By Jennifer Pauk
“Wow! You look hot!!” Cassie exclaimed with her eyes locked on her friend.
“Thanks!” Rebecca said as she spun around just outside the dressing room, “Do you think Nate will like it?”
Cassie rolled her eyes, “I’m sure I don’t know what Nate would like.”
“Why don’t you like Nate?” Rebecca snapped.
“It’s not that I don’t like Nate. It’s just—“
“You don’t like us together?!” Rebecca accused angrily. She stormed back into the dressing room before Cassie could reply.
Rebecca was tall and thin, too clumsy for any athletics, but she was an avid shopper. Cassie was a blond, almost as tall as Rebecca, still skinny, but she had the muscled body of an athlete.
Even though they had gone to the same high school, they hadn’t really been friends until they decided to room together the second semester of their freshman year in college. Here it was the middle of their sophomore year and they were inseparable, except when it came to Rebecca’s boyfriend of almost a year, Nate.
Cassie sighed and walked over to Rebecca’s closed dressing room door. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s not that I don’t like Nate, I just care about you,” Cassie said softly, then she added, “And you look great. God! You have great legs.”
Rebecca laughed from inside the dressing room, “Thanks. I guess you are forgiven.”
“Good because we have one more stop to make.”
Rebecca stuffed her many bags into the backseat and then got into Cassie’s car. Cassie weaved through the downtown area, which wasn’t that busy for a Saturday afternoon. Cassie looked over at Rebecca, who was just relaxing, her head leaned back against the seat, her eyes closed, humming to the music on the radio. Cassie just stared at her for a second and almost ran a red light.
“You trying to get me killed?” Rebecca joked as someone laid on the horn to get Cassie’s attention.
“Oh, shut up,” Cassie replied, but she couldn’t help but smile at Rebecca’s teasing grin. She turned right and pulled into a parking spot. “We are here,” she said pointing to a bookstore.
“You brought me to a bookstore! I knew you were my best friend!! Ha, maybe I should date you instead of Nate,” she joked, “He never takes me to bookstores because I spend hours in them and he is always so impatient.”
“I know, that’s why I brought you,” Cassie said with a smile. Then she added, “When will you learn, I am way better than Nate.”
Rebecca was too busy being excited to hear. She yelled, “Oh! You are the best friend ever!”
“Go in there and buy some books before I change my mind and drive us away from here,” Cassie replied still grinning broadly and looking at her friend adoringly.
~~~~~~~~
“So, Nate and I are going out on Saturday night and Matt has been bugging him about you, so I think we should double,” Rebecca suggested tentatively.
“You know I don’t like Matt,” Cassie said emphatically, “I don’t see why you keep trying to set me up with all these guys. It never works out.”
That statement was very true, Cassie had been through several boys, but none of them ever stuck. Maybe it was because she was so outgoing and unique that she scared them off, but usually it seemed like she just lost interest, no one could hold her attention.
“Please, just try it for me,” Rebecca pleaded.
Cassie looked over into the puppy dog eyes of her best friend, and sighing heavily she relented, “Alright, fine, but you owe me for this.”
“Definitely!” Rebecca agreed.
~~~~~~~~
“Sorry things didn’t go well with Matt,” Rebecca said.
“No big deal,” Cassie said brushing it off, “I didn’t have high hopes anyway.”
“Well, if you are sure you’re ok, I’m going to go spend the night at Nate’s,” Rebecca said slowly watching for Cassie’s reaction.
Cassie didn’t meet her eye as she said, “That’s fine. You two have fun.”
Rebecca hugged Cassie tightly before she left and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry you will find the right guy. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”
Cassie nodded and watched her leave the room. After Rebecca was gone, she pulled out a picture that included Nate, Rebecca, and herself. She ripped off a third of the picture and let Nate’s figure fall to the floor. Her gaze never left the other two-thirds of the image as she whispered, “I love you, too.”
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I am a Freshman at the University of Northern Iowa. I love reading and writing about pretty much anything.
