You Had My Heart At Least for the Most Part

“Where are you going all dressed up?” Johnny asked as I slicked my hair back with a comb.

“On a date with Claire.” I smiled as I pocketed the comb and shrugged my shirt so it fit right.

“Another one?” He laughed, leaning against the wall.

“Yep.” I smiled. “She’s a lot of fun to be around.”

“Hoping you’ll get some tonight?” Johnny smirked as I sprayed some Axe on my chest and under arms.

“Fuck off.” I rolled my eyes, walking out of the bathroom and to my bunk to grab my cell phone and my wallet.

“Well you two have been going on dates for a few weeks now. Don’t you think it’s about time to have sex?” Johnny followed me.

“No,” I laughed, “I enjoy her company. I’m not going on dates with her just so I can get laid.”

“Why not? She’s hot.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “She is. But that’s not why I’m seeing her.” I put my wallet in my pocket and put my sidekick in it’s case on my belt loop. “I’ll see you guys later.” I waved and walked off the bus to my black BMW.

I drove to the hotel where Claire was staying at. With her job, she was moving around a lot, just like me. But she wasn’t a musician or anything. Claire was a journalist so she had to do interviews with artists and take photo’s for magazines. She had a good future ahead of her and that was another turn on for me.

As I pulled into the drive way I saw her standing on her porch, a grin on her face. I got out of the car and walked to the passenger side of the car to open her door. “Hi.” She smiled and pecked my lips before getting in.

“Hi.” I smiled as my eyes followed her getting into the car. I shut the door then jogged to the other side to get in.

Once I was buckled up I turned to her and leaned towards her. She leaned in and our lips met. I put my hand on the back of her neck sweetly and kissed her back with a smile plastered on my lips. A little while passed by and we both pulled away. “I missed you,”

“I missed you too.” She blushed and put her purse on her lap.

I pulled out of the driveway and headed to the beach where we were going to spend our evening. We had reservations at the Ocean Front Diner which over looked the ocean. I thought it was a nice romantic place for a date.

We finally got there and we both got out. I took her hand as we walked inside together. We found our seat and both sat down, smiles on our faces. “So how is your job coming?” I asked after we ordered our drinks.

“Great.” She smiled at me putting her napkin on her lap. “It’s a lot of fun.”

“Where are you going to next after Huntington?” I asked looking into her eyes.

“Wisconsin.” She laughed a little.

The two of us talked until the woman came over to take our orders. We ordered then continued to talk more and more about music, movies, and places we want to go. I found myself promising to take her to France to show her all of the amazing places.

As we talked and ate our dinner, I noticed a couple being seated adjacent from us. I looked up as I raised a fork full of spaghetti to my mouth. I nearly dropped my fork when I realized who it was. My brother and Vanessa. Claire noticed my sudden interest in something other than her and she turned to see who it was.

“Claire!” I practically shouted so she didn’t turn around all the way. This got Claire’s attention along with Vanessa’s, since she was faced towards us.

“What?” Claire asked, her eyes wide since she probably thought I had something shocking to tell her.

“You had a bug on you, but it’s off now.” I lied, laughing a little.

“Oh,” she laughed, “thanks.”

We continued to eat the rest of our dinner. But when I saw Matt get up and start to head to the bathroom, I excused myself from the table with Claire. “I’ll be right back.” I smiled and pecked her cheek then walked quickly to the men’s bathroom. I saw Matt walking into a stall.

“Matt!” I shouted closing the door behind me.

“Whoa! What?!” Matt opened the stall door and looked at me. “Zach, what are you doing here?”

“I’m on a date with Claire. What the fuck are you doing here with Vanessa?” I had to get straight to the point.

“You saw us?” He asked confused.

“Yeah, I saw you! You guys are sitting a table away from Claire and I.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” He started to close the stall again, thinking I was finished.

“No, tell me why you’re here with Vanessa.” I held the door open so he couldn’t escape the question.

“Zach, I have to pee!” Matt whined.

“Answer my question and I’ll let you.” I sighed, knowing he probably had a long story behind why he was here with the girl who professed her feelings for me, slept with me, and had sex a thousand times with my best friend. What was Matt thinking?

“I saw her waiting outside the bus,” he started. “I came to see you, to talk to you about my wedding but I saw her leaning up against the bus. I walked over and she said you weren’t there. So I offered to get her dinner since it looked like she hadn’t eaten in a few days. What’s so wrong about that?”

“You have a fiance waiting at home, and if she found out you took another girl to some romantic restaurant, she’ll slit your throat, and it’s Vanessa! I told you about her!”

“And she told me about you,” Matt said maliciously. “She said you blew her off when she admitted she had feelings for you. How could you do that? I thought you really liked her.”

“You’re taking her side? She told me I had to choose between her and Claire. Claire has a future planned and everything. She’ll be able to make it in life. Vanessa doesn’t know where she’s going. She doesn’t know where she’ll be in five years. She just keeps sleeping around with guys until one of them pops the question. Then that’s when she’ll figure out her future.”

“Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? You find someone you love and build your future off of them so you can be with them all the time?” Matt posed. “Cause it sounds to me that’s what Vanessa wants. She wants to be with you and make her future so it fits with yours.

Claire and you won’t be able to see each other a lot. She’s just a job that makes her travel around the world, just like you. There is no chance you two will end up in the same place at the same time. Is that what you want, Zach? To have a girlfriend or wife be half way around the world from you? Or do you want one who is with you the whole time?”

God damn. He was right. I never really thought about that. I never thought about what it would be like in a year if I stayed with Claire. We wouldn’t be able to spend a lot of time together like we wanted.

Sighing, I leaned back against the wall. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Look,” Matt walked out of the stall and leaned next to me, “I didn’t mean to scare you or anything. I just think you’re making the wrong choice with picking Claire. You know she isn’t what you want. You think you want her, but she’s just a girl to get your mind off of Vanessa. Who do you really want?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but I had no clue who I would pick. I closed my mouth and walked out of the bathroom, leaving my Brother. I walked back to the table with Claire and sat down. She noticed my expression. “Are you alright?” she put her hand over mine.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I nodded and pulled my hand away.

“Okay.” She sighed and looked down in her lap as the waiter took our empty plates.

I looked up from my hands and I saw Vanessa looking at me. I could tell she was hurt by seeing Claire and I together. Why me? Why do I have to be in a dilemma with two beautiful girls that I want? This isn’t fair!