Bridgette - Chapter Eleven: Everything Has Changed - Part One

Several months passed and I had started to feel at home at ASU. It definitely helped that Carson, Julia, and Trent were also there. Julia and I really enjoyed our dorm apartment. Whenever all of us were over we would hang out in our living room area. Julia and I didn’t watch a lot of TV so we didn’t have a very big one. The guys of course had thought a big TV was more important. It worked out well for all of us since whenever there was something we wanted to watch on TV, Julia and I just went over to their place.

It had surprised me how quickly I had gotten used to living away from home. I actually enjoyed it; the one thing I didn’t enjoy was school. I tried to have an open mind about college but I just didn’t see the need to take sculpture classes when I wanted to be a painter. It made no sense to me. I never used it as an excuse to slack off though. I went to class, studied, and worked hard. But I was going to be shocked if by the end of the year I was still going to continue studying at ASU.

Carson on the other hand, was really enjoying his classes. He was super excited when he had been selected as the only freshman to help out with the football team. He didn’t get to do anything major but it got his foot in the door to be able to do more in the next couple of years. Our relationship was progressing slowly. Julia liked to tease me about it. Carson and I had given up trying to explain it to people. It worked for us and we didn’t care what others thought.

Trent and Julia were both enjoying their classes. Their relationship had gotten pretty serious since we had started college. There were several times when we were all hanging out that they would start making out in front of Carson and I. Carson and I would just roll our eyes and beg them to go into another room.

Thanksgiving was around the corner and we had all decided to stay at school instead of go home. Since none of us had cars on campus it seemed like too big of a hassle to have all our parents come out and get us so we could spend a couple of days at home just so they could turn around and drive us back to school. Instead, we had all decided to have our own Thanksgiving meal at the guys place. After all there was football to watch and the guys certainly didn’t want to watch it on our TV.

A couple of days before Thanksgiving we were all sitting at Julia’s and my place trying to plan our meal.

“That quiz I just had for calculus was insane! I’m so glad we get a break for a couple of days.” Trent complained.

“Yeah, but then finals will be right around the corner.” Carson reminded him.

“Thanks for the reminder.”

“Okay guys, what do we want to have for Thanksgiving?” Julia interrupted them.

“FOOD!” They both yelled out at the same time.

“Haha! No kidding, really?”

“Seriously guys, what do we want to eat?” I asked them.

“Is there any way we could have turkey?” Carson asked.

“I don’t see why not. Maybe not an actual turkey since our ovens aren’t big enough to cook one but we could have turkey cutlets.”

“Ooo, and stuffing! What about stuffing?” Trent added

“You guys do realize that what we’ll be having is not homemade stuffing and probably the boxed stuff, right?” Julia asked them.

“It doesn’t matter, just as long as there’s food and football, that’s all a guy needs on Thanksgiving.” Trent said.

“Well that’s reassuring.” I joked.

The guys contributed some money and Julia and I went shopping for the food. We made them a deal, we would cook the food if they cleaned the dishes.  Thanksgiving Day finally came and Julia and I went to the guys’ dorm to cook dinner. We got there really early so we could cook the food in enough time to watch football. We knocked on the door and Carson answered;  it was obvious we had woken Carson up.

“You guys are already here?”

“Yup. Are you going to stand in the doorway or are you going to let us in?” Julia asked.

Carson stepped aside and I snuck a quick peek at his chest.

He closed the door behind me and before I could go any further he whispered in my ear. “Good morning.”

I felt a shiver go up my spine and it felt like all the blood rushed to my face. “Morning.” It was all I could get out. He walked towards his bedroom and I felt like I floated into the kitchen. I saw Julia smiling at me and she started chuckling.

“What?!”

“You! Come on Bridge! What more is it going to take? You too obviously like each other and you flirt all the time. Put the man out of his misery!” Julia begged.

“I’ve told you and everyone, it was a joint decision that we wouldn’t date.”

“But maybe he’s waiting for you to give him a hint, a clue, anything to get the ball rolling.”

“Whatever, let’s just get started cooking and stop talking about this before either of the guys come in here.” She shook her head at me but she dropped the subject and we started cooking. As we cooked I thought about what Julia had said. In the last several months, I had started to notice that he was looking at me differently, but I wasn’t sure if he really was or if I was imagining it because of my feelings for him.  There were several times we would be sitting on a couch watching something that I wished he would try something, anything; a hand hold, a reach over, a kiss. .

“It’s already starting to smell good!” Trent said as he walked into the kitchen.

“Aww, thanks Trenty.” Julia and Trent kissed. I was about to protest when I heard a voice behind me. “What smells so good?” I turned around and Carson was standing inches from me. I put my hands on the counter behind me.  He smiled at me and once again, I felt myself blush.

“Come on Trent let’s leave these pretty ladies alone. I bet the Thanksgiving Day parade is on.” They both walked into the living area and Julia and I started cooking again.

“If you’re not picking up on the signals he’s sending you Bridge, then you need a good whack on the head.” She whispered to me.

Once the last item was cooked, we called the guys into the kitchen.  They came into the kitchen and helped place the food on the table. We sat down and the guys looked at each other and then Julia and me. “What?” Julia asked them.

“You all have outdone yourselves. This is amazing. I bet most people that are here for Thanksgiving aren’t eating anything nearly this amazing. Thanks for cooking this!” Carson gushed.

“Who knew you could eat this well in college? Thank you for a wonderful dinner!” Trent piped in.

Julia offered to lead us in prayer and then we started eating. I had to admit that the meal turned out well. We ate and talked and ate some more. Every year I swear I’m not going to stuff myself but this year was like most others, and I did. We finished eating and the guys jokingly tried to get out of cleaning the dishes.

“Oh no, we had a deal! Stop complaining and get in there or you’ll be in the kitchen cleaning dishes during the whole game.” Julia warned them. They scurried around and finished cleaning the dishes is record time.

“Who knew guys could clean dishes so fast.” I kidded.

We all sat down in the living area and Carson turned the TV station to the football game. Carson was always fun to watch football with. He was one of those guys that really got into the game. Not in an angry, annoying way; but in a funny, entertaining way.

The game had barely started before Julia and Trent started making out on one of the couches.

“Come on guys! At least go into the bedroom so Bridge and I can watch the game in peace and not have our eyes burned out for the image of you to getting frisky on the couch!” Carson protested.

Julia giggled and she and Trent took the cue to leave the room.  Carson and I continued to watch the game. I was about to get up and ask Carson if he wanted a drink when the noises started coming from Trent’s bedroom.

“Oh for the love of God!”  Carson yelled. “Maybe we should go back to your dorm and watch the game.” He suggested.

“Are you sure? You hate our TV. You complain about it being too small.”

“I know, but anything is better than sitting here having to listen to those two.” He got up and grabbed a paper and pen. He wrote Trent a note letting him know that he and I had gone to my dorm to watch the game. We put on our coats and walked back to my dorm.

After we arrived at my dorm I got us some drinks while Carson turned on the TV. He started to chuckle as I walked into the room. “What’s so funny?” I asked him.

“This thing is so small; you can’t even make out the teams.”

“I told you that you’d complain about it. You always do. We could go back. . .”

“No! I’m not going to sit there and listen to them going at it again.” He interrupted.

I laughed. “They are pretty horrible, aren’t they? I thought Charlie and Kate were bad.”

“Charlie and Kate?” He asked.

“Oh my gosh Carson. I walked in on them more than once. I never understood why Charlie didn’t lock his door. In the beginning I thought it was Jeff or him acting stupid in their room but I learned after about the third time of walking in on them that if I heard banging noises coming from next door, it was just better to put headphones on and listened to music.”

“I never would have pictured them doing that.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to picture it. I was almost traumatized by seeing it.” He laughed.

“It’s not funny! Imagine walking in on one of your brothers and one of your best friends.”

“Well, that wouldn’t traumatize me. It would just make me want to punch that particular brother.”

“Why?”

“Because that would mean one of my brothers was with you.” He said matter of factly.

We sat on the couch for several minutes in silence. All I could hear was my heart beating in my ears. I couldn’t even hear the football game on the TV.

I started to feel really hot and I needed some air. I got up off the couch and went out onto the balcony. The cold air felt amazing and I could feel myself starting to calm down.

“Bridge?” At the sound of my name my pulse started racing again. “What’s wrong?”

“I started feeling hot and I needed some air.” I told him without turning around.

“Really?” He sounded less than convinced.

I turned around and looked at him. “Really. I just needed some air.”

He walked towards me until he was standing right in front of me. “Bridge?”

“Hmmm?”

“I think we’ve come to the point where we’re going to have to talk about what’s going on. You’re starting to clam up and that’s usually when something’s bothering you.”

“You’re right.” I agreed and he looked surprised. “Why do you look surprised?”

“You don’t usually agree so easily.”

“I’m tired of beating around the bush, Carson.”

*****

I was shocked by her bluntness. Bridge never ceased to amaze me. For someone who didn’t like change, a lot seemed to have changed about her since we started college. I decided to take her lead. “Okay, you really don’t want to beat around the bush?” She nodded in agreement.

I stepped closer to her. “Six months ago we both agreed that we would give each other time. Time to heal, time to think, time to see what happened. I don’t know about you, but these have been the longest six months I can remember. I’m tired of waiting Bridge. I’m not asking for a commitment but I would like to ask you something.” She took a deep breath in, like she was preparing herself for what I was about to say. “Bridge, would you agree to go on a date with me?”

I watched her facial expression turn from almost a grimace to relief. She smiled at me. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll go on a date with you.” I was confused. I had prepared myself for her to say no. “Why do you look so confused?”

“Because I am; I wasn’t sure you’d agree.”

“I told you I was tired of beating around the bush.”

“But I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.”

“So where are you taking me?”

“I’m not going to tell you. I don’t want to spoil our first date.” She smiled at me again. “What’s that smile for?”

“You said first, almost as if you’re implying that there will be more after that.”

Something had definitely changed with Bridge. Where before she would have been scared and unsure, she was now more confident.

“Are you going to stand out there all night or are you going to come in and watch the football game?” Her question snapped me out of my thoughts and I realized that she had walked back inside.

I walked inside and we sat down on the couch. She put her head on my shoulder and I put my arm around hers. Something about Bridge had definitely changed and I liked it.