Fifteen>>>Remember When

Trying to use my knee to steer, I reach into the backseat frantically as my cell phone rings for the 3rd time. Harper is supposed to call and I don�t want to miss her. I snatch my cell phone from my jacket pocket in the backseat and flip it open.

�Tay? It�s Estelle.�

I pause for a second and frown. Estelle who hates me? Estelle who doesn�t want me in her life? Estelle who would never call me is on the other line? It can�t be possible.

�Uhhh�Estelle who?� I ask.

�What? Taylor it�s me. How many Estelle�s do you know?� Now I feel like an idiot.

�You�d be surprised,� I say truthfully, because after all, I did meet another Estelle.

�Anyway,� She says impatiently, �I was wondering if you�d want to have dinner with me tonight.�

Okay, which one of my brothers paid her to call me? No, seriously. This is unnatural.

�Pardon?� I say

�Taylor, what is your problem? You seem clueless.�

�Sorry,� I frown, �Dinner? Uhhhh yeah sure, what day?� Addicted, I told you.

�I said tonight.�

�Right.�

�Does seven o clock work for you?�

I�m about to say yes but realize I seem far too pathetic.

�Can we do seven-thirty instead? I�m meeting some friends for a bit beforehand.� Okay, so I�m still pathetic, a pathetic liar in fact, but she doesn�t know that.

�Seven-thirty is fine. Pick me up.�

�Yes ma�am.� I mentioned I�m pathetic right? Just making sure.

<<<>>>

I�m sitting across from Estelle drinking my glass of wine. I�ve purposely bumped my knee into her twice throughout the evening. It�s very thrilling, as dumb as that sounds. My knee just bumped into her a third time, this time by accident, and I know that�s one too many times. I move my legs far away from her and clear my throat.

�But I�m glad classes are, you know, going well.� I tell her, making eye contact. I know this is something most girls cannot resist about Taylor Hanson. I don�t know why I am trying to get her to like me, especially with how well things have been going with Harper, but I cannot help it.

She nods and pushes around some of the food on her plate. �And that�s great that�you�re new job is actually working out now,� she says politely.

I grin at her, �Hey remember how I used to always hide that stuffed panda in your room?� Don�t ask, really.

She cracks a smile, �Yes where is it?!�

I start laughing but I�m secretly thinking, �See you shouldn�t have broken up with me until I told you where I hid it the last time.�

�I don�t know�should I tell you?� I raise an eyebrow, �Do you deserve to know�?�

�Probably not,� She says, and I take this as an apology for the way she�s been treating me since I know it�s the best apology I�ll ever get from a stubborn girl like Estelle, �But you�re a nice guy. It�s only kind to tell me.�

�I don�t want to be kind,� I confess, �Being evil is much more exciting.� I give an evil laugh and finish off my wine, grinning at her.

She grins back and takes my wrist, examining the brown and red bracelet tied to it. �You still wear this?� She�s referring to the bracelet she made me over the summer at the camp she worked at.

I nod and frown for a moment, but I cannot let her see any weaknesses in me. Instead I joke, �You put your sweat and tears into this bracelet. How could I ever take it off?�

She smiles and touches my fingers. Now I don�t know what to think.

�You bite your nails too much, you know that?� She tells me, letting go of my hand and letting it fall onto the edge of a plate.

�You can never make up your mind, you know THAT?� I call her on it. She tells me she doesn�t want me in her life and here she is stroking my fingers!

�Of course I can make up my mind.� She informs me, and I watch her put on her jacket, �And I have. And I wanted to tell you in person that I�ve moved on from you. And I am glad that we�re not in each other�s lives anymore.�

I can feel rage starting to boil inside of me. I watch her take a twenty out of her purse and set it on the table.

�I should be going,� she says. �I promised Nate I�d meet him tonight.�

�What? Your ex-boyfriend Nate? What are you back together again?�

�Yes, and no,� She says, standing up and putting her purse on. �It was nice seeing you one final time, Taylor.�

�Estelle, you�re a fucking�you�re a fucking bitch.� I couldn�t believe it came out of my mouth. I was crude sometimes, and I was vulgar, but not this crude and not this vulgar.

�I�m a bitch because I don�t want to be with you.� She replies as if it�s that simple.

�You know exactly why you�re a bitch, messing with my head when you KNOW I�ve moved on.�

We stare at each other for a moment. I�d like to think we�re both feeling a touch of sentimentality as well as anger, but I think that�s just me.

�Just go home, Estelle,� I tell her, �I�m with someone else now and-�

�Oh?� She questions, �Which is why your knee randomly hit into my knee over and over again tonight?�

�Shut up.� It�s all I can think to say.

She nods, as if I�ve confirmed my idiocy to her, and looks to the door.

�You never cease to impress me Taylor. Goodnight,� she says. With that, she walks out.

I glance at the waiter standing above me, looking at me with a fake look of empathy on his face.

�I know what you�re thinking,� I say, �It�s like in the movies when some pushover jerk is always getting left at the restaurant alone. Except the movie of my life doesn�t have the typical happy ending.�

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