Cupid's Granddaughter

17 - Friends Again

A month flew by with little change in Nate’s attitude though his relationship with Lily really improved. We barely spoke anymore and I only ever went over to his house to check up on him.

A normal day would consist of me walking into his home and asking about how his previous date went. Nate would inform me that there was a lot of kissing involved but she never wanted to go further. Apparently Lily wanted to give their relationship more time before she did something she might regret again. I was starting to like her a little bit more.

One afternoon, I was watching some movie with Brooke on TV at her apartment. I wasn’t very interested in the cliché romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. My eyes were slowly closing. I could have easily fallen asleep right on their on the couch when Brooke’s house phone rang.

I groaned loudly as Brooke answered her phone pleasantly surprised. I glanced at the clock which shown 6:34 PM. I wasn’t sure why I was so tired but I wasn’t happy that I was being deprived of my sleep.

“Um…yes?” Brooke sounded unsure to the person on the other line.

I looked over at her questioningly and she wordlessly walked over to me and handed the phone over.  

Confused, I put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey Peyton!”

“Nate?” I was surprised that he was speaking to me. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” he assured. “I was just…uh…wondering if you wanted to hang out with me?”

“How did you get this number?”

Nate stuttered, “W-well, I used the phonebook. I would have called sooner but I had to call about five other Brooklyn’s before I found this one.”

“You want to hang out now?” I asked ignoring the thrilling feeling I had from the thought that he was putting in an effort to find me.

“Er…yeah,” Nate replied awkwardly. “I know it’s kind of late but Lily had a meeting with work and we haven’t hung out in a while.”

A while? That was an understatement. I was speechless. Finally I was able to collect my thoughts enough to ask, “What would we do?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Want to watch a movie or something?”

I still didn’t understand why he wanted to hang out with me now of all times. Was it just because Lily wasn’t available and he was bored? I looked over at Brooke who shrugged which meant that she wasn’t  about to tell me what to do.

I sighed. “I’ll be there in a little while.”

o0o0o

It only took Nate about two seconds to open the door after I knocked. Once I was inside, he engulfed me in a tight hug. I was too surprised to do anything but widen my eyes until he let me go.

“I’m so sorry!” He apologized immediately and I waited for him to clarify what he meant. “I’ve been a horrible friend.”

I opened my mouth to speak but realized that I didn’t have anything to say. “Yes.”

Nate looked down at his feet embarrassed. “I know. I can’t believe how much time I’ve spent with Lily. She’s just so great to be around that I barely notice that time has passed. I haven’t spoken to Sean or you what seems like forever but you still put up with me every day.”

“Because I have to,” I muttered bitterly.

Nate nodded as if he understood. “Thank you.”