The Other Earth (7 page)

"Yes, he talked about you. So why are you so scared to touch him?" she asked.

I looked away, "I don't know. There is such a huge part of me that wants to rip off his clothes and slurp juice out of his stomach muscles" I said.

"
Eww" Vickie said from next to me.

I smiled, "But another, larger part of me knows that we have been friends since we were eight  and I know if something happens, it will get awkward and I couldn't handle losing him as a frie
nd."

"What if it doesn't get awkward though? What if he is
your happily ever after?" Vickie asked, her book completely forgotten at this point.

I sighed, "There is a problem with that theory" I said.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Well, I don't believe in hap
pily ever after."

Chapter Seven

I walked into the work, going straight to my desk for once, rather than stopping and getting a coffee, and as I started the journey down the long hallway, I noticed that there were more people than normal whispering in the corner. I continued to walk over to my office, but as I saw a couple of women I had been to lunch with a few times whispering, I had to stop and ask.

"Hey guys, what's going on? Everyone is sta
nding around whispering." I asked them.

The tallest woman whose name was Sophie leaned in to answer me, "Well, everyone is talking about Brandon being chosen to go to the new planet. You guys are best friends right? How did he get picked?" she asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I haven't spoken to him today and I had no idea that he had been chosen. That's some big news" I said with a half-smile.

Sophie leaned in even further, "You sure don't look happy sweetie" she said, winking at me and turning back to
the other women.

I gave a half-hearted smile and turned to walk back to my office, wondering how exactly I felt about Brandon being gone for so long.

I shook my head, trying to remind myself that Brandon was just my friend and nothing more, so there was no reason to be so upset that he may be leaving. I reached my office and stuffed my purse and jacket into the small locker next to my desk and sat down in my chair, looking over at my computer and sighing.

The thought of exploring something new and exciting
was enough to make a former workaholic want to sit and daydream. I wanted to be there in the space ship seeing things that nobody had ever seen before, and hopefully finding something that might help to save this sad polluted planet we all live on.

I looke
d around and saw that there weren't many people actually working yet and decided that I did in fact need some coffee. I got up and walked over to the main break room kitchen and started to put my sugar and creamer into a cup when Brandon walked in.

I looke
d at him for a few seconds before he turned and saw me standing there preparing my coffee, "Hey" I said, not sure what to really say to him, considering this was the first time I was seeing him after he had kissed me in my bedroom two days before.

"Hey" he
answered back. I smiled and went back to my coffee when I heard him clear his throat, "So I'm not sure if you have heard the news, but I have been chosen as one of the two people that will be going to the new planet" he finally said, grabbing a cup and pouring black coffee into it.

I nodded, "Yeah I heard something about it this morning from a few of the ladies that were ironically gossiping by the water cooler" I told him.

He smiled, "Wow that is so cliché. So, what do you think?" he asked me, taking a slow sip of his hot coffee.

I looked over at him, "Can I be honest with you?" I asked him.

"When have you ever not been honest with me?" he asked, his left eyebrow rising up higher than the other.

I poured coffee into my cup, turning it a light brown from pu
tting so much cream in, "Well I have some mixed emotions. First I am incredibly happy for you, and proud as all hell. But on the other hand, I don't want you to go. Besides Brandon, you are my best friend, and I would miss you like crazy. But, then I'm also super jealous of you too, getting to go on a mission like this; it's incredible" I said.

He smiled, "Wow, you would miss me?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Out of all of that, that is the part that you heard? Not the part where I'm happy for you or that I'm totally jealous? You're such a dude, you know that?" I said laughing.

He put his coffee down and put his arms out; I put my coffee down
next to his and let him pull me in for a hug. "Thank you for being honest with me, and thank you for being happy for me, too bad about being jealous, you will just have to get over that. Finally, I will miss you too" he said as I sighed against his hard chest.

We stood there hugging for a few minutes too long when another co-worker came in and we separated, I grabbed my coffee as Brandon shook the man's hand, thanking him for the congratulations and quickly disappeared to my desk.

I had just sat down when Brandon came up to my desk and set his coffee down. "You didn't think our conversation was over did you?" he asked me.

I looked up at him and nodded, "Yes actually I did."

"Well it's not. I was thanking you for being honest with me about how you feel about me leaving. But, you have completely skirted around the issue of what happened this weekend."

I fidgeted in my chair, "Brandon, look, we have been friends a long time and I just don't think it's in our best interest to start anything right now.
Especially now with the fact that you will be gone for two years. Well, if you even make it back" I said.

"Wow, you are going to throw that bullshit at me about how we are too good of friends.
What's next are you going to tell me that it's not me it's you? Why do you keep denying the fact that there are sparks there between us?" he asked me, his voice raising.

"Lower you damn voice
Brandon, I don't need everyone in my business. Okay, yes there are sparks, I won't deny that. But the fact still remains that you are leaving. What am I supposed to do? Jump into bed with you right before you leave and possibly never see you again? No thanks. Been there done that." I said, becoming angry.

"Dammit Randi, you are so fucked up in the head, you know that? Not everyone is going
to leave you. How fucking long have we known each other? Twenty fucking years that's how long. Have I ever in all of that time let you down or left you?" he asked.

I always knew when he was angry when he started to throw f-bombs my way. "No, in twenty yea
rs you have never let me down or left me. Do you know why? Because I have never had sex with you. Sex changes things, and don't try to deny it either." I said.

Brandon crossed his arms, "Okay, so we haven't had sex. The thing is
, I have had sex with other women. You have known every single one of my girlfriends I have ever had. Did I ever leave them?" he asked.

I sighed, "No, you are just perfect. The problem still remains that you are leaving now, and I don't need another notch on my bed post of another gu
y that left" I said.

Brandon shook his head, "It's not like you have all that many notches Randi, you have pushed people away from you for years. In fact, I have never even seen you get serious with anyone." He said.

I could tell that he was revving up to give me another speech when his name was called over the intercom by Jessica's voice.

"This is not over. We are going to finish this conversation later in private." He said before turning away and walking toward Jessica's office, so angry that he forgot t
o grab his coffee.

"Not likely" I said to myself, knowing that he was well out of hearing range.

***

I pushed open the door to my apartment, dreaming about a hot bubble bath and my bed. The rest of the day had consisted of nothing but people coming up to
me to congratulate me on Brandon being chosen. I was starting to wonder why the hell everyone was lumping me with him. It was almost as though they were all convinced that we were a couple.

The thought of that made me throw my purse down onto the couch in
anger, muttering under my breath about nosy bitches and water coolers.

"Randi is that you?" Stacey yelled from her bedroom.

"Yeah it's me" I yelled back, and angry edge to my voice that I hadn't intended.

"Whoa what's the matter with you?" she asked as sh
e walked up to me.

I sat down onto the couch, "Brandon cornered me and yelled at me for being fucked up in the head" I said.

She laughed, "Which way was he talking about? There are so many" she said.

I sighed, "I told him that I didn't want anything to go further with him because he is leaving and I have had enough men leave me" I said.

"Okay, first of all, you are very fucked in the head. Second of all, you always dump guys. Third of all, where is Brandon leaving to?" she asked.

I groaned and laid on the couch, burying my head into the sofa, "He got chosen to go to the new planet" I said.

She gasped, "Oh my god. That's so scary, and yet exciting for him, but I can see why you wouldn't want to start anything with him in that situation."

I looked up at her, "You agree with me?" I asked, surprised.

"Hell yeah I agree with you. What are you going to do sleep with him and then not see him again for two years, or possibly never?" she said.

I sat up, "Yes! Tha
t is exactly what I told Brandon! He told me I was crazy and that he would never leave me, but then he's leaving. It makes no sense." I said, savagely running my fingers through my short hair.

"Well, if you want my advice" she said slowly.

I nodded, "Yes I really, really do" I said.

"I think that it would be in your best interest at this point to not sleep with him. Go back to just being his friend, and maybe make out with him a little, but only when you're lonely or drunk" she said with a giggle.

"Not funny." I said.

"I'm being serious. Kissing and a little touching is no big deal. Just don't have sex with him, because he is going to leave, and for a long time" she said.

I shook my head, "No, I am going to take your advice and just go back to being his friend, and nothing more. There is no time for kissing and touching or even having sex. He is just going to have to respect my decision. Besides, I think it will be better for our friendship in the long run anyway. It would get way too awkward." I said.

Stacey
shrugged, "Oh I don't know about that. It is possible for two friends to have a sexual encounter and not have it become awkward afterward." She said.

I nodded, "I don't know about that" I said.

"Hey it happens. I've had sex with lots of friends and it didn't get awkward. As long as both parties go in knowing that it's only going to be about the sex." She said.

I looked up at her, "Maybe, but the problem is I don't think I would know what it is. I can't have casual sex with someone like him and have it not
mean anything" I told her.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "You really are fucked in the head Randi. Look, you relax for the
night, I am going to go to dinner with my girlfriend. We will be back later if you need me" she said, grabbing her purse from the table next to the door.

I looked up at her and noticed for the first time that she was wearing the dress that I had chosen for her, "Wow, you look nice. Have a good time, give Vickie my love, I'll see you later. I'm going to go take a bubble b
ath and disappear into a good book."

She smiled, "Thank you. That sounds like a good plan to me." She said, leaning down and kissing me on the forehead. "We will bring you some dinner back okay?"

I just nodded as I turned to head toward my bedroom, trying to decide which trashy romance novel to disappear into that night.

***

I looked down at my phone, hoping for the courage to call Brandon. I needed to tell him that I had finally decided that as long as he was going to be leaving, we would go back to just being friends the way that we always had. I reached down, preparing to h
it the send button, when it rang. A quick look at the caller ID told me that it was Brandon.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Randi. We need to talk" he said.

I nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see me, "Yes I know. I have decid
ed that as long as you are leaving, we are going to have to go back to being just friends. Two years is a long time and I don't want things to be awkward between us before you go" I said in one breath.

"You have a hang-up on things getting awkward don't yo
u?"

I sighed, "I know, look. My parents' entire relationship was a publicity stunt, and there was never anything but awkward tension in my house growing up. You know all of this about
me, it was why I spent so much time hanging out with you in your stupid tree house."

"Randi, look I understand where you are coming from, I really do. I actually called you to apologize. No matter what my feelings for you are, it was selfish of me to try and start a relationship with you when I am leaving. I don't want to be a
nother notch on your bed post either as you put it."

I sighed, "Good. Look, I am really sorry that I let things get as far as they did. I have known you for twenty years and sometimes when I look at you I still see the dorky little kid with the glasses tha
t tried to get me to play with his train set."