Nothing Goes As Orchestrated

A little after eight on Friday morning, Cassie pulled up in front of Alex and Rian's house. Her stomach circle pitted while she waited rather impatiently for him to come outside. Just the night before, her nerves had started to get the better of her and she considered calling Alex and telling him that she'd changed her mind. That he couldn't come. But she didn't. Now, however, she was considering driving away without him.

He stumbled sleepily out the front door wearing basketball shorts, a v neck tee shirt and flip flops. She popped the trunk for him and he tossed his bag inside and then got in the car. He offered her a tired smile as he did so.

"Want me to drive?" he asked, yawning.

"Are you even awake yet?" she asked.

"I'm fine to drive if you want me to," he said.

Cassie shook her head, "It's okay. I don't mind driving," she said.

He shrugged and put his seat belt on, slouching in the seat and closing his eyes, "Remind me again why we're leaving so early," he said.

Cassie laughed, "We have about an eight hour drive ahead of us. I'm hoping to miss the worst of traffic and get there at a decent time. I haven't been up to San Francisco Bay Area in forever and I want to be able to enjoy the time I have there," she explained.

"Mmm. Do I get anything out of this?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, "Let me also remind you that you asked to come with me this weekend. No one is forcing you. So if you would rather get out and go back to sleep in your own bed, you are more than welcome to do so," she said.

His eyes opened and he looked over at her, "Are you saying you don't want me to come?" he asked.

"I'm saying if you're planning on complaining for the next eight hours, you better get out of my car right now because I have no intention of putting up with that," she said.

Alex let out a quiet chuckle, "No ma'am, I'm not planning on complaining for the next eight hours. Why would I? I get to spend the weekend with my favorite girl," he said.

She sighed and pulled away from the curb. It wasn't long before Alex had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and she was left with her thoughts. A huge part of her was wondering if this was a good idea, and decided that it probably wasn't. But it was too late to change her mind.

After a few hours of driving, she exited the freeway and pulled into a gas station. As soon as the car stopped, Alex woke up, stretching as best he could in the car. When she reached for her purse in the back seat, he pulled his wallet from his pocket and held out his debit card to her. Cassie just shook her head and groped around inside her purse for her wallet.

"Please just take it," he said, holding the card out to her again.

Sighing, she gave in and took it from him, opening her door and getting out of the car. Alex got out also and wandered into the little store. He returned a few minutes later with a bag full of goodies and a drink in each hand.

"I don't know if it's any good, but I got you some coffee," he said as he got back in the car.

Cassie smiled at him, "Thank you," she said, giving his card back to him and before taking the cup and taking a sip from from it, "It's not bad. Definitely not the worst I've ever had," she said.

"I also got other stuff, if you get hungry or whatever," he said.

They drove in silence for awhile with the exception of one or both of them occasionally singing along with whatever song happened to be playing. Finally not talking got the better of Cassie and she reached over and turned down the volume on her stereo.

"So," she began, "Rian said you actually told Chelley you were coming with me this weekend," she said.

"Yeah," he responded.

"How did that go over?" she asked.

Alex shrugged, "I'm here, aren't I?" he said, "She asked if she had anything to worry about and I said that you and I are just friends. I guess she was satisfied with that answer."

"Interesting."

"Why is that interesting?" he asked.

Cassie just shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road, "You know she called me fat?" she said.

"What? No she didn't," he said and Cassie nodded, "When?" he asked.

"Last weekend at the beach. She complimented my swimsuit and then asked if I usually wear something that covers more because I'm curvy and most girls would be self conscious," she said.

"She really said that?" he asked and Cassie nodded again, "Holy shit," he said with a laugh.

Cassie's arm extended and she smacked Alex in the chest, "It's not funny, asshole," she said, though she was laughing a little herself.

He grunted but a smile still played across his face, "I just didn't see that one coming," he said, "She also said you have nice boobs, just so you know."

"For real?" she asked and Alex responded with a nod of his head.

The car fell silent once again. After close to fifteen minutes, Cassie reached over and turned the volume up a little. As soon as she did so, Alex reached over and turned it back down.

"Why did you kiss Flyzik?" he asked.

"Honestly?" she said, pausing for a moment, "I just wanted to."

A sigh escaped Alex and he looked down at his feet. There wasn't much he could say and still be fair. After all, he was the one with a girlfriend. The reality of the whole situation was suddenly starting to sink in.

"I told you a long time ago that I was attracted to him," she continued quietly, "And I didn't do it to hurt you. It just felt right at that moment in time," she paused again, "Kind of like the first time you and I slept together," she said even more quietly.

Alex stayed quiet for a minute and then breathed out loudly, "Matt told me, you know," he said.

Cassie's forehead scrunched in confusion, "Matt told you what, exactly?" she asked.

"That he tried to kiss you at my birthday party. And all the shit he said to you at the New Year's party. He told me everything," he said.

"Oh. When?"

"That day that he and I talked about you two kissing," he said, "And what I can't understand is why you never told me."

She sighed loudly, knowing she was getting into a conversation she'd never wanted to have, "I didn't want to ruin your friendship. I'm not worth that. You and Matt have known each other for a long time and nothing is worse than a girl coming between friends," she said.

"That's a load of bullshit, Cassandra. If he tried to kiss you, that's his bad, not yours. That's not a girl coming between friends, that's my boy being shady. And you should've told me."

She sighed again, "Clearly, you're not listening to me," she said, "I was never worth your friendship with him falling apart. I know it was shady. I told him that. But I was also doing both of you a favor by not saying anything. Because look where you and I are now," she said.

"Because of everything he said to you!"

"No, Alex, not because of anything he said to me. I already knew about your past. Nothing he said was a surprise to me. We're this way because we both made mistakes. When you first said that you would give me a baby, I should've asked if you wanted a baby. Really wanted one. But we were in the moment and then I realized what you had said. And as much as I appreciated what you wanted to do for me, I couldn't do that to you. And I tried explaining that but you just shut down on me. We were both willing to sacrifice, but yours was far bigger than mine. As far as I was concerned, there would've been plenty of time for us to make a baby in the future. It wasn't do or die at that exact moment," she said, "Don't you get that?"

Alex stared at Cassie for a long time. She kept her eyes on the road and waited patiently for him to respond. Thoughts raced through his head and he finally tore his eyes from the side of her face and turned his head, staring out the window. As the world outside the car seemed to fly by him, his thoughts cleared and he looked back at her once again. Suddenly the world outside didn't matter. It was just the two of them in the car with all the things he hadn't understood before finally starting to make sense.

"Yeah," he said quietly, "I do get it, finally."