Chapter Twelve of Strike Three, You're Mine

Amberlyn
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“Decisions, decisions…” I scrolled through movie selections, trying to find something we both loved but that we hadn’t seen too many times or in the past few months.
Jonnie responded with a satisfied moan as she slid another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.
Footsteps in the living room upstairs gave way to a rhythmic thumping as Skyler bounded down the stairs to Jonnie’s basement rec room that also doubled as her bedroom.
Great. Here goes nothing.
“Hey babe, how ya feeling?” Skyler stopped short and that awkward moment happened when he realized I was in the room. I reached for my ice cream and shoved a spoonful in my mouth forcing myself not to answer him.
He wasn’t calling me ‘babe’ anymore. Jonnie was his new girlfriend. He cleared his throat and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
“Got an extra spoon?” He flopped onto the sofa in his usual spot, right in the center. Right between his two favorite girls. Again, I fought the response to hand him mine and offer to share.
As if realizing the position he was now in, Skyler hoisted himself back off the sofa and bounded up the stairs. Only one drawer in the kitchen opened and closed. He knew exactly where to find the silverware.
We’d been here together in this rec room watching movies, and football games, and sit coms and goofing off for longer than I could remember. Freshman year hadn’t been that many years ago and yet I couldn’t think of a happy memory that didn’t somehow involve one or both of these guys. I took a deep breath and grabbed the remote again, scrolling through movie choices.
Skyler bounded back down the stairs again and reached his spoon into Jonnie’s bowl of ice cream. I gulped, set my own bowl on the coffee table, suddenly no longer hungry, and kept scrolling.
“What da ya guys wanna watch?” I asked playfully. “Sweet Home Alabama? Sleepless in Seattle?”
“Ehh, what else is there?” Jonnie asked.
“Ooh, here’s one!” I couldn’t believe I was about to do this, but I said it with a straight face and everything. “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days.”
They both stared at me and Skyler’s jaw actually dropped. How cliché. This was going to be fun. I raised my eyebrows.
“No?” I turned back to the scrolling list. “How about My Best Friend’s Wedding?”
Still no answer from either of them.
“Clueless? Ooh, I love that movie. I can totally relate. How about Reality Bites. I love Winona Ryder.”
“What are you doing, Amberlyn?” Skyler mumbled.
“Here we go, the perfect movie for the three of us.” I softened my tone. “Keeping the Faith. It’s about a girl and her two best friends, who she loves enough to want them both to be happy.”
“You’re right,” Jonnie said. “That does sound like the perfect movie for the three of us to watch.” They both seemed to relax.
I selected the movie and settled back into the sofa, propping my feet up and setting aside the remote.
“You gonna eat the rest of this?” Skyler reached for my bowl of ice cream that was melting on the table near where my feet were resting. I used my toe to shove it toward him and gave him a half smile. “Thanks.”
He removed my spoon and set it aside then settled in next to Jonnie, leaning his shoulder against hers, and used his own spoon to shovel in a huge bite of ice cream.
“Oh, I remember this one,” Skyler said around a mouthful. “A priest and a rabbi both fall for the same girl and neither of them is supposed to like her, ya know, cause a priest can’t get married and stuff.”
“That’s the one.” The three of us fell into a comfortable silence as we watched a movie together, just like old times. Almost.
I wondered what Aiden was doing right then…

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