Page 14 of Yours, Unexpectedly

“I don’t know. Anders wasn’t home and you know I get lonely,” he groans. He’s such an extrovert. “I decided to come down for a drink, then I saw Luci and Riz, then they pointed me to you getting hit on at the bar.” They both have the decency to look guilty when I glare at them.

But I’m stuck on one part of what Gabe said. “Anders isn’t home?”

“There’s that subtlety we know and love,” Riz guffaws.

Thankfully Gabe doesn’t give much attention to that comment. “He’s at some rehearsal for something. Who knows.”

Okay, I can handle that. Shaking my head, I try to convince myself that I don’t care. I have no feelings about how Anders spends his evenings.

“But… speaking of crushes,” Gabe continues, oblivious to my internal struggle. “I think Anders is fucking someone.”

I choke on my water.

“He’s been acting so weird lately,” he continues. “I mean he hasn’t dated anyone since moving back for grad school, at least not seriously. He used to fuck anything that could walk so this self-imposed celibacy was a bit of a shock, but makes sense considering…” Gabe trails off. Considering what?! I want to scream.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. I guess I’m just happy for him; he deserves something good coming his way.” He laughs to himself then, proving that he has the emotional capacity of a twelve year old. “Heh, coming…”

Gabe finishes his monologue as my friends and I sit in stunned silence. I don’t know how to process all of the information he just gave me. And my plan to not think about Anders tonight is going quite terribly.

Riz recovers the quickest, leaning in. “Who do you think he’s fucking?”

Oh shit. My face gets really hot with that question.

“No idea. Like I said, he’s being all weird and secretive. Wait!” He points his finger at me and my stomach falls out of my ass. “Bex, maybe you can find out now that you’re in class with him. I bet it’s that chick that’s always his scene partner.”

I can’t do this. “Can we not talk about Anders’ love life? And I definitely do not want to talk about that freaking class, either.”

“Fine, Bexy. We’ll talk about something else. Luce, you ready for your last semester of undergrad?” And with that the conversation blissfully moves on, but my thoughts are still stuck on trying to figure out who Anders’ scene partner is.

I need another shot.

I dreamt about her again last night.

I’m laying on the couch, daydreaming about how perfect it would be to spend a night in with Bex, when Gabe stumbles into the apartment. It’s immediately obvious he’s been out drinking, even though it’s only Tuesday.

“Whatcha been doing, Gabriel?” I ask.

Apparently he hadn’t seen me sitting here because he flies into the air, emitting a high pitched screech I didn’t realize he was capable of.

“Ahh! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Didn’t mean to. I was literally just sitting here.”

He’s still clutching his heart. “Well I wasn’t expecting you to be here!”

“Okay, Gabe, settle down. Which one of us is the actor again?” I laugh and watch him as he walks around the couch and plops into the armchair across from me. “I’ll ask again—whatcha been doing, Gabriel?”

“You weren’t home and you know I get lonely!” he says, hand to his chest as if he’s accusing me of murder. “So, I went down to Louie’s and walked in just in time because some asshole was hitting on Bex at the bar.”

Do not act interested in this information, Anders.

“That’s… um, good? I guess. I mean she can do what she wants, right?” Smooth.

“She said she wanted to get laid, but like hell am I letting that happen with some random at the bar on my watch. That guy had such a punchable face—I don’t know what she was thinking.”

Two realizations hit me at once. One: Bex wants to have sex with someone who is not me. Two: Gabe would be way more upset if he found out about my feelings for Bex than I initially thought he would be.

I’m not sure what to think about these two things. Finding out Bex was in my class almost seemed like a sign from the universe to pursue something I’ve always wanted, but if she went out tonight to find someone to go home with, I totally misread the situation.

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