Take a Chance on Me

Seventeen

Gabby and I wake up before the sun rises for an early morning run before it gets too hot. Neither of us are runners, nor are we very athletic when it comes to any sort of sport or workout, but we promised ourselves to follow through with our New Years resolution this year: get fit. Yes, this is our first time running together and it's already August, but better late than never, right?

Well at least I don't think we have ran at all this year. I confirm this idea by the way I begin to cramp up after only five minutes. Before this whole twist in time we never ran and I'm guessing that in this alternate time zone we didn't either. But starting today, I'm going to put in a real effort to keep it up. A guy always wants a girl with a fit body and this might be the difference between keeping and losing Alex this time around.

"So what's the plan this weekend? Movie night?" Gabby asks as she tries to catch her breath.

I'm pressing on my side trying to get rid of my side cramp. "Actually, I do have something set up for us." Gabby's eyes go wide and her face starts to fall. "Please don't be mad at me!"

Gabby rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. "What is it this time?"

"I sort of told Alex that I would bring you with me for..." I brace myself before finishing my thought.

"Bring me to what, Leah?"

I take in a deep breath before blurting it out. "A double date. I told him that you would go on a double date with one of his friends."

"Leah! I don't want to go! You haven't learned your lesson from the last time we did this?"

She has a point. The last time we went on a double date it was a complete nightmare. I got along just fine with my date, but her date was a different story. Gabby is an intellectual, keen on deep, educational conversation. Let's just say that her date couldn't keep up. He probably didn't know that 2+2=4. He was too busy checking himself out in his silverware.

"Please Gabby! I promise it will be different this time. You already know the guy. He's a ton of fun! Plus, you might end up actually liking him."

A lightbulb goes off in her head. "Chase? You're pairing me up with Chase? I don't think he's my type."

I give her my best puppy dog eyes, begging her to do this one favor for me.

"Fine. I'll go, but only because I know how much this means to you and Chase is actually a nice guy. But you owe me one!"

"You can hold me to it, I promise. Now let's get this run out of the way before the city wakes up and our embarrassing 'running' is put on display for the whole world to see." I grab Gabby's arm and we jog down the path.

-

"There they are." I point through the glass window to Chase and Alex sitting at a table overlooking the water.

Gabby runs her fingers through her big, curly hair. "How do I look?"

She looks incredible as usual, her cobalt blue top and gold jewelry make her dark skin come alive. "I thought you didn't care about this date? And that Chase isn't your type?"

"Oh I don't care about this date. And Chase isn't my type, but I always want to look good. Duh." She flips her hair and opens the door for us. I wish I had her confidence.

Alex looks up from the table and our eyes meet. I get his instant smile that always seems to cause butterflies. I don't think I'll ever get used to the way he makes me feel when he looks at me.

"Leah," he says, standing from his chair and kissing me on the cheek.

Chase approaches Gabby, giving her a hug and then pulls out her chair for her.