" Anderson gave me an incredulous look, and when we were close enough I pointed out the hasty note I'd made and stuck on the inside windshield of my car. "Don't worry, he's fine! I couldn't leave him at home. Long ass story." It wasn't long at all, but an explanation about Alley's dog-like tendencies would distract me from what I really wanted to say before I left that parking lot. It would have been nice though, considering how well our conversation was going so far. "Oh really?" he teased, and I unlocked the door. "Maybe another time, I really have something to say and the longer I stand here with you the less likely you're gonna hear it." Alley scampered into my arms and I handed him over to Anderson so I could find his present. "What is it?" he asked, curious.