Apolonia

Gigi’s was winding down with just a few stragglers having a late lunch. I wasn’t surprised that Benji wasn’t there. His Mustang wasn’t parked outside, but I still had to check.

I walked out, trying to think where else he would be, and I decided to head to The Gym. If he wasn’t there, he probably went home to see his parents for a few days. Maybe he was sick and had to go to the doctor. It wasn’t as if he had anyone here to take care of him, including me—the jealous bitch, who didn’t even give him the chance to explain, much less apologize.

The sun was low in the sky by the time I reached The Gym. My feet hurt, and my stomach was growling, but none of that mattered because Benji’s orange Mustang was parallel parked out front.

I ran across the street and up the stairs, pushing through the double doors. There he was, red-faced, drenched in sweat, and squatting about three hundred and fifty pounds. I walked over to him, too relieved to be embarrassed.

“Benji?”

Recognition lit his face, and he stood up, dropping the bar from his shoulders. He was breathing hard and exhausted, but he still looked just as miserable as he had for the past two weeks.

“You weren’t in class.”

He put his hands on his hips, trying to catch his breath. His eyes were bloodshot, exhausted, and sad.

“Can we…can we talk outside?” I asked.

He nodded, grabbed his coat, and followed me into the lobby and out the glass door. Then, we descended the steps. I sat on the curb next to his Mustang.

Benji draped his coat around my shoulders and then sat next to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your text,” he said quietly, looking at the asphalt. “I just couldn’t go to class another day and see the anger in your eyes when you look at me, knowing you were just a few feet away and I couldn’t talk to you.”

“I’m sorry. That was cruel and unusual punishment.”

He shook his head. “No, I deserved it. I wasn’t honest with you.”

“I should have let you explain.”

“Not until you were ready. I just had to take a break from being patient.”

“You’ve been here all day?” I asked.

“Pretty much.”

My stomach growled, and I covered it with both hands as if that would stop the noise.

“Have you eaten?” he asked.

“I’ve been looking for you since lab.”

“Since lab?” He looked around and sighed. “You went to Gigi’s, too, didn’t you?”

“And your dorm.”

“You walked all over town?”

“Well…yes…I don’t have a car.”

Benji sighed and hung his head. “I’m such a jerk. C’mon, let’s get food.”

“I…” I began, hesitating. “I don’t care what happened with you and Ellie. It’s none of my damn business. I just want to be friends again.”

Benji thought about that for a moment. It clearly wasn’t everything he was hoping to hear. He pressed his lips together. “I can do that.”

“Yeah? I know it will be awkward for a while.”

“I promised you mess-free, remember? I’m not saying I’m going to stop pursuing you. I’m just saying I’ll take whatever you give me.”

I couldn’t help but smile. And then I couldn’t help myself from elbowing him in the ribs.

He laughed once. “See? Already back to normal.”

We stood, and Benji drove me to Gigi’s where we had dinner for the first time. Ironically, we both ordered breakfast.

“Full order of biscuits and gravy,” the waitress said, placing a plate in front of Benji.

“Breakfrito,” she said, smiling as she set my plate down in front of me.

Benji cut up his biscuits with a fork and then shoveled the first bite into his mouth.

“I have today’s notes, if you want them.”

“I do,” Benji said after he swallowed. “But what about the other classes you missed?”

“I’m sure we can make them up.”

“I’m not worried about me. Skipping class was my decision.”

“Looking for you was mine.”

Benji smiled. “I feel like a jerk for making you worry, but I can’t deny that it feels pretty good that you were worried about me.”

“I’d be a jerk if I wasn’t. I mean, yeah, I don’t like that you lied to me about Ellie—”

“It’s really not what you think, Rory.”

“Then, what is she to you?”

Benji shook his head and spoke with a nervous smile. “I guess she was sort of a coworker, but it was never anything more than that.”

“Coworker?” I asked.

“She was my lab partner spring semester last year. That’s why we have each other’s phone number.”

I rested my elbows on the table and covered my face with my hands. A stupid misunderstanding. Figures. “I’m such an ass**le. I should have let you explain.”

“If you were mad at me, it means you cared enough to get jealous, right?”

“Do you always look on the bright side?”

“Yes.”

I smiled at him. We couldn’t be more different, but I was beginning to appreciate it instead of holding that against him.

“I’m surprised you can hold up your fork,” I said.

Benji paused, mid-bite. “Why is that?”

“You had a bunch of weights on that bar. Were you lifting that much all morning?”

“Pretty much. I’ve been blowing off stress like that since middle school.”

I shoved a piece of breakfrito into my mouth and chewed, narrowing my eyes at him, while I thought about his comment.

“What stress? You seem like someone who had the perfect childhood.”

“My parents were great,” he said, nodding, “but they worked a lot, and my dad was gone most of the time. We made sacrifices, just like anyone else.”

My muscles tensed. I had to stop myself from informing him that he had no idea about sacrifice, but it was just a knee-jerk reaction. Just because his parents weren’t murdered didn’t mean he didn’t have the right to complain.

“What about your childhood? I’m guessing you went to a lot of concerts,” he said, nodding to my Ramones tee.

I laughed once. “No, not until the summer after my senior year.”

“So, you spent the summer concert-bouncing? That’s kind of amazing.”

“Pretty much,” I said with a small smile. He was right. Not many people could say that.