When We Were Young

Choose your friends wisely

"So somebody got lucky?"

The last person that I wanted to see was Nate, but I had no choice since we worked in the same department. I looked up from my computer for a moment and gulped my water.

"Nah, man. I just passed out," I conceded.

Nate made a face of disbelief. "Man, I saw you in the bar. I know you guys hooked up." I wanted the conversation to end. I spent half the weekend reading the texts she didn't respond to and trying to deal with my stupidity. "Seriously. Nothing happened. I don't even remember her name," I groaned.

"Jenny," Nate just laughed. "So I got my drinking buddy back?"

I pulled my brows together and sat up. I realized I was hunched over my computer practically hiding my face.

Nate shrugged. "Well, I don't suppose you're going to go back to Sky after what happened?"

I took a deep breath. There was no use explaining to Nate. He would never understand.

The week was long. I wanted to call her a million times but couldn't do it. But I also knew that by not calling, I was making it worse. Skylar made no attempt to reach me either, which made me feel even more horrible.

Thursday night I ditched hanging out with Nate to go check out a football match with Samuel, who I didn't see half as much as I should. I told him the story and in the end he just stared at me with a look of disbelief.

And then he slapped the backside of my head.

"You bloody jackass. You got a good woman like that and you act like some stupid boy." He shook his head and tightened his lips.

"Yeah, I know," I rested my head on my folded hands against the bar. "What do I do?"

Samuel shook his head and looked at me out of the corner of his eyes with disappointment. "Beg for forgiveness," he said and sipped his pint.

"I tried. She won't even talk to me," I answered, running my fingers through my messy hair and drinking my own pint.

Samuel seemed distressed as if my problem was his own. "You say this friend of hers likes you?"

I nodded.

"Talk to her. She'll know better than anyone."

***

"Rachel Franklin."

"One moment. And your name," the receptionist asked.

"Albert Young."

She smiled. I figured she was probably my age, although there was nothing about her that was remotely attractive. She wasn't Skylar.

"Ms. Franklin, I have Mr. Albert Young to see you." I watched her carefully trying to read her expression. She looked up at me. Whatever Rachel was saying was taking a long time.

Finally, the receptionist nodded. "Ms. Franklin will be with you in about thirty minutes. She's in the middle of blocking a shoot." I had no idea what she was talking about. "You're free to wait or come back."

I nodded. "I'll wait." I sat down and checked my email, flipped through a magazine and then flipped through the pictures of Skylar again. I was growing anxious when finally...

Rachel was standing at the door. I scrambled to my feet. Rachel looked different at work; so professional. Her demeanor was proper with her snug black skirt and button down white shirt. She was wearing a headset with the microphone turned away from her face, and she was holding a clipboard, flipping through the pages.

"You're lucky I like you so much. Actually, you're lucky I love my friend so much. I called a break for no reason."

I was trying to keep up with her, dodging people in the hallway. Was everyone in television always in such a hurry?

"Thank you. I really appreciate it," I said, feeling like I would finally get a chance with Skylar.

She stopped in the hallway abruptly. "Make no mistake. I'm pissed at you," she said jabbing her finger into my chest. "You acted like a stupid boy. What the fuck were you thinking?" Rachel bluntly stated, her hands slapping her thighs.

I shook my head. "I...I love her."

I couldn't believe the words escaped his lips. My heart pounded. The words felt right but it didn't matter if Skylar wasn't the one hearing them.

Rachel smirked and rolled her eyes. "Oh, the two of you. Come on," she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a small office that I assumed was hers. "Sit."

She tossed the clipboard and took the headset off before sitting in the chair behind the desk. I sat on the sofa in the corner of the room. Rachel eyed me carefully.

"Do you remember what you did?"

I was embarrassed to say no, so I didn't respond.

"Thought so," she sighed, leaning forward on her elbows. "Well, after the barrage of calling, and the texting, she freaked out. She told you about her controlling ex, didn't she?" Her hands were in the air. Rachel had a flair for the dramatic; no wonder she was in television.

"She started babbling about how she shouldn't be with you. It was wrong, you were too young," she explained. My heart sank. "But then how you were different and how she cared about you...and I shouldn't even be telling you any of this." Rachel shook her head, shutting her eyes. "Listen, Skylar will tell you it's not a secret that I didn't like Craig."

"Plain and simple, he was a dick," she laughed. "And you're not. And she likes you, Skylar really likes you."

"What do I do? How can I fix this?"

She leaned her head against her hand. "You haven't talked to her all week?"

I shake my head.

"Hmph. Typical Skylar," she replied with amusement. "I suggest going to see her."

"But she's pissed at me."

Rachel smiled and stood up, walking around her desk. She leaned back and sat on her desk. "Well, I can assure you she's not pissed. Okay, maybe a little," she added quickly. "She's hurt because she cares. And confused."

"What did I do?" I winced.

"You showed up at her apartment, waiting for her on the stairs. Apparently you could barely stand, I'm not even sure how you made it there without suffering a serious injury. And then she came home." Her body stiffened.

"With a guy?"

Rachel shrugged slightly. "Yes, with a guy. All of your calls and texts freaked her out, remember? She started to drink more. It's no excuse. But I think, maybe it was probably more of a test than anything."

I shook my head. "What kind of test?"

"See if she really cares for you, as much as she thinks she does. See if she could..." Rachel paused. "Well, you know."

"And does she? Did she go out just to prove that she wanted to be with me?" I really didn't want to know the answer. It was probably why she wouldn't call me back. She found someone and from what I vaguely remembered, he was not 24 like me.

"No, she most definitely didn't go out to see if she could find someone else. And considering she called me around 3:30 hysterically crying, interrupting my own activities," she grinned, "I would say, no. AJ, she is head over heels for you and if this works out, somehow," she shook her head with a deep sigh, "and she stays with you," Rachel said as she walked closer to me pointing her finger at me again, "and you do anything like this again, I will personally break your face."