The Time Capsule

Chapter Thirty-Five

Amber

“I can’t believe this is our last time together.” I whine, sitting at the table with Selena and drinking coffee. The boys had decided to run off and do something of their own, leaving us girls to hang out. “You have to come visit me in California.”

“don’t worry, I’ll be there for the wedding.” She teases and I glare at her, “sorry, is there going to be a shower first?”

“oh shush. Greg and I aren’t moving that fast. You’ll be visiting before any wedding. And James too.” I tell her and quickly notice her smile fading, “I’m sorry Selena, I didn’t realize-”

“no it’s okay. I was just stupid enough to open up again.”

“you’re not stupid at all. I’m sure it will all work out one way or another.”

She shakes her head, looking down at her drink, “I don’t think so. James and I had our time and honestly that’s all we needed. He’ll go back to his player-self and I’ll be single the rest of my life. But I’m not complaining about that.”

I choose to change the subject, not wanting to cause her too much pain, “so I heard you were requested to be a lawyer in town? Are you going to stay for that?” I ask.

“definitely. Which means I’ll be here for another month or so.”

“oh. I thought you told James-” once again she cuts me off.

“I told James what James needs to know. So please, don’t tell him or Greg that I got offered the job or that I’m taking the job.”

“Why are you doing this to yourself? It’s so obvious that you and James are meant to be together.”

“there’s 7 billion people on this planet. About 3.5 billion of them are males. And you expect me to believe that James Christopher Watson is the one for me?”

I sigh and set down my mug, “Greg’s the one for me. I knew that back in high school and it has been reinforced these past couple of days. I don’t have to think about it Selena, I just know that it’s always been him.”

“I’m happy for you Amber, really, I am. But that’s not the case for everyone. I love James, I do. And he loves me. Relationships though…that’s just not us. We both know that and understand it. So not being together, which may seem really hard right now, is what’s best for the both of us in the long run.”

We both turn our heads at the sound of the front door closing, “I hope you’re right, Selena, I really do.” I tell her, giving her a small hug before heading out of the room to greet the boys. It was only a matter of time before we all left for the airport together.

“how was the morning without us?” James asks.

“oh, you know, quite boring. You bring all the fun James.” I mock him and he glares at me, “we sat and talked about Greg and you. Ya know, basic girl gossip.”

“oh yes, we obviously know about that Amber.” Greg teases, pulling me closer to him and kissing the side of my head.

“gag me now.”

“oh hush and go talk with your girl-” I didn’t know quite what to call her since their relationship was so short. I decided ‘girl’ was as good of an adjective as any would have been.

“I’ll do just that.” He says, grinning as he passes by us.
“they’re going to have a terrible time apart.” Greg whispers in my ear, his breath tickling my skin.
“if only they realized it as much as we do.” I turn in his arms and give him a short kiss on the lips, “come on now, we better finish packing. We don’t want to be late to getting back.”

Once the four of us were packed we piled into the rental and headed off to the airport. James’ flight left first, an hour before mine and Gregs’. Selena still hasn’t mentioned anything about staying in town, but I have a feeling she’s going to have to spill it to the guys at some point.

We check the car back into the rental place and head off to the short lines. That’s one great part about being in a small town, no one travels that often.

“excited to get back to work?” Greg asks, trying to make conversation as we sit and wait for the flight to be called.
“I’ve gotten more work done this week than I did in a month back in New York.” James replies, looking up from his book.

“how?” I ask, oblivious to the fact that he was working right now.
“I read, Amber, you couldn’t exactly take that away from me for vacation.”

Selena slaps him, “don’t give her any ideas dummy! Now she’ll ban books for the next trip.”

The last part of her statement made the rest of us focus our attention onto her, “next trip? What do you mean next trip?” Greg asks.

“I just figured it would be a reason to meet up again.” Selena answers, blushing from embarrassment. James puts his arm around her and is about to say something when they call his ticket.

James quickly drops his arm and his joking smile turns serious, “I guess I better get going.”

“unless you want to miss your flight, that would be a good idea.” I tease, trying to loosen up the mood. I then pull him into an awkward friendly hug. James and I hadn’t really reconnected over the week. I don’t feel bad about it and we can’t exactly change the way it worked out. We just were never the closest two in the group and that had been accepted years ago. “Have fun reading.”

He laughs, “oh, I will definitely have fun reading.” I notice that he was looking at Selena while saying this but decide not to ask questions. They’re allowed their own secrets.

James and Greg do their brotherly hug thing and share a couple whispers. I could tell that Greg didn’t seem too happy with what James was saying and that just made me wonder more. I glance over to Selena and notice that she had her head down.

“Selena, you okay?” I ask while the boys continue their conversation.

She shakes her head, “no, but I will be.”

“You don’t have to pretend to be strong Selena, it’s okay to cry.”

She just chuckles at that, “sometimes pretending to be strong isn’t so much pretending than it is your strength showing through.”

Before I could say anything in reply, James appears at her side, “walk with me to the gate?” he asks, resting his arm around her waist. She nods with a sad smile. James says goodbye to us once more and waves before continuing down the long hallway.

Instantly I turn to Greg who had looked worried the whole time, “what’s going on?”
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Hey readers! How are you this fine evening? As some of you may have noticed, a fellow writer/reader here on Mibba promoted not just one of my stories but all of them (a grand gesture, don't you think?) I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do it right back because, well, her stories are just amazing. And I know that all of who have not read them yet will be wishing this was in book format so that you can grip the edges of it...at least that's how I felt at moments.
Anyways, this awesome gal is...vmusicforlove
okay, now onto other things...did'ya like this chapter? I know it's depressing, they're going their separate ways. But I promise you'll love me by the next chapter. Any guesses at what Greg and James were whispering about?
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