Tré Calling, chapter 7

I twirled my finger anxiously around my telephone chord and bit my lip. Maybe I had gone too far. Tré wasn't picking up his phone. In fact, it was probably on purpose. I had been a real bitch, after all.

I gave a sigh and put down the phone. Biting my lip to the point that it drew blood.

"Damnit," I cursed under my breath, pulling a tissue out of my pocket and dabbing gently at the salty blood.

Licking my lips to removes the last of the stains, I picked up the phone and dialled a different number. Matt's. He would cheer me up, I was sure.

"Hey, Matt? It's Maria. Wanna go get a coffee or something? I need... cheering up."
"Sure, I'm bored as hell. See you at the regular meeting place in... half an hour?"
I sniffed. "Mmmhmm," I replied, before placing the phone down gently.

I grabbed my bag and made my way out of the door. Although it was only a ten minute bus ride from my apartment, I felt I needed the fresh air. But of course, who should I bump into but Tré Cool himself?

I knew I couldn't be late to meet Matt, but I had to apologise. I walked up to Tré. I couldn't be certain if he had seen me or not, because he had dark sunglasses on. I grabbed his hand and pulled his ear close to my mouth. I whispered a quick; "Call me," before dashing back into the hubbub of the crowd and making my way towards my favourite coffee shop.

***
Matt sighed and I swirled my coffee around.

I had spent the last twenty minutes or so explaining my Tré situation to him, and I could see he was getting impatient. But still I insisted on going round in circles. Maybe I though that repeating it would help solve it.

Matt held up a hand to silence me. "So, you told him you don't want a relationship and did nothing but turn away and now you feel bad?"

Okay, so hadn't even told Matt the whole story. But that was basically it.

I nodded and took another tiny sip of my now cold coffee.

Matt sighed again. "And now you realise what you've done, don't you?"
"What?" I mouthed.
"Now you asked him to call you, you can't call him, because you'll seem desperate. And he won't necessarily call you, so you're going to be hanging around your phone all day for ages. Checking every... ooh... five minutes or so, just to see if there's an update."
"Matt, don't get me wrong, I mean I love the fact you're a know-it-all about relationships, but cut me some slack here will you?"
Matt snorted. "Why should I cut you any slack?"
"I only just moved into my apartment... I'm still getting used to it."
"Maria, you only moved about 3 roads south. Don't be stupid. Why did you move so suddenly anyway?"

I bit my lip. I had managed to avoid this topic so far. "Um... well, I just felt like a change. It was a spur of the moment thing."
"Right," Matt replied, satisfied. "So anyway, I think you like this guy. What was his name again?"
"It's Tré. And I don't like him in that way."
"Then why do you care if he calls or not?"

I opened my mouth to snap at Matt, but couldn't find a suitable witty comeback. Matt grinned at me, knowing he was victorious.

"I'm just... not looking for a relationship right now, that's all," I replied feebly.
"Right. Is this because of... ?"
"Yes."

Matt nodded seriously, and then checked his watch.
"Oh crap! Sorry Maria, I'm gonna have to leave you out on a limb here, I've got to go."

Matt gave me a hug as I protested weakly to his departure. He then dashed off, out of the coffee shop leaving me to sit on my own and consider my situation. Just then, I heard my phone ringing and I scrambled to pick it up.

I smiled, looking at the caller ID. It was Tré. I pressed the cold surface to my ear and spoke down the phone.

"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Tré."
"Yeah, I figured," I replied, grinning.
"Peekabo."
"What?"

Someone put their hands over my eyes and whispered "Surprise," in my ear. I smiled and turned around, gesturing for Tré to sit down next to me.

We both started to talk at once, and then giggled. Tré signaled for me to start.

"I wanted to apologise, Tré. I'm sorry I was so moody. I really am, and I want to just forget about it and ignore it and start over."
"That was short and sweet Maria. Okay, my turn," Tré said, taking my coffee cup out of my hands. "Um... I'm sorry I tried to make you have a relationship with me and I'm sorry I tried to seduce you. And I admire your strength. Not many females can withstand the boyish charm of Tré Cool."

Tré finished his perfect little speech with a sip of my coffee, but he soon afterwards wrinkled his nose up in disgust at the temperature.

"Where are we, the North Pole? Your coffee's freezing!"

I grinned and hugged him across the table. "Thanks," I said, shortly and simply.

"But something's bothering me, Maria."
I looked up suddenly; "What?"
"What was the mood about? I mean surely, I didn't piss you off that much, did I?"
"No... it's just some... issues I'm working through. I'm sorry you had to be on the receiving end of my problems."

Tré looked at me for a while before simply stating; "A problem shared is a problem halved."

When I remained silent, Tré leant forward and placed his hand on mine.

"Help me understand."

I could feel tears welling up again. I stared into Tré's eyes, searching for any hint of sarcasm or humour, but I could only find an honest wish to comprehend and help me.

I was going to confide in someone who was practically a stranger. But there was something about Tré that just made me want to talk to him.

"Okay," I said, with a sigh. "But... not here. Let's go back to my place. I'm going to tell you something I haven't told even my closest friends."