Whatever It Takes

“How’s the headache” he asked, as he lightly grazed his hand across her temple, pushing a piece of hair out of her face. “Much better with the Tylenol, thanks” she replied, as she felt the nerves inside her stomach grow. “Oh by the way” he said quickly, as he leaned over to his nightstand and grabbed something, “here’s your phone”. She starred at him confused, as she accepted it back into her hands.

“Why…Do I even want to ask why you have this?” she asked, slightly scared to hear the response. “Well after your drinking contest with Brent, you thought it would be a good idea to start drunk texting and calling people in your phone book…”

“Oh no, oh no” Arianna said her body suddenly tensed, as she scrolled through the call log. “Please tell me I didn’t,” she said frantically as she searched for any proof she had done something reckless. “Nah, I grabbed it away from you before you could do any damage” he said tentatively, as he started to play with the hem of his shirt.

“Thank you,” she said, her curiosity building as she saw him hesitate. “Your uh friend Jordan did text you though, afterwards. I didn’t mean to look,” he began, as Arianna suddenly felt nauseous.

She opened her inbox and looked for his name, clicking the message as she squinted her eyes, scared to see what it said. She felt her heart drop into her stomach, as she read the words on the screen.

I can’t stop thinking about you. About how good we fit together, how your lips tasted against mine…I know it’s 2 am and you’re probably fast asleep…I just needed to let you know how I feel. Sleep tight beautiful - Jordan

“Patrick” she began as she turned to look at him, but his eyes were starring out the window. “I didn’t know you were dating someone,” he said, as she noted a hint of jealousy behind his voice. “How come you didn’t tell me?” he turned to her and looked her in the eyes, showing his hurt.

“Pat, I’m not….Jordan and I” she began as she fumbled to find the right words, “we’re not dating. He asked me out on a date and I went and that’s it. There’s not much else to the story,” she explained as she glanced back down at her phone.

“Doesn’t seem that way to Jordan” he scoffed, as he sunk down lower into his bed. She rolled her eyes at his attitude, suddenly tensing up. He didn’t have a right to be mad at her, if anything she should still be mad at him. She WAS still mad at him.

“Jamie seems really nice,” she said suddenly, her voice filled with ice. She could see from the corner of her eye his body tense up. He sat back up at looked towards her, nerves visibly all over his face. “Uh, yeah she’s a great friend” he began, until she shot him a look.

“She’s not just a friend Patrick. Justin told me,” she said, as she sighed and slide herself down his headboard. “How come you lied to me?” she whispered lightly, hoping he wouldn’t hear. He sighed and slid down next to her, their shoulders grazing each other.

“Because, I’m an idiot,” he said, as she turned his head to stare at her. “It’s not something I want to share with a girl when I first meet her. Having a girl on the side isn’t exactly a great way to win you points with a hot chick”. He shook his head, almost as if he was mad at himself.

“I’m really sorry Ari,” he said as she turned to look at him, “I didn’t mean to lie to you. And I didn’t, not really. Jamie is someone I used to hook up with. But I haven’t in a while…so technically when I told you I wasn’t involved with anyone, I wasn’t” he explained, as his eyes pleaded with sympathy to hers.

“You don’t owe me an explanation Pat,” she said, as she broke their gaze, “I think I was just upset because I felt like you had lied…but I realize it doesn’t matter. I don’t have the right to be upset about that because we haven’t known each other for long. You don’t need to tell me things you don’t want to”.

“No, Ari, listen to me” Patrick said seriously as he sat up and grabbed her hand. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but you’ve become one of my best friends. I don’t lie to the people I care about. So I promise you, no more lies …” he said, as he rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb. “I can’t go a day without talking to you. When I didn’t hear from you today, I was crushed” he admitted, as he blushed in the dark.

“Aw Patty, I’m sorry!” she said as she leaned over and wrapped him in a hug, as she snuggled into his chest. “Jon and me thought it would be funny. You know, get you all pissed off that someone on this planet managed to forget your birthday,” she teased, as she looked up at him. “But you should know by now, that I would never be that person to forget you”.

She saw his eyes light up, as he kept a serious expression, “promise?” he asked her. It came out almost like a whisper, so gently and serene she wasn’t sure she had actually heard it. She could only manage a small nod, as she laid her head back down on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.