j u s t i n *
My best friend, Garrett, is coming over after he gets off work--well, he's babysitting.
We've been best friends since we were seven; we're now twenty. Garrett does college half online and half on campus, whereas I do college fully online.
It's 5:06 PM when Garrett knocks on my door.
"I. Hate. Walking all the way up here," he pants. "They need to put stairs on this side too,"
"I know they do, it's even better when you have groceries!" I say.
"I don't want to imagine that,"
"I don't think it would be as bad if I lived on the second floor, but, well, I live on the third floor. And it's a hassle to go back for a second load, so I generally try to get it all in one go. Anyway, what do we want to eat?"
He looks at me and shrugs.
We decide to get Chinese food. On the way back home, since he's sleeping over at my house, we stop at Target to get some snacks.
"I wanna look at the blankets!" He says, grabbing my wrist and dragging me AND the buggy through the store. He guides the buggy into the blanket aisle.
"Excuse me sir," he says to me. "I'd like to look behind you,"
I move in front of him as he steps forward. His nose brushes mine as we stare at each other for a minute. I move out of his way and let him look at the blankets, pulling out my phone.
Did Garrett and I almost kiss? Why am I so upset that we didn't? I ask myself these questions as he looks. He finds one he likes and tosses it in the buggy, startling me from my thoughts. I jump. He laughs gently.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he says softly.
I shake my head. "You're fine,"
We go to the snack section and get some snacks and a couple bottles of pop. (Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, and Root Beer). After we've got everything that we think we'll want, we head to the checkout. Garrett moves to get his blanket to pay for it.
"I'll get it," I tell him.
"You don't have to-" he begins.
"Find everything alright?" the cashier asks us. His name tag says 'Tim'; he looks to be about our age.
"Yes, sir," I say smiling at him.
He smiles right back at me, and from the corner of my eye, I see Garrett narrow his eyes slightly.
"Thank you, and have a great night!" Tim calls as we leave the store.
"I didn't like him," Garrett tells me as we get into my car.
"Why?" I ask him.
"He was very clearly flirting with you,"
"No, he wasn't! He asked if we found everything okay and then asked if I wanted my milk in a bag," I say incredulously.
Garrett shrugs. "I think he was flirting,"
"And I think you're ridiculous,"
✼
When we get back to my apartment, Garrett and I both manage to grab the groceries in one trip, up two flights of stairs.
"I'm calling the board of management or whatever it's called," Garrett says. "And I'm complaining that you need a second set of stairs."
I laugh. "Good luck with that,"
He looks at me. "It actually is something they should've done when they built the apartment building,"
"Yeah, it is,"
I put the groceries that we're not using away where they belong and grab two big cups for our drinks.
"So, what do you want to do?" I ask him. "I was thinking that we should watch Harry Potter,"
"You know I can never say no to Harry Potter," Garrett tells me, looking at me.
I go to my iTunes movies and pull up Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone because whenever Garrett and I watch Harry Potter, we generally start where we left off, and last time, we finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Garrett grabs his new blanket and brings it with him on the couch. I look over at him.
"What?" he asks.
"You wanna wash that first?" I ask him. "I can wash it now and it'll be ready before bed,"
Eventually, he gives in and I throw him a blanket from my bedroom.
A few hours later when I get up to throw Garrett's blanket in the dryer, my phone chimes.
"You got a text," Garrett tells me.
"Okay," I reply.
I sit down beside him and check my phone. It's a text from one of my friends, Will. Will and I are just friends. We were in the 'talking' stage, but he kept insisting that I liked Garrett because apparently when you only talk about your best friend, you like him. Oh, now that I think about it like that, I think he has a point... I shrug the thought away.
"Who is it?" Garrett asks me as I type out my reply, send it, and put my phone back down.
"Just a friend," I say.
