Before You

Chapter 26

"Look at that!" Peyton exclaims. "We made $200 each in tips today!"

Peyton and I sit in the employee lounge counting our tips from the day. The tips we made are great, but it's definitely from a hard days work. The breakfast and lunch crowd was extremely busy. I feel like I've learned everything I need to know, but Susan gave orders to stay with Peyton for two weeks so I'm following her directions.

"I'm so tired. I could definitely go for a fruity drink right now" I say to Peyton.

"A fruity drink? Like a specific drink? What's it called?" she asks.

I look over at Peyton and can feel my cheeks start to blush. "The Everly" I reply.

"The Everly?" she asks. "Like your name?"

I nod my head and can feel the heat in my face start to dissolve. I still can't believe Mason created a drink and named it after me. That reminds me, I need to call him today. I haven't responded to his last text message. I tell Peyton about the flavors of the drink and explain how Mason named it after me.

"Wow. That sounds pretty sweet. That guy definitely has a thing for you" she says.

"Ugh. Jett said the same thing, but it's not like that with Mason. He's just a really good friend" I reply.

"Yeah. Didn't you say that Jett was a really good friend and now you two are together?" she asks.

Throughout the busy workday, I caught Peyton up on everything that has happened with Jett. However, now I'm a little sorry for doing so since she's comparing Jett with Mason. They are two different people and the relationships aren't even similar. Mason is my best friend. That's it.

"Listen, all I'm saying is that you need to be aware. Believe it or not, but that Mason guy has some kind of feelings for you. By the way, when am I going to meet this Jett guy?" she adds.

"I don't know. It was just last night that we decided to be together," I say.

"Well, don't forget that I'm taking you out this weekend. It's for your birthday celebration that I missed, remember?" Peyton says.

"Of course!" I say. "What should we do?"

"You think about it and let me know your ideas. You have my phone number," she says.

"Sounds good. Well, I'm getting out of here. I'm going home and propping my poor feet up" I say laughing.

"Me too! I'm so glad this day is over" Peyton says, as we leave the employee lounge together.

On my drive home I think about what Peyton said about Mason. She and Jett are adamant that Mason has feelings for me that go beyond friendship. They couldn't be more wrong. Mason has always been a friend to me, a great friend at that. The drink thing, him naming one after me, was just a friendly thing to do. That's all. They just don't understand.

I swing open my apartment door and crash down onto my couch. I don't want to move. I want to prop my feet up and fall asleep watching television, but I know that can't happen. I need to get my assignments together for class tomorrow and do some laundry. Why did I wait until today to do it? I guess my mind has been preoccupied. Jett left last night not long after our kiss. My mind was swarming with thoughts and it left me tossing and turning all night long. Suddenly, I feel my phone vibrating in my purse next to me. I dig through my purse and look at the screen. It's Mason.

"Hey Mase!" I say.

"Hey Evy! What's up?" he asks.

"Nothing much. I just got home from work and I'm trying to convince myself to get up from the couch" I reply.

Mason laughs. "I bet if you had one of those drinks you would get up for it".

"Absolutely I would!" I laugh back.

"So, I wanted to run something by you. I'll be coming back to Atlanta in about a week and a half. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up and have dinner or something? I'll only be there for the day or maybe one night," he says.

"Of course! That would be awesome! Why are you coming back to Atlanta?" I ask.

"I, uh, I'm just helping a friend out. I volunteered because I thought I'd be able to see you too." he says.

"Yeah, that's perfect. Just let me know the date when you find out for sure. I don't want to be in class or anything like that. I'm so excited to see you. By the way, I'm sorry for not texting you back yesterday. I had an assignment to do and completely forgot," I say.

"That's okay. I know you're really busy with school and work. No big deal" he says. "Well, I have to get to work. We'll talk later. Bye Evy!"

"Bye!" I respond and hang up the phone.

I take my shoes off, letting them drop to the floor and lay back on the couch propping my feet up again. I'm so glad Mason called. That phone call wasn't weird at all. Mason sounds like his usual self. There was nothing that made me think he feels any differently about me. I'm glad I didn't give into what Jett and Peyton said about him. They were completely wrong.

My mind wonders to Jett and the kiss we shared last night. I had no plans of that happening, but it did, again. I told myself that Jett and I would just be friends. It wouldn't be a good idea for us to be anything more than that. However, for some reason I started to feel drawn to him. I started to feel safe with him. I started to feel like I needed to be close to him, even if we were just friends and nothing more. I started to feel for Jett the way he said he felt for me. I don't know what I was expecting when I asked him that question last night, but I wasn't expecting the answer he gave me. He stopped kissing me Saturday night because he wanted to make sure I wanted it and it wasn't just the drinks. As soon as he said those words, I felt even more drawn to him. Any feeling of embarrassment went away and I just wanted to be close to him, to kiss him. I've been so determined not to get caught up in a web of lies that I experienced with Gage. I've been terrified to get lost in another situation like that. But Jett is different. He's not Gage or anything close to him. Gage would have used the drinks I had Saturday night to his advantage. Jett has been so sweet, patient, and honest with me. How can that be bad? Ding. It's a text message.

Guess what? Linkin Park is coming to Atlanta soon. Want to go? – Jett

My eyes grow large and I feel a burst of excitement. Linkin Park is coming to Atlanta? I've always wanted to go to one of their concerts, but the drive was always too far and I never had enough money for tickets and a hotel room. I don't know what excites me more. The fact that I can go to one of their concerts or that Jett is trying to make plans with me. I respond quickly.

Are you kidding? Of course I want to go! Let me know the prices and I'll give you my part for the ticket. – Evy

I put my phone down on the coffee table and find enough motivation to get off of the couch and do some laundry. After I'm finished, I eat dinner and gather all of my assignments for class tomorrow. I'm beat. Jett never texted me back. Although it's early, I could really use the extra sleep. I climb in bed and set my alarm for the next morning. Just as I start to fall asleep, my phone makes a noise. It's another text message. It must be Jett. I open the message quickly.

It's been awhile. We should talk. – Gage

I close the screen on my cell phone and lay my head back on the pillow. I feel a knot form in the pit of my stomach. Why is he texting me? I was hoping that I was finally at a point where I no longer had to hear his name or think of him in any way. So much for a good nights sleep.