Page 41 of Another Love, Another Time

River

“I love my mom, but I have to find my own place. She’s driving me crazy.”

Auggie laughs. “What’s she doing now?”

“What is she not doing? She thinks she needs to come into my room every morning and wake me up, like I’m still in high school.

She keeps rearranging my stuff in my room.

And I’ve seen her wearing some of my clothes.

My. Clothes. I can’t with her. I just need my own space.

I’m too damn old to be living with my mom. ”

We stopped for lunch at Firehouse Subs. We are sitting at a table waiting for our number to be called.

Ever since our talk, it’s been easier to talk to Auggie, to let him in a little, but there is still some tension.

Auggie knows I haven’t told him everything.

I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t think Auggie has told me everything either.

Sometimes when he’s talking, I can tell he wants to say something else, but then he changes the subject.

I can feel my walls slowly coming down. We have quickly fallen back into a friendship again. We talk or text daily, like when we were kids. Melissa hasn’t been brought up lately, and I’m glad. I know what I need to know about her.

Auggie and I are completely in the friend zone. I can’t give him more than that right now. Especially if she is still living with him. I don’t trust her.

Auggie interrupts my thoughts by asking me a question, “Are you wanting to rent or buy?”

“I want to buy. I’d like to own something.”

“I can hook you up with a realtor. It’s a friend from high school. He helped me find my house, and he works quickly.”

“Really?” I ask, getting excited.

“Yeah. Let me send him a text. He’s usually fast to respond.” He picks up his phone and sends the text.

“Awesome. The sooner the better.”

“You want me to come with you? I can look at the foundation, heating and air, and electrical items to give you a quick idea of any possible repairs. You’d still want to have an inspection, but if you are trying to decide between two properties, I can give you a brief idea of what would need to be repaired. ”

“You’d do that?” I ask.

Auggie acts surprised by my question. “Yeah, I’d love to do that for you.”

“Give your guy my number, and I’ll let you know when we start looking. I appreciate it, Auggie. Now I’ll have to break it to my mom.” I giggle.

“She’ll be okay.”

I hear our number being called. Auggie grabs our food and brings it back to our table.

“Thanks,” I tell him.

“I’m starving.” We sit in silence for a few minutes as we eat. Then, Auggie asks, “I wanted to ask if you have any plans this weekend. If you don’t, do you want to do something with me?”

“Just you and me or with a group?” I say around a mouthful.

“Just us,” he responds.

“Aug—”

He cuts me off. “Just hear me out. I know we are just friends.” He says something under his breath that sounds like “for now,” but I ignore it.

“I’ve noticed you like to listen to that group Wild Rivers, and I happened to notice they will be performing in St. Louis this weekend.

I thought it might be fun for us to go. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, but I checked ticket prices.

They were almost sold out, so I went ahead and bought tickets for us. I understand if you don’t want to—”

I interrupt him this time. “Yes! Yes. I’ll go. I’m so excited! I’ve wanted to see them for so long. Let me know what my ticket cost is, and I’ll give you the money for it.”

“No. It’s a gift. Just let me do this for you.”

“I don’t—” I argue.

“Just let me do this. They really weren’t that much.” I give him a look. He continues, “How about you pay for the drinks and food if it bothers you that much.”

“Deal. Thanks, Auggie!” Without thinking, I go to grab his pinkie with mine. As soon as I feel the contact, I pull away.

I think I’ve caught us both off guard. Before I can pull my hand to my side, he grabs it and intertwines our pinkies.

“Riv, it’s okay. I know I have a long way to go to earn my way back into your life.

I also know the only reason I’m getting as much time with you is because you are basically forced to be with me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t use that to my advantage to rebuild our relationship.

“Please believe me when I say I don’t misunderstand the action, but if it’s automatic reaction, just go with it.

Before anything, we were friends. I know I’m the one who ruined that for us, but I would like us to build our friendship again.

Just know that I’m working on things on my end.

I’m willing to do the work. Just don’t give up on me. ” And then, he pulls his pinkie away.

His phone pings. He continues, “The realtor just got back with me. He has time this evening if you want to go check out a few properties. I will give him your number. He’s going to call and go over the things you are looking for in a house so he can narrow down your options before we start looking. ”

“I’m so excited. Will you be able to make it this evening?"

“Yeah. Let me move some things around. But yes, I’d love to come with you.”

~~

This week has been a whirlwind. Auggie, the realtor, and I have looked at so many houses I’ve lost count, but I think I found the one I want. I just put an offer on it before we left for the concert.

“You were not kidding,” I comment. “Your realtor friend doesn’t mess around.”

Auggie and I are in his truck on our way to see Wild Rivers.

I’ve forced Auggie to listen to Wild Rivers all week so he will be able to sing along.

I still can’t believe he bought tickets.

I should be able to believe that because it’s Auggie, but…

I don’t know. The more time I spend with him, the more I’m pulled into his orbit.

I just have to remind myself that Melissa is still in his life. If he’s serious about me being in his life, then he knows what he needs to do. I won’t push him, but I won’t budge either.

Auggie hasn’t tried to kiss me again, but I can feel he wants to.

We are slowly but surely building our relationship back up.

It helps that we are basically forced together daily, as he said, with him being my partner.

Who knows how long it would have taken for me to reach out if we weren’t partners?

It’s been nice catching up and reconnecting. The ease of our friendship is still there. He can still make me laugh, and his thoughtfulness is chipping away at my walls. He still wants to be everyone’s knight in shining armor.

His intentions are good. After all, that’s driven him to do this job, but his good intentions have also caused a blind spot.

Growing up, I always struggled with how no one could see Melissa for who she is.

She’s a spoiled, evil brat. Somehow, it’s like she has put a spell over Auggie.

I’m not ready to show all my cards yet, but as soon as I do, there will be no way Melissa will be able to deny her involvement in my attack.

Once the veil comes off, Auggie will be blindsided by the person who he thought stayed selflessly by his side.

It’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out. And the truth will come out. Auggie won’t be the only one slapped in the face by reality. Our families will be too.

I don’t want to ruin the night, so I shake off my thoughts. That’s for another time.

My phone pings, and it’s a message from the realtor saying that the seller has accepted my offer.

“That was quick. The seller already accepted my offer.” I look at Auggie with a big smile.

“Really? That’s awesome! Now you’re going to have to start picking out furniture and all the things to fill your house up with,” he suggests.

I think out loud, “Doesn’t St. Louis have an Ikea? I may have to come back tomorrow or this week to pick out some things.”

“If you want. Why don’t we just get a hotel tonight after the concert, and then we can make a weekend out of it and go to Ikea tomorrow?”

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Don’t be mad, but I talked your mom into packing you an overnight bag just in case we were too tired to drive back tonight.”

“That sneaky brat. I hope she packed me some good clothes.”

“What do you say? You want to stay overnight? I can rent a U-Haul trailer for any items you want to buy tomorrow. That way, you’ll be ready when you move.”

I think about it for a minute. I don’t know when I’ll have another day to get back down to pick out furniture.

“Yes, let’s do it. But we are getting two beds. I’m okay with staying in the same room as long as there are two separate beds.” I can feel the smile grow on my face. I’m so happy I’ll have a place just for me.

“Deal. You know, it’s nice to see that smile on your face. I didn’t know if I’d ever get to see it again.”

“Auggie.” I start, blowing out a breath. I don’t want to get into it. “Auggie, I am happy. I’m glad that you’re back in my life. I’m happy that things are falling into place.”

He beams at me. “Good. That’s good, River.”

~~

We finally got to the hotel I booked earlier. I made sure there were two beds. Auggie is in the shower while I get my stuff ready. I’m wiping my makeup off my face when Auggie comes out in shorts and nothing else.

I’m caught off guard. I’d noticed the changes in his face, but his body is all man now. Don’t get me wrong; he has always had a nice body, but he’s definitely more developed.

I see him smirk out of the corner of my eye, and it breaks me out of my thoughts. “Is this okay?” he points to his shorts.

“Sure.” I know he’s trying to be polite, but I don’t need to be looking south. “Are you done in the bathroom?"

“Yes, it’s all yours.”

I grab my stuff and head in to take a shower. As I turn the water on, I think about our time together. It’s one of the best days I’ve had in a while. It’s been nice spending time with Auggie outside of work. I can still feel the connection between us, but I need to keep him at a distance.