Two-Way Monologues

Chapter Five

“How long are you going to pretend to be mad at me?” Adrian asked. He and Anya were riding the subway home from The Teapot. After the kiss the “lovely couple” had been bombarded with well-wishers, champagne, and a complimentary meal. The whole time Anya had worn her saccharine smile, the one that looked real to the outside world but that Adrian could see past. She’d barely spoken a single word to him.

“I’m not pretending.” Anya turned her body away from him, opting to be closer to the middle-aged man reading the paper. At least he wasn’t pestering her.

“Anya, it was a joke.”

“It wasn’t funny Adrian. Do you realize that we can never go back there? They think we’re engaged!” Anya moaned. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“So this isn’t about the kiss?” Adrian asked bluntly. He didn’t regret it in the least but he had a feeling Anya did.

“That is another topic of conversation all together.” Anya said vaguely.

“What does that mean?” Adrian asked. “Another topic, as in, another conversation that we need to have or is this your way of saying that you just want to avoid talking about it all together?”

“Do you have something you want to say?” Anya countered.

“Um-“ Adrian hesitated. He had expected Anya to opt for the latter option; she usually preferred to ignore difficult situations instead of confronting them.

“Maybe an apology?” Anya’s glared at him but Adrian refused to be intimidated.

“What? Why should I apologize? You kissed me!” He reminded her.

“I gave you a friendly kiss. You gave me a smutty kiss.” Anya made a face.

“You didn’t seem to mind all that much.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Anya asked, daring him to respond. Adrian knew there was no particularly good way to get out of this situation. Anya was intent on being mad and if they were going to have a mature conversation in regards to the kiss it would have to wait until later.

“Nothing Anya.” Adrian shook his head. “Fuck, you know I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about tonight.”

“You should have thought of that before.” Anya said inching away from him again. The man next to her, who had been trying very hard to ignore the conversation between the pair, gave her an uneasy look.

“Anya, come on, it was a joke.”

“The marriage proposal, the kiss, or all of it?” Anya’s tone was serious but she was still avoiding making eye contact with him.

She was a mess and she knew it. Her emotions were all over the place. She was embarrassed because of the public spectacle they had just made out of themselves, but also because she knew that she had wanted Adrian to kiss her, and that she hadn’t put up much of a fight. She was angry because he let his stupid joke get out of hand and she was angry because it was affecting her so much. And she had cramps to top it off. Whatever Adrian said to her was only going to make it worse.

“This is a trick question and I refuse to answer it.” Adrian responded as diplomatically as he could. “This is your stop, do you want me to walk you home?” Had it been later in the evening he would have automatically done it, well actually, had it been any other time he would have automatically done it, but right now he wasn’t so sure she would appreciate the gesture.

“You’ve done enough. Thanks for a lovely evening.” Anya said standing up and moving towards the door of the train before it came to a stop in the station.

Adrian sighed as he watched her get off and disappear into the crowd. So he’d had the best kiss of his life, but what did that matter if his best friend wouldn’t even look at him?

*

“His gambling addiction and your pregnancy scare?” Kendra howled with laughter. “Damn, that boy is creative. Oh don’t look so mad Anya, it’s kind of funny.”

“Well sure, that part is funny.” Anya dug her spoon back into the container of ice cream that was sitting between them. Cookie dough would freeze all of her problems away….

“But the kiss-“

“The kiss! Why did he do that!” Anya wailed. She had come home and immediately told Kendra they needed an emergency conference. Once they were both settled into their pajamas, the ice cream had been pulled out, and both girls were sprawled out on the floor, Anya began to tell her story.

“Why are you mad though?” Noticing the look on Anya’s face, Kendra was quick to continue. “Not that you shouldn’t be mad, I just want to make sure we’re both on the same page.”

“Kendra, he kissed me! Adrian, our Adrian, kissed me!”

“He’s kissed you before.” Kendra pointed out. “What made this different?”

“It was an intimate kiss.” Anya sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I mean, he really kissed me.” Anya’s voice drifted off and Kendra smiled to herself, letting her friend get caught up in her thoughts.

“And it was good, wasn’t it?”

“Soooo good.” Anya agreed, a small smile on her face.

“So you’re not really mad that he kissed you, you’re mad because you liked it.” Kendra said what she had suspected all along. “You apparently liked it a lot, you’ve got the goofiest grin on your face.”

“Well I’m mad at him for making me like it.” Anya said stubbornly. “Now what am I supposed to do?”

“Anya, it was one kiss, I seriously doubt it is going to ruin years of friendship.”

“No, what am I supposed to do about wanting more?” Anya asked and Kendra didn’t have an immediate reply for that.


*

“So you go there to tell her your news and you end up asking her to marry you?” Lucas stared at his brother in disbelief. Although the two were identical twins it was extremely easy to tell the two a part. Lucas kept his hair much shorter and his body was covered in tattoos for starters.

“Yes, but the marriage proposal was just to embarrass her.” Adrian explained again, for the third time.

“Right, okay.” Lucas’ face showed his confusion. “Then you kissed her?”

“Lucas, you’re my brother, I love you, but please try to keep up with me. She kissed me.” Adrian corrected. “That little detail is extremely important. I simply made things more interesting.”

“Fine, whatever.” Lucas nodded. “So she’s pissed.”

“Wouldn’t even look at me on the way home.” Adrian sighed and got up off of the couch. “I’m not sure what exactly she’s mad about either.”

“You potentially ruined your friendship with her, maybe that’s what she’s mad about.” Lucas suggested pointedly. “Were you thinking at all?”

“It was just a kiss Lucas.” Adrian threw his hands up in frustration.

“If it had just been a kiss Adrian, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“But it-“

“You’re forgetting who you’re talking to. I know you.” Lucas reminded him.

“You sound like Anya now. You know, I never did get to tell her my news.” Adrian trailed off.

“I sound like Anya? See, think about that for a second. I’m your fucking twin, obviously I know everything about you. As does Anya! You’re not usually so dense.” Lucas said getting frustrated with the blank expression on his brother’s face.

“You two are so obviously in love with each other. Jesus Christ, get a fucking clue.” Carter suddenly appeared out of his bedroom, startling the brothers. “These walls are thin you know….This is how I see things: you both want more out of the friendship. She’s mad because she just realized it and it scares her. You’re mad because you’ve kind of known that for a while and it scares you to think that she might not want the same thing. Jesus fucking Christ, get a clue.” Carter closed his door behind him. “And be quiet! I’m taking my evening nap.”

“Um…” Adrian stared at the closed door.

“What he said.” Lucas said slipping off the couch. “He was a psych major after all.”