Opposites Distract

“Which door? There’s more than one! Sandy Claws is behind the door shaped like this!”

I was watching The Nightmare Before Christmas on my laptop. Joe was with May now, and they were working out our return flight. Mom and dad were so upset to hear about it, and they were even pushing for May to cancel the wedding completely, but she wouldn’t. She stood firm by her postponement. I don’t understand why she still wants to be with Warren!

Alex, Rian, and Zack were all with their significant others. I wanted to hang out with Taylor, but she had work and was just plain distant lately. I think she thought I needed to spend more time with May. Taylor was right, but I wanted to spend more time with her right now. When we flew away, May would be home with us. Taylor would still be here in South Bend, Indiana.

I’d never had a long distance relationship before. Hell, I’d never had a relationship before! But for Taylor, I was willing to do anything. I never thought I’d like her so much. I never thought I’d get her to like me so much, especially with the way she absolutely hated me when we first met.

I feel like we were those two people in that Brad Pitt movie, but Taylor was Brad Pitt’s character and I was Cate Blanchett’s character. Taylor grew down for me, and I grew up for her. I didn’t want it to end like the movie, though. I felt like we met in the middle of the maturity scale when we were together. We could swing in either direction, but stayed in the middle for the most part, which was a lot of work. Well, it wasn’t a lot of work because it felt so natural now. Or maybe it only felt so natural now because of all the work we’d already put in? I don’t even know anymore, all I know is I love this girl.

Hold the phone.

I love this girl?

…Why, yes. Yes, I do love Allegra Taylor.

I had to pause the movie for a second and sit back, repeating the words in my head a few times to see if they sounded right, if they felt right. I couldn’t convince myself otherwise, so it must be true. I exhaled sharply, getting up and rubbing my head because I felt light headed. Taylor would probably think it’s too soon to think of each other with the “L” word in mind, but I couldn’t help it. I loved her.

…It’s starting to sound better every time I just think it.

I felt like an idiot, but I couldn’t help it. I just started laughing and jumping around on the bed. I couldn’t wait to tell Taylor. “Jack…what the fuck are you doing?”

I cleared my throat, lowering my arms and sinking down to sit on the bed. “Oh, hi Joe," I greeted my older brother, trying not to keep on grinning.

Joe arched his eyebrow at me, but said no more of my behavior. "Go talk to May...it's your turn with her now," he said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the door.

That put a considerable downer on my mood, but I nodded and made my way down to May's hotel room. She was still so out of it. It made me so sad, and I wanted to go after Warren, but I wasn't going to risk upsetting Taylor, either. Ugh, women! "Hey, Maybelline," I called her by our nickname for her, hesitantly joining her on the bed.

"Jack-a-roo," she sighed softly, resting her head on my lap. "Please don't say anything about him anymore. I appreciate what you and Joe are doing for me, but...I just...I just don't..."

"Ok," I said quickly, feeling her tremble like she was about to start sobbing again. It was crazy for me to see my sister like this. She was the oldest. She was supposed to be the toughest and strongest, too. I'd never seen her so vulnerable. "Can we talk about something else, then?"

"Alright," May said, sniffling only slightly.

"May, I need your help....I think... I think I might love Taylor."

May kind of…blew up at me. “No you don’t, Jack.”

I took more than slight offense to that. “May, you may be my sister, but you don’t know how I feel,” I said just as harshly. Of course I loved Taylor. How could I not?

“There’s no ‘I think’ or ‘I might’ when it comes to love,” May said firmly. “You do, or you don’t. And if there’s any ‘I think’ or ‘I might’ when it comes to love, you’d best believe it’s not love.”

“…Oh.” I had to admit, she made sense there.

“Jack, she’s one of my best friends…I don’t want to see her like me.”

“Are you comparing me to Warren?” I asked sharply, really pissed off now. I didn’t cheat on Taylor. I didn’t shove her into the trunk of my car. I was so much better than that douche bag.

“No, but I know you, Jack. It’s just, you’ll always be my baby brother…and I don’t know if Taylor can handle you. Not in a bad way at all! It’s like…see, Jack, Taylor’s the kind of girl that loves hard, but only when she’s ready for it.”

I couldn’t help but snicker. “She sure loves 'hard', alright…”

May turned over to lay on her back and look up at me. “Jack…”

“Yeah?”

May frowned at me for a few minutes before her eyes went wide and her expression twisted into one of disgust. “Oh my god, Reese was right? You did it with Taylor in a public bathroom? Jesus fucking H. Christ, Jack, learn to keep it in your pants!”

“What? Wait! No, we didn’t! We were at her apartment!”

May sat up, massaging her temples. “You know what, I don’t feel like discussing your sex lives right now,” she sighed, shuddering at the thought.

I laughed while May crawled onto another spot on the bed and we sat in comfortable silence for a little while. “…May, I want to tell her.”

“Jack, you’ve known her for a little less than a month.”

“I know, and I keep trying to convince myself I don’t, but…it’s only making me feel it more,” I sighed almost dreamily, feeling like a nerdy fifteen year old with a crush on the captain of the cheerleading squad. “Do you think she feels it too?”

May looked at me hard for a few minutes before breaking out into the biggest grin I’d seen on her face since the night she announced that the wedding was postponed. “Aw, Jack-a-roo.”

“…What?”

May reached over to pat my head. “It's so cute, the way you get so flustered over her. But...I think you should be happy with what you and Taylor have now. I think Taylor feels the same way, but isn’t ready to say it yet. Saying it makes it that much more real, Jack.”

“What does that mean? That what I'm feeling is fake? I’ve said it to myself, like, a million times!”

May rolled her eyes. “We all know you love yourself, Jack.”

I sighed. “Why won’t you take me seriously?” May seemed taken aback by my question. “May, I want to tell her so bad.”

“...Jack, we’re flying back home next week,” May gently reminded me.

“Well, I still want to tell Taylor,” I said, and it sounded so whiny, but I couldn’t help it.

“Do you want to tell her because you mean it, or because you’re leaving?”

“I want to tell her because I mean it, and because I want us to work, despite the distance… That, or I want her to just come home with me.”

May was even more surprised by that. “You still live with mom and dad.”

I shrugged, laying down on the bed and putting my hands behind my head. “We can get an apartment or something.” The thought of Taylor with me in Baltimore made me smile even more, if that was possible. May just stared at me when I said that. “…Why are you looking at me like I grew three heads?”

“You didn’t grow three heads, but you sure grew up, Jack.”