Georgianna
I woke up the morning after Josh’s party to a morning almost like any other. What separated it was that I wasn’t wearing anything, and what sealed the deal was the feel of a large weight across my legs. Looking over I saw Howie sleeping soundly with legs draped over mine, mouth wide open. My heart started to race as I remembered what had happened the night before. “Jesus H. Christ,” I muttered. What the hell was I supposed to do? Weaseling my way out of bed as quickly as I could, I grabbed something to wear from the floor (first making sure that it was mine), and headed for my shower. I refused to think about anything til I was under the water. I ran it as hot as I could take it then stepped in. It was almost scalding but I still sighed with relief. “OK,” I said to my washcloth. “Where do I start?”
The thought of what had happened didn’t even seem to make sense so I tried breaking it down. I had gotten drunk at Josh’s party, came home, and got in an argument with Howie. That much was acceptable. After that... I sighed and tried again. All that had happened, then he came in to apologize. Then he kissed me. He kissed me! He had never kissed me before, except maybe on the cheek a few times. I felt myself blush just thinking about kissing him, and that only got worse as I thought of all that had happened after that...I shook my head. What the hell had I been thinking? What the hell had he been thinking?
What universe had I been dropped into? The fact that he had agreed to come had been strange. His interest in my friends had been weird too, yes. But what had gone on last night - the fact that we had had sex...I honest to God had no idea what to do with that bit of information. It just sat like a rock in my mind and refused to move. Worse was that I had no idea what to do now, after the fact. Had it just been a drunken mistake? Was it something we both were going to regret? Or were things going to continue in this parallel world? Was this the start of a relationship? It was a really crappy way to start things, not to mention unhealthy and dangerous, but it could be a start. I hoped to God it was. The thought of giving up my virginity for a little fun after a party made me feel sick. My final decision was to simply follow Howie’s cue, and act normal until I got that cue. Try to, at least.
I took a long time getting ready after my shower, maybe in the hopes that if I looked decent “the morning after” the odds that things would go in my favor would be upped. Not that I had any real knowledge about these morning after things anyway. When I couldn’t find anything else to do in the bathroom I took a deep breath and headed out into the apartment. I opened the door there stood Howie, reaching for the doorknob himself. I jumped a little, then smiled, as did he.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hey,” I returned, stepping out of his way. He entered the bathroom and I took a seat on the couch. I felt like a dork - my heart was pounding after that split-second encounter. I had to lighten up. I went back into my room to pack, noticing that Howie had already moved all his stuff back into Janie’s room and packed it. Was that a good sign or a bad one? Would this analyzing stop? I shook my head. “Calm down, Georgie,” I muttered. Without thinking too much I packed up my room and brought my bag out to the living room. I heard Howie rustling around and once again my heart started going crazy. I closed my eyes and started breathing deeply. Of course just then Howie decided that he was done in the bathroom.
“You OK?” he asked. I opened my eyes and sat up straighter.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” There was a long pause. “Would you like to go get some food or something? Then we can head back home.”
“Sure, lemme just go throw this stuff in my bag and bring it out here.”
I nodded and he trotted off down the hall. Soon he returned and we were off. It was eerily silent in the car, a true rarity with Howard and I. I hated this already. I wanted so badly to just clear the air, but I in no way had the guts to pull anything like that. Breakfast was quiet too, a few random comments here and there but not much else. I was dreading the long car ride, wishing we were back home. Granted then everything would probably go back to normal and the chance for a George and Howie would be gone, but damnit, at least I would be out of that horrible car. After a few hours of driving (and very little talking), Howie drifted off to sleep. I glanced over at him - he looked so sweet. I would have gladly given up what had happened the night before just to lay with him and watch him sleep. My eyes started to tear. Guilt was starting to set in, guilt and hopelessness, and the harder I tried not to get worked up the worse I actually got. I started to sniffle, but just as I managed to stop sniffling the tears started falling. Howie stirred in his sleep, causing me to panic, and I furiously wiped at my eyes and nose. What I forgot to keep in check was the tiny sob that built in the back of my throat. It was hopeless. Howie woke up and looked over at me. When he saw I was crying he immediately sat up.
“Georgie, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” I squeaked.
“It’s not nothing, what is it?”
“It’s allergies.”
“You don’t have problems with your allergies.”
“Sure I do.” I looked out the window next to me to avoid being seen. I felt a hand resting on my arm and turned to look into Howie’s eyes, dark with concern.
“What’s the matter?” he asked softly. I shrugged and put on a smile.
“Nothing, I really am just fine. I’m overemotional, you know that.”
He didn’t say anymore, just watched me carefully for a few minutes, then fixed his gaze ahead. I could tell he was mulling over something big because he wasn’t doing his usual nod along with the radio. We drove on in more silence, eventually switching seats. I took a long nap to avoid trying to come up with something to say, and actually got a decent rest. Lunch and dinner were much like breakfast, but as we were finishing dinner Howie asked me a surprising question.
“George, if you had had a boyfriend in high school and he had stayed in Florida, would you have gone to Ball State?”
My head popped up. “What was that?”
“If you had had a serious boyfriend last year, would you have gone to Ball State?”
“Um, I’m not sure. Maybe not. It depends?”
“On what?” he asked. I was surprised. He had incited that emotion a lot lately.
“On...I don’t know, how ‘serious’ we were, on if he wanted me to stay, that sort of thing, I guess. Why?”
“Just curious.” How you got curious about a thing like that I didn’t know, but damned if I’d argue. We were talking, who cared about what? It made driving the last long stretch much more tolerable and when we pulled up to Howie’s house in the wee hours I was sad to see him go. He grinned over at me.
“Thanks for asking me to go, Georgie.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you too.” We shifted around uncomfortably.
“So I’ll talk to you tomorrow...or today, or whatever. After some sleep.”
“After some sleep,” I agreed with a grin. It got weird again and I looked out at his house, for lack of something better to do.
“George.” I turned and bam, he kissed me. Nothing long, but I wasn’t at all expecting it. I was blinking with surprise as he opened his door. “See ya,” he said, closing the door and jogging away before I could say anything. What had that been?
“Wow,” I said to myself as I pulled away from the curb. A smile spread like an epidemic across my entire face. Maybe - just maybe - things were starting to go my way.
Chapter 6
