Page 17 of Anyone But Me
I still remember the first time I saw her. Her golden blonde hair fluttered in the wind and her blue eyes caught mine and never looked away. Her confidenceshined out of her and onto me as if she was the sun, and I was the earth in need of her warmth.
My fingers moved rapidly across the keys of my computer for another hour, and I only stopped once I was physically unable to hold my eyes open anymore. Not only had I started, but now my mind was brimming with ideas of the love story I was going to write. It would be a friends to lovers story, where of course they were both too naive to see what was right in front of them all along, especially the main character. I thought of funny scenarios I could put her through as she fumbled her way through dating everyone except the person she was clearly meant to be with. Like any good romance novel, the readers would see it the whole time, because it was glaringly obvious to everyone but them how perfect they were for each other.
I wiggled under the covers as more and more ideas popped into my head. As I fell asleep, I told myself I needed to remember to thank Jax in the morning. Something she said to me must have clicked, because I was finally excited about writing this. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face, and for the first time, it wasn’t lists and plans running through my head. It was images and daydreams.
*
When I woke up the next day, I rolled over to find my laptop still lying beside me. Even though I hadn’t gotten as much sleep as usual the night before, I felt oddly refreshed. I was feeling so good that I immediately opened my computer up and went back into the document I had been working on the night prior. The words continued to flow, and I was so engulfed in my writing that I almost didn’t hear it when there was a knock on my door.
When I finally registered what the sound was, I saved the document and shut my computer. “Come in.”
Jax walked into my room, and after shutting the door behind her, let out a long yawn and stretched her arms into the air. “Remind me never to go out again. I’m feeling it today.”
“I think you're overestimating my abilities.”
“I believe in you.” Jax walked across the room and sat down on my bed. Her eyes were immediately drawn to my laptop. “Working on something?”
“My book actually.”
Jax’s head shot up. “Really? I thought you said you were having trouble getting started.” Jax brought a hand to her head and rubbed it. “Shit. Was I so drunk that I made up that conversation?”
“No. Your advice was actually what helped get me started.”
Jax squinted her eyes at me. “Oh yeah? And what advice would that be?”
“You said just start, so I did.” I didn’t actually expect it to be that easy, but something about our conversation had given me the push I needed to do it.
“Sounds like terrible advice, but I’m really glad that worked,” Jax said with a chuckle.
“Do you really not remember our conversation last night?” It was probably for the best given how many times she hit on me. I wasn’t sure if Jax ever actually got embarrassed, but if she did, I didn’t want her to have to remember that.
“Most of it, I think.” Jax’s face lit up. “I know that you promised to help me with my list of girlfriend qualities. Do you want to walk to the cafe so I can treat you to brunch while we work?”
I was surprised Jax wanted to go to the cafe on her day off, but I wasn’t going to argue since it was already my favorite place in New York. “That sounds perfect.”
“Meet outside of our rooms in ten minutes?”
“You got it.” Before I could think through what I was doing, I took my nerdiness to a whole new level and gave her a thumbs up. I quickly put it down, hopeful that I was quick enough for her not to notice becausewhat the hell?
“Awesome.” Jax stood from the bed and turned to walk away. She turned around when she reached the door and gave me her own thumbs up before leaving the room.
I wasn’t sure whether to defend myself or hide in embarrassment, but I was too busy smiling to do either.
I hopped out of bed and quickly got ready. I made it out of my bedroom in eight minutes. Five minutes later, Jax came out of hers.
After making it to the cafe, we ordered our food and drinks, then found a table to sit at so Jax could have a hard surface to write down the qualities she was looking for.
“So, where do we start?” Jax asked as she stared down at the blank sheet of paper in front of her.
“Even though it seems shallow, I think it’s easiest to start with what physical aspects you look for in another person.”
Jax squinted her eyes and scrunched up her nose as if she was really considering this. “I don’t really have a type as far as looks go. It’s more of a vibe thing with me. I like girls who are more chill and put together than me. The ones who think things through before jumping into them. She might have one or two tattoos, but they are tattoos withmeaning.”
I slapped Jax on the arm because she was clearly making a joke. “Come on. Be serious.”
Jax brought a hand to her chest and scoffed. “I am being serious.”
I rolled my eyes as I blew on my coffee. “No, you’re not. You just described me.”
