by Erica Lee
My dad said goodbye to everyone and Ryan walked out to the car in a tired stupor, while Todd made his way up to bed. Once we were on the front porch just the two of us, Jenny turned toward me.
“So your dad is...nice,” she said hesitantly.
“You don’t have to do that, you know,” I corrected her. “You don’t have to worry about saying nice things. Like I said, I know my dad is a good guy.”
“You’re a lot like him, you know,” she said relaxing a bit. “You have his humor and his charm.”
“I just hope I don’t inherit his tendency to disappear from people’s lives,” I admitted, wondering if that’s what I did with the girls I dated. I didn’t think it was. Even though I was always the one to end things, I did try to keep in touch and I always meant it when I said I would be there if they ever needed me.
“You didn’t,” Jenny reassured me. “You’re a lot like your mom too. Plus, the combination of genetics that they gave you in the looks department is on point.”
As I laughed, we looked over toward Jenny’s car where Ryan was passed out in the front seat.
“I guess I should probably get sleeping beauty home,” she said reluctantly.
I pulled her in close before I could over think it and whispered in her ear. “Thanks for being such a good friend to me. You really do get me.”
“Hey, what are.. friends for?” She whispered back. I couldn’t help but notice that she had hesitated on the word friend, but decided not to think into it too much.
Chapter 7
The rest of my time in LA flew by, with me spending as much time as possible with my dad and Jenny when they weren’t working. My dad had also brought Monica around two more times and I had to admit that I did like her. She was carefree and down to earth and honestly seemed like a much better fit for my dad than my mom ever was. I didn’t mean that in a bad way towards my mom. She just had a much more serious approach to life and while her and I balanced each other out in that way, it just caused her and my dad to butt heads.
I couldn’t believe how fast our last night in LA came around. It was a Friday night so we had planned to use this as the night to celebrate our birthdays. I had already said goodbye to my dad earlier in the day because his work schedule was going to keep me from seeing him before we left. Around 6:00, Todd and I called a rideshare to take us to a restaurant in West Hollywood. The plan was the same as the last weekend’s - dinner and then out for drinks. I had vowed to myself that I wasn’t going to drink as much this time, but apparently Jenny had not made the same vow. By the time we met them for dinner, she already had a buzz going. I nursed one glass of wine during dinner while she quickly chugged down three.
By the time we got to the club, she was definitely drunk and I decided that was even more of a reason for me to take it easy. I wanted to make sure I could take care of her if it became necessary. Soon we were out on the dance floor and Ryan and Todd quickly got into a pattern of switching between dancing and whispering to each other and sharing steamy make out sessions.
I tried to keep my dancing with Jenny a little more pg this time around to keep myself from feeling tempted to make any moves. At some point during the night, she had draped her arms over my shoulders and was now holding me tight. I wasn’t sure if she was doing this to keep herself upright or if she just wanted feel close to me. I figured it was probably a combination of both, but either way, I wasn’t complaining.
I felt my body heating up as Jenny leaned even closer to me to whisper in my ear. “You look really pretty tonight,” she confessed. “Like ridiculously pretty. My God Rory, I think you might be the most beautiful person on this planet.”
I wanted to tell her that she was wrong, because that person was actually her. But in that moment, I couldn’t find the words. Luckily, I didn’t have to. Jenny apparently wasn’t done whispering her confessions to me.
“You don’t understand how hard it is to keep myself from kissing you right now,” she admitted.
This time I did respond. “Oh I think I understand completely.”
Before this back and forth could go any further, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Todd.
“Soooo,” he said with puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip already forming on his face. “I know this is your birthday celebration, but how would you feel about doing your oldest bestest friend a favor? I was thinking we could cut out of here early and take this party back to your dad’s place. Maybe our friends could just crash there for the night.”
“Oh ummm,” I hesitated, unsure if it was a good idea to have a sleepover with my sexy, totally off limits friend.
“I’m cool with it if you are,” Jenny chimed in, sounding strangely sober compared to just a moment ago.
I shrugged my shoulders and followed the three of them out of the bar where we called for a ride back to my dad’s house. As soon as we were at the house, Ryan and Todd gave us both a hug and then retreated to the guest room.
“Someone’s getting lucky tonight,” I said with a laugh as I poured two big glasses of water for us.
“I think Ryan really likes Todd,” Jenny said as she grabbed one of the glasses and headed toward the couch.
“Oh yeah? What makes you say that?” I asked as I took the spot next to her.
“He hasn’t stopped talking about him since you guys arrived here,” Jenny explained with a laugh.
“That’s good, because Todd hasn’t stopped talking about Ryan since I first showed him a picture and told him about his non profit.”
“Ryan is a really good guy. I’m not sure if this was just a fling or what since they live on opposite coasts, but I know that Ryan wouldn’t do anything to hurt Todd. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Jenny informed me sincerely.
“That’s good because Todd hasn’t always had it the easiest since coming out. More of his problems were in high school, but after what he’s been through, he deserves to be happy.”
A look of sadness crossed Jenny’s face as she stared down at the ground. “Yeah, I know how that is,” she said as she continued to avoid looking at me.
I figured this was one of those things that Jenny didn’t want to talk about, but felt so helpless in that moment. All I wanted was to make her feel better.
I lifted her chin so she was forced to look in my eyes. “You know you can talk to me about anything. I’ll always be here to listen.”
A small smile finally crossed Jenny’s face. “I know and I appreciate that. And I just want you to know that I’m not trying to keep secrets from you. There are just certain things that are too hard for me to talk about.” She took a deep breath before adding, “Enough sadness though. Let’s talk about something happier. What are your goals for your 25th year of life, aside from continuing to be a complete lady killer?”
I thought about the question sincerely for a minute, not having given much thought to it. “I guess I’d like to travel more, expand my business, and spend more time volunteering and giving back to charity. I’d also like to learn more about the mysterious Jenny Hanson. That is if you’ll let me. What about you?”
Jenny placed a finger over her dimple as she thought about the question. I swear every move this girl made was a form of calculated flirtation. “I’d obviously like to move up in my company if that’s at all possible and spend more time with friends and family, which would include the pretty girl sitting right in front of me.”
“Would it be completely pathetic of me to admit that I’m really going to miss you?” I asked with a sigh.
“No, because I’m going to miss you too. At least since you scored yourself a wedding invite, we’ll get to see each other again in four months.”
Four months. That seemed like an eternity when it came to Jenny, which was silly since I hadn’t even known her a year at this point.
We spent the next few hours talking about friends and family and trips that we took as kids. After awhile, I noticed that Jenny could barely keep her eyes open.
“We should get to
bed,” I announced while eyeing up the clock that now read 3:30am. “I have to head to the airport in just a few hours. You can sleep in my room. I’ll take the couch.”
I directed Jenny to my bedroom, gave her a shirt and shorts of mine to wear to bed, and tucked her in.
“You sure know how to treat a lady,” Jenny said while smiling up at me from the bed. “You know. It is a big bed and probably much more comfy than the couch. You could always join me if you wanted to.”
I saw a look of doubt cross Jenny’s face as soon as the words were out of her mouth. As excited as the idea of sharing a bed with Jenny made me, I knew that was the exact reason that I couldn’t.
“I don’t think I’ve ever joined a girl in bed and kept things completely friendly. If you were Todd, instead of a gorgeous girl who I happen to have a lot of chemistry with, this would be a different story. But you’re not. So I think I’ll stick to my plan of sleeping on the couch.”
I was awoken just a few hours later to the sound of my alarm. I stood up from my dad’s couch and knocked on both bedroom doors as a wake up call. Within an hour, Todd and I had said our goodbyes and were on our way to the airport. I noticed that Todd was quiet on most of the ride, but didn’t want to push him to talk before he was ready.
Once we we had boarded the plane, I figured I had given him enough time to wallow in self pity or self reflect or do whatever it was he was doing.
I put a hand on his knee and squeezed. “Talk to me buddy. What’s up with you and Ryan? Did you guys talk at all about what this past week meant? You were pretty much inseparable.”
For the first time since leaving, a smile came onto Todd’s face. “Rory. Ryan is perfect. He’s good looking, sweet, and so sincere. He’s also very talented in other ways, if you catch my drift.”
“Ok,” I said through a fake gag. “Moving on. Do you think you guys will keep in touch once we’re back home?”
“It’s more than that Rory. We didn’t put a label on it because it’s so early, but at this point, neither of us is interested in seeing anyone else. We’re going to see how the distance thing goes, but if we can make it through until next summer, I honestly think I might move to California.”
His words almost made me choke on my drink. “Whoa. Slow down there. Are you sure you’re not the lesbian? Aren’t gay guys supposed to hook up and move on?”
“Clearly that’s your role in this friendship,” he jabbed at me. “Seriously though Rory, when you know you know. And I really think Ryan could be special.”
I was happy to hear him say special instead of the one because this was already a bit too much for me to handle. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for him. I just worried that he was setting himself up to get hurt. I told him my concerns and he said that he appreciated it, but he was willing to risk it.
I found my mind drifting to Jenny and how the words when you know you know made me immediately think of her. But what did that mean? What did I know? That she was going to always be an important part of my life or was there something more to it? I tried to push those thoughts away. Jenny was my friend, one of the best friends I could ask for, and that’s all I needed her to be. Now I just had to figure out how to get through the next four months without seeing her. I figured I might as well enjoy myself and of course I had a few ideas on how to do that.
Chapter 8
As I boarded the plane to Miami, I reflected on the past four months and was happy about the fact that they had surprisingly flown by. I thought about my dinner with Todd the night before when he updated me on how things were going with Ryan - just perfectly he had said with a sigh - and how he had again made fun of me for my relationship with Jenny. He had pointed out that while I still had a “back to school” girlfriend (which, in his words, is a girl that I date so I can take her to local school district activities and sporting events that my company sponsors), I had skipped out on a “holiday girlfriend” this year. I argued with him that the reason I didn’t date anyone over the holidays was because I was spending time with my mom and that was the truth. I stayed with my mom back in my childhood home from Thanksgiving all the way through christmas and had left early this morning to drive to the airport.
Just a few hours later, I landed in Miami, got my luggage, and headed to the rental car area. I had told Jenny that I would rent a car so I could drive us to and from the airport and anywhere else we might want to go. Her flight was scheduled to land about a half hour after mine, so by the time I got the car and pulled it up to the pick up area, Jenny was waiting outside with her luggage. I immediately hopped out of the car and wrapped her in a big hug, taking in her scent as I held her close. As weird as it might sound, I think I missed her smell more than anything when we were apart.
“It’s so good to see you finally,” I said as we pulled apart.
Jenny took my face in her hands. “You’re telling me. FaceTime and Skype just don’t do this pretty face justice.”
She looked past me at the rental, which was a red mustang convertible, and shook her head. “Seriously? You had to get the showy car?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “When in Miami, am I right? Plus, when you are driving around a girl who is this ridiculously pretty, you need a nice car to match.”
Jenny hopped over the door into the passenger seat and ran her hand along the dashboard. “Still. I hope you didn’t pay a lot of extra for this,” she said sincerely. “I already feel guilty enough that you’re paying for the hotel room for the week.”
I climbed into the car and put my hand on top of Jenny’s, while smiling over at her. “I told you not to worry about it, ok? I know money is tight living in LA.”
“That actually reminds me. I have news to share with you,” Jenny said excitedly. “I just found out on Monday, but wanted to wait until we were together to tell you. I’m getting promoted to junior producer in January. Before you get too excited, the title sounds much more fancy than it actually is. Pretty much I get to work on movie sets and be the main producer’s bitch. But I’m getting a pay raise and it will give me more hands on experience. Plus, they asked me to start thinking about possible screenplay or documentary ideas. It’s not likely that they would actually move forward with any of my ideas at this point, but it’s still exciting!”
It was exciting and watching the way Jenny’s face lit up when she talked about it was easily one of my favorite things in the world.
I put my hand on her knee and smiled over at her. “I’m so proud of you,” I said sincerely and I truly was. This girl amazed me more and more each time we were together.
The rest of the drive was spent enjoying the warm Miami breeze and listening to music. When we arrived at the hotel, I was stunned by the view. I had stayed a lot of nice places throughout my travels, but this was probably the nicest. The beachfront hotel was not just massive, but also luxurious. It was no wonder I had dropped a lot of money for us to stay there. It was also no surprise that the guest list for the wedding was so small. I believe Jenny told me that there would be 50 people attending and at least half of them were family. We made our way to the front desk, where a very pretty concierge, who must have been just a few years older than us, checked us in.
I noticed the way her eyes lingered on both Jenny and I as she smiled at us from behind the counter. Instinctively, I put my hand on Jenny’s shoulder, although I’m not quite sure why I did.
“Alright,” she said, while clearing her throat. “It looks like we have the king suite reserved for you for six nights.”
I felt my body warming up when I heard the mention of a king size bed. That couldn’t have been what I had reserved, unless I did it out of habit.
“Umm actually,” I mumbled as I stumbled over my words, “I believe.. I think.. I actually reserved the room with two queen beds.”
I cringed as the words came out, hoping Jenny didn’t realize how overwhelmed I was at the thought of us sharing a bed.
“Oh yeah. That’s right,” the concierge corrected. “I’m very
sorry. I read that wrong.” She stared at my hand for a split second then added, “We do have an upgrade available for a king suite if you’d like it. No extra charge.”
“Oh um.. no thank you. Two beds are good for us. Just friends and all, so space is good.” What was up with this rambling? It was ridiculous how much of a mess I became around Jenny.
The rest of the check in process thankfully went by quickly, without me sticking my foot in my mouth anymore than I already had. When Jenny left to get a luggage cart, the concierge whose name I now learned was Vanessa, leaned in close to me.
“I’m really sorry about early,” Vanessa confessed. “I didn’t mean to assume that you guys are gay. I swear sometimes my gaydar runs wild. You know, wishful thinking and all.”
I smiled back at her, thinking how cute she looked now that she was the one who was flustered.
“You have nothing to worry about,” I said with a wink. “Your gaydar was not wrong. We are both very gay. We are also very much just friends.”
Vanessa’s face lit up at these words. “Well, in that case,” she said as she pulled out a business card and scribbled what I had to assume was her cell phone number on the back. “Feel free to get ahold of me if you want a personal tour of Miami or, you know, if you’d just like to get a drink sometime.”
“Thanks Vanessa,” I said while maintaining drawn out eye contact. “I just might take you up on that offer.”
I started to walk away, then something inside told me to turn back around. I’m not sure which part of me that was, but I can definitely tell you which part it wasn’t.
“Actually, I have to be honest. I’m probably not going to call. I just wanted to tell you that now because I don’t want you to think it has anything to do with you. You’re beautiful and I would have to assume that we would have an amazing time together, but the thing is, I’m here with someone else. And while we truly are just friends, I still plan on devoting all of my time to her this week. But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go ahead and keep your number and if I happen to be in Miami again sometime, I’ll be sure to get ahold of you.”