by Rose, Ashley
"Then who the hell is it?"
She shook her head. "I can't deal with this right now, John."
"Too bad. You've been lying to me, Janine, and I want to know who got you pregnant."
"I don't know his name," she shouted. "I don't know, okay. It was stupid. It was...just leave me alone, please. Just go away. I'll talk to you later, but I need to be alone right now. Please."
She saw that his jaw was tight, and he looked angry, but he got up and walked out of the room.
She fell back on the bed and pulled the covers up over her head, wondering exactly how her life got so screwed up.
***
In New York City, Jess was standing in the kitchen, attempting to make lunch.
"Come on, man," Todd was saying as he sighed. "You're no fun anymore."
"Do I look like I care?" Jess asked mock curiously.
"Let's go out. A new club just opened. It's open 24 hours. I know a girl who works there. We could go have a few drinks."
Jess scoffed. "Yay, something new and different for me. I don't feel like it."
"I know what'll make you feel better. There's this chick named Ashley. She was interested in you before that bitch came here and I know—"
"Don't call her that," Jess said tiredly, shaking his head.
"Whatever. She liked you then. If you give her a call, I bet she'll come over. Have a few beers...see what happens."
Jess sighed impatiently. "Have a shitload of beer, some cheap meaningless sex, and wake up hungover and feeling like hell tomorrow. Good plan, Todd. I'm sure that would be real fun."
Todd stared at Jess for a moment, seeming to evaluate, then he shook his head. "She isn't calling, man. You're acting like a chick, and I say this because it is my duty as your friend—you're starting to get pathetic."
"I just don't feel like going out," Jess replied. "It isn't even about her."
"Like hell it isn't. You're waiting for the call that will never come."
"She'll call back," Jess said.
"Yeah, like she's been calling back? She called back one day, man. You must have called her ten times."
"She called day before yesterday. I did leave her a bunch of messages yesterday, and I talked to John and I told him I need to talk to her. He'll tell her, and she'll call. I know Janie."
Todd shook his head. "Whatever, dude. I'm going out. If I find someone else looking for a damn roommate I might not hesitate to take him up on it, either."
"You do that," Jess said with a nod as he continued to stir.
Todd slammed the door behind him and Jess rolled his eyes. "Drama queen."
Chapter Nine
John had tried to talk to Janine again, but it was as she was getting ready to leave for work, so she just told him good-bye and left.
She was still thinking about John as she smiled and handed a customer a pizza box, then grabbed their change out of the drawer.
"What's up?" Larry asked, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms.
"Nothing," she said. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing, but then I don't have that preoccupied look on my face."
"I wasn't aware that I had a preoccupied look on my face."
"Well, you did," he said.
"Well, I didn't mean to," she replied.
"People rarely mean to look preoccupied," Larry remarked.
She sighed. "It's nothing. My brother wanted to talk to me and I was going to talk to him, but I'm a big chicken and now he's back at school. I won't get to talk to him for a while unless I want to talk on the phone, which I don't."
"Ah," he said with a nod. "Well, you can always talk to him next time."
"Yeah," she murmured, turning to answer the phone.
Larry waited patiently until she was finished, then he smiled. "Hey, what are you doing after work?"
"Practicing my cartwheels," she replied, turning to the rack of pizzas.
He smiled and shook his head slightly. "Right. Well, when you're done perfecting that, would you like to catch a movie?"
She dropped the pizza box, then immediately bent to retrieve it, glad that it was empty. "Um, with you?"
"No, with my brother." He rolled his eyes. "Of course with me."
Her mind was racing with excuses, but she couldn't think of any that she could use without it sounding like an excuse. "When?" she asked to buy more time.
He raised an eyebrow. "After work."
"Right. You said that, didn't you?" She chuckled slightly. "Um...you mean, like...as friends?"
"I was thinking...maybe as a date," he said.
"A date?" she repeated.
"Yes." There was a brief pause, so he continued. "Look, I know you're not over him yet. I can be patient when I want to be." He walked over to the other side so he could see her face. "But it might be nice to have someone, and you never know, maybe seeing that there are other guys out there will help you get over him."
For some reason, the thought of getting over Jess irritated her. She didn't want to do it. "I'd probably be a sucky date," she told him. "I don't even really know how to date. I don't have loads of experience with it or anything. In addition to my being an inexperienced, sucky date, I will be...I'm not sure I'm ready to...to date right now. I mean, I'm pregnant."
His eyes widened and he looked at her stomach. "Are you serious?"
She rolled her eyes. "I am serious, as a matter of fact."
"Okay, so there are no reasons why you shouldn't go out with me that I don't already know about?"
"Did I mention I would probably be a terrible date?"
He nodded. "I believe you covered that."
"Why do you want to go out with me?" she asked.
"Because I like you," he said.
"But if we go on a date, we'll screw up our friendship."
"Not really."
"We could. I had a friend who dated her friend and they broke up and it screwed up their relationship."
"Fine, we could possibly make things a bit awkward for a while, but it's a chance I'm willing to take if you are. So, what do you say? Say yes and we go, say no and we don't. It's entirely up to you."
She bit her lip and glanced up at him. "What if we don't click?"
"Then we stay friends."
"But what if—"
"The sky falls in? Look, I think you're thinking too much."
"It wouldn't be the first time," she admitted.
"All right, then why don't we just agree to take it one step at a time? Don't plan the wedding yet, hold off on naming our second-born until the third date, and just go see a movie with me."
"I could probably do that," she said with a slight smile.
"Great. So, can I pick you up tonight? Say seven? We can eat before we go."
She nodded. "That would be fine," she said.
"Cool," he said, then smiled at her and walked to the back.
Janine turned around, looked at the counter and frowned, biting her lip uncertainly.
***
Janine sighed and rested a hand on her stomach as she went through her closet a second time.
She felt so strange. Her stomach felt unsettled, her nerves were a mess, everything in her closet looked stupid, and she had to keep avoiding her mother. Of course her mother, who was never usually interested, seemed to smell that there was something going on in her daughter's life, and now she cared. Then Janine added fuel to the fire by mentioning that she was going out. Her mother's ears perked up almost comically, and she wanted to know where she was going and who was going with her.
"Just a friend," Janine had replied.
"Cammie?"
"No, Mom."
"Megan?"
"No. You don't know him," she blurted, then cursed herself.
"Him? You're going with a male friend?"
"Yes," Janine admitted. "But don't get excited. It's just a movie we've both been wanting to see. It is not a big deal. We are not dating. I am not over Jess and...just lay off, okay?"
Janet nodd
ed, but nonetheless she stuck around. "What's his name?"
"Larry."
"What does he look like?"
"Um, sort of light brown hair. I think he has brown eyes, but I could be wrong. Maybe they're hazel. I don't know. I guess I never really paid attention, but he has eyes, two of them, right below his eyebrows."
"How tall?"
"Tall enough, but not a giant. I won't get a neck ache if I have to look up at him, which is always nice."
"Taller than you, though?"
"Who isn't?"
"True. Is he nice?"
"I don't—I guess, yeah. I don't know. We don't really talk outside of work. I really haven't paid that much attention to him, Mom."
"How did you decide to go out?"
"We aren't going out. This is a friendly sort of outing. No different from going to the mall with Cammie, or running up to the gas station with Megan. There will be no kissing, handholding, gazing lovingly, no prolonged glances of any kind. He knows all about Jess and he knows I'm not over Jess. He is just being a friend, that's it."
Janet held up her hands in a show of surrender. "Fine." But before she left the room she stopped and said, "Wear the red jacket."
Now Janine was standing there, feeling somewhat ill and looking at the red jacket. She couldn't wear it. That would make her mother think it was a date. And okay, so it was sort of a date, but it wasn't like a date date. It was a casual, no-strings-attached kind of date. If it didn't work—which it probably wouldn't—then they go back to being friends, and when the awkwardness wears off, they even joke about how bad the date was. It was no big deal.
She certainly shouldn't be feeling like a stupid, faithless idiot. After all, Jess had already moved on.
She heard the doorbell so she ran downstairs, grabbing the blue jacket she wore every single day and slipping it on. "I'm going," she said, hoping she could be out of there before her family—namely, her mother—got to Larry.
"Come in," her mother was saying with a smile.
"I'm ready," Janine said eagerly.
Her mother frowned. "That isn't warm enough."
Janine glanced down at her blue coat with faux wool–lined sleeves. Of course it wasn't warm. It wouldn't close because of the belly. But she wore it daily. "It's not that cold out," she said.
Her mother shook her head. "Go put on the red one."
"Mom," Janine said, shooting Janet a look. "My coat's fine," she said. Then she sent a pleading look at Larry and said, "Ready?"
He smiled. "Yep." He turned to her mom. "It was very nice meeting you, ma'am."
"So, that's your mom?" he asked with a smile.
She nodded. "That's her."
"She seems nice."
"Yeah," she murmured.
He walked over to the car and did the strangest thing. He opened the door for her. She stifled her frown and chuckled uncomfortably. "Thank you, kind sir."
He smiled and nodded, waiting for her to get in, then closed the door and walked around to get in.
Janine sighed and looked out the window at the house. She would swear she saw the curtain flutter shut. She leaned back in the seat with her purse in her lap and tried to ignore the feeling that it was going to be a long night.
Janine didn't get home until 10:30. As soon as she closed the door, her smile melted and she sighed, tiredly peeling her jacket off.
"So," her mother said, walking in.
Janine jumped. "Jeez, Mom, you need to wear a bell."
"How was it?"
Janine sighed again. "Terrible. Absolutely awful. I now understand why there are so many, many single people."
Janet grimaced. "Why?"
"Well, for one thing he tried way too hard. The parts of his personality that I liked completely melted away as he attempted to play Prince Charming. He held every single door for me. I mean, open one door, maybe two. But don't open every stupid door. I like a two-way street. How hard is it to let me open the door? Just once. Instead, I have to feel awkward and stupid when he opens it. And he was too romantic. "
Janet blinked. "He held doors for you?"
"Yes."
"And he was romantic?"
"Told me everything any other girl could ever want to hear."
Janet rolled her eyes. "Yes, it sounds absolutely awful."
Janine sighed. "You wouldn't understand. You like all that romantic stuff. You think a dozen roses are romantic. I don't. I would rather order Chinese and watch a movie with my boyfriend. Make fun of the stupid lines, swoon and mock if it's a sappy love story. I want a normal relationship. I don't want to be courted. Yes, that is probably what I wanted when I was eight, but ten years later the appeal is just not there. I mean, I actually felt that corny, awful teen movie feeling. He's so cheesy, you expect him to laugh and say he was kidding, but he doesn't, and it makes you...blah. It feels fake. The whole night felt fake."
"Janie, first dates aren't usually known for being fabulous."
She shook her head. "Next time I see him, I fully intend to tell him I'm not over my last relationship and I'm not ready to date and I think we're better off as friends. That doesn't sound too...phony, does it?"
Janet sighed and yawned. "I don't know. Well, I'm going to bed."
"Me, too," Janine said. "Good night," she said, turning to go upstairs.
Janine shut her door and flopped down on her bed, then pulled her phone out of her purse. She had forgotten to charge it. She sighed. She should probably just put it on the charger and go to sleep.
But the only thing she really wanted to do after her horrible date was to call Jess and talk to him.
Her mind made up and a pout on her face, she started dialing Jess's number. If a girl answered, she just might hop on the next flight to New York City and kick the bimbo's ass.
She was already in the mood to defend her territory when Todd answered.
"'Sup?"
She laughed despite herself. "Um, not much. Why are you answering Jess's phone?"
"Who is this?" he asked.
"Janine."
She thought she heard a scoff. "Ah, good ol' Martha. Look, I don't know what your problem is or why you got your panties in a twist and took off, but why don't you leave Jess alone?"
Janine frowned. "I just wanted to talk to him."
"Why? You didn't feel the need to talk to him when he called before. Just let it go.
"What are you talking about? You act like I'm stalking him or something. This is only the second time I'm even calling."
"Yeah, no kidding," Todd said.
"Todd, what is your problem?" she demanded, frowning and sitting up.
"You're my problem."
"I see that," she said, frowning at his attitude toward her. "Look, whatever. Is Jess there or not?"
"Nope. He's out."
"Without his phone? Out where?"
"None of your business."
"Right. Well. You know, I don't understand why you hate me now. You should be happy. After all, I'm not cockblocking him anymore, so you should be thrilled."
He scoffed again. "Yeah, right. It's worse now. At least then he was getting it from you, but now he's just pathetic."
She frowned. "Why? Is she that trashy?"
"Who?"
"I don't know her name. The girl. The one he's going out with."
There was a brief pause before he asked, sounding quite confused, "You mean Lisa?"
She released a breath and closed her eyes. "Is that her name?"
"Yeah," he replied, still not seeming to understand why this was important.
"Oh. Lisa, huh?" Then she nodded again, forgetting he couldn't see her. "What does she look like?"
"Dude, I'm not gonna gossip with you. I don't know, she has short hair. She's kind of short. Petite, I guess."
"Is she taller than I am?"
"I have no idea," he stated.
She nodded. "Where'd they go?"
"Bar."
"Right," she said dumbly. "How long have they been together?"
"What the hell are you talking about? You are one crazy chick, you know that? I gotta go."
"Wait," she said, hating how stupid she sounded. "Please. Just tell me how long. Did they start going out the day after I left, or did it take time or what? I mean...come on, I deserve something."
"I don't know, they went out a couple weeks ago I think."
"Oh. Do they go out a lot?" Janine asked.
"John didn't say anything?"
"Only that she exists. I was...just curious."
"Are you planning on coming back?" he asked directly.
She was a little surprised, but she recovered quickly. "Well...no, not really."
"Then don't worry about it. Stop calling. Leave him alone."
He hung up. She couldn't even leave Jess a voice mail.
***
Janine despised going to work.
No, that wasn't right. She despised what she had to do when she got to work. Luckily, Larry didn't start working until two hours after she did that day, so she had some extra time to stress herself out over what to say, how to word it.
She still wasn't prepared when she heard him say, "Hey," as he walked in.
She wanted desperately to turn around and go to the back, but a little voice in the back of her head stopped her by calling her a chicken. She waited for him to come behind the counter and he playfully flicked her hat. She couldn't help smiling. Why couldn't he have acted like that on the date?
"Nerd," she said.
"Thank you," he said.
She needed to get it over with, she realized. If he acted normal all day, she might actually convince herself that her mother was right and all first dates were bad, and then she would give him a second chance. "Hey," she said, "we need to talk."
"Ooh, that's always a good starting line."
She grimaced, realizing that she had used the dumbest line ever. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean...well..." She stopped talking and mentally slapped her own forehead.
"You did mean it like that, but you didn't actually mean to say it like that," he said for her. "Don't worry, I get it. Go on."