“So, what’d you think of the movie?” Calvin asks as they walked out of the theater.
“It was good. Definitely different from the original,” Amanda told him.
“Would you like to go and grab something to eat?”
Amanda smiled and said, “I promised Tabitha I would meet up with her for some dessert. Maybe another time?” she asked with a bit of hope.
Calvin smiled and nodded. “I’ll text you tomorrow.”
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
Amanda blushed, but it was nothing like the kiss Hudson had left on her forehead last night.
“Bye.”
Calvin waved, turned, and walked away.
“I thought he was never going to leave,” Tabitha said as she jumped out from where she was hiding.
Amanda jumped and then laughed when she saw Tabitha.
Tabitha linked her arm with her friend’s as they made their way to the diner.
“Sooooo, how was the movie?” Tabitha asked.
Amanda sucked in a deep breath before answering. “It was nice.”
Tabitha stopped and stared at her friend. “Nice?”
Amanda nodded.
“Explain,” Tabitha asked as she pulled her friend to continue their way to the diner. She was hungry and also dealing with her own troubles and needed a sweet fix.
“I don’t know to explain this without it sounding weird.”
How was she going to tell her friend that she gets tingles or flutters whenever she is close to her old bully and feels nothing for this guy? It was just crazy.
“Just spit it out. I promise I won’t say anything.”
They got to the diner, and Tabitha opened the door, allowing Amanda to walk in first and her to follow. Tabitha became guarded as she took in her surroundings but continued to follow Amanda to the booth that she picked out for them to sit in. Tabitha looked around the diner, and once she was sure that everything seemed normal, she relax into her seat. She looked at Amanda and waited. Amanda didn’t start to talk. Tabitha put her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands as she stared at her friend, willing her to talk.
Amanda sighed and finally started.
“Have you ever felt a shiver or flutter whenever someone was around you?”
Tabitha thought for a moment, and it brought her back to earlier the electric pull that she felt sitting next to Marco.
“Yeah, I think so.”
Amanda took in another breath and then started, “Well, in high school, I would get a shiver whenever someone was close by, and I just assumed it was my instinct to be on alert. It usually happened when Hudson was close by, although now it’s more like a flutter whenever he’s near, and I’ve never had a flutter before, and it feels…” Amanda smiled.
“Good,” Tabitha finished her sentence.
“Yeah, but tonight with Calvin, I didn’t feel anything.”
Tabitha nodded in understanding.
“Calvin is nice, and I want to give him a chance, but I want to feel that flutter.”
“And the only person that has given you that flutter is Hudson.”
“Yes.”
Amanda was relieved when the waitress came up to their table.
“What can I get for y’all?
Tabitha started.
“Can I get a banana split with extra hot fudge?”
“Sure can. What about you, sugar?” she said to Amanda.
“Can I get a brownie hot fudge sundae?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, water would be great,” Tabitha answered.
“I’ll get those started right up for you.” She smiled and walked away.
Tabitha looked at her friend and roommate. She could tell that Amanda was conflicted. In a short amount of time, she had to get over her past and become a new person in the world. A person that would not allow others to bully her or make her feel less of a person. She liked Amanda; she was sweet and easy to talk to. She still didn’t understand why the guys treated her the way they did.
Tabitha let out a heavy sigh.
Amanda looked at Tabitha and smiled.
“You’re having boy problems too, aren’t you?”
Tabitha dropped her elbows off the tables and sat up more. “I don’t know what you talking about.”
“No, don’t play coy with me. You’re not usually this quiet.”
Tabitha tried to play it off. “I was thinking about how you look conflicted, torn between the past and the present. Not sure what to trust when going off of your instincts. Hudson had done some bad things in the past to you, but from what you’ve told me, it seems like he’s trying for his past mistakes.” Tabitha shrugged and continued, “Sometimes, you have to let the past stay in the past. You can’t change it. But you can learn from it and make a different decision than you did. Which I have seen you do. Amanda, at some point, you are going to have to make a choice. Do you hold on to the anger of the past and let it determine your self-worth, or do you let the anger go and be the person you truly want to be?”
“But what if I make the wrong choice?” Amanda asked. Her voice was just barely above a whisper with tears that burned her eyes.
The waitress came and dropped off their order, placing extra napkins at the end of the table.
“Enjoy,” the waitress said before turning and walking away.
Tabitha lifted up her spoon and dug into the banana split but paused before putting it into her mouth and said, “Then I will be there to help you pick up the pieces and put you back together.” She brought her spoon up as if it was a toast, and Amanda laughed but followed after, both enjoying the tasty treat that was in front of them.
After taking a few bites Amanda put her spoon down and said, “Thank you. I haven’t had someone to truly confide in a long time. I hope you know that I would do the same thing for you if you needed me.”
Tabitha nodded. “I know, and that is what makes you a true friend.”
“So as your true friend, care to tell me what boy has your feelings all bunched up in a knot?”
Tabitha tilted her head back. It wasn’t as easy to explain. How could she explain to Amanda the mate bond that happens to a shifter when they find their mate? To be honest, in a sense what Amanda talked about with the shivers and the flutters was kind of what you felt when your mate was close. As Tabitha took in a deep breath, she had her wolf sense for other wolves, but she didn’t find anything coming from Amanda.
“So, there is this guy from my hometown that I’ve known for a long time but never really gave him much thought before, but I saw him tonight, and I don’t know. Something just kind of changed, and I don’t know how to act on it.”
“Did you feel flutters?”
Before Tabitha could answer that question, the girls heard the bell on the door chime. Amanda shivered as Tabitha watched her. Tabitha could sense both of the guys but played dumb.
“Did you just?”
Amanda nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
“So that means?”
“Yep.”
“Oh boy.”
“Are these seats taken, ladies?” they heard from a husky voice above them.