Joie

 

Going home after play practice sounded terrible. Plus, I was hungry and pretty sure all the frozen dinners were gone.

“Wanna grab something to eat?” We were sitting in Eric’s car. Cole had just screamed out of the parking lot without a glance in our direction. My bike was hung on the bike rack behind Eric’s car.

“Sure,” Eric nodded. “Wendy’s?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” And it did. Way better than the noodles I had sitting in my room.

We rode in silence for a while before Eric finally said something.

“So,” he paused, his face pinched like he’d just smelled something unpleasant. “What’s up with you and Cole, Jo?”

I plucked at a loose thread on my jeans. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, Jo.” Eric rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Are you kidding? First, Cole agrees to be the lead in your play. Then, you tell me you both were childhood friends even though I’ve never seen you even speak to him in the years I’ve known you. He offers to give you a ride home from Pam’s. And today, you were spitting mad at him one minute and the next sitting in his lap kissing him!”

Gasping, I covered my mouth with my hand. Eric had seen us! “Eric, it’s not-”

“You like him,” he accused.

“No. I don’t,” I replied hoping the emphatic shake of my head would be enough to discourage the notion from his head.

“How can you say that? I saw you kiss him. You kissed him.  On his lap.” Eric’s voice was incredulous, and I couldn’t blame him. “Jo, he has a girlfriend. He’s just using you. Guys like Cole, they think they can do anything and get away with it.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. Eric’s concern I could deal with. It was his suspicion I didn’t care for. I reached out to pat his shoulder. “Eric, don’t worry. There is nothing going on with Cole. I was just frustrated after rehearsal. He saw me and offered a hug. I kissed his cheek to thank him and that’s all it was.” Except I didn’t kiss his cheek. I kissed that soft tickly spot to the side of his lip. I knew from before that Cole loved those kisses. I used to tease him with them that summer. He’d let me get away with it too, for a while and then he’d attack me, and we’d spend the rest of the day making out.

Eric looked skeptical and I was thankful we’d just pulled into the Wendy’s parking lot. We ordered and then found a table at the back. I dipped my fry into the chocolate Frosty I’d ordered. Eric was subdued, and I feared our conversation about Cole wasn’t finished.

“So, how come you never said anything to me about you and Cole being friends?” Eric scowled at his untouched food.

Sighing, I pushed up my glasses and debated what to tell him, angry that I should have to say anything at all. I didn’t want to dredge up everything about Cole with Eric. It wasn’t his business. Ugh. I suppose, I owed him some explanation. Eric’s been a good friend to me for a long time. I didn’t want to push him away for asking questions that were simple.

Yet, they weren’t.

“I don’t know. It didn’t seem important. We used to be friends when we were little. You know, backyard mud pies, that kind of thing. I haven’t really talked to him in years.” I ate another fry.

“And yet, when you ask him, top of the food chain, Cole Parker, to be in your play- he drops everything to do it.” Eric studied me with one brow raised.

“Well- I- Aren’t you going to eat anything?” It was bugging me, the way he was just watching me with a hurt expression on his face.

He picked up his burger and took a perfunctory bite. “Better?”

“Yes. I’m hungry and I don’t want to feel weird because you aren’t eating.” I took a bite of my own burger, thankful it was something warm and half-way flavorful. We ate in silence for a few minutes, but I could tell Eric was still stewing.

“Eric, I don’t know why you are letting this get to you. Nothing has changed.” That much was true. “Cole and I used to be friends. I called in an old favor. He is helping me out. End of story.”

Eric didn’t respond right away, just watched me with an indefinable expression on his face before picking up his soda and taking a long draw. Finally, he seemed to come to terms with whatever was rolling around in that head of his and sighed.

“I just don’t want to see you get your feelings hurt, Jo. Or get taken advantage of. Cole’s not like us.” Eric’s expression hardened, and I knew I had to reassure him somehow.

Reaching out, I placed my hand over his on the table. “Look, I appreciate it. I really do. You are my b-b,” I just couldn’t seem to call him my best friend. “A good friend and I know you’re only looking out for me.”

Eric nodded, and his shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly. “Okay. Well,” Eric seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before shaking off whatever was bothering him. “I wanted to tell you that I worked out that light show we were talking about the other day. For the final scene.”

I squealed, excited about this news. “Really?”

For the next hour, Eric and I discussed the show and the light display. He didn’t bring up Cole again and neither did I.