Love is a Laserquest

“You guys ready for the check, yet?” our waitress, Erin, asked for the third time clearly trying to mask her annoyance with us sitting there long after we had finished our food.

“Uhh,” Kris began, his eyes darting from his water to my Coke and then meeting my stare. “Yeah, I think so.” he said with an unsure shrug to see if I'd protest. I nodded to show my agreement.

“Great,” she said slightly tossing the check in his direction before bouncing off to her other tables.

“That's definitely not a bitter woman or anything,” I grumbled, my words oozing with sarcasm.

Kris chuckled. “Maybe she's having a bad day or something.” He was genuinely optimistic and always tried to see the good in people. Those were qualities I truly admired in him. Kris took out his black leather wallet, removed some cash, and put it on the table under the check. “Maybe that'll cheer her up. Come on, let's go.”

We made our way out of the restaurant and into the cool October breeze. The streets of Miami were bustling with people, especially couples. For a split second I wished we were one of them. That I could take his hand right at that moment without any resulting awkwardness and blend into the crowd of other pairs.

“So, I guess you probably have to get going now,” he said interrupting me from my daydream.

“What?” I said turning to face him. His words finally registered in my mind. “Oh, no. I mean, yeah, I suppose. But you could come see my apartment finally!” I exclaimed eagerly. “You know, if you want.” I added trying to seem cool about the situation.

“Yeah, that would be nice,” Kris said with a slight grin, trying to keep from laughing at how anxious I was.

“Okay, great. So you can just follow me there, cool?” I asked him.

“Mmhm, sounds good,” he nodded.

“Alright, see you there,” I smiled before walking off to my car. I couldn't quite discern why I felt the way I did. I was internally freaking out like I was letting a new boyfriend see my place for the first time. Except this was my best friend, Kris, that I had known since the dawn of time. So what was with this smile that wouldn't leave my face?

I pulled away from the curb and started driving away, catching a glimpse of Kris in his SUV trailing behind me. It wasn't long before I was hit with a red light. A bus pulled up alongside the right of my car boasting a large advertisement for the Miami Herald.

“Shit! Sara!” I said reaching for my bag and checking my phone while the light was still red.

“Six missed calls, three voice mails, and four text messages? What the hell? It's got to be bad. She's going to kill me for not answering.” I glanced up at the light to make sure it was still red. It was so I proceeded to check the texts.

“Remember that guy you're dating? Eric? Well he's here in our living room. GET HOME NOW!”

My heart immediately sank. This wasn't how I was supposed to feel, I know. Any normal girl would be thrilled by a surprise visit from her boyfriend. I, however, had never felt such disappointment and fear before.

So there I was, sitting at a red light with the guy I wanted to be in love with following me to my apartment where the guy I was supposed to be in love with was awaiting my arrival. You know, the usual...

“Fuck!” I pounded on the steering wheel as I drove across the intersection knowing that I'd have to blow Kris off.

I dialed his number and waited impatiently as each chime seemed to echo louder.

“Hey!” he answered and I could envision the smile on his face through the phone, making this all the more difficult. “What's up?”

I sighed. “Sara apparently kept trying to call me while we were having lunch. She's got food poisoning and I need to go home and take care of her. You should probably go home and we'll do this some other time.”

“You sure? I could help you out if you need me to.” Kris offered.

“No, she'll be fine. And I'm sure she'd kill me if I let anyone see her like this, so you just go home, okay?” I tried to keep my voice level so he didn't hear my aggravation.

“Alright. Hope she feels better. Talk to you later.” I could hear the dejection in his voice as he said goodbye.

“You're not the only one...” I thought as I saw him hang a left and drive out of my sight.

-x-

A short time later I pulled up to our apartment building. With a heavy heart that felt like it was literally weighing me down, I shuffled up the stairs to our front door. With my hand on the door knob I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply before finally stepping inside.

Both my boyfriend and best friend turned to look at me with different expressions painting their faces. Eric grabbed a bouquet of roses from the coffee table and walked towards me gleefully.

“Hey, beautiful.” he said with an almost sickening grin on his face as he pulled me close to him and attacked my mouth with his. I looked over his shoulder at Sara who looked confused and helpless. Finally he broke apart from me and I could breathe once again.

“Are you surprised?” he laughed.

“Oh, you have no idea.” I smiled hoping it looked natural and not as uncomfortable as I felt.

“Awesome! This vacation is going to be so exciting, babe.”

“Oh, I don't doubt that for a second.” I replied as I thought of all the ways this unexpected gift could blow up in my face.