Masterpiece Theater

I caught a cab back to the house. The rest of the guys were already there, playing rounds of Call of Duty on my XBox in my basement. The whole way home, I was in a messaging argument with Michelle.

I raced down the kitchen stairs and hit the bar, grabbing a beer before sitting on the arm of my sofa to watch Johnny kick Matt's ass.

"So?" Jimmy asked, impatient as ever. He was banging his sticks on my coffee table.

"So what?" I asked, hiding my smile with the beer bottle.

"The girl, man. Jimmy said you landed the girl." I looked at Zack, who was paying casual attention to his phone, pretending to not be interested. He was probably in a gross lovesick conversation with his own girlfriend.

"I didn't land her. It was just coffee, and I really don't think she was interested."

"But you got her number, right?"

"Her friend that ditched her last night showed up. She gave me her number."

"Damn. That's fucked up." Johnny added in. He nailed Matt in the head, ending the campaign.

"No, what's fucked up is Michelle calling me to bitch because she thinks I still have some of her stuff."

Zack let out a very sarcastic laugh and thumbed some more buttons on his keyboard. After a minute, he sat up and put his phone away, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Why the hell does she think that?"

I took a cigarette from my pack and passed it around while Jimmy brought more beer over for everyone. "She just wanted to pick a fight."

"Enough about Michelle. What about the girl?" Johnny pushed. He jumped up onto the back edge of the couch, his feet where his ass was supposed to be, bottle hanging loosely from his fingers while he smoked.

"The girl's name is Laurel, jackass. She's a waitress. She moved back from Chicago. She said I could call her later this afternoon or after eleven."

"That's kind of a weird time frame." Jimmy pointed out. "She give a reason?"

"Maybe she's just busy. People have lives." Matt defended.

"Thank you." I agreed pointedly. We fist bumped and I looked at him. He just shook his head and proceeded to tap out a beat on my table.

"What?"

"Nothin' man. She's cute. Did you tell her who you were?"

"No. I just told her I played guitar and I travel. She likes our music, though."

"Speaking of, we gotta hit the studio." Matt piped up.

With much grumbling, we filed out of my basement and into Matt's Escalade. With the bass pumping on the stereo and the windows down, we headed to the studio for our first day of recording.

**********

When we finally got a break, I hightailed it outside, too eager to sit still. I paced, my phone glued to my ear. It rang and rang and I huffed my cigarette.

"Laurel here."

"Hey...it's Brian." I said with a sigh of relief.

"Oh...hi…"

"Bad time?"

"Uh...no. I just got in. Perfect time."

"Great. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. This morning I left in a bit of a rush. I didn't mean to ditch you."

"It's okay. I'm sorry if Ali scared you off. She thinks-"

She stopped, catching herself. Whatever she was going to say, she didn't want to say to me. I heard her huff and scuffle around.

"Anyway, I was wondering, maybe we could try this whole coffee thing again." I offered.

Something in my ear beeped. I pulled my phone away from my ear, but my screen was blank. It beeped again, coming from her end of the line.

"Hold on." She told me. Patiently I waited, taking the cigarette Zack offered me. The guys were outside with me, listening intently to my end of the conversation. Such a support system.

More than anything, they were mocking me.

I got nothing but static for a few minutes and I frantically gave myself cancer waiting for her to come back on the line.

"You there?" She huffed.

"Yeah." I answered, a little too enthusiastically.

"How 'bout tonight?"

"Huh?" I quipped before my brain could process. "Tonight? You said you were busy tonight."

"Things change. That okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, tonight's good."

"Great. Text me your address and I'll come by around eight?"

"I will do that."

"Alright. I gotta go. Bye."

"Bye."

I walked back into the studio with a smile, completely elated at the turn of events.

So as not to appear too eager, I waited until we were done in the studio to send her my address. I didn't want to scare her off and I had a feeling it wouldn't take a lot to do it.

*********

By seven thirty, I was wearing holes in my carpet. I'd showered again-properly-and dressed in a gray-scale pinstriped button up over a white t-shirt and some black Dickies. I ordered Chinese food and my delivery time was set for just after she was supposed to be here. I smoked through the rest of my pack and opened a new one.

I didn't remember ever being this nervous with Michelle. I guess that's what happened when you dated someone you practically grew up with. Everything was routine and simple, never exciting or new.

Just as the clock chimed, a subtle knock came from the door. I hadn't really expected her to be punctual but was grateful for it. I put out my cigarette, smoothed my hands down my shirt, making sure they weren’t covered in sweat, and opened the door.

"Hey." I greeted, welcoming her inside.

"Nice place." She commented. She stepped over the threshold and looked around. I shut the door behind her and put my hands in my pockets to keep from fidgeting.

"Thanks. Can I get you a drink?"

"As long as you promise not to spill it on me this time." She smiled at me and sat, setting her purse down on the floor and shrugging off her corduroy jacket.

I smiled back. "Promise."

"I hope you like Chinese food." I called from the kitchen as I popped the tops off two beers.

"I love it." She answered, coming through the archway. I handed her her drink, at a complete loss for what to say. She took up the conversation for me.

"So, my friend Ali, you met her this morning," she started.

"Yeah?"

She wouldn't sit still. With the beer bottle in her hand, she wandered around my kitchen, making a figure eight as she observed her surroundings.

"She said you had a nice ass."

"And what says you?" I replied with a chuckle.

She shrugged and set her drink on my dining table, where no actual dining took place. "It's not bad." She mustered, trying to hide a smile.

"You checked me out?" I moved around to the other side of the counter, a smug smile on my face. She stopped in front of me, inches away, and smiled sheepishly.

"I might have." She admitted quietly.

I reached behind me and set my beer down. "And what's the verdict?" Taking a chance, I reached for her hands and linked our fingers together.

She stepped closer. "The verdict is," she half-whispered. I leaned into her. "That you are very,"

"Yeah?" Our breath mingled. Our foreheads were almost touching.

"Easy on the eyes."

"That's good to know." I moved to close the very minimal distance between our mouths, but the delivery guy had other ideas as he punched my doorbell impatiently.

"Five more minutes." I muttered bitterly, hanging my head. She pranced away from me, taking her beer with her to sit down in the living room while I walked to answer the door.