Ready When You Are

“Hey there Emerson!” I said as I climbed back into her jeep the next night, ready to hang out with her fun friends. Well, they seemed fun.

Em nodded at me as we pulled out of the drive way. “You look hot, girl.”

I bit my lip and looked down at my clothes. I had on a red Tom Petty tank top and shorts. I thought I looked far too patriotical. Like all I needed was a navy head band and I would be part of the American flag. But this was again, one of my favorite shirts.

“Not looking too bad yourself, Em.” I nodded at her. And I was being honest, even though Em had this uncanny ability always to look her best.

I leaned against the head of my chair. “These guys seem nice.”

Em laughed. “They really are. I’ve known them forever. Pretty harmless, for the most part. Gigantic flirts though, so prepare yourself beautiful.”

I laughed and shook my head. “They seem like the type of guys who would have girlfriends.”

“You would think that,” Em smiled sheepishly, “but they’ve always been awkward around girls they don’t know. I mean Jared has Olivia, you’ll meet her tonight she is so sweet, and then there is Sara and Garrett but….” She trailed off.

“But what?” I questioned.

“Garrett… he can do better. You’ll see, if she’s here tonight. Which is unlikely. But one day you’ll see.”

I let it go as we pulled into the driveway of a smooth, tan house with a orange paneled roof and a sign that read “O’callaghan’s” on the door. I assumed this was John’s house.

Em didn’t even ring the doorbell as she opened the door and led me outside on the porch where boy’s voices could be heard. She pulled open the screen door and smiled at the boys sitting around a glass porch table with beers in hand.

“Oh thank the Lord!” A girl with blonde hair ran up to hug Em and I.

“Olivia, this is Kenley.” Em laughed as I hugged her. Olivia was just as adorable as Em was.

“Wanna introduce the rest of us to your new friend, Em?” A boy with orange-brown hair said, Olivia sitting on his lap. I was guessing that was Jared.

Em nodded and laughed. “Guys, this is Kenley. Ken, this is Jared, Tim, and Pat. And you know John, Kenny, and Garrett.”

John tossed me a wave from the beer cooler as Kennedy walked up and put his arm around Emerson. Then I saw Garrett, sitting next to Pat at the end of the table, looking a little less then amused at the situation. Pat shot me a cute little wave and patted the seat in between him and Garrett. I went to sit down. Pat looked sweet.

“Hi!” He said as I sat down. I smiled at him.

“Em told Tim and I about you. I think she’s excited to have another girl working with her.” Pat said.

Thank god this kid was easy to talk to. I laughed. “Well I’m happy to work there. It’s a pretty fun job.”

I turned to look at Garrett. He was wearing black ray band glasses and a black t-shirt with his ripped jeans. His hair was pushed back, and he looked even better than he had in the record store.

He looked upset. Pat had turned to talk to Jared and Olivia, and there we both were, sitting there silently and awkwardly. Then an idea flashed into my head that was sure to get that excited glimmer back in his pretty blue eyes.

“Did you ever get around to listening to that acoustic CD, by the way?” I asked him.

Garrett’s eyes went from solemn to excited as he looked up at me. “I did, actually. Basically the best half hour of my life.”

I laughed and nodded. “I just got it last night, and I was listening to it last night. Ryan Adams is perfect I swear.”

“You have a Love is Hell shirt, right?” Garrett asked.

I nodded.

“Well,” Garrett said, making a dramatically smug facial expression that made me laugh, “I happen to have a vinyl copy of it. Not even lying.”

“Wait, aren’t there only a few hundred copies? You’re lying, Garrett!”

He shook his head. “I’ll show it to you. My brother and I found it. It’s in my room right now.”

I bit my tongue and looked at the ground. “All I have is a fucking T-shirt.”

“I would say you can borrow it, but…” Garrett shrugged, and I nodded. If I had a Ryan Adams vinyl, I wouldn’t let anyone touch it either.

“Understandable. Just let me see it. And witness its greatness.” I laughed.

Garrett laughed and leaned over the table to look at me.

“New girl!” A heard a call from the end of the table. “Where do you hail from?”

I laughed and turned my gaze from Garrett to John. “Seattle.” I smiled.

“Don’t talk to John,” Tim laughed, looking at John before he looked back at me, “He just wants to get in your pants.”

Em hit Tim on the arm as John turned bright red. I could tell he wasn’t that type of guy, though.

“She has a boyfriend, guys.”

The entire table went “aaaa” as Garrett leaned back in his chair. I bit my lip and shook my head at Em, though I wasn’t sure why. She was telling the truth I did have a boyfriend.

“He’s a band too,” Em went on, “you guys should help in out. You know, be his mentors.”

John shrugged. He was obviously not paying attention as he grabbed his car keys from the table. “I want ice cream. Leh’ go.”

Tim and Jared immediately popped up, followed my Olivia, Em, Kennedy, Pat, Garrett and I. We walked through John’s house until we reached the front yard and people began to assemble into cars. Jared and Olivia went into one, Kennedy and Em went into hers, and John, Pat, and Tim went into one. I was left standing next to a bright yellow vehicle.

“Hey! You’re with me.” Garrett laughed. “Sorry about the yellow-ness. We can jam out to Ryan Adams, yeah?”

I laughed and nodded, climbing into the passenger seat. Something about being alone with Garrett made me jittery. But not really the bad kind.

Garrett pressed a few buttons on his car and “Life is Beautiful” by Ryan Adams began to play. I hit the dashboard with my hands and smiled at him.

“This is one of my favorite songs!” I exclaimed, and began to hum the first verse.

Garrett laughed and threw up a punk rock symbol in the air as we drove by John, Tim, and Pat’s car. We were trailing Kennedy and Emerson as we sang:

“What a beautiful thing when you sing

Hear all the bells ringing out in the street

Hammer strikes the metal and it makes me believe

Oh, hear all the bells ringing out in the street

Blue sky cracking and it makes me believe

Cause if I don’t believe in love

Then I don’t believe in you

And I do.”

I laughed as the next verse came and looked over at Garrett who was smiling and singing softly. He looked like he was having fun, looking over at my occasionally as I swayed and tapped my foot to the music lightly. It was one of the most fun car rides I had ever been on.

As we pulled into the strip of stores including an ice cream parlor, I noticed a video game store announcing a new version of Star Wars: Jedi Academy. My brother and I used to play the first edition every day back in Seattle when I got home from school. It was fun to pretend I was something I wasn’t for a little while, and being a Jedi wasn’t too shabby.

I noticed Garrett gawking at it, as all of a sudden he pulled into a parking spot.

“Ok, I’m really, really, really sorry. But my brother and I love this game and I need to get and bring it home to him. Just come with me it will be super quick I promise.” Garrett rambled as he unbuckled his seatbelt and looked at me.

“Well,” I paused as his eyes met mine, “I guess that would be okay. Under one condition.”

“What?” Garrett said, his voice in a hurry. I laughed.

“If you let me play it with you and your brother.”

Garrett looked at me for a second, and then looked at the floor and laughed. “LET’S GO.”

We ran out the doors and into the video game store, running to the rack full of new copies, and grabbed the one for Xbox 360. I clapped my hands and Garrett kissed it into the air and we ran to the cash register.

“My brother and I used to play this all the time back home,” l shook my head as he handed the cashier his card, “and I must say, I’m not too bad for a girl. You’ve been warned.”

Garrett laughed as he grabbed the bag from the guy and we walked out of the shop.

“My brother is probably the best at it. I only beat him at Zombie games.”

“Wait,” I looked over at Garrett, “tell me you have Left4Dead.”

Garrett stopped and looked at me. “Where do you come from?”

I stopped walking and looked back at him. We were in a stare down for a few seconds, but all of a sudden he stuck his lips out and I laughed. It was far too easy to be around Garrett. Other than him and Emerson, I was awkward around people. But Garrett made it so easy.

“I have never met a girl who has ever played Left4Dead.” He clarified.

Garrett and I were about to start walking again, but I saw his gaze catch on something in the glass window in front of us, looking into a restaurant. I turned myself so I could see what was so riveting.

And then I saw.

Sitting in on a booth on the side of the restaurant was the girl who was hanging off of Garrett in the record shop the day we met. It was Sara, Garrett’s girlfriend. But she wasn’t alone.

Next to her was a guy with black hair, and he was a lot taller and buffer than Garrett was. He looked like a linebacker from the high school football team. And they were cuddling.

The boy kissed Sara. On the lips.

I looked over at Garrett. His eyes stabbed at the kiss, and then magnetically attached to his shoes. My heart broke as I saw the light leave his face, and practically witness his own heart hitting the pavement.