Love Floats

Chapter 2

Chapter 2! Woohoo! Thanks for continuing to read my story. :) I appreciate it! Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Amy

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Ben sipped his frappecino and looked away. He definitely seemed to be avoiding the real reason we were here. Then in a sudden rush, like he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible, he blurted, "I decided to go to school in Chicago!"

I was immediately hit with a rush of different emotions. He was leaving me again. Ben was my rock; he was one of the few constants in my life. I shouldn't be so surprised. I thought, trying to quell the burning desire to scream at him and cry. My voice was a little louder than I meant it to be when I gushed, "Moving where?? How can you go to school in Chicago!? Why would you want to? I didn't even know you had applied to any schools there. When were you planning on telling me?" I couldn't bring myself to fully accept what I had heard. Several people turned to give me curious looks as they stood around waiting for their coffee.

"I was going to tell you sooner, but I was afraid of... this." He gestured towards me, and smiled weakly. "I only got accepted yesterday. It isn't like I have been keeping it from you for weeks. Look, I'm sorry, OK? You knew I was planning on transferring to an out of state college anyway. Chicago is just a bit further away."

I gaped at him. "A bit!? Do you know how long it would take to drive from San Diego to Chicago? That is not an easy distance!"

Hot tears started to fill my eyes. Ben was my best friend in the world, but I hadn't realized how attached I was to the idea of having him around. He had always been there for me, especially since my Mom died. I fought back my tears as hard as I could; Ben had seen me cry often enough. As angry and shocked as I was, I hated to let him know I was feeling abandoned and hurt too. That wasn't fair to him. After all, I had no actual claims on his affection, and he was right, I had known something like this was coming for some time. I was being selfish. Ben noticed this emotional battle on my face, however, and looked concerned. He started to say something, but I cut him off.

"No, wait. You are right. I knew you were going to have to move soon. I am just going to miss you." My tears won the battle, and began to stream down my cheeks unchecked. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying!" I declared, trying to stop the constant flow with a Starbucks napkin.

"Em, it isn't the end of the world." Ben gave a small chuckle, "I will graduate in a few years, and be back before you know it."

"A few years?" The sense of loss I was feeling increased momentarily, "What the heck am I going to do for a few years!?"

"You're going to continue to text me every day, and write me long, boring Facebook messages as often as you can." He replied cheerfully. "And I will be hating every moment of my life there, and waiting for the day when I can move back to California."

"Ya right." I muttered. I was not prepared to be cheered up yet. "You will probably get married, and decide to stay in Chicago. Perfect. I'm losing you forever!"

"Whatever. I have terrible luck with girls. You know this." He replied, sobered a little. "Please, can we not talk about this anymore? I won’t want to go if you cry again..."

"Waaaaaaaaaa!" I wailed, pounding my fists on the table in my mock tantrum.

He smiled, and then he said "Hi", ignoring my tantrum like the excellent father I knew he was going to be.