Geeky Gary

5

*****

"They only sell chicken here?" Gary asks stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Yes Gary, kind of says it in the name." I laugh while guiding him through the restaurant to the order line.

"Hey there and welcome to Chick-fil-A, what will you two be having this evening?" The cashier welcomes, looking from me to Gary.

I order my nuggets and help Gary decide on what he'd like to eat.
They say girls are the ones who take forever deciding on what to eat but standing here with Gary, I see the roles reverse.

I choose a nice little booth and Gary and I spend our first few minutes in silence.

Spending time with Gary has been a nice distraction honestly. I haven't thought of Eric nearly as much.

"This is nice." I say finally breaking the silence.

"What is? The food?"

"That too." I giggle, "But I meant just being here in general. It feels nice just taking a break from studying. And that damn project. You know?"

"I agree." Gary simply replies.

I bite into one of my waffle fries, "With everything going on with school and Eric, my life just seems so crazy and out of control."

"So uh.. What happened with you and Eric?" Gary asks. "If you don't mind me asking." He quickly adds.

"Well I guess you're one of the few who haven't heard, but Eric was unfaithful to me." I simply state.

To admit that someone cheated on you is embarrassing. Who would want to have those words fall from their mouth?

"Oh, I'm sorry.." Gary picks the crumbs left over from his chicken sandwich.

"I had a feeling that things were going south though." I say staring into space.

"I sometimes think that something was going on, with his family, or something that he wasn't telling me," I start. "I know that there are things that people aren't comfortable talking about so I never ever pushed him to tell me that kind of stuff. He knew that he could talk to me about anything, but he never came forward with anything to say. Really, That's the only explanation I can think of. It's crazy thinking of how things changed overtime."

My mind flashes back to the beginning of my relationship with Eric. From an outsider's perspective he may have seemed to be intimidating, with that scowl sketched into his face whenever we were out. But that's not the Eric that I came to.. "love." I don't even know if I want to use that word.
When Eric and I were together it always made me feel special because I knew he only showed the nice, caring, and loving side to me.

But while my back was turned he was the womanizer.

"He finally made it clear that we weren't going to work out when he decided to bang one of my friends.. That was low, even for him." I tell Gary.

Gary's hand moves to rest on my wrist, "I hate that this happened to you Eva. You didn't deserve that.. Better yet, he didn't.. deserve you." his words fall slowly from his mouth as his eyes roam my face. "You should only get the best."

I smile back at him, "Wow, wise words from Gary the genius." I try to laugh. "Thanks Gary, that really means a lot to me. That's exactly what I need to hear, really."
Gary's eyes meet mine, his eyes full of sincerity, so easy to read.

Our locked gazed is interrupted when a woman comes up to stand in front of our table. "Oh my, what a cute couple the two of you are!" she gushes. "So sweet that you don't have to go somewhere extravagant to have a good time with each other. I wish the two of you the best luck my dears." She smiles sweetly.

Gary's eyes go wide, nearly popping out of his head. "Oh uh we're not.. together.." Gary speaks softly. The little old woman looks slightly embarrassed, her cheeks turn a bright red as she apologizes and wanders off back to her husband.

"Eva I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen, I should keep my hands to myself." He rambles.

I surprise him by placing my hand over his arm. "It's fine Gary, don't worry about it." I chuckle, trying to lighten the situation.

I look around at the nearly empty restaurant. Before returning my focus to Gary. "I guess it's time to get out of here."

Gary and I make it back to my car and before I put the keys in the ignition I make a point to tell him, "Gary you're a good guy, I appreciate you trying to make me feel better."

With the darkness outside I barely make out the smile that has grown onto his face.

We pull up to Gary's house, the dim street lights and darkness making his house seem like a darker shade of blue.

Gary climbs out of my car and I surprise myself by following him.

"I had a great time with you today Gary." I admit tucking a curl behind my ear.

"Glad you feel that way. I had fun with you." He says with a half smile.

A seconds go by as we stand at his door, Gary shifting on his heels.
The fall wind picks up and leaves blow through the air. One leaf lands on Gary's shoulder and I move my hand to brush it off.

"Thanks." He says as my hand lingers in the same spot on his shoulder.

The wind picks up again, pushing me slightly closer to him.

I can hear his uncontrolled heavy breathing as I bring my face closer to his. "I'm really enjoying your company." I tell him, "It's great to have someone pull me out of my gloomy abyss."

"I'm glad I can help." He whispers.

I plant my lips against his flushed cheeks

"Goodnight Gary." I silently speak as I make my way back to my car.