Teacher's Pet

"Abby won't talk to me unless you're there. I promised her that it would be both of us."

"You promised her. I had nothing to do with this."

"You can’t tell me you don't want to see Makani," I said.

"I do, but what the hell am I supposed to say to her?"

"The truth. Just be honest. That's all she wants."

"I don't want to hear the reason why she left," he said.

"What? Why wouldn't you want to know?"

"Why would I do that to myself? It wouldn't change anything."

"Yes, it would. If you let her tell you, then you can do something about it," I said. "How are things between you supposed to change if you won't even talk to her?"

"I want to help you, man, but I can't take her walking away from me twice," he said. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Look at your options. You don't go in there, you'll never get her back. That's done. Over. If you do, then you can stop wondering what might have happened if you hadn’t." Keno ran his hands through his hair, obviously stressed. "This might be it. Your last chance. If you do, then it's on you."

"Why did I let you get me into this?" he asked himself out loud.

"I'm not letting you get out of talking to her," I said.

"You only brought me here today because you want Abby back."

"Abby asked for both of you to be there. She didn't have to. She could have just asked for her friend to be there. She wouldn't do that unless she was trying to set the two of you up, too."

Keno sighed. "When you were together, did she ever talk about Makani and me?"

"Not really, but they're chicks, they definitely talk about the two of you. She wouldn't have asked for you to be here unless she wanted you to finally talk to Makani."

"You don't understand, Nate," he said.

"What is there to understand? You want her? Go get her."

"I was ready to marry that girl. We were talking about a future together. I wanted her to be my wife. One day we're talking about it, and the next day she's gone, and she doesn't even tell me why."

"That sucks. I used to be married, I know what it's like when you lose someone you've loved for a long time," I said. "But you can get her back now. Just talk to her. Tell her you still love her."

"This is the last time I'm ever doing you a favor," he said. He didn't sound angry. I knew he was just nervous.

"It'll be fine. Come on," I said, leading the way back down the trail to Abby's place. She lived past the luau grounds, right on the beach. The house was the only one there, so it was hard to miss. It looked small. A wooden cabin on stilts with a little porch in the back. We climbed up onto the porch, and I knocked at the door, feeling a little nervous myself.

Fucking finally we could stop the bullshit and we could just be together, if she wanted us to, that was. Fuck, I hoped she did. I'd missed that girl. I wanted to be with her. It didn't matter anymore, any of it — the band, LA, my ex. I might as well leave if

I wasn't going to be with her.

She opened the door and smiled at us. She looked amazing. Her hair was loose and wavy around her shoulders, and she was wearing the dress that I had gotten her.

"Hey, guys," she said sweetly. Keno leaned in and hugged her. I didn't because that was not what I wanted to do to her in that dress. She probably wanted to take it slow, though. She had asked for a double date. I hoped this would be the last one we had if the reason she had wanted one was because she was scared of being alone with me.

"Hey, Keno, Makani's already inside." He nodded and walked past her into the house.

"Abby, you look beautiful," I said.

"Thanks. You look good, too."