I Won't Say (I'm In Love)
"Just admit it." Seth's voice crackled over the car speaker. "I see it. Anyone with eyes can see it."
Bayley rolled her eyes as she scoffed. Seth might know her better than most people but that didn't mean he was right this time. There was no way she was in love with him. What an insane thought!
"I'm not in love. That's ridiculous!"
"And you're on the way where?"
"I'm meeting Elias. He wants to buy some weird guitar he saw in a magazine so he invited me to come test it with him." She hadn't thought anything of it when he invited her. Friends did things like that ALL THE TIME. Now, looking back, she wasn't so sure. "We're just friends."
"Uh huh." Seth sounded incredulous. "Keep telling yourself that."
"I've got to go. Need my GPS." She knew he could tell she wasn't being entirely truthful but she didn't care. The last thing she wanted was to get into this argument with Seth again.
"You haven't heard the last of me!" Seth exclaimed. "Love you, Bay."
"Love you too." She hit the call end button on the steering wheel.
She laughed, as she contemplated Seth's words. There was no way she was in love with Elias. That would be complete insanity. They weren't like that.
Besides, there was the matter of that little promise to herself. After her long-term relationship with Finn ended, she'd vowed to spend at least the next two years single. She needed time to focus on herself. She needed to know she could live on her own without a man.
Seth didn't know as much as he thought he did. As far as she was concerned, that was the end of the story.
After a second, she realized her heart and head were in direct conflict. Her heart wanted to chase the strange man with the deep eyes. Her head told her point-blank to remember how wonderful things had been with Finn at the start but to also remember how they barely knew each other at the end.
She pulled in front of the clapboard house. This didn't look like a guitar dealer's shop but she also knew the ones with the valuable instruments didn't announce it for fear of theft. She double-checked the address, suddenly convinced she was at the wrong spot. Then, she saw him.
Elias waved, beckoning her forward. She exhaled, doing her best to make herself seem as normal as ever. He couldn't see her looking like a hot mess. For one thing, that wasn't attractive. For another, it would definitely clue him in on her internal battle.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, walking to him. They met half-way. She squeaked out another hello as he pulled her into a bear hug. He wasn’t usually the affectionate type but she liked it. "Happy?"
"Something like that." He gave her a casual shrug. "Have a hard time finding the place?"
"Not so much- just surprised to find a house." She sighed. "Did you see it?"
"I did. It's beautiful. Come see it." He grabbed her by the hand, pulling her towards the door.
Bayley giggled as she felt his calloused fingers around her wrist. She rarely saw him get excited by anything. This definitely counted as a rare sight. She did her best to keep up, lest she get pulled off her feet.
"Here it is." He stopped just inside the door. Gesturing to a dark beige acoustic guitar, his grin widened. "Isn’t this something?"
Bayley nodded, clueless about what she looked at. As far as she was concerned, it was just another guitar. She didn't know what made it special.
"Here. Feel the energy." Under the knowing eye of the store owner, he picked it up. "Here." He set it in her hands and then, adjusted her fingers so they rested on the strings. "Keep your middle finger up like you're flipping off the world." He kept his hand over hers. "You're too tight. Loosen up." He adjusted her grip again.
The strings bit into her fingers. It didn't hurt but it also didn’t feel great. It just...couldn't live up to the roughly smooth touch of Elias's hand as he cradled her hand.
"Try strumming down." He released his hand, trusting she would keep her fingers in just the right spots. He stepped back. “Isn't she beautiful?”
She tried it, producing something that sounded vaguely melodic. Then, she glanced up giving him a triumphant grin. “I did it!”
"Not bad," he teased, taking it back. He strummed a few notes, and a look of sheer bliss crossed his face. She couldn't believe the shift in his energy. For the time she'd known him, she had never seen him so calm. After a moment, he set it back in the guitar holder and turned to face the owner. "I'll take it. Is 26 the best you can do?"
Bayley blanched, realizing he hadn't meant 26 dollars. Instinctively, she knew he didn't mean 2600 dollars. No, Bayley had just played a $26,000 guitar.
"Well, Sir, for you...I can do 23. Wouldn't normally go down that much but seeing you with your lady reminded me of me with my Patsy."
With a handshake and an AMEX Black Card, they sealed the deal.
"Isn't that funny?" she quipped, walking out with him. "That he would think we're dating?" She stopped, noticing the odd look he gave her.
"Yeah, about that..." His voice drifted off as a dreamy look took over.
"Go ahead?" she urged.
"Want to go to dinner?" he asked, turning to stare directly at her. "You came all this way, and it's the least I can do."
Just as she‘d known the price of the guitar, she instinctively knew he didn't mean as friends. She knew she'd just been asked on a real date.
"Think I'd like that." She rose up on tip-toe, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She'd done it loads of times before but today was the first time he actually blushed. "Text me the details or I can just follow you and we stop when it seems right."
Her heart began to thump in a familiar rhythm as she watched him walk to the car. She'd been there before. She knew what this meant.
When one hated watching someone leave, it usually meant other things.
She wouldn't say it out loud- that would be putting a lot into the universe she wasn't ready for.
Yet, she knew.
She was in love.
-fin-