George - Chapter Five: Analysis vs. Opinion - Part One

***Warning for language and partial nudity.***

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked them several times. For a split second I couldn’t remember where I was. I sat up slowly and looked to the right and saw a building through the snow that was falling from the sky. It was then that I remembered that I was at Trev’s. I sat on the bed for a moment trying to get my bearings. The party had ended around four that morning and I had been so exhausted once I’d gone to bed that I had immediately fallen asleep when my head hit the pillow. I listened to the quietness that now enveloped Trev’s apartment and reflected on how wonderful it sounded compared to the load booming that had just hours ago filled the very same place.  How many hours had it been though? I looked over at the clock and saw that it was nine thirty. Five hours of sleep; I was going to be hurting later if I didn’t get a nap in.

I stood up and walked over to the window where I watched the snow falling. It looked so different from snowfall in Appaloosa. In Appaloosa you could see it falling straight to the ground all around. Large yards covered in snow, snow covered mountain tops emerging from the ground, and streets completely covered with fluffy white snow.  Here, most of the snowfall seemed to disappear between buildings and you were left wondering if a snowflake hit the ground or ended up on the side of a concrete building.  The patches of grass may have been completely covered with snow but most of the time, you couldn’t see them through all the buildings. Then there was the continual mass of grey slush that was piled on the side of every street from where the snow had been plowed.  I shook my head and turned around to walk out of the bedroom. I liked visiting the city, but I could never live in it with its restrictive views  and tall concrete buildings. I enjoyed the wide open spaces of Appaloosa too much.

I walked down the hallway and then headed into the living room and kitchen area. As I entered the room I was reminded of the events of the previous night. Right where the coffee table now sat was where Trev had danced sandwiched between two woman. I shook my head and smirked as I looked back at the windows. The windows where hours before I had stood with Steph while I had analyzed her. Where hours before she had suggested that I not judge a book by its cover and then walked away from me.

I walked into the kitchen and started to make coffee for Trev and Charlotte. I was glad to find some tea to brew and heated up some water in the tea kettle.  My mind wondered back to the party as I waited for the kettle to whistle. After the second time Steph had walked away, I found myself watching her throughout the evening. She talked to several other people and even danced with two guys. Not once had she looked over at me after that, which made me wonder if I had hurt her feelings even though she had tried to act otherwise.  I was still baffled why she had asked me to analyze her when she had made such a big deal about not doing it before. I kept replaying what had happened, trying to pick up on something, some kind of clue about what I had missed. 

The kettle whistled and I poured the hot water over the tea and waited while it steeped. I continued to think about the party when I was startled by a giggle behind me. I turned around and saw the two women that Trev had been dancing with at the party. They were both standing on the other side of the counter, wearing only their underwear. I couldn’t help but stare in shock at them standing there in front of me. They started giggling again and I looked away feeling embarrassed which caused them to giggle even more. I grabbed my mug and walked as fast as I could past them to go back to my room. I had almost made it to the hallway when Charlotte and I almost ran into each other. I felt hot tea spill on my hand and I grimaced.

“Geez, George! You don’t need to be in such a hurry!” Charlotte complained. More giggling came from the kitchen and I watched the expression on Charlotte’s face turn from annoyance to confusion. She hurriedly walked past me and looked into the kitchen. As she saw the women standing in the kitchen, she too couldn’t help but stare in shock at the sight. They continued to giggle and poured a cup of coffee before walking up the set of stairs to Trev’s bedroom.

Charlotte and I stood there shocked and silent for a moment as we both tried to process what we had just seen.  All of a sudden I heard Charlotte start to laugh.

“Really?! Both of them?!” She smiled as she shook her head and headed into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

We both stood drinking our tea and coffee occasionally looking at each other and shaking our heads. I had just about finished my cup of tea when I heard footsteps on the stairs. Both Charlotte and I looked over at them and saw the two women, fully clothed this time, and Trev coming down the stairs. He saw us looking at them and winked as he passed by us and walked into the hallway. I heard mumbling, more giggling, and then the sound of the elevator ding. After another minute Trev was walking into the living room with a huge smile on his face.

“Really, Trev?! Could you have at least suggested they wear some clothes before coming down to the kitchen?” Charlotte protested.

“What? At least they weren’t nude.” He joked and started laughing. “By the way, thanks for the party.” He winked again and walked back into the kitchen.

“What exactly were they doing?” I asked.

“You mean in the kitchen? They were getting me a cup of coffee.”

“It took both of them to get it for you?” Charlotte inquired.

“Well, I didn’t want them to argue over getting it. . .” He chuckled and poured himself another cup of coffee.

“Do you even remember what happened last night?” Charlotte asked him.

“Most of it. . .At least I think I do.” His brow furrowed as he tried to remember what had happened at the party. “I remember coming home, dancing with those two lovely ladies, something about George and Steph, inviting the lovely ladies upstairs, one of them suggesting that we all get to know each other better. . .”

“Okay! That’s enough! My sister ears don’t want to hear anymore!” Charlotte put her fingers in her ears.

Something that Trev said bothered me. “What about Steph and me?”

“Oh! I just remember looking over at the two of you seeing that you were standing very close to each other. I thought you two might kiss but she walked away. You really should seize those opportunities, bro. I’m telling you, they can lead to good times.” I rolled my eyes at him. If Trev wanted to act that way with women, it was his business; but I certainly didn’t want any “love advice” from him. “What was the deal with that, anyway? I mean, don’t you know how to pick up a woman?”

“Yes! God! What is with you two?! I’ve picked up women before. Maybe I didn’t want to.”

“George, are you gay?” Trev asked and I chocked on my tea.

 “What?! No!”

“It’s okay if you are bro.” Trev said seriously.

“Nice to know Trev, but I’m not!”

“I just don’t see how you could have a smokin’ hot woman standing inches in front of you and not do something about it. I mean you didn’t even dance with her!”

“Not all of us are like you Trev. Anyway, not that I would have asked her to dance, but she really didn’t give me a chance.”

“Yeah, what did happen with all of that? Did you ever figure out why she asked you to analyze her?” Charlotte wondered.

“What! Oh God, George! Please tell me you didn’t?!” Trev worried.

“No I never figured it out, and yes,” I looked at Trev. “I did.”

“Damn, George! How could you do that?! Never mind it was a hot woman, how could you do that to anyone? Start from the beginning. What exactly happened?” He sat down on a sofa and Charlotte and I followed. I recapped what had happened about how she had told me not to analyze her, and then less than an hour later insisted that I analyze her. 

“Wait. . .back up. So she walked away the first time because she thought you were analyzing her?” Trev recapped.

“Yes.”

“You go over to talk to her again, she dares you to analyze someone, which happened to be Ethan, then she just decided to let you analyze her?” Charlotte skeptically asked.

“Well, no there was a little more to it than that.” I admitted.

“Like what?” Trev pushed.

“She implied that it wasn’t hard to just look at someone and figure out things about them. Then she challenged whether I was actually analyzing people correctly. That’s when she insisted that I analyze her. . .”

“Which you should never have done.” Trev interrupted. “Have you ever told anyone else what your analysis of them was?”

“No, and I probably won’t do it again.”

“What all did you analyze about her?”

“Well, I started with her appearance, which led into exercise, then I moved onto her personality.”

“Jesus, George!” Trev complained. “So what was her response?”

“She informed me what I was correct and wrong about then she told me that she thought I judged people unfairly.”

“What was happening when you were standing so close together?” Trev asked.

I thought back to her standing inches from me and looking into her slightly amused hazel eyes. “She suggested that I not judge a book by its cover.” I admitted.

I looked over at Trev and then Charlotte. They sat there with blank looks on their faces, staring back at me.  Out of the blue Trev started laughing. “Bro, she played you!”

“What? What are you talking about?”
 

“Really? She told you not to analyze her and then, only after you basically boasted about how correct you are analyzing people, she challenged you to analyze her; only to then tell you that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. . .?! She knew exactly what she was doing.” He smiled and chuckled.

I sat there replaying what had happened the night before with the knowledge that what she had done had been intentional, I couldn’t believe that I had been so stupid. “You really underestimated her, George; which I guess goes along with what she was telling you.” Charlotte offered.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it. . .How did she know that I would tell her my analysis of her?

“I don’t know, but I told you last night, she has many layers; and obviously, she’s smarter than you originally gave her credit for.”

Trev started scratching his head. “Here’s what I want to know, you go to a party and you analyze people. . .? Why can’t you just dance and socialize?”

I sighed. “Does that sound like me?”

After thinking about it Trev answered. “I’ve seen you dance and socialize at parties before!” He challenged. “So don’t try to play the ‘this is the way I am’ card. I’m telling you, the next time we’re at a party together, I’m not letting you stand against the wall, analyzing people. You’re getting on the dance floor and socializing whether you like it or not.” He threatened.

“Whatever.” I just wanted to change the subject. “So what’s the deal for Christmas.  You’re both coming home to Appaloosa, right?”

Trev nodded and Charlotte looked down at the ground. I knew that this was going to be really hard for both her and Mom. I had hoped that they would have seen each other before Christmas to avoid this awkwardness during the holiday. “Did you tell her what we’ve been doing the last several years?” I asked Trev. He shook his head no and I looked back at Charlotte. “We’ve been eating dinner at the house on Christmas Eve, sleeping in our old rooms, and then waking up Christmas morning to open presents.”

“You mean I’m going to have to see Mom for the first time while in the house?” I had figured this might be somewhat overwhelming for her. 

“No, I know that the two of you seeing each other again is going to be stressful and emotional enough. I can’t imagine doing that in the house since I know how emotionally charged that house is for all of us. So what I was wondering was if it would be easier if you and Trev drive up to Appaloosa on the day before Christmas Eve and stay at my place. You could spend the night there the first night, I could cook dinner, and Mom could eat with us. That way you can see her for the first time and not have to also think about being in the house.”

I was happy when she looked relieved. She smiled at me. “I think I’m okay with that. I’m still really uneasy about being in that house again. Do you all sleep there on Christmas night too?”

“We sometimes do, but not always. We don’t have to if you don’t want but I think you know what Mom would like, even though she wouldn’t say it.” She looked unsure again and after thinking for several minutes she responded.

“Can we see how Christmas Eve goes and then make a decision about it?”

“I don’t see why not.” I said

She once again looked relieved. “Do you have enough bedrooms for both Trev and I to stay at your place?”

“Yeah, I have three spare rooms.”

“Oh, so you’ll have one where no one will be sleeping.”

“Yeah. . .” I wondered what she was getting at.

“Why do you have such a big house?” She wondered.

“I just liked the piece of land and I renovated a house that was there.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s right across the street from Grandma and Grandpa Hobble’s.”

“Oh! Wow! So you live close to Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Jeff, and Mom. You’re like surrounded by Hobbles.”

“Yep.”

“I guess we’ll travel up there the day before Chrismas Eve then.” Trev admitted. 

We were interrupted by Charlotte’s cell phone vibrating. She looked at it and sighed. “Crap.”

“What’s up?” Trev asked.

“I just got a text from Ethan. . .”

“Is he professing his love for you?” Trev joked. I chuckled and Charlotte gave both of us a drop dead look.

“I’m not even going to acknowledge that you just said that.”

“You just did.” I pointed out.

“Anyway, another girl called into work and they need me to cover the shift.” I started wondering if it was Steph. “Don’t worry, it’s not Steph.” I heard her say and looked up at her.

“Whatever, Charlotte.” How had she known I was wondering about Steph?

“Anyway, I guess I better head back to the apartment and get ready.”

“How about George and I come to the bar tonight?” Trev offered.

Before I could protest Charlotte was agreeing.

After Charlotte left Trev and I spent the remainder of the day relaxing at his apartment. We both ended up falling asleep, taking naps on the living room sofas. I woke up wondering how Charlotte was going to be able to get through working if she didn’t take a nap. I sat straight up when I thought about the bar. Was Steph going to be there? How awkward was that going to be? I wonder how mad she really is at me? Why the hell was I stressing over what she thought anyway?

I shook off my doubt and looked over at Trev who was still napping on the couch. He must have had a very late morning if he was still sleeping. I didn’t want to bother him so I walked back to the bedroom I was sleeping in. I sat on the end of the bed and started thinking about what Trev and Charlotte had said earlier about Steph. Was it really possible that she had known exactly what she was doing? That she had planned out somehow what happened between us last night? And how had she been able to do that? I had so many more questions about her now than I had answers and now I doubted that she would ever answer any of them. Why the hell had I analyzed her like that?

I was startled by a knock on the door and stood up.

“Hey, you okay?” Trev was standing in the doorway.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He squinted his eyes at me. “Really, you don’t seem fine.”

“I said I was fine!” I snapped at him.

“Okay; geez!” He put up his hands. “Are you sure you’re okay about going to the bar tonight?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I once again snapped.

“Wow. . .I’m going to go take a shower. I’ll meet you in the living room in about an hour and we can head to the bar.”

“Fine.”  I watched as he walked away and I sat back down on the bed. Now I felt bad about how I had treated both Steph and Trev. “Maybe I should just add Charlotte to the list.” I mumbled.  I looked outside and started feeling homesick. It was funny, the one place that everyone else had run away from was the one place that I felt the most at home. They had all left, left Mom and me there and never looked back. How did they do it? Did they not know how hard it was on Mom that they were all gone? One by one they had left, not really showing any concern of how it affected Mom, or me. I shook my head, I just didn’t understand it.

I looked at the clock and decided that I needed to get ready. I got my clothes together and walked into the bathroom. I hoped that a hot shower would put me in a better mood. I hung my clothes up on a hook and turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. Once it was hot, I stepped in and washed my hair and body. I closed my eyes and let the water fall on my face. What I really needed was to go for a run but there was no way that was going to happen till I got back home. At the thought of running I thought about how Steph said she ran almost every day. I wonder where she runs? Is there a place in the city where people run? What if Tony’s following her while she runs. . .”Damnit!!” 

I twisted the knobs for the hot and cold water and stepped out of the shower. The air hit my wet body and made me shiver. Maybe the cold would knock some sense into me! I had to stop thinking about her. It wasn’t my job to protect her, hell, I barely knew her. I was done, I wasn’t going to think about her anymore. I finished getting ready and went into the living room to meet Trev.

“Hey, you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” We walked out into the hallway and then into the elevator. I couldn’t take it anymore at that point. “I’m sorry, Trev. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

“It’s okay.”

“No it’s not. . .”

“Why do you always do that? It’s like you act like you can’t have a pissed off moment or get upset about things. Is that like some kind of psychologist thing?”

“No.”

“Give yourself a break, for once.”

I didn’t say anything else. We stepped out of the elevator and then waited for the valet to pull Trev’s car around. It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the bar and I was surprised that as we walked up to the bouncer, he smiled at Trev and let us in. The last time I had come with Trev, he had to slip some money to the bouncer, this time they acted like they knew him. I started wondering how many times he had been to the bar in the last two months.

When we got inside I was surprised at how busy the place was. The last time I had been there, there hadn’t been many people, but it had been earlier in the night so I figured it must have been before the late night rush. We found two stools at the bar and sat down. “Hey Ethan! Man, thanks for bartending the party last night!” Trev said.

“No problem! It was fun! I even got to dance a couple of times.”

“Yeah, but did you get to dance with who you really wanted to. . .?”

Ethan smirked. “No, no I didn’t.”

“No you didn’t, what?” Charlotte came up behind us.

“Ummm. . .get a tour of Trev’s apartment.” Ethan tried to recover.

“Oh, well maybe next time.” Charlotte smiled at him and he smiled back at her which caused her to blush.

Well, at least there was that. As Charlotte gave him a drink order I looked around the rest of the bar. I hadn’t seen her when we had come in and I didn’t see her now so maybe I was going to get away with not seeing Steph. I turned back to give Ethan my drink order.

“I’ll have a water.”

“Really, George. . .a water?” Charlotte chastised me.

“Yeah, I’m thirsty.”

“Well I’m going to have a rum and coke.” Trev announced. He looked over at me and shrugged. “What?! It has soda in it. It’s not like I’m drinking straight up rum.”

“Whatever, Trev. Do what you want.” I conceded. 

Ethan placed our drinks in front of us and we sat there drinking and talking. Charlotte came over and talked to us in between taking orders and serving. I was actually starting to relax. I had been worried about coming here but now I started to think that it had been a good idea.

“Hi there, Tiger.” I heard a whisper slightly behind me.