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Viv and Ray smoothed things out, but it was like they always did. Ray used the excuse that they both had too much to drink and he was just insecure. He also pushed that insecurity onto her, saying if Viv had spent more time with him, he wouldn’t have drank as much and felt so insecure. That blame was extended to their coworkers, who apparently had teased him about Viv’s attention to her dance friends and, more specifically, Georgie. It was a losing battle and Viv knew he wouldn’t see it from her side. There was a moment, when Ray was pushing all of the blame off of himself in a poor excuse of an apology, that she considered breaking it off. But then she remembered how George was pursuing Hayley now, and she would take being with Ray over being alone.
When they came back to the apartment, Georgie was gone, and had left a little note explaining that she had gone out and would be out late. Viv figured that she had decided to take Hayley out on a date, and she was thankful at least that she patched things up with Ray because her chances with Georgie were over before she could really process her thoughts that she’d been pushing down for so long. Viv decided in that moment to push those feelings away again, and focus on her boyfriend instead of her roommate.
There was an awkwardness in the air whenever Viv and Georgie were alone for the next week or so, and Viv couldn’t tell if she was alone in that feeling or if Georgie felt it too. Viv wanted their friendship to be normal again, especially with Georgie’s fathers coming in, but Viv couldn’t shake the odd feeling. She pictured Hayley anytime she and Georgie were alone. She tried not to ask about the other girl, but she also wanted to be a good friend to Georgie and support her. Ray had spent more time at the apartment the few days following the party, but dwindled back into their usual routine quickly. Viv threw herself into her dance practice and shifts at the restaurant, giving her little time for Ray or Georgie and reducing the confusing feelings she was bombarded with.
Then came the day Georgie’s fathers were coming. Viv felt surprisingly nervous to meet them, mainly because Viv had told them about her and she wanted to meet what were surely high expectations. She made sure Ray was busy for the day, as she didn’t want him making Georgie’s fathers feel uncomfortable in any way. She still remembered when her own parents met Ray, and she didn’t want a repeat of that; him not being a girl was better for them, but he was his normal abrasive self and the meeting was shortly before they both left for New York. Viv had prepared a meal for them, surely they were hungry after the long trip, but now that it was done, all she had to do was wait and that left her open to a thousand thoughts and mindless pacing.