Chapter Text
Weeks had passed since Gregory and Maurice had exchanged words in the parking lot, and Gregory was honestly thankful that his friend had called him out on his shit. It had been difficult to hear, that he wasn’t treating either of these women in his life right, but it was necessary. And so, Gregory chose to take Maurice’s words to heart and take action. It was time to stop playing games and commit to one woman. And that was why Gregory decided he was all-in on Amber.
It was true, his original intentions were to break up with Amber shortly after Christmas break, but that was before he knew Janine was going out with Maurice. And so far, things with Janine and Maurice seemed to be going well. Janine was constantly talking about their latest date in the teacher’s lounge, or else something funny or sweet Maurice had said or done recently. Consequently, Gregory was taking more and more time away from the teacher’s lounge, needing to use the bathroom or suddenly run an errand when these topics came up. Everyone else seemed to love hearing about the two love birds, so he was sure that they barely noticed when he dismissed himself.
In an attempt to be a good friend in return, Gregory let Maurice know about his change in heart. Gregory told him that anything he was feeling towards Janine he was ready to leave in the past, as his present and future were focused on Amber. That way Maurice was free to pursue Janine without hesitation.
And Maurice believed him. Gregory even believed himself.
But Gregory did not expect his friend to bring up Janine in conversation like she was just a random girl he happened to be dating, and not the subject of Gregory’s heart for more than a year. Yo, she got me smilin today , Maurice would text Gregory out of the blue. Or even worse, he’d say things to his face like, “She was wearin’ this blue sweater the other day and I’m still thinkin about it, if you know what I’m sayin’.” It was becoming harder and harder for Gregory to come up with new excuses to dismiss himself from these conversations.
And Gregory was really, truly trying to act upon his convictions. He started instigating more dates with Amber - just casual, low-budget but intimate dates like movie nights at his apartment or cooking together at her place. But every time, just as he would start to think that he was at peace with his decision, a voice would pop into his head - what would this be like with Janine? Would she laugh at this movie? Would she like this food? What would it be like if it were her head resting against his shoulders, and not Amber’s? It was torture, but Gregory knew he had to fight through these thoughts. The more he focused on Amber, the less Janine would pop into his head.
However, one winter day as Maurice and Gregory were watching football at Gregory’s place, Maurice threw a curve ball into Gregory’s plan.
“You know what I’ve been thinkin?” Maurice said, straightening up and turning towards Gregory as the refs on TV reviewed a play.
“What’s that?” Gregory asked, taking a bite of a baby carrot. Maurice had a smile forming on his face. Gregory started practicing how he would excuse himself to the bathroom if he brought up Janine.
“It’s crazy that I’ve been splitting my time between my bro and my girl when y’all are literally friends. We should go on a double date, man!”
Not expecting those words at all, Gregory immediately started choking on the carrot that was halfway down his throat.
“Whoa, whoa, breathe!” Maurice yelled, patting on his back. “That’s what you get for eating the carrots and not the pizza. Drink some water, man.” Fortunately, the whole incident gave Gregory time to think of a proper response.
“That…sounds…great,” Gregory started slowly, hoping that whatever his face was doing could be attributed to the choking ordeal. “But I don’t think Amber will go for it. She’d feel too left out, you know, with all three of us knowing each other, and her being the odd one out. She’s big on personal attention.” Was that too much of an explanation?
“Just ask her and see what she says. She could surprise you,” Maurice shrugged. Gregory nodded but made no plans to actually ask Amber. Maybe if he never brought it up again, neither would Maurice.
And then, a half an hour later, another curve ball: a sequence of texts from Amber.
Left my good shoes at ur place
I’m nearby, can I swing by in 5 and pick them up?
Won’t stay long, I gotta nail appt and I know it’s game day wit Mo
Gregory stared at the texts. Amber wanted to come over in 5 minutes…Maurice could bring up the double date to her then, while it was still fresh on his mind. And she could say yes, and then Gregory would end up on a date with his girlfriend and the girl he couldn’t get over and his best friend who was currently dating the girl he couldn’t get over. He reviewed his options swiftly: he certainly couldn’t lie and say he was out, or tell her not to come over, as it would spark questions. She knew he was supposed to be right here, watching the game with Maurice.
Gregory shook his head. He was being ridiculous. She’d be in and out quickly, and Maurice would be too invested in the game to say anything to her. Mo and Amber had only met a few times in passing, they certainly weren’t close. And you know what? Even if he did bring it up to her, Amber probably would say no, for the exact reasons Gregory told Maurice. There was nothing to worry about. Gregory composed his reply text:
Sure come on over
When the buzzer to the apartment sounded a few minutes later, both men jumped in surprise - Gregory because he was anxious about the next few minutes to come, and Maurice because Gregory had not told him to expect a guest.
“Who’s that?” Maurice asked as Gregory buzzed her up.
“Oh, uh, Amber needed to drop by super quick to pick something up and then leave very quickly afterwards,” said Gregory. Smooth.
“Aiight, cool,” Maurice accepted, and he focused back on the game. Gregory breathed. This would be fine. He got up from his chair to assume a ready position at the door, and opened it the moment he saw Amber through the peephole.
“Oh, well hello to you too,” she said happily, giving him a peck on the lips. “Excited to see me?”
“Yeah, and just, I know you have to get going,” said Gregory.
“Hey yo, Amber!” Maurice called from the couch, which admittedly was not far from the front door.
“Hey Mo,” Amber replied, not paying him much attention as she began to look for her shoes.
“I think they’re in the bedr-” Gregory started to suggest, hoping to get her as far out of Mo’s reach as possible in the tiny apartment. But he was too late.
“Amber, what do you think about doin’ a double date?” Maurice asked. Gregory froze. Say no , he willed. “You and Gregory, me and Janine, we should all do something fun together.” Say no.
“Me, my boyfriend, my boyfriend’s friend, and the teacher of my kid, all hangin’ out together?” Amber asked.
Say no.
“Sounds fun, let’s do it.”
—-----------------
Having done some internet research ahead of time, Gregory knew roughly what he was in for on tonight’s date from hell: 18 holes of “fun” obstacles, complete with water features and a windmill. For a normal date that would be fine, but Gregory was acutely aware that in the past few weeks, he hadn’t even been able to listen to anecdotes about Janine and Maurice’s successful relationship. He wasn’t sure how he’d make it through witnessing the happy couple right in front of his eyes. Gregory figured he could take one sudden bathroom break during the date without drawing suspicion, so he’d have to save it for something really awful, like if they started making out. He couldn’t really imagine Janine doing that in front of everyone, but he could definitely see Maurice instigating.
When Gregory and Amber arrived, Maurice and Janine were already there. Gregory’s heart quickened as they approached them, and he wasn’t even sure what it was trying to tell him. Was he excited to see Janine? Was he anxious to see Janine and Maurice together? Was he nervous that Amber might catch on to his feelings for Janine? It was funny how his body had a better idea of what was going on than his head did. All his head could do was direct him towards the person who triggered the least reaction out of him - and that was Amber. He’d have to focus on Amber for the night.
“Hey you two!” Maurice called happily. How nice it must be to look forward to nothing but a fun night of mini-golf, thought Gregory distantly. Maurice gave Gregory a clap on the back as Janine gave Amber a friendly hug. Then Maurice switched - “Hey Amber, how you doing?” - and leaned in to give Amber a hug. And Janine was there, standing in front of Gregory.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she responded with a shy smile. They both hesitated for a second before leaning in for a hug. It’d be weird if they didn’t hug, right? But as Gregory put his hands on Janine’s back and felt her hands on his, he realized that they’d never actually hugged before. The last time he felt her hands on his body like this was when they were dancing at the hookah bar…and this hug was definitely lasting too long…
He pulled away. Janine was definitely avoiding his eyes as she pulled away too. Off to a great start, Gregory thought sarcastically. He had already forgotten how to perform a normal human greeting.
Fortunately, neither Maurice nor Amber seemed to notice the co-workers’ awkward energy.
“Alright, let’s get this date started!” Maurice cheered. “The golf is mini but the fun is maximum, am I right?” Janine laughed, gazing up at Maurice with fondness. That cheesy joke was right up her alley. Gregory looked away.
The first part of the evening was fairly uneventful. Gregory stuck to his plan of focusing on Amber, and it somewhat worked. He tried to compliment her when she had a good putt, and talk strategy on how they were going to attack difficult holes. It was like a normal date, he told himself, but Maurice and Janine just happened to be there too. He just had to avert his eyes every time Maurice put a hand on Janine’s back, or Janine touched Maurice’s shoulder. He wasn’t quite sure what to do when he heard them laughing together though - covering his ears would probably be too obvious.
Listening to them laugh made Gregory realize that he and Amber were not laughing together - and this was not a phenomenon that was unique to this date. They just didn’t really share a sense of humor, so their conversations were more serious, or one might even say, tedious and dry. Amber must have been feeling this as well, because about half way through the course, she handed her golf club over to Gregory.
“Imma sit the rest of this out. My feet are killing me,” she said, pointing to her 4-inch heels. Gregory had not thought them to be the best choice of footwear for a mini-golf date, but he had learned long ago to not comment on his girlfriends’ outfits, unless it was a compliment.
“I’ll go sit with you,” Gregory offered, starting to panic as he felt his only line of defense about to slip away.
“Nah, you keep playing. I gotta call my sister and make sure she’s got everything under control with Joel and Carolina.” She leaned up to give Gregory a kiss on the cheek and made her way back to the entrance building of the mini-golf establishment.
“Yeah man, stay with us,” Maurice pitched in after Amber had left. “You’ve been so into your girl this barely feels like a double date.”
“I hope this isn’t too awkward,” Janine spoke up, speaking seriously, directly to Gregory. He felt the heat in his face start to rise. Was she going to acknowledge the unspoken thing between them? Here, now, in front of Maurice? “Because I’m beating you by so much !” She broke into a smile and waved the scorecard in front of his face. “You know that in golf the lower score is better, right?” Relieved, Gregory felt a smile slip onto his face. He hadn’t even been paying attention to the score, but of course Janine was going to be competitive in mini-golf. Her ambition in every situation was endearing, and sometimes drove him crazy, in more ways than one.
“Oh, is that right?” he teased back. “Well now that I know that, you better watch out. I’m really going to turn this game around.”
“Ooh, it’s gettin’ intense up in here,” Maurice laughed, apparently happy to see his girlfriend and best friend getting along. Gregory felt himself relax a little more as the night progressed. He was having fun joking with Janine, and Maurice too. Maybe they were just being respectful, since he had essentially turned into their third-wheel, but they were definitely not being as touchy-feely as they were earlier in the date, which made it easier for Gregory to genuinely smile and laugh.
A few holes later, Maurice announced that he was hungry. “I saw a snack bar over on the other side. Can I get you a soft pretzel?” he asked Janine.
“Sure, thanks,” Janine smiled. Gregory averted his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that evening.
“Gregory?” Maurice queried. It took Gregory a second to realize he was asking about the snack bar.
“I’m all good, I’m gonna eat later,” Gregory replied, thinking of some leftover boiled chicken he had at home. Maurice left to retrieve the snacks, and Janine and Gregory were left alone.
“Big mistake, not getting anything to eat,” Janine fell into easy banter as she set her ball on the tee of the next hole. “You’re gonna need some sustenance if you wanna catch up to me.”
“I don’t know how much sustenance is gonna help when I’m up against someone who’s fudging her score,” Gregory shot back jovially, raising his eyebrows.
“Um, what!”
“I saw your final stroke on that last hole, you brushed the ball in with your foot when you thought it wasn’t gonna make it in. I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend, but if you’re gonna give me flack…”
“No, no, no, the ball was basically already in the hole.” They were both laughing through their faux-argument. “Okay fine, I’m a fair person so I will admit that maybe that happened. Do you want me to add a point to my score?”
“Actually, I think the formal penalty in this situation is to add an additional obstacle to your next hole,” Gregory quipped. He walked onto the green of the course, a few feet away from where Janine’s ball was teed up, and positioned his feet far apart from each other, his legs forming a triangle.
“No way,” Janine giggled. “This is not mini-golf regulation!”
“Oh, now mini-golf regulation matters?”
“You better move before I hit you with this golf ball!” When Gregory didn’t move, Janine rushed up and tried to playfully push him off the course. Gregory held his arms out for balance as her sub-5-foot form pushed into his chest with a surprising amount of force. They were both gasping for air through their laughter.
“You-you can’t move an immovable obstacle!” Gregory managed to get out between breaths. He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to gently push her back.
“I - can - if - I - believe!” Janine said, her voice muffled in his chest and her arms now wrapped completely around his center.
“Got your pretzel,” came Maurice’s voice. Janine and Gregory immediately jumped apart.
“Oh, thanks,” Janine said shyly. She was still slightly out of breath but her demeanor had changed instantly. “Sorry, we were just goofing around. I don’t know why I said ‘sorry’. Thanks for the pretzel. Lots of salt, just how I like it.”
“No worries, I gotchu…” Maurice said nothing about the interaction he had walked in on, but gave Gregory a very deliberate look, as though he was seeing something he hadn’t seen before. Gregory tried not to meet his eyes. He was once again back to wanting the date to be over as soon as possible.
Janine tried to keep the mood light through the last couple of holes, but neither of the men were matching her energy anymore. Finally, they arrived at the 18th hole. The end was in sight.
“Alright, you’d have to get a hole-in-one on this course to beat me,” Janine said to Gregory, consulting the score sheet as he teed up his last ball.
“Yeah?” Gregory responded, trying to limit his reaction to prevent any more incidental flirting.
“Yep,” Janine confirmed. “And I’m so confident that you won’t, that I’ll up the stakes. If you get a hole-in-one, I’ll admit that you’re the winner, and I’ll buy you a slice of pizza.”
Before Gregory could respond, Maurice chimed in.
“Gotta be something else babe, Gregory hates pizza.”
“What? No, we’ve gotten pizza together before,” Janine said, confused.
“For real? Gregory will never get pizza with me,” contended Maurice. They both looked pointedly at Gregory.
“Sorry Mo, had to make a good impression on my co-workers, you know,” Gregory explained weakly, trying to act as though he was interested in inspecting his putter. Against his better judgment, he looked up at Janine. She was staring straight back at him, mouth slightly open. He was afraid of how much she saw as she looked at him. They both knew that the couple of times they had gotten pizza together were only with each other, with no other co-workers present. And as he looked over at Maurice, he was afraid that Mo suspected the same.
Gregory did not get a hole-in-one. Janine forgot to brag.
As the evening ended, Gregory reflected that even though the heavy air he had felt going into this date now seemed to be dispersed to Maurice and Janine as well, the air he carried did not feel any lighter. Maurice did not initiate any hugs to say goodbye this time, so they all waved and said they had fun, and each couple went their separate ways.
Gregory had been right to predict that this date would be hellish. It was torture. It had all gone wrong.
And yet, it was also the most fun date he had ever had with Amber - but only the parts where he was with Janine. And that’s how he knew he was really in trouble.