by Melody Dawn
She looks at me strangely and says, “Well yeah, it was right there and it smelled good and it made me feel closer to you by wearing it.”
The words sound great and my heart definitely likes it, but my brain is telling me that this needs to end.
At that thought, I feel sick and evidently it shows because she asks, “Are you one of those people that can’t eat right away in the morning? You look pale all of a sudden. I can turn the food off; I just thought you might be hungry.”
The more she talks, the worse I feel. It seems like she is trying, so why am I acting like a jackass?
Without looking directly at her, I tell her I am going to call Connor to bring my stuff that I need for school because I have a class project that I forgot about.
I think I worded that pretty well until she says with a really sarcastic tone, “What project would that be or is that a code word to your brother that you need to escape the premises?”I have never had a good poker face and I know what I’m feeling is apparent for her to see.
Turning around, she dumps pancakes, bacon, and fruit in the sink along with plates, glasses, and silverware. She walks by me and I swear I can feel an arctic blast pointed my way.
When she gets to the doorway of the kitchen, she has one last thing to say, “I’ll go wait in my room so you don’t have to feel uncomfortable about your ‘project’. But, just a hint for you Jayson Reece, when you next tell a girl you love her in the middle of the night, either make sure you’re gone the next morning before she gets up or man up and back up the words. Newsflash, genius, you don't ever say ‘I love you’ to a girl unless you are deathly serious.”
A pained look crosses her face and I see tears welling up in her eyes. “I can’t believe how wrong I was about you. You’re a fucking jerk of the worst kind; you play with girls’ hearts, and then when they finally drop their defenses, you make a break for it. I had my first fucking orgasm with you and now you’ve tainted it! I can’t believe I slept in my bed with you. I’m going to my room. You better get the hell out of here because I don’t want to ever see your goddamned face again. “
Now she’s crying so hard that I’m worried she is going to vomit or hyperventilate. I begin to try to explain why I was so shut down, but there is no getting through to her. I can’t believe what I’ve done. But, still this voice whispers in my mind that she never told me how she felt. Why should I be the one laying out my every emotion and I get nothing in return and now I’m the bad guy?
She quickly walks away from me and I have to almost yell over the crying. “I told you I loved you and you didn’t say anything back; you still haven’t told me how you felt. Obviously, you can communicate your feelings because you’ve had no problem telling me how terrible I am.” She turns towards me and the look on her face is nothing short of pure venom.
Walking towards me, I want to step back, but I hold my ground. She is either going to break through this repressive hold she has on her emotions, well some of them anyway, or I’m about to get slapped across the face. I’m betting on the face slap, but I don’t move as she gets up next to me.
“Lean down here so I can see your eyes, Jayson Matthew Reece.” I bend down towards her and she grabs my face. Looking at me with a tearstained face, she says, “I love you, you prick! Are you happy now? I was going to tell you over the damn breakfast that I slaved over, but you ruined it! Do you know how hard it was for me to get up the courage to say those words? You got to say them in the dark; I was going to do it in the light of day where I could see exactly what you were thinking! I want you to leave….”
I’m fucking ecstatic over the fact that she loves me and yes I do feel like a prick for putting her through this. I only know of one way to shut her up, but I can’t do it because I haven't brushed my teeth yet! Can this day suck anymore?
“I have to go to the restroom...I'll be right back” She looks so puzzled I almost laugh, but I’m not suicidal so I keep a straight face. I walk past her into the bathroom, get my toothbrush, use it, and then get back out there before my future walks away from me.
She is still standing in the same position she was in so I walk up to her and pull her to me. She is super tense and says, “I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work!” I ignore that and start kissing her neck, which I know is a hot zone.
She is trying not to relax into me, but I keep it up until she says, “Just kiss me now before I change my mind!”
I push her up against the wall and pick her up so all of our good parts are lined up. In between kisses, I apologize and say I got scared because she didn’t respond to me the night before. I tell her I know things are going at warp speed for us and I let my stupid man brain tell me that my heart was going to be broken. And even though the kissing is good, Chloe’s crying, and I’m begging her to stop. To make this craptastic day all the more better, the door opens and Madison is home.
She takes one look at the two of us and a tornado lets loose. She can’t be too much over 5 foot tall and yet I'm a little bit afraid of her right now.
Immediately, the screaming starts. “What the hell is going on here? Why is she crying? Why do you look guilty? I told you that if you hurt her I would donate your body to science for experiments while you’re still alive!!”
Jesus, I have never seen anyone go insane like this before! Madison is standing there with her hands on her hips, a red face, and a death ray glare that I’m hoping she doesn’t aim at my crotch since I would like to have children one day.
Chloe starts trying to explain, but I stop her. I’m the one that caused this shit show so I need to be the one to end it. I figure the best tactic with Maddie is honesty. I explained to her that I told Chloe I loved her and she didn’t say it back yet or indicate to me how she felt and I freaked out this morning. We had a small misunderstanding and we were making up when she walked in. I can hear Chloe trying not to laugh because I’m still getting the death ray glare, but the hands on the hips have dropped and the red face is now pink.
She looks at Chloe and asks, “Is that what happened?”
Chloe says for the most part, yes, and I give her a very dirty look. She giggles and says I definitely need to stick to a career in medicine and not one in law where you have to lie diplomatically. I roll my eyes at her, but I’m glad the storm has mostly abated.
The next thing I know Connor is walking through the door holding Madison’s purse.
Before he sees us standing there, he says, “Hey babe, you forgot your purse in my truck. I thought you might need it today.”
Madison makes a noise that sounds like a dying seal and all of us are just staring at Connor. He looks sick to his stomach and I really want to laugh. Staying at her grandmother’s…what bullshit!
Chloe looks at the two of them and asks, “How long has this been going on?”
She gets a “Don’t worry about my business and learn how to say I love you when someone tells you!” from Madison. Then stomping off to her room, she turns and glares at Connor, and asks, “Well, are you coming or not?” He gets a big grin on his face and says, “Always, babe, always!” then follows her leaving us alone.
I can’t say that I saw this day shaping up to be like it has. Chloe still doesn’t look like she has completely forgiven me. And since she’s so shocked about Madison; I know that’s the only reason I am getting a reprieve. I knock on Maddie’s door and Connor answers; a fact of which I am very glad. I tell him that I need for me and Chloe to be alone because we have some talking to do and we don’t need an audience. So, he says for us to go to our house and he will stay away until I tell him it’s ok to come home. He asks what about school and I can’t believe I’m telling him that I’m going to skip, although I do have to work tonight at the hospital. Giving me a fist bump, he says “See you” and when I try to ask about Madison, he shakes his head no and says, “Later.”
After leaving Madison’s room, I go looking for Chloe, I find her in the bathroom putting on makeup and it looks like she is gett
ing ready for school. I walk up behind her and put my arms around her and rest my head on top of hers. She tries not to look at me in the mirror, but when she finally does, I ask her to come to my house so we can talk.
Sighing, she says, “I don’t know, Jayson, I’ve missed school because of you already. And I don’t know that I want to talk to you right now.”
Giving her the face that my mom says gets Connor and I anything we ask for, she starts to cave. I tell her to bring her swimsuit and a change of clothes. She huffs out of the bathroom but at least I didn’t get a no from her. I wait in the living room until she comes in with a bag as well as her laptop and schoolbooks. She hands them all to me, which is quite a load, and slams out the apartment door. It looks like I am still in the doghouse, but I’m hoping that after a swim, some good food, and talking about what happened, we will get back to normal. Of course, my dick makes it known he wouldn’t mind getting in on the action, too, but right now I would say that there’s a greater chance of snow in Houston than that actually happening.
Chapter Nineteen
Connor
As I’m pulling out of the parking lot of Madison’s apartment complex, I notice her purse in the floor of my truck. Since I know she is going to need it, because let’s face it all chicks think they are going to die if they don’t have their purse, I decide to take it up to her. Walking up to her door, I try the doorknob to see if it is open. I don’t want to wake up Jayson and Chloe and have to field a bunch of questions concerning why I have Madison’s purse.
It opens and walking through the door, I say, “Hey babe, you forgot your purse in my truck. I thought you might need it today.”
Uh, what did I just walk into? All three of them are standing there just looking at me. Chloe is crying, Jayson looks like he is about to be sick, and Madison looks like the human version of a volcano about to explode. When they see it’s me, Madison makes a weird noise…is she choking? This is really funny, but I don’t even think about laughing; mainly because I don’t want my junk punched by my new “friend” Madison.
Not even 24 hours and our little secret is out. Yesterday, while Madison and I played Oprah/Dr. Phil to the “loving couple” we got together to wait it out and see what would happen. Madison ended up spending the night at our house because she didn’t want to go home and intrude upon their making up or breaking up…they aren’t even dating, how the hell do you break up when you aren’t a couple?
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for them being together. It’s just a lot of drama that I could do without. Of course, since I like how my face looks and all, I keep my opinions to myself…especially around my brother. Man, he has got it bad; I’ve never seen him like this. I thought for sure he wouldn’t have a serious relationship until he was done with medical school. I definitely pegged that wrong.
So, they are all three staring at me like I’ve descended from aliens and now have one growing out of my head. I see it dawning on Chloe that Madison and I were together last night. She asks Madison when this all started and immediately gets shut down. Maddie then tells Chloe something about minding her business and saying I love you…who the hell knows. Just when I think she is going to leave me hanging, she turns and asks me if I’m coming. Now I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it…I tell her “always” and then follow her to her room. I’m going to be shielding my junk when I get in there.
I bet Jayson and Chloe are thinking we got together last night. But, that didn’t happen. I’m not saying it hasn’t happened, but we decided that we would just be friends…with no benefits. I don’t mind…I like hanging out with her. If I was going to have a girlfriend, I would probably choose someone like her…ok, it would be her. But, I know that isn’t going to happen, I’m just not cut out for relationships and I don’t want to be the guy that cheats, so this is definitely for the best. Now that it looks like they are staying together…I think…at least I will have someone else to laugh with when the love fest begins.
Chapter Twenty
Jayson
Walking to my truck behind Chloe, I hear her muttering to herself and it doesn’t sound like she’s happy. If I were a betting man, I would say that I’m the topic of conversation. I begin to say something and remember my dad’s advice: “When a woman’s upset, leave her alone, until she’s ready to talk…or risk her wrath.” I think I will follow my old man’s advice. He and my mom have been together for 25 years so he must know what he’s talking about.
Once we’re in the truck, there is nothing but silence; if it were nighttime, the crickets would be louder than any noise in this truck. I keep looking over at her and all I see is a stony look that lets me she is still pissed. I open my mouth and as I do, I get a look that says “shut the hell up” so I close it quickly. Yeah, my dad knows what he’s talking about all right.
Turning on the music, I hope it mellows Chloe out before we get home. As my luck would have it, Picture to Burn by Taylor Swift comes on…great, that’s just what I need…a song about how sorry men are. And after that, Stupid Boy by Keith Urban starts up…I shift in my seat and from out of the corner of my eye, I see a slight smile on Chloe’s face.
“Are you enjoying this,” I ask her?
She tries to keep a mean look on her face and finally starts to laugh. At least she’s laughing now…thank you sweet baby Jesus! Once she stops laughing, she says, “Just because I’m laughing doesn’t mean you are out of the doghouse yet.”
Nodding my head, I think, “Well, shit; I guess that would have been too easy.”
I decide not to say anything because well, I’m not dumb enough to do that. As Connor would say, we may be pretty, but we aren’t stupid. I cringe at the fact that I just referred to myself as pretty. I need to get Connor out of my head because anything he would have to say will get me in more trouble. I wish this ride was over; I’m ready to get home and see what I can do to fix this with my girl. I think about just that and I decide that’s the first thing I’m fixing…I’m sick of this slow crap…I want her to be mine exclusively. And no matter how mad she is, I will make her see that anything else is not an option.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jayson
As usual, trying to get through Houston traffic is enough to make you want to rip your hair out. Not to mention worrying about what’s going to happen when we get to my house. Chloe is still giving me the silent treatment and I’ve kept quiet also because I don’t really know what to say. I hate feeling off kilter like this. Besides Alyssa, everything has been mostly easy with us up until now.
Pulling into my driveway, I feel a lot better because I know we are about to get our issues worked out. Once we are out of the truck and through the front door,
I hear Chloe take a deep breath and say, “This is beautiful, Jayson! I never dreamed you and Connor would have a house like this.”
I know exactly what she means. It isn’t the traditional home of a college student. The house is two stories with the bottom floor having floor to ceiling windows. There are hardwood floors throughout and everything has been updated including the kitchens and bathrooms. I tell her thank you and then go into the story of how we are able to live here.
“This house is actually my grandparent’s old home. They both passed away and the house was left to their estate. My parents didn’t want to sell it and since it’s mostly close to Rice, they decided to deed it to me and Connor. We have the stipulations that if we decide to leave here, then it goes back to their estate or whoever gets married first gets to keep the house. Since Connor is a commitment-phobe that will most likely be me.” At that statement, I see her take in a deep breath.
Not wanting to draw attention to her response, I ask her if she’s hungry. Before she can say yes or no, her stomach lets loose with a loud growl.
I laugh and say, “I guess there’s my answer. Is there anything special you would like to eat?”
She says anything I have will be fine with her. I think to myself that maybe I can get her talking while I
cook…in a simple conversation without pressure. I decide to make an eggplant and zucchini omelet since it’s a meal I do well. I can tell Chloe is somewhat uneasy so I tell her to come sit at the bar while I cook and we’ll talk.
While I’m getting the vegetables out to chop and the eggs ready for beating, I watch as she picks at her nails. I’ve noticed she does this when she’s extremely nervous. I don’t know whether to say anything or let her start the conversation. As I take everything over to the counter that is attached to the bar where she’s sitting, I notice she is staring at me. I can’t take this silence anymore so I just start talking…here’s hoping I don’t screw it up.
“Chloe, I know you’re upset with me and you have a right to feel that way.”
She starts to interrupt me and I tell her to please let me finish and then she can respond to everything all at once.
“I’m sure it’s no secret that I fell hard and fast the first time I saw you. I wanted to grab you up and run out of the room when we shook hands. Everything with us has been at lightning speed and I know telling you I loved you probably freaked you out. I think I freaked myself out because when I woke up this morning and you weren’t there, the only thing I could think of is that you never said how you felt. It made me feel raw, vulnerable, and very scared.
I have a feeling when we become a real couple that if you ever leave me, it will kill me or at least put me in a very bad place. I’m sorry I didn’t give you the chance to respond this morning, especially since I said I wouldn’t rush you. You make me a little crazy, sweetheart. In fact, Connor thinks my brain has been taken over by aliens.”
At this she grins and says, “He would!” This is just the icebreaker that we needed. She looks a lot less tense and I feel like I can breathe again.
At this point, I keep chopping vegetables and she asks if she can respond now. Surprisingly she gets up and comes around the counter. I feel her come up behind me and wrap her arms around me. It’s the best feeling in the world. I set the knife down and place my hands on top of hers.