Richie's perspective
With each interaction, I am slowly deluding myself into thinking that me and Eddie are one step closer to marriage. I'm not wrong, if you take it into consideration.
It's no shocker that I still have feelings for him, situations like this don't just go away with time.
All I had to do was find a way to discover if he felt the same.
Fidgeting with the phone cord, I patiently waited for Eddie's call. Roughly an hour of impatience had passed before I finally heard the dial tone.
I jumped a bit and answered almost immediately, my heart rate picking up.
"Eddie!"
His groggy voice sounded from the other side, obviously only after waking up. "Hey, Richie."
"Thanks for calling."
"No bother. When did you tell Bill you'd meet him?"
I paused for a minute. Thinking back, we probably should've arranged a time. "I didn't clarify anything. He's expecting us, anyway."
"You. He's expecting you. He'll just have to put up with me."
I smiled to myself. It was nice, knowing that Eddie was still keen on being friends with me. Especially after all these years.
I stayed on the phone to him for another hour, listening as he rambled on about nothing in particular. Usually, I would be the one yapping, but with Eddie it was different. Things weren't awkward with him. Listening to his voice was an oddly comforting thing, even if what he was saying didn't make much sense.
I told Eddie I'd meet him at his, seeing as his house was closer than mine.
I stole a quick glance in the mirror before I left, making sure I looked even half presentable. My hair was a mess and my glasses made me look like a child.
As long as Eddie liked them, I was fine.
*
When I arrived outside his house, he was already waiting for me, looking annoyed as ever. I gave him a huge wave from a distance, grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey again!"
As he waited for me to get closer, his grumpy expression faded into a smile.
"Hi, Rich. You good to go?"
I nodded and looked down at my bike, eyeing Eddie's empty driveway curiously. "You still have yours?" I gestured at my rusted, old bicycle.
"I think so." He replied, running over to the garage and opening the door. "Yeah, got it!"
I couldn't deny, disappointment did filter through me at one point. The prospect of sharing a bike with Eddie sounded more than romantic. But it wasn't like that, and it didn't have to be.
*
We cycled and talked until we finally reached Bill's house, discarding our bikes and turning to eachother. We both shared the same thought process, wondering whether or not things were going to go well today.
