This is a fictional story. I thought it was rather cute. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Description: Two college students are reminded of their failed romance. Will they admit the feelings they had four years ago or continue to keep each other at a distance?
Word count: 4,200
*****
The sun begins to roll down the side of the sky and comes to a seemingly perpetual stand still as it runs parallel to Earth's surface. The lighting in Rico's room turns to a beautiful orange lavender. It is a dual reminder. The day is ending and his night is only just starting.
He's expecting company. An old friend he hasn't seen since high school. She's coming over to watch his brother. Rico, has other plans. Reaching into the closet he pulls out a white button up shirt and black pants. He sprays cologne on and walks to his mirror.
At first he stares straight on at himself. He doesn't want to be vain but that moment passes. He does a one eighty and checks out his own butt. Looking at it from a few angles. He's going out because he wants to get laid. It is not the time to let his own fragile masculinity get in the way.
Rico's phone goes off as Lizzie confirms she's on her way. He smiles. He think's its because everything is going according to plan. He can't imagine another alternative.
The text came through on Wednesday. Rico's name popped up and Lizzie felt flush for a moment. Moving her phone up towards her face the moment dissipated.
"You still babysit? I could use somebody friday. I'm trying to party."
Lizzie's mother had given her advice at various times in her life. The advice had proven to be less than helpful. Except for, "Men, as a rule, do not know just how stupid they are." These were not words to live by but a careful reminder that the disappointment brought on by men was not often malicious. It was just a coincidence that often it turned out to be.
The disappointment seemed to come from nowhere... Or at least from a place Lizzie hadn't thought about in a long time. She considered herself an introspective person. Knowing herself better than the next person but the disappointment was palpable. She wanted a message from Rico. She just didn't know what that message might say...
"I'd love to see Enrique again!" It was the wrong message. Lizzie could feel it after hitting send. It wasn't *wrong*. It just wasn't *right.* It wasn't what she felt. For knowing herself, in this moment, she had no clue what she wanted.
She decided the best way to learn was to let her fingers flow over the keyboard. The tip tap top of the keyboard went away and her fingers typed without direction. The message that was written by her subconscious left her... Wistful.
"What happened at your graduation party?"
Lizzie copy pasted the question into her notes app and deleted it from the conversation. She hadn't thought about that night. Not for a long time. It wasn't that she had avoided the thought. It was that the night was the culmination of a confusing series of events that led to nothing. That was the worst part wasn't it? The *total* nothing of the entire situation? The fact that it felt like an *everything* sort of moment and became nothing. Nothing. *Nothing.*
Can any moment be nothing? If it were as she thought... Why was the memory of it so fresh? The longing so real?
It was June 15th, that was the date in her journal. The day she wrote, "I like Rico. I just don't think he likes me. Not in the same way. Even after all the time we've spent together I don't think he's capable of seeing me as more than just a friend."
It was the day she decided she would dress as best she could and tell Rico that she liked him. Not the other boy she had been telling him about... What was his name? Three years on she couldn't remember. His name wasn't even in her journal, somehow. She remembered being totally enamored and yet... That boy had become a *nothing.* A singular nothing but still nothing.
Lizzie realize she was over thinking. She put the journal back and continued packing her bag. Was Rico thinking as much as she was?
Laying back in his bed Rico found it hard to be doing *nothing.* The anticipation of the night was overwhelming. There was so much potential in the unknown. What follows could be the best night of his life. It could also be the worst but he didn't dwell on that. Because he had come to learn that best and worst night were all about perspective.
The message on his phone told him that Lizzie would be arriving at 9. He smiled and replied back that he couldn't wait. There was a roll in his stomach after hitting send. He smiled to himself and punched the air.
"You said you were over it."
He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror again. Winking, at himself, he felt relieved that at the very least Lizzie would tell him he looked nice. There was a zero percent chance his boys would do it later tonight. Men are never very good at telling their homies they be looking cute.
It didn't explain why he was nervous. That his boys might not compliment him. He knew he was nervous about talking to girls in the club but he was also nervous about talking to Lizzie. It had been three entire years since they'd seen each other. Since their graduation. Since she had tutored him.
Rico had made it through school on middling grades and a nice smile. There was never a class too difficult for him and if there was he opted to not take it. Rico wasn't the kind of person to take on an unnecessary challenge. Though sometimes he wanted to desperately. He just didn't have the faith that he would hit the goal. What was better? To fail? Or to never know? At some point Rico decided: Never knowing.
That was then. Three years on, there were things he wanted answers for. He wanted to know why Lizzie never dated Lakeith. She had talked about him since the first day she started tutoring him.
Rico was dropped off at Lizzie's house. Her front lawn was being cared for by her Father David. He was planting sunflowers and some roses. David would later tell Rico that if he wanted a successful relationship he should learn how to grow roses. It was always a nice way to avoid the store for when you inevitability fuck up and need to apologize to your fuming wife.
He greeted David and walked inside. Lizzie was wearing shorts and a blue top that hugged her skin.
"Hey! Ready to learn about geometry?"
"Haha, well, I'm ready to try."
Lizzie sat down and looked at Rico.
"I said I'm going to—"
"I heard you. Do you want to sit down or?" Rico blinked.
"Yeah. Absolutely."
The sessions would run in this manner. Rico would arrive, make a joke. Lizzie would pretend to laugh and the lesson would continue.
"It should be a sin to be this bad at math." Rico said.
"Why would it be a sin?"
"No—It's like—Sin? Sin?"
The jokes never got better but Lizzie started to laugh more. She started telling Rico about her interest in Lakeith and how they were in ASB together. She wanted him to ask her to prom. Of course she wasn't sure if she was dropping hints hard enough. Was longer than average eye contact a hint?
Rico liked to listen to her as he went about solving problems. It was a way to distract himself. He would give his advice... Or commentary which often amounted to: "He's missing out. He doesn't even know. 'Cos I think you're great."
She never did notice that pun.
Knowing how much she talked about Lakeith, Rico never could make sense out of the rumor he had heard. Lakeith had kissed her at graduation. That's what everybody else had said. Why wasn't she with him the next day? Or at his graduation party?
She was wearing a normal outfit but by this point... No outfit was normal to Rico. She looked good in everything she wore. He reasoned that if she decided to wear a potato sack... It might *just* be sexy.
For the last month he wanted to tell her that... He liked her. That she meant more to him than he could articulate. That he had stopped making puns to annoy her but because he was certain she liked them. It was cheesy to say, but the smile he saw was enough to let him see into heaven. If he could see heaven every day by just being with her, why wouldn't he?
Those were his thoughts but they would get caught in his throat. As she walked in there was no slow motion. There was just real time and it was overwhelming. He spent the night talking with friends and family but his eyes would find her. When he was looking for her and when he wasn't. It was silly but he kept feeling betrayed by his eyes.
At the end there was only him and her in the backyard. They sat next to each other staring up at the stars. They talked about the future. What it would mean for them to come home in a years time.
Lizzie mentioned how she would be majoring in math. Her father had softened on it and given her his permission. Rico smiled. It was all Lizzie wanted. That was enough for him.
The question that he wanted to ask... What about me? Lakeith? What about us? Never came out. It was stuck in a level beneath his throat. The words were never originated so that they could get stuck. They were suboptimal to his speech.
Their moment fell to silence and the moment turned into forever. Crystallized in memories.
Lizzie turned to face Rico and smiled. He was staring up towards the sky. She reached her hand over and put it on top of his. He pulled back. His face red. His eyes never leaving the sky. If they had, he would have seen Lizzie staring at him. The longing might have struck him and he could have leaned over and kissed her.
After thirty seconds Lizzie looked away. Rico looked at her.
"Sorry I... Didn't mean to touch you." Rico said.
"Oh—No, it's okay.
As he said goodbye to her. He leaned in for a hug. He placed his forehead against hers. His eyes were closed. Lizzie's eyes were wide opened. This had to be the moment. There was no other *moment.* Not like this one.
Lizzie felt her lips tingling and her hands wanted to grab Rico's dumb stupid face. She didn't. Moments later he rolled his forehead and landed it in her shoulder.
"I'm really going to miss you Lizzie." He said.
"I'll miss you."
Pulling away he looked into her eyes. He wondered what was going on inside her head. He knew what he wanted but didn't think luck was on his side. He said goodbye and watched her go to her car. He waited until she drove away and shut the door.
When he opened the door he didn't know what to expect. There was Lizzie. The girl he hadn't seen in three years. The first thing he felt was a drop in his stomach. She was wearing fluffy pink pajamas. She looked comfortable and warm and to Rico still one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen. He dismissed the feeling as soon as it came. Tonight wasn't the night.
Rico invited her in.
"I'm probably getting back around 5am."
"Where are your parents?" Lizzie asked.
"Out of town and they didn't want me leaving Enrique alone. He's already asleep so... Just, like, make sure the house doesn't burn down?"
"I can't promise that." She replied.
"Then don't. I just prefer there be no fires."
Rico and Lizzie sat opposite of each other on the living room sofa. The room is lit by bright fluorescent lighting. Rico flipped the switch that turned on multi colored lighting. It gave the room a sexy vibe that he always imagined would help him seduce a girl but had never actually done so.
Lizzie talked about the guy she had been seeing before summer began. His name was Brock and he was six feet tall and played football. He had cheated on her with some cheerleader. Lizzie didn't feel so bad because he was pretty boring but he was at least pretty to look at. Rico tried not to laugh but the way she told the story reminded him of all the days they had spent together.
"It's not funny... But the guy was an idiot." Lizzie said.
"Do you have a thing for idiots?"
"If I did I would have dated you."
Rico's stomach did a flip. "You still can."
"I know."
They both burst out laughing. Even if it was true... Their relationship wasn't going to start after just one conversation. That would be unrealistic.
Rico's younger brother was fast asleep. Lizzie was watching TV in the living room. Rico said goodbye. She told him to be safe.
Before closing the front door he looked at the back of her head. He wanted to text his friends to just go to the club without him. He would stay home tonight and spend time with an old friend. Somebody that meant a lot to him.
The door closed and he got into the Uber.
The night began with the expected roasting. Rico was told three different times that his shirt was too tight and that his buttons were about to pop. His friend Carlos covered his one eye and yelled,
