My Butterfly

above-mentioned girl sees that you’re a toolbag because you’re still in love with your ex-girlfriend. Then, I look like a saint—next to you, of course. Ergo, I win. You win. We both win.”
    “Wait,” I said. “Julia’s coming?”
    I sat up and watched him walk back into the kitchen.
    “Yeah, she’s coming,” he said, opening the refrigerator door again.
    “How do you know that?” I asked.
    My questions for Jeff, nine out of ten times, were laced with suspicion. I could never tell if he actually knew what he was talking about or if he was just flapping his jaw.
    “What?” he asked.
    “How do you know Julia’s coming?” I asked again.
    He popped his head up from behind the refrigerator door.
    “Oh, I think Rachel mentioned it last week or something,” he said and then buried his head back into the refrigerator again.
    I sat back in the chair.
    “You never ended up calling her, right?” he asked.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Julia,” he said. “You never called her? She hasn’t called you? You guys are still broken up?”
    I half came out of my trance and nodded my head.
    “Yeah, I…,” I stuttered. “What if I call her, and she says the same thing? I don’t know if I could hear that again. And I still don’t know what I could say to change her mind. I don’t know. She sounded sad, but she wants…”
    I looked up and found Jeff giving me a blank stare.
    “She’ll call,” I said, giving up and turning back toward the television’s screen.
    “Yeah,” he said. “She’ll call after you show up to the party with Jessica.”
    I shook my head and started flipping through the stations. I assumed Jessica was the name of the girl he couldn’t stop talking about.
    “I’m not doing it, Jeff,” I said.
    I watched from out of the corner of my eye Jeff sprawl his skinny, lanky body across the couch.
    “So, Julia is going to be there,” I mumbled to myself.
    Jeff ignored me, but I expected him to. I methodically flipped through the channels looking for a game, knowing full well that the only place my mind could possibly be was on Jules and on how much I missed her.

Chapter Fifteen
    The Girl
     
     
    “H i,” I heard a soft voice come from behind me.
    I turned to see a brunette with a wide smile staring back at me.
    “Hi,” I said, slowly reaching down to pick up another ball.
    “I’m Jessica,” she said, extending her hand before I could reach the ball.
    I stood up straight and met her hand with mine.
    “Will,” I said and smiled.
    She stepped back, and I went back to the bucket of golf balls. Then, I set one of the balls onto the tee, positioned my feet and shoulders, cocked back my driver and swung.
    “Not bad,” she said.
    I turned to see the girl still behind me.
    “Thanks,” I said, looking back at her with a modest smile.
    “I think I’m friends with your friend, Jeff,” she said then. “He’s in one of my classes.”
    I took a second look at her. Jeff. Of course. This was the brunette who worked at the golf course that he had been blabbering about. Despite Jeff’s endless chatter, I had never called her.
    “Oh, yeah?” I asked, acting as if Jeff hadn’t told me everything about her already. “Jeff’s a good guy.”
    I turned back around and grabbed another ball.
    “Do you need any more balls?” she asked.
    I looked at my bucket, filled to the brim with little, white balls. Then, I glanced back at her and smiled.
    “No, this should do it,” I said.
    She didn’t say anything as I set another ball onto the tee, repositioned my feet and shoulders again, arched my driver back and then swung hard.
    “Okay, well, if you need anything, just let me know,” she said.
    I turned back toward her and caught her grinning with that same, wide smile back at me.
    “Thanks,” I said.
    Then, I smiled, picked up another ball and set it onto the tee.
    ...
    “Hey, I think I saw that girl who you were talking about the other day—your friend that works at the golf course,” I said when Jeff reached the steps of the porch.
    “Yeah?” he asked. “Isn’t she cute? You ask her to the party?”
    “Whoa, slow down,” I said. “I said I saw her. I didn’t say I asked her to marry me.”
    “Wait, you didn’t ask her out?” he asked.
    He waited a minute as he stared me down with his goofy expression that I was pretty sure meant he was displeased with me. I laughed inside my head.
    “Man, come on,” he said, letting his head fall back. “Just get it over with. If