The Suite Adult Life

June (10.1)

It was during a dinner date weeks later when Cody and Bailey's new paths had started to diverge. He knew that she had been seeing Andrew, but she was mum on any details. They continued their text conversations but they hadn't gone out of their way to make any in-person plans. He wasn't sure if he was okay with that. He liked texting with Bailey. Sometimes she just understood what he was trying to say in a way that Luna didn't. But he chalked that up to history.

For Bailey's part she wanted to keep all of the lines clear and separate. She told herself that if they saw each other in person then he would want to take her on his motorcycle and the vibrations of the bike along with his closeness would cloud her mind too much. She didn't want to risk it. He had moved on and she had too. Not just from Cody but also from Chad. And of course she didn't find herself circling her left hand's ring finger wishing it still had that marquis diamond sitting on it.

When Cody brought up the new relationship between Bailey and Andrew, Jackson was more than excited to share what he knew. However, at Zack's instance he kept the details vague. That was fine, Cody told himself, he really didn't want to know what Bailey and her new beau were getting into. Especially since Bailey most likely didn't know all of the surfaces he and London had explored in London's apartment. When he called London to check in on how her new life was going, she started with "You better not be calling to ask me about Andrew..." He tried not to let the offense sting.

So when the two couples found themselves at the same restaurant they could only hope they wouldn't find themselves in some bad romcom conflict. It was Luna who extended the invitation for them to share a table. The hostess was more than accommodating as that freed up two two-tops and a four-top was ready right then. Cody pressed a quick kiss to Luna's temple, as his fingers snaked with hers, in gratitude. The two couples sat next to each other instead of across. They all thought that best. How wrong would they all be?

The dinner conversation started out well enough. Andrew and Cody had devolved into middle schoolers laughing at crude jokes while their dates watched with an annoyed amusement. Luna was the first to extend an olive branch saying that there was no reason that her and Bailey couldn't be friends. Both had a past so why let it taint their future? That raised Bailey's hackles. Did Cody tell her about what happened? If he did, how dare he! But Luna made no other comments to clarify so it left Bailey in a very uncomfortable limbo.

What first started as enjoyable became tense very quickly. Andrew had slipped and made an ignorant comment about some conflict somewhere in Central America. It wasn't that he was purposefully trying to be upsetting, he really just didn't understand. But, the condescension that slipped into Cody's voice as he explained the truth of it, didn't help matters. In reality those two should have been the best of friends. Opposites attract, right? Maybe if they had met when they were younger or grew up together.

The saving grace was that it had been made just before their food arrived and they could take some time to cool off as they enjoyed their meals.

"So, Luna, you're in web design, right?" Andrew asked innocently enough. The swiftness of the connection between them startled the ex-high school sweethearts that they began their own silent conversation filled with looks and eyebrow waggles. The conversation between the two outsiders switched so rapidly that their dates couldn't keep up. Not only did Andrew and Luna discover that they had many people in common; but, a lot more in common than realized.

Both Bailey and Cody would wonder to themselves if this was some kind of setup. Was it a weird test that Jackson and London had put in front of them? It was after dinner when they were hailing a cab for each of the pairs that, once again, Andrew and Luna discovered they lived a block away from each other. Just as quickly as the new paramours started their relationships, the raven haired princess and the rooibos haired boy next door drove off in their own cab, they were over.

Cody tipped his head back and sighed. "Well, at least I don't have to work with him."

Bailey looked up at him confused. "What do you mean?"

Cody just shrugged as he pivoted on his heel making his way to the subway. He wasn't going to deliver that bad news. That was Andrew's job to step up to the plate and be as kind to her as possible. He just really hoped that they weren't being cheated on. It didn't seem Luna's style but the instant chemistry between them at dinner was palpable.

"Don't walk away from me Cody Martin!" She reached out pulling at his elbow forcing him to look at her. She didn't like the look on his face but she didn't want to believe her once optimistic fair haired boy had become something so cynical.

"We were at the same dinner. We both saw the same thing." He tried to lead her to the same conclusion but sometimes her naivety was too much of a burden. He knew it was a safe place for her to be but it really hindered conversations like this.

"Tell me what you saw," she instructed. Her eyes shifted from left to right as she tried to fight off the invading thoughts. His hands came to rest gently on her shoulders and made her finally look at him.

"I'm not saying he is Chad," he began. "But you might expect a tough conversation soon." He hoped for her sake that it came tomorrow instead of trying to string her along.

Bailey blinked back tears refusing to be so vulnerable in front of her ex. "What about you?" She finally asked, seeing the hurt in his eyes.

"I'm going to have that conversation tomorrow," he shrugged, dropping his hands. He could pull her into a hug to comfort her, and he wanted to. But the responsibility of shouldering such a task he didn't feel quite ready for. He raised a hand to hail her a cab without breaking their eye contact, silently trying to affirm that she would be okay. Silently, Cody helped her into the yellow taxicab, giving the driver directions for her. "Call me," he weightily instructed. He wasn't going to borrow her trouble, but he hoped that maybe, just maybe, they could continue to trust each other with their feelings.