Meet Cute

Chapter 7

The months that Chris was gone after we had broken up I tried to keep him off my mind as best as I could, but that got harder and harder as news for the new Avengers movie popped up all around me. Even after months of being apart, seeing his face still made me feel something, even if it was just a picture online. I had moved on, I kept trying to convince myself. I hadn't stared at his contact information in my phone debating whether or not to text him in weeks. And shit, I had even started seeing someone else. Was he a rebound? Perhaps, but we don't have to get into that right this second. I knew Chris would be back in town around September, and as it got closer and closer I was trying to prepare myself for it. Not that I really thought he would reach out to me, but I was trying to convince myself not to reach out to him when he was back. 

"You've been especially broody lately, what's going on?" Estelle asked me one night as we were eating dinner and watching reruns of Friends.

"What do you mean broody?" I asked between bites of pizza. "I'm how I always am."

"Did you and The Man get into a fight?"

"He does have a name you know, and no we aren't fighting. Everything is fine I don't know why you're asking." That last part sounded a little too snippy and I knew the jig was up. Estelle gave me her best I-told-you-so look and paused the tv. I sighed before I started explaining. "I don't know. It really isn't a big deal but I've just been thinking about how Chris is gonna be in town and- What's that look, what are you doing?"

She looked at me like she had been waiting to hear those words come out of my mouth. "Laurel, I've known for weeks that you've been thinking about this. You may think you're good at hiding it, but I can see right through you." 

"Oh really, so how exactly am I feeling about this?"

She took a deep breath and dove in. "Well, I could tell that you regretted breaking things off with Chris the second you did it no matter how many times you tried to justify it to yourself. I saw that you were looking up production news for the movie just to see if you'll hear something about him. And The Man? Come on how dumb do you think I am?"

"His name is Adam." Was the only think I could come up with in my weak protest. 

"It's like you wanted to find the person that was farthest away from what Chris was, and you somehow managed to pull it off. He's the most boring person I've ever meant. I swear having a conversation with him is painful."

"He's not that bad. You're exaggerating." I complained and continued to eat my pizza. 

"Okay, maybe I am, but that doesn't change how you feel about Chris. Maybe you should reach out to him when he gets back in town." I tried to protest but she just put up her hands to stop me. "I'm not telling you to do anything. It's your own decision, but I think I know you well enough to know that it would make you a lot happier if you did." As much as I wanted to argue with her, she was right. I'd felt off ever since I broke things off with Chris. I'd been through plenty of break ups before, but trust me, this one felt way worse. As much as I hadn't wanted to admit it to myself before, I had definitely made a mistake. I stayed quiet instead of admitting my defeat, but I could tell she was proud of herself. 

*****

Adam had come over later that night. I might have invited him over to spite Estelle, but I was still trying to prove to myself that I was actually moving on and there would be no need to contact Chris when he got back in town. I still couldn't stop thinking about Chris and what Estelle had said, though. The next morning didn't exactly help my case either. 

"Hey, you seem a little off. Is something wrong?" I realized that I has been in a daze and Adam's words pulled me back into the real world.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Just a little distracted I guess." I looked back at him and smiled over my cup of coffee. I could tell that he didn't exactly buy it, but he didn't push.