Give It a Chance for Our Love to Start

"Bethany honey," Mrs. Jonas said as I came into the living room. I walked into our living room, seeing people all over. They were, of course, all over 40. Most of them were friends of my parents and of the Jonas', friends who wanted to catch up. I looked around the room, looking for anyone my age, particularly a certain guy that three months older than me. He was nowhere to be found. "It's so good to see you dear."

I smiled. "Hi Mrs. Jonas. It's been a while."

She smiled too. "Yes it has," she sighed, as if regretful. "And what's with the formalities. We're basically family dear. Denise is fine."

"Denise," I said, smiling.

"So look at you," she said, taking my hand and spinning me, as she looked me over. "You look absolutely stunning honey."

I blushed. If only her second oldest son thought so too. "Thank you."

"I'll catch you later honey," she hugged me. "I think your mom needs help in the kitchen."

"See you later," I smiled as she left. I looked around again. He was still nowhere to be found. I sighed, making my way over to the food table my mom had set up against the wall.

"Is this juice any good," I heard a voice say next to me. I gasped, immediately recognizing it. I felt my heart jump.

I shrugged. "Probably." I groaned internally. Probably? 10 years of letters with this guy and the only word I could think fo was probably?

He smiled. "I'll take your word for it," he said, taking a cup. "So Bethany."

"So Joe," I said, turning to face him. This was it. This was the moment he would ask me how I had been and I could tell him tell him that it was I, I not Tinsley, who wrote all those letters to him. That it was me that knew him, not Tinsley. And he'd tell me he knew it was me all along, that he had recognized my heart just as we had promised. This was my moment.

"How've you been," he asked.

I froze, not saying anything. I just stared at him. He stared back, waiting for an answer. He stood there, all calm and smiling. And here I was, gawking like an idiot, not able to speak. "Um, good," I choked out. "Y-y-you?"

He smiled. "I've been great. We got signed, and we'll be moving to LA soon. It's so cool! But I've really been down for the past 10 years. I've really missed Tinsley." I felt my heart drop. "But hey, her letters really helped." As if it were possible, I felt it drop even more. "Especially when I was feeling homesick, you know? When I was really missing Texas and everything."

I didn't say anything. I just smiled at him, blinking fast as to stop the tears. "It's good then that she – she w-w-wrote to you."

He smiled, looking out in the distance, lost in his own world. He shook his head quickly, as if remembering where he was. "So where is Miss Letters anyway?"

I sighed. "Tinsley always likes to be – fashionably late."

"Really," he asked, pure amazement written on his face. And of course, he looked beautiful. "Her emails were always so prompt. I would have thought she was always on time."

I laughed weakly. I was always on time. Tinsley never was. But of course, I couldn't tell Joe that. "Obviously you need to get to know Tinsley a little more."

He sighed. "I know every part of her."

I looked at him, put off by the tone of his voice. It was so certain, so sure, so loving. He truly loved her. I felt my heart stop. "Joe –"

"Talking about me," Tinsley's unmistakable voice rang behind me.

I sighed, knowing my moment was over. "Of course," Joe said. "You're all I think about."

"I'm all a lot of guys think about," Tinsley smirked.

"Is that so," Joe smirked back. "But you love me best, right?"

I sighed, taking my cue to exit. I didn't think I could stand there any longer, trying to listen to their flirting any longer. "See you guys later," I said. "My mom needs help in the kitchen." I turned to go.

"Hey wait Bethany," Joe's voice stopped me.
I turned around slowly. "Yeah?"

"Weren't you saying something," he asked, his face telling me he was genuinely interested.

I shook my head. "It wasn't important. See you later." And I left before he could stop me, not that I thought he would, seeing as Tinsley was there.

[&&&]

I sat down on my computer when everyone left. My mom was showing the Jonas' where they were going to sleep, and I hadescaped retreated to my room, trying to get as away from him as possible. During the party, I had decided to stop all my thoughts about him. He was Tinsley's, not mine. He would always be hers, never mine. I had decided to settle on being just his friend. I could do that, right? Easy as pie.

"Knock, knock," of course he said from the door.

I turned to see him standing there, in a pair of sweats and a beater, his muscles defined so well. I sighed, prying my eyes away from him with all my might. "Hey," I said quietly, my cheeks turning red. So maybe it wouldn't be as easy as pie. As easy as cake though, definitely.

"So this is the room," he said, coming in, a huge grin on his face.

"The room," I asked, still trying not to look at him.

"The room that Tinsley wrote me from all the time," he asked, coming closer. His hands touched my computer.

I smiled. "Yup. The same room, the same computer, the same me –" I froze, hoping he didn't catch my last part.

He smiled at me, seeming to have missed it. He sat down on my bed. "Hey Bethany, how come you never wrote to me? We were best friends too?"

I spun my computer chair to face him. "If I had, would you have written to me as lovingly as Tinsley," I said, smiling bitterly. Okay, so it wasn't easy at all.

He just looked confused. "What do you –"

"Guys," Nick burst into my room. "Kevin wants to watch a movie before we sleep. You two in?"

"Scary," Joe asked at the same time I asked, "Girly?" We looked at each other and started laughing.

"Tinsley likes girly movies too," Joe smiled at me.

I laughed nervously. "Well we're best friends, so some of our interests are bound to be similar, I guess," I shrugged, trying to play it off.

He laughed. "True. I still say scary though."