Team Edward……

After a successful first blind date, I woke up the next morning refreshed and love drunk. My best friend Madison text me she was on her way to my place to lay poolside. While waiting for her, I received a text from Andrew telling me he had a great time last night and wanted to see me tonight. I grew excited and text back about a benefit Madison and I would be at tonight. The plan was now set, I would see him again tonight. Madison and I went to my pool and waited for Brian, who was now pretty much her boyfriend. They had “The Talk” and he wants to be exclusive. Brian was also bringing his friend Tony to my pool. I was curious to see Tony again because I did have a really good connection with him while we were boating earlier in the month. My mind raced back to my night with Andrew again and quickly squashed the curiosity about Tony. The pool at my apartment complex is like Spring Break for people in the mid twenties and early thirties. Everyone is drinking, playing sand volleyball, making plans for the night. It’s the best place to be on the weekends. I chatted with my neighbor Treasure and the girls before laying down my towel. I told them how I’m “In Love” with my blind date. After making my rounds to all my favorite neighbors at the pool and peer pressuring them all to go out to the Bar tonight, I made my way to my towel to get a tan. After an hour of relaxing, Tony and Brian arrived to the pool gate. He looked good. He joked around with me for a little bit and I could tell there was a little flirtation going on. I ignored it because I was still dreaming about Andrew. Tony asked if he could go back to my apartment because he was going to make fresh mojitos for the group. I offered to assist him. We got to my apartment and I was impressed. Tony had this elaborate recipe and explained about the mint leaves and how to rip them apart instead of chopping them because of the oils. He was so detailed and spoke in a calming voice, explaining how to make the perfect Mojito. I ran over to my TV and selected salsa music to match the theme. We danced in my kitchen and assembled amazing Mojitos. My kitchen has an open bar that overlooks the living room so I told Tony that sometimes when I’m cooking, I’ll pretend I’m on a Food Network cooking show and explain to the camera what I’m doing as I cook. Him and I practiced talking to the camera that wasn’t there and laughed. After about an hour of talking, constructing Mojitos and getting to know each other more, my mind started to float in to “What if”. What if Tony was the one for me? He was very observant while in my apartment, asking me questions about the magnets on my fridge, the pictures on my counters. He was trying to get to know me better and it was working. Again, I shook this feeling and tried to focus on how excited I was to see Andrew tonight. Tony and I headed back down to the pool. Madison and Brian gave us a hard time for being gone so long. Madison had now been drinking for a few hours so could barely keep her eyes open and was repeating herself. She asked again if I was going to the bar with Tony, Brian and her tonight. We had already discussed this earlier. I rolled my eyes and patted her on her head. She was drunk. Tony and I started up the grill and poured the Mojitos for the table. Madison stumbled over and asked what took us so long in the apartment. I confessed that I hated to admit it, but I had a really fun time cooking with Tony. A big smile brewed on her face. I told her not to get excited though because I was stoked to see Andrew tonight. After our was food ready all four of us ate chicken and washed them down with Mojitos. We cheered to an unbelievable summer. It was true. This summer was one of the best summer’s of my life. I was meeting new people, experimenting with new boys, I was having a blast. My life has been so different ever since I ended it with Ex. Around six o’clock we all migrated back to my apartment. The four of us needed to shower and get ready for a night out in Lakewood. I felt like I was in college again, we had drinks going, music playing and we were all on top of each other trying to get ready in a tiny one bedroom apartment bathroom. While figuring out what to wear to the bar, Tony floated into my room. He had a dumb look on his face and I asked him what was wrong. He told me I looked great. I blushed a little and told him to let me get ready. Then he suggested what heels to wear and told me I looked great again. When he walked out of my bedroom, I couldn’t help but wonder again….was I starting to like Tony? He looked good too in his button up. We all cleaned up well from the pool. When we arrived to the bar, the benefit was wrapping up. We had got there a little too late. I was scanning the bar for Andrew but I didn’t see him yet. The four of us got drinks and started talking in front of the band when I realized…this does not look good. It looks like I’m on a double date, what will Andrew think when he walks up? I was now running scenarios in my head of how Fallon and I could escape so that when Andrew does get here, it doesn’t get awkward. All of a sudden, Tony looked down at his phone and said he had a phone call and had to take It outside. Perfect! Now it no longer looks like a double date. Now I just had to wait for Andrew’s text that he was here. A few minutes later Andrew text me and said he just arrived. I text back that we were by the stage. Within a moment he came around the corner, looking hot in a nice button down shirt, with rolled sleeves. He looked great. He came up and hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. I was very happy to see him. I asked him if he wanted to meet my friends first or his friends first. He left it up to me so I guided him over to Madison and Brian. Brian and Andrew instantly hit it off and started talking about Europe. Brian was going next month so this conversation couldn’t have gone any better. Madison was silently mouthing to me that Andrew was Hot. I smiled and agreed. He was hot. As the night went on, I met Andrew’s friends and I was having a really good time. The benefit was coming to an end and they announced there was a limbo contest. Madison declined but I joined in. After a few rounds, It came down to me and three other girls. As the stick got lower and lower, it got more challenging and I was a little tipsy so it was hard to keep my balance. As we reached the final round, it was between me and one other girl. She made it through, but I lost my balance. I walked over to the far end of the bar to put my shoes back on and Tony rushed over to me upset. He started saying how he could not believe that Andrew wasn’t even cheering me on. He said Andrew wasn’t paying attention to me and supporting me and he just couldn’t believe he would act like that when I was in this contest. Who cares, I thought. I kicked my head to the side and gave Tony a confused look on my face. “It’s really not that serious Tony…it’s a limbo contest…who cares?” He sighed and tattled on Andrew again. “I’m just surprised he wasn’t cheering you on Taylor…that’s all” Wow. Why was Tony making this such a big deal? I shrugged it off and walked back up to Andrew. He put his arm around me and told me I did a good job. As the night went on, I enjoyed being there with Andrew. Talking with his friends, being his girl. He would always find a way to put his arm around me or hold my hand. I liked it. At one point, I whispered in his ear that I really wanted to kiss him but didn’t want to be that couple at the bar. He agreed, he wanted to bad as well. I guided him over to the lobster grab machine that was tucked in the corner of the bar. We had a little privacy there so I snuck in a kiss. We kissed a few times and then agreed we needed to head back to our friends. We didn’t want to be the annoying people at the bar. I met back up with Madison and she pulled me aside. She had this really concerned look on her face. I asked her what was wrong. “Tony is freaking out Taylor” “What? Why?” “He keeps punching his fist in his hands and saying he is going to fight Andrew. He said that he thought you two had something at the pool today and thought you were into him. “ “Oh no” I shrieked. This can’t be happening. I asked her if she was kidding because the idea of all of this was so elementary. Madison went on and on about how Tony keeps talking shit about Andrew and he wants to fight him and that he does not deserve me. I told her this was starting to scare me and to keep psycho away from Andrew and I the rest of the night. As the night went on, Madison and I wound up in the bathroom and she pulled me into her stall to tell me that Tony was getting progressively worse. He was going on and on about how ever since Andrew came to the bar, I was giving all my attention to him and not Tony. He was telling Madison and Brian that He does not like me with Andrew and that he just wants to punch him in his face. Tony went from being cool guy at the pool to super jealous nut-so. I was so disgusted in myself for thinking for a minute today that maybe Tony and I did have something. Thank god I didn’t pursue it, he is crazy. I went back out to the bar looking for Andrew and Tony came stumbling over. He appeared very drunk. He started talking about Andrew instantly. “Where’s your friend? Taylor, I am very good at reading people, and Taylor, he’s not a good guy. He is sketchy. I can just tell. He’s not a good person. I don’t like him, I’m telling you this as a friend. There’s something about him…I just don’t like it.” At this point, I had to talk to Tony like he was five years old to calm him down. “Now that’s not very nice Tony” This is how people talk to kindergarteners. Unfortunately, I had to play it safe with Tony and speak to him like a child because he was acting like one. A few seconds later, Tony drunkenly blurts out that he can’t believe I’m Team Edward. We had discussed Twilight last week while boating so he led right into a straight up Twilight Discussion at the bar. He went into how Jacob is the better choice and that he is a better man then Edward. With a puzzled look on my face I wondered how on earth the conversation took a twist into this topic. Tony took another sip of his drink and then started lecturing me saying” I just wish you could see that Jacob is the better guy Taylor. Jacob is who understands her and sees who she is as a person. Edward barely knows her! Why can’t you see that Edward is not the best pick?!? “ I was paused…wondering if this was really where Tony was going with this. Is he really comparing himself to Jacob and Andrew to Edward? Oh my god. I released a big sigh and replied “yeah but Tony….I….Like….Edward…a lot” Then he frantically explained “yeah, but do you know what the problem is? I know, Taylor, that she likes Jacob…if she would just ADMIT that she likes Jacob. She may have something with Edward, but it’s not what she has with Jacob. He understands her and gets her as a person. Why won’t she just admit it?” At this point, a bathroom call was in order. I told Tony I had to use the restroom. There was no recovering from this statement. He was crazy. On my way to the bathroom I ran into Andrew. He was with his friends and wrapped his arms around my waist to be by him. We wandered over to the Hermit Crab Race that was going on in the main bar. Andrew bet money on number eleven and everyone was crowded around the table yelling and screaming for their crab to reach the finish line. It was just like horse racing….only not at all because we were in a bar betting money on hermit crabs... All and all it was a fun night, everyone from my apartment complex that I had peer pressured had held true to their word and showed up. I introduced them to Andrew and the girls gave me “The look of approval”. I was having a blast and quickly forgot about crazy Tony. After our crab did not win the race, we wandered back over to the band. There was a Caribbean band of some sort playing so Andrew and I slow danced with our arms around each other, gazing into one another’s eyes. I was in heaven but not for very long. I got a tap on my shoulder and whirled around to find Tony, barely able to keep his eyes open. He was frantic. “Oh no” I thought, what is he going to say now? “Brian and Madison left me!” “What? I just saw them a minute ago?” “Yeah, they left and all of my stuff is at your apartment. My bag, my keys, my car, everything. What are we going to do?” “We??” I asked…”we aren’t going to do anything. Call Madison and Brian, I don‘t know what to tell you, I‘m not leaving yet.” “Taylor, they’re gone and I need to get my stuff so I can go home! ” I told Tony I couldn’t believe that Madison and Brian just left him and then he responded with “yeah, I can’t believe a lot of things Taylor…” As if I owed him anything? I didn’t want to be in the situation anymore. How could Madison be so stupid and selfish to just dump their psychotic friend on me? I reached into my purse, pulled off my apartment key and handed it to Tony. “Take the key and get your stuff. Make SURE that you put the key under the door. Okay Tony? Promise me you’ll remember to put the key under the mat” In this gross serious voice Tony swore that he would take care of my key and would make sure that he did what I asked. I rolled my eyes and turned back around to Andrew, who under the circumstances, seemed pretty relaxed about the crazy boy that approached us. I was impressed. If I were him, I would be wondering what the hell was going on. He seemed disinterested. Very smart, obviously things don’t get to him that much. He had a smile on his face and asked” so I guess since you don’t have a key, you’ll be staying with me tonight?” I guess so…. So we went back to dancing and then eventually met back up with Andrew’s friends to head home. Andrew took me up to the top floor of his Condo on Lake Road. It was a bachelor pad. Exposed ceilings, stainless steel kitchen with granite counter tops, wood floors, black leather couches, very modern. He poured me a Stoli and tonic but we didn’t even drink them. We instantly started kissing and then made our way into his bedroom. In the morning, He kissed me and told him he was going to make us breakfast. As Andrew cooked, I sat on his couch and admired him. He was making me breakfast, I had a great time with him last night…what more could I ask for? He sat a plate of eggs, toast and fresh tomatoes down in front of me and told me to go ahead and start eating while he made up his plate. I was so impressed. He was quite the host. After we ate breakfast he kissed me a few times and we watched TV for a little bit. I had tried getting a hold of Madison a few times to make sure that Tony hadn’t done anything crazy to my apartment. I wanted to see if her or Brian had spoke to him after he went to my apartment to get his stuff. I was worried about my place. What if he was in a drunken rage and started destroying my apartment? I had to stop all the what if’s and just have Andrew take me home. Once we pulled up to my apartment Andrew asked if he could walk me in to my apartment to make sure I was able to get in okay. He was having doubts if Tony had left my key as well. While walking down the sidewalk to my building we passed Treasure. She didn’t have to say it but it was all over her face that she was calling me the “walk of Shame”. I was in Andrews clothes and wearing his flip flops since I had wore heels to the bar. She chatted with us for a few minutes and then we walked to my apartment. I pulled up the door mat and there was no key. “You’re kidding me” I gasped. Andrew tried the door and it opened. “He left my door op---” Before I could finish my sentence Tony jumped off my couch as if he was in trouble. He was not wearing a shirt and only box shorts. I was in shock. What was he doing? Why did he stay the night at my apartment by himself? Why would he think that’s okay? Here’s a better question…why is he still here?? It’s ten o’clock in the morning! ? He apologized quickly and said he’s been trying to call Brian and Madison all morning. I didn’t say a word because I was thinking how weird and bad this looks to Andrew. I grabbed Andrew’s arm and told him I would walk him back to his car. Andrew, being the cool guy he is, didn’t say a word about it. I mentioned how weird it was that he stayed at my place alone and Andrew said maybe he was too drunk to drive home? Well, at least one of us was cool about it. I kissed Andrew good bye and told him to have a fun Sunday watching the world cup with his friends. I marched back down to my apartment fuming. I could not believe Tony thought it was okay to stay in my apartment. I opened the door and he was lying back down on my couch. “so…what happened last night?” I asked. He went on about how he took a cab back to my place and he was going to drive home but he was too drunk. He didn’t want to risk getting pulled over. I get that…but why was he still here at 10am? I danced around this one…how do I politely ask why he is still here now that it’s the next day? I asked a few questions and he still wasn’t getting it, he kept going on and on about how he can’t get a hold of Brian so I just came out and asked very slowly “ So if your car is …here…then why can’t you just drive home???” He told me that he had plans to go to lunch with Brian but he won’t pick up his phone so he’s been waiting to hear back. I paused…what is wrong with this guy? You’re still in some random girls apartment because of your lunch date with your friend who is probably currently with my friend? Go home! He’s clearly not picking up because he is with a girl. This guy was clueless. The whole time we’re talking, I’m cleaning up all the alcohol in my kitchen from the night before. I was just trying to look preoccupied to disguise how uneasy Tony was making me feel. I finally had to tell him to go ahead and pack up because I had to get my day started. I had to meet with my ex to do the final “give each other’s stuff back” thing. Tony asked if he could wait fifteen more minutes for Brian and I was puzzled. Why? Why can’t he just go home? I was not understanding this kid. I told him unfortunately I had a lot to do and needed to get my day going, shower, etc. He asked if he could stay and wait for Brian while I showered and I again, told him no. As he packed up his bag he walked over and said “Taylor…can I ask you a question?” Oh no…what now…could this morning get any worse? “I know you have a lot going on and I don’t want to add more to your plate. I know you have to meet with your ex today too so I don’t want to do this, but I just need to know…” I was freaking out inside, what is he going to ask? “So are you…well…do you like this Andrew guy? Would I be wasting my time if I wait for you?” “Yes, Tony. I like Andrew a lot.” He said okay and then asked if I wanted to join him and Brian for lunch. I reminded him for the tenth time that I had to get my day going and meet my ex. He backed off and then reminded me that if I “ever wanted to go to a baseball game…” Oh boy, this guy is just not getting it. He grabbed his bag and said goodbye. I locked my door and then put up the chain. What a nightmare, I think it’s safe to say that I am Team Edward.