Meet You There

Meet You There - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Iris?" I heard Caleb calling me, from the hallway.

   My bedroom door was closed. I'd been doing my Calculus homework for the past half an hour. It was way after 8P.M.

   "Yeah?" I called back, closing my textbook.

   He opened the door, peeking in. "Hey, what did you want to talk about?"

   Now, the door was all the way open and I could see that he was wearing jeans, a dress shirt and tie, and his hair was styled to one side. In two months, I had never seen him so dressed up.

   "Uh. You look nice," I commented.

   He tugged at the tie, straightening it. "Oh, yeah. Fox and I are going to a pretty fancy event tonight. It's a fundraiser -"

   I was in pajamas, already. "Oh, that's awesome."

   "So, you wanted to talk?" he asked again.

   "Oh, I was just wondering if we could go to the studio tomorrow? Uh, my friend wants to see it. Would that be okay?" I asked, slowly.

   "Oh! Um, yeah, I guess so. It'll be a late night, but can we discuss details in the morning?" he asked, looking impatient.

   "Sure, of course. Have fun," I finished.

   "Thanks," he said, smiling, but then took a look around my room. "Are you really doing homework on a Friday night?"

   I sighed. "Please don't make fun of me."

   "I'm not." But he laughed. "Honestly, I'm glad you're not out partying every weekend. I would worry a lot more."

   I smiled at him, but still felt pretty lame. "Don't worry. I probably won't be invited to any more parties."

   "Hey, do you need to talk about anything else?" he asked, suddenly not in such a rush.

   I shook my head. "I'm fine. Have a good time, okay?"

   "Okay. Text if you need anything," he finished.

   It was nice to hear him say that, but I would never text him when he was out at a fancy event with his girlfriend. I was home, in my pajamas, anyway.

   The apartment was so quiet after he left. I had wandered back out to the living room to watch a movie, and was eating a bowl of popcorn when there was a knock on the door. I almost ignored it, thinking it was just a neighbour of Caleb's. But I decided after a few more knocks to check it out.

   "Hey, Iris." It was Bennett.

   I was standing there in front of him in my oversized pajamas, no bra, with messy hair. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. I slid behind the door, so only my head was visible to him.

   "Uh, hi."

   "Can I come in?" he asked, like this was not a big deal.

   "No," I spat out.

   "Uh, okay." He looked confused.

   "I mean, you can, but... I'm not even dressed."

   "I don't care," he said, his voice low.

   I let him inside, so he shut the door behind him. We just stood there looking each other for a moment too long.

  "I'm just going to... I'll be right back," I said quickly.