Page 26 of Level Me Up

Chapter Fifteen

Morgan

This is the longest day ever. Typically, I enjoy Fridays, but after my date last night with Dex, I stayed up way too late with Ruby and Gia watchingVeronica Marson Netflix. Personally, this is the third time I've seen the show, but Ruby had never seen it. I was a diehard fan; I read and loved the recently publishedVeronica Marsbooks and even supported the Kickstarter that produced the big screen movie last year. With Ruby’s obsession with cult shows, I thought it warranted a TV binge session. Needless to say, I’m exhausted this morning.

Ruby crashed on our couch since we stayed up so late. She stays over a lot—once or twice a week. She lives by herself a few blocks away, and I really think she hates going home to an empty apartment. I know I would.

Ruby and I carpooled to work, and we had to make a coffee stop. The only way I was going to get through the morning was with a piping hot white peppermint mocha. Ruby calls it my Christmas drink, but I drink them year-round. It didn’t help all that much, and the morning dragged on. I even went out for lunch with a couple co-workers, but the day wouldn't end. I’m ready for the weekend, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Dex, and the fact that I get to see him tomorrow.

The next morning, Dex texted me to ask what kind of drinks we preferred. Ruby put in a request for margaritas, so we decided to take a cab to Dex's since we’d be drinking. One of us could have been the DD, but I think we all wanted to enjoy the night and not have to worry about getting home or leaving a car behind.

We live about twenty minutes from Dex. It turns out he lives pretty close to the arcade we went to the other night. I point it out to the girls as we pass it. Just seeing the neon sign makes me think of Dex. And pizza, the best pizza I've ever had.

"Are you more nervous or excited? I can't tell," asks Ruby.

"Nervous," Gia says at the same time I say, “Excited!”

I look back from the window to Gia, sitting between Ruby and me in the cab. I thought Ruby was talking to me, but I guess Gia thought the same. Whereas I sounded genuinely excited, Gia replied with more of a grunt. She has been a bit off all day.

"Whoa, ok Gia. Let's discuss," Ruby says, concerned.

"Yeah, you didn't have to come with us tonight if you were that worried about seeing Simon," I add.

With a sigh, she says, "No, I wanted to come. I want to get to know Dex, and I really do want to see Simon again, but we didn't leave on the best of terms."

"So, what happened between you two?" Ruby prompts.

"Ah, well to make a long story short, we grew up together, hung out a lot. You know, high school stuff. We may have been a little more than friends before my family moved. I haven’t seen him since."

Uh. Wow. Poor Simon. Poor Gia.

"Ouch," said Ruby.

"Yeah, Gia, this is going to be awkward, isn't it?" I asked.

"Well, it depends. Did you tell Dex that I know Simon?"

"Uh, no. It never came up. Did you want me to tell him?”

"I really don't know. What's less awkward? If he was aware that I was coming, and he had time to prepare, or him seeing me for the first time in eight years when I walk into his apartment?"

I look at her apologetically; I should have mentioned it to Dex.

This is so unlike Gia to be nervous and tense. She doesn't talk about her past...ever, so this is throwing me off a bit. When we first became friends, I had asked her about her friends back home. She literally just brushed it off by saying she missed them and told me a little about them. When I asked her about a boyfriend she may have left behind, her whole body tensed. “Yeah, I don’t really want to talk about that. It didn’t end well,” she replied. Topic dropped. Sore subject noted.

"Well, it looks like it's time to get this party started because we are here," Ruby says.

We climb out of the cab. I pay the fare and join the girls on the sidewalk. I stare up in awe of the high-rise in the West Loop that Dex calls home.

“Shit,” says Gia. “I didn’t realize this is where they lived. Please tell me they don’t live in the penthouse.”

“They must make some hella good money playing video games all day,” states Ruby.

“No, umm…” I look at my phone to confirm, “Dex lives on the seventh floor.”

“Alright girls, let’s go hang out with some gamer boys. Do you think we will play any video games?”

“God, I hope not,” says Gia. “I’m not a fan.”

---