Beneath the Glass

“No Sam, this is the part where Anne gets sent to France,” I say into the phone. Samantha Gray was one of the few people I still considered as a friend and I had called her when Nicole and William left. We’d been friends since high school when Samantha had kicked my ex-boyfriend in the groin for calling her a bitch. It was like love at first sight.

“I wish I was there! Riley’s doing movie night and you know how he only likes shitty movies,” she says and I can hear Riley protest in the background. Riley was Samantha’s on again, off again boyfriend.

“Weren’t you guys ‘completely over’ last week?” I ask, as the doorbell rings.

“We’re trying the whole friend thing,” she says slowly and I laugh.

“Third times the charm right?” I ask, while heading towards the door.

“Maybe...Angie...Riley says hi,” she says. I pull open the door and almost scream when I see Alex on the other side of it.

“Sam, I’ll um call you back,” I mutter, before sliding the phone into my pocket.

“Um, you remember where I live...?” I ask uncomfortably.

“No, William called me up and he got Nicole to give me the address and a key. I just thought ringing the doorbell would be less creepy,” Alex answers. It’s supposed to be a joke I know, but I’m too freaked out to laugh. What the hell was he doing here?

“Oh well um...did you need something?” I ask and he shakes his head.

“I wanted to talk about last night actually,” he says, giving me a hopeful look. I give him a confused look and he sighs.

“I’m sorry that I took advantage of you,” he tries again. I stare at Alex in surprise and confusion. I’d never heard this kind of apology before, much less seen a one night stand twice.

“Um, I’m not sure I understand what it is that you want.”

“Nothing, I don’t want anything. I just came over to apologize,” he says.

“Oh, that’s really nice of you. Do you wanna come inside for a bit?” I ask. Alex shrugs, “sure.”

I lead him back into my room where The Other Boleyn Girl is still playing. I head into the kitchen to “get some snacks” and call Sam.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, ignoring Riley’s shouts in the background.

“Alex, the one night stand, is here. In my room,” I say frantically.

“Oh my God Angie. What did he say to you?”

“He apologized for taking advantage of me last night.”

“So why are you talking to me? You like him don’t you?”

“What about Jake?” I ask quietly and Sam gasps.

“You lied to me! You’re not over him!” she exclaims, as Alex starts calling me.

“I am!” I protest.

“Then why aren’t you fucking Alex right now? You know, Nicole told me that Alex thinks you’re really hot-” she begins, just as Alex walks into the kitchen.

“Um hey Alex!” I say nervously, shoving my phone into a drawer.

“I thought you might need some help...” he trails off, giving me a suspicious look.

“Oh um yeah. There’s some popcorn over there and I’ll get the drinks.”

“Why do you seem so nervous?” he asks, pulling open a cupboard.

“Nervous? I’m never nervous,” I say, grabbing some cups and placing them on the table.

“Is that why you’re pouring ketchup into those cups?”

I blush, “um yes. Tomato juice just isn’t thick enough.” Alex closes the cupboard and walks over to me. He puts the ketchup back into the fridge and hands me a bottle of Sprite.

“Did I do something weird?” he asks.

“No, you’re really...really great. I just um....love ketchup,” I mutter and Alex raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

“No, but it shouldn’t matter to you. I was supposed to be your one night stand, so why are you here?” I ask.

“I’m not that kind of guy. I don’t normally do that kind of thing.” I look at Alex, looking for some sign of a lie or a some kind of smirk but I don’t see it. Alex was so different from my past boyfriends and it amazed me. How I had managed to stumble across gold, in a bar full of copper, was unbelievable.

“I think, you’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met,” I mutter, pouring the Sprite into both cups.

“Really? There has to be somebody.”

“Nope.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup.”

“Your dad?”

“Asshole.”

“Cousins?”

“Total perverts.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Nonexistent.”

Alex smiles, “that’s interesting.”

I roll my eyes and turn back to the cups, “so what about you?”

“Yeah, I don’t have a boyfriend either,” he says, picking up both cups. I sigh and grab the bag of popcorn, “you know what I meant.” We head back into my room where I instruct Alex where to put the cups.

“You’re a neat freak huh?” he asks, watching me arrange the cups.

“No, I just don’t like sleeping in juice stains,” I retort.

“But what are the chances-”

“Just watch the movie, Alex.”

“I don’t even like this movie.” I turn away from the cups and stare at Alex.

“What?” I hiss.

“Well I don’t really-”

“We are going to watch this until you love it,” I say sitting down next to him.