It's a Date (Again)

by Jeneva Rose

“Have I had this gourmet sandwich before?” “Many times. You say it’s your favorite.” Robbie rinses the sprouts under the faucet and quickly flips the pieces of bread in the pan. “I guess I’ll tell you if it still is,” I tease.

“So?” he says. I wipe the corners of my mouth with a napkin and nod. “Still a fave.”

Does he really believe that, or is he just being hopeful? “Why do you think that?” I ask. His brows shove together as he stares back at me. “Because you’re Peyton. You’re the strongest person I know.”

The corner of his lip perks up. “You haven’t changed a bit.” “What do you mean?” “You always leave two bites of food on your plate, so I always finish them.” Robbie picks up my leftover hunk of sandwich and tosses it in his mouth.

“Want to watch that movie Maya was talking about, the one she said she’d give up all her memories to see for the first time again?” “The Sixth Sense?” He nods and laughs. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

“What?” I jump from my seat, nearly spilling the bowl half-full of popcorn. “He was dead the whole time!” Robbie pauses the television. Bruce Willis’s stunned face fills the screen.

“This is more shocking than when I realized I had no memories earlier today.” I laugh.

“Incredible. I wish I could watch it for the first time again.” “Well, you technically got two first-time watches. Pretty lucky if you ask me.” He picks a piece of fallen popcorn from his shirt and pops it into his mouth.

“So, I haven’t gotten an update in a while. Have anything new to share?” She raises her thick brows and takes a cautious sip of her hot coffee.

“Last week. You said you were breaking it off with one of the boys you were dating because he turned out to be not who you thought he was. So, did you?”

She gives me a peculiar look but smiles back anyway. “I guess you caught him in a few lies. Small ones, but it was a red flag, as the kids say these days. And I told you, if someone lies about the little things, they’ll have no problem lying about the big things.”

“I think it’s fun that you and Robbie made that pact when you were what, nineteen, was it? I remember you telling me about it, and at first, I thought you’d gone mad. But I saw what it did for you. It helped. You’d been so worried about ending up alone because you kept dating bad guy after bad guy. But then you and Robbie agreed if you weren’t married, engaged, or in a very serious relationship by thirty-two, you’d be together. And those what-ifs melted away. You weren’t anxious or scared anymore.”

Is Robbie a saboteur? No, he wouldn’t do that. He makes me sandwiches. Saboteurs don’t make sandwiches.

“PEYTON! PEYTON!” a voice yells in the distance. I instantly recognize it. Robbie. His ears must have been ringing.

I cock my head. “So, you’re just not going to tell me about the pact?” He shoves another piece of muffin in his mouth. “Pact?”

Robbie chews quickly, swallows, and then lets out a laugh. “That’s what all this attitude is for?” I nod.

He blows out a big breath. “I know that. Sorry. I meant, like, why is this a big deal? It was just some silly pact we made in college. We’re not following through on it.”

“I forgot about the pact,” he says, lowering his chin.

“I didn’t think it was serious back then, and I sure as heck don’t think it’s serious now. Actually, I’m surprised you even remembered. And by that I mean before you lost all your memories.”

I was mad when I thought he remembered the pact and didn’t tell me. Now he says he didn’t remember the pact and . . . my feelings are hurt.

“That’s not true at all, Peyton. I forgot about the stupid pact. Even if I remembered it, I wouldn’t bring it up or carry it out. You and I would never be good together, trust me.”

I’m kinda hurt. How does he know we wouldn’t be good together? And why is he so sure of that? Have we been together before? Was it explosive? Did it almost ruin our friendship? Or am I just not his type? I bite my lower lip before it starts to tremble. I’m not even sure where these emotions are coming from.

“I’ll tell you what,” he says, staring directly at me. “I wasn’t on board with the whole dating-these-guys thing because I wanted you to get better first, but I’m fully on board now. Heck, I’ll help set up your dates. I’ll vet these guys. I’ll do all that gossipy crap you do with Maya about boys and dating. I’ll weigh out the pros and cons.

“I only want you to be happy, and I know you won’t be if you fall back on a promise we made when we were practically kids.”

“I ran into Debbie on my way in.” Maya looks to me. “She doesn’t know about the accident, does she?”

Maya puts her hands on her hips. “You have to tell her.” “Maya’s right,” Robbie says. “She’s going to lose it if she finds out you didn’t tell her.”

“Debbie isn’t just your downstairs neighbor,” Maya says, leaning forward in her seat.

“Your parents died in a car accident in December of 2009,” Maya says.

“Peyton, you were in the accident too,” Maya explains. “There was a freak snowstorm that came out of nowhere, and it caused a pileup on the highway. Debbie was there, but she was able to stop her vehicle and pull it off to the side, avoiding the crash.

Then she found you in the back. She saved your life. When the ambulance finally got to you, Debbie came with. She stayed with you until you were better, and she’s been there for you ever since. You spent all your holidays with her after that, and when you moved to the city, she rented this duplex out to you for far below what she could get for it. It’s practically a steal. So Debbie isn’t just your downstairs neighbor. She’s your family, and she’s basically your guardian angel.”

I wait for her to finish chewing and then ask, “Did anything ever happen between Robbie and me?” Robbie was adamant that we weren’t good together, so I’m curious to know if the reason he knew that was because we tried already.

My eyes widen. “What if I did? Am I supposed to just continue with that level of intimacy, even though I don’t remember?” “No, you’re starting all over, and if any of them don’t get that, then they’re not the one for you.” She pats my shoulder. “Unless . . . you want to just bang it out and figure it out that way.”

I’ll write down forced kismet in Nash’s column.”

“There is one issue, though. Debbie told me that I was going to break up with one of them because I apparently caught them in a couple of lies.” “Okay, which one? I’ll cross him off right now and cancel the date.” Her hand clutches the pen. It stands at attention, ready to strike one of them out. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t tell her.” Maya squints. “The plot thickens.”

“It is tomorrow, but I just wanted to drop this off.” He extends a round to-go container toward me. It’s warm in my hands and looks like some sort of food, but the Tupperware is cloudy. “It’s homemade chicken noodle soup to help you feel better.” Nash shuffles his feet, then looks down and back at me like he’s embarrassed by his gesture. “I know you’re not sick . . . but you know what they say, it’s good for the soul.”

“I knew it,” she says. “You knew I had amnesia?” “No, not necessarily. But I knew something was off. This morning, you didn’t look at me like you usually do. At first, I thought you were mad at me for something, but then we got to talking and I realized it wasn’t that. Then I thought you were pregnant.”

“But from what I’ve heard, it sounds like your connections are deeper with Shawn and Tyler.” Maya nods. “Yeah, I agree with that.” “But one of them is a liar.” Debbie raises an eyebrow over her bowl of soup.

Debbie returns with a wineglass filled to the brim. She settles back into her chair and takes a long sip, making a refreshing sound when she’s done. “Debbie, it’s two in the afternoon,” Maya says. “I’m retired, Maya. Time means nothing to me.” She drinks again and places the glass on the end table beside her. “So, have we narrowed it down yet?”

“The Europe trip was my graduation present to you,” Debbie says. My eyes go wide. “You paid for a trip to Europe for me?” “Of course. I did it for my two boys too, when they graduated college.” She says it like the gift was never a question in her mind. Debbie really has treated me like her own.

“I know I probably said it before, but I don’t remember, so thank you.” “You have many, many times, Peyton. You are an extremely grateful person. That’s something you should know about yourself. You expect nothing, but you appreciate everything.”

“I think I’m in love with him,” Debbie whispers, letting out a tiny snicker. “So, you want Nash and Tyler?” I whisper back. “Just for the cooking and the fixing.”

“So, what do we have in common?” I ask with a smile. Aside from sexual attraction . . . but I don’t say that part out loud. He finishes chewing the last of his food and wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Let’s see. We both are adventurous, which I love. You’re always down for anything, like axe throwing, wandering the neighborhoods, a haunted house, an escape room, and an afternoon trip to the Indiana Dunes.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat stops us instantly. We pull away from one another, and I glance over at the back deck. Robbie stands there dressed in casual business attire, a white collared shirt, a pair of navy-blue dress pants, and camel-colored oxford shoes.

“Oh, hey, Robbie,” I say casually, but it doesn’t come off that way. It comes off as someone that was just caught doing something wrong. But it’s not wrong, and I don’t know why I feel that way or why I’m responding the way I am.

“Don’t tell me there’s a fourth guy,” Tyler says with a laugh. Robbie jogs down the steps and approaches the table. “Nope, just a good friend. I’m Robbie,” he says, extending his hand.

“I built a desk one time.” Robbie lifts his chin. “The one in my home office?” I ask. He nods. “That’s from IKEA,” I say with a laugh. Robbie looks to me. “Still counts.”

“I like him,” he says, slurping it. He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he drinks. “Really?” I tilt my head. He makes a refreshed sound and places the can on the table. “Yup. Why? Are you surprised?” “Kind of.” I sip the sugary soda. “Why’s that?” “I thought you wouldn’t like any of them.”

I shrug but there’s a little ache in my heart, and I’m not sure what’s causing it. Maybe I want Robbie to be overprotective or put up a stink over these guys.

I’m starting to think Robbie really did forget about our pact—and not only that, he never believed it was a good thing for us to be together in the first place. But then why did he agree to it all those years ago? Well, probably because he thought it was silly to begin with.

Robbie leans back and lets out a laugh. “You want me to rough one of them up? Probably not Shawn or Tyler. They’re my size or bigger. Maybe Nash?” he teases.