by Rose, Ashley
Janine shrugged. "She thinks so, yes."
"Huh," he said with a nod. "Well, cool." He paused briefly before saying, "Hey, do we have any plans for tonight?"
She shook her head. "None that I know of, why?"
"Well, Chad called. Candace and a few of her friends from school are going to be hanging out and Chad wanted to see if we could come. Karen and Candace are in the midst of a girly episode because the guy Candace is crazy about is coming," he said, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. I don't know. But it's a chance for you to meet some more of my friends."
"How many friends do you have?" she asked.
"I don't have a number ready," he said.
She frowned slightly. "I see. I think I forgot you and John were such social creatures."
She thought she heard him sigh before he said, "Well if John is, I guess I am."
Her frown deepened. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," he said, standing up. "I'm going to call Chad and tell him we'll be over."
Janine frowned, wondering why she felt like he was irritated with her. Instead of pursuing it, though, she just stood up and went to make sure she still looked okay to meet new people.
Only Candace was there when they arrived. She was smiling and chattering to Karen, who immediately smiled when she saw Janine.
"Hey, sweetie," Karen greeted. "Come join the fray. We were just talking about Will."
Janine smiled, waved slightly at Jess and went to join the girls. "Who's Will?" she asked.
"Will's wonderful," Candace stated.
"He's this guy who goes to NYU with Candace," Karen explained. "They dated for a while, but he sort of isn't the serious relationship type, so they broke up and he proceeded to casually date practically every other girl there."
Candace sighed and frowned. "He's such a guy. But he's charming and funny and sarcastic and great. He's wonderful, but he's a guy," she said ruefully.
Karen gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. "Honey, you always go for players. You need to date a nice guy."
Candace gave Karen a wry look. "Are you serious? You're with Chad. From the stories I hear about his youth, Don Juan had nothing on him."
Karen grimaced. "He was disgustingly promiscuous; that's different. Chad was just young and dumb. Will isn't like Chad. Will is, like, super smart, and he's incredibly sure about what he wants to be. I got Chad before he firmly made up his mind to be a player, so I could mold him a bit. This guy is sort of a hopeless case though, Candace. He's too sure of himself."
"I know," Candace said sullenly.
"He's like Chad was, but not as easy to threaten. They can be tamed, but it's really much easier to find someone you don't have to try to train, because you just might find one that you aren't able to. We can't always change them, hon."
"He's still a lot of fun to be with."
Karen nodded. "Then enjoy that, and meet him again in 10 to 15 years and maybe he'll be calmer. He's just young."
"Jess and Chad are young," Candace pointed out.
"Yes."
"And they weren't tame."
"No," Karen agreed.
"And now they're both settling down and playing Daddy."
"We just got lucky I think," Karen said with a nod, glancing at Janine.
Janine nodded her agreement. "Very lucky."
"He does like kids, he just doesn't want to have any," Candace said with a sigh.
"Don't worry," Karen said, patting her on the shoulder. "Men don't know what they want. Chad didn't want any kids, either, and he's a great father."
Chad nodded his agreement, slapping Jess on the back. "And Rosie here wasn't exactly reading parenting magazines in his spare time. I didn't think he wanted kids."
Jess shrugged. "Not really, but I figured logically I probably would end up getting married someday and then I would probably reproduce. I just figured I'd be about 20 years older."
Chad smiled and nodded. "Didn't we all?"
"Well," Karen said, "if you two had cut back on prowling around like caged animals and kept it in your pants then maybe you'd still have a few years left. Remember those sweet boys in school who wore glasses and ran the Tech Club? They don't have kids right now. That should tell you something."
Chad looked at Jess, and placed a mock solemn hand over his heart. "Don't get laid, stay home and study. Why didn't we ever do that?"
Jess shrugged. "You can only study for so long," he said with a smirk.
Chad smirked. "Well, some things you can study for longer, but that doesn't help avoid the parenthood."
"Oh, shut it," Karen said. "You're quite pleased with your daughter, so don't start."
Chad smiled and picked Hope up, putting her on his shoulders. "Yeah, I've grown fond of the little squirt."
Hope giggled and hugged his head, conveniently covering his eyes.
"Did we stumble into Daddy Day Care?" a male voice asked.
Candace shot Janine a quick grin that alerted her the voice must belong to Will. Shaking her head, Janine turned around to see the new arrival.
Will was already smiling, a dimple in his left cheek. He had blond hair, shorter than Jess's but styled similarly. She had to wait until he got closer, but then she saw that he had hard, gray eyes, nowhere near as carefree as his reputation. He stood about six foot, with a slender but moderately muscled physique. She admitted that she saw how Candace would be attracted to him, but the eyes threw her off.
Jess didn't have dangerous eyes. He had warm, intimate, wonderful eyes. Will did not have warm eyes, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the color or because of what Karen had already said about him. Then again, most players didn't have dangerous eyes, they had...well, she wasn't sure, as she had never really talked to a player.
She realized she probably didn't have a whole lot to compare him to, but instinctively she felt he still didn't fit. He made her uncomfortable, and he had barely spoken a word yet.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Jess mutter, "Oh shit," as he looked at the ground.
Oh, that didn't sound good, she thought. She looked up to see what Jess was cursing about, but all she saw was Candace talking to Will and the girl on Will's arm. She had golden skin and gorgeous blonde hair with so many highlights you weren't sure which color it was supposed to be originally. Her nose was a little big, Janine noticed, but with the rest of her flawless shape and beautiful face, it could certainly be ignored.
The girl noticed Jess and she gasped, smiling. "Jess."
Jess glanced up, raised a hand in a lazy wave and half nodded.
The girl patted Will's arm and said she'd be right back, then walked over to Jess. Chad gave Jess a look and pulled Hope off his shoulders and sat her down, ruffling her hair and telling her to go get mommy. Janine frowned, wondering what was going on.
"I called you a few months ago," the girl said. "Some girl answered, said she'd give you the message. I guess she never got around to it?"
Janine's eyes widened slightly. No, please don't let that be Rachel from NYU, she thought to herself.
She didn't get to hear what Jess said, however, as Candace pecked on her shoulder. Janine turned, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Janine, this is Will, the friend I was telling you about. Will, this is Janine."
"Who belongs to her?" he asked, glancing at Candace.
"Jess," Candace said, gesturing to him.
Janine took that as an excuse to glance back at him, but he was talking to Rachel.
"Ah," Will said. "Poor guy. I see Rachel got to him."
Well, there it was. Rachel. Who called. And went to NYU. And talked to "some girl." It was Rachel from NYU. The annoying, leggy, beautiful blonde.
"So, did you just get to the city?" Will asked.
She forced her claws to go back in and turned to him. "Um, no. Well, I just moved here, but I was here before, staying with Jess."
He nodded. "You guys done any partying?"
"Uh, no," she said, shaking
her head.
"Huh, I see," he replied.
Her gaze sharpened as she got the feeling he was mocking her. Yes, she was using "uh" and "um" more than she wanted to, but the leggy blonde who thought Salinger was the Terminator was by her boyfriend. She had the right to be distracted.
"So, you're here with Rachel?" she asked with a pleasant smile.
He nodded. "Yeah."
She nodded. "Must be for all that intelligent conversation," she said, her words coming out with a slightly sarcastic twist.
He smiled knowingly. "Have you ever met Rachel?"
"No, but I've heard stories." She casually glanced back at Jess and Rachel again, and saw Rachel laughing and Jess smiling. She frowned, then told herself not to be so insecure. She turned her attention back to Will, but she couldn't think of anything to say to him. She refused to use "uh" or "um" in his presence again. Damn NYU guy, he was not going to mock her.
"Are you worried they're going to disappear?"
"Hm?" she murmured.
He gestured to Jess and Rachel. "You keep looking at them."
She shrugged, not sure what to say to being called on it. "No reason." Janine glanced at Candace, then half smiled and said, "I'll leave you two alone. I have to...ask Jess...something."
She caught Will's smirk before she turned away and it irritated her. She wasn't usually so unfriendly. It was probably Rachel's fault.
"Hi," Janine said, peeking over to Jess.
Rachel glanced at her.
"Hey," Jess said.
"Who are you?" Rachel asked, her tone and expression implying that Janine's presence was unwanted.
"This is Janine," Jess said. "Janine, Rachel."
"Oh, you're the girl I talked on the phone to, aren't you?" she said, nodding. "Anyway, we were having a private conversation," she informed Janine before turning back to Jess.
Janine's jaw dropped open, and she saw Jess grimace, but it was too late. "Well, not anymore, you're not," Janine said, knowing she sounded like a shrew.
Rachel turned back to Janine and raised both eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"I'm sure your conversation can include me. What are you talking about? Salinger's place as governor of California? I'm frankly concerned about it. Hopefully he isn't like Holden Caulfield, you know? Like the country hasn't gone far enough down the toilet."
Rachel just stared at Janine, her lips pursing.
Janine didn't notice Will behind her, so she nearly jumped out of her skin when he whispered in her ear, "I was kind of freaked out that she confused the two, also."
"Jeez," she muttered, sighing. "Please announce yourself before you do that."
He smiled. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get you all hot and bothered."
Janine half laughed, half scoffed. "Don't worry, sweetheart, that's not a concern you have to have."
He just shook his head with a smile and wrapped an arm around Rachel. "Come on. Let's go say hi to Karen."
Rachel sighed and shot Janine a look, but she went off with Will anyway. Janine folded her arms across her chest, wondering why she felt the desire to murder Rachel for merely exchanging words with Jess, and yell at Will for talking to her. If she weren't pregnant, she would think she was having PMS.
It probably didn't help that Jess hadn't even bothered to introduce her to Rachel as his girlfriend.
"Hey," Jess said.
She glared at him, then turned away and walked over to play with Hope.
Jess sighed and followed her. "Janine."
"I'm busy," Janine said, adopting a smile for Hope.
"She started talking to me. What was I supposed to do?"
"I didn't say anything about you talking to her, Jess," she replied.
"No, but you're mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you. I'm just in a bad mood." Then she lowered her voice and said, "And I thought this Will guy was supposed to be charming?"
Jess rolled his eyes. "If you ask Candace he is, but I think it varies depending on who you ask. He's also more charming when he wants to sleep with you."
"Rachel doesn't seem to have the same problem. 'We're having a private conversation,'" she said mockingly. "Bitch. I am not going to stand there and be excluded from a conversation by some bimbo."
"She can hear you," Jess muttered.
"Like I care if she hears me. She's already decided not to like me, so why not give her a reason? I can be a bitch, too. I just elect to be nice most of the time."
Will appeared out of nowhere again. "I like me a versatile woman," he said with an amused smirk.
"Then go find one," Jess replied.
Will seemed amused by them, so instead he stuck around. "Don't like Rachel?" he asked Janine.
"I don't like being told to basically buzz off, that's what I don't like."
He nodded. "Rachel can be sort of rude sometimes. You were keeping tabs on her before she said a word to you, though. Maybe it's your own boyfriend you felt the need to babysit?" he suggested.
Jess shot him a look. "If anyone needs to be babysat here, it's you."
"Whatever," he replied easily. "I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself." He draped an arm around Janine's shoulders. "What about you? Still feel the need to babysit him, or can you walk with me to get a drink?"
"I wasn't babysitting him," Janine said.
"Sure you were," he replied, giving her a look that actually made her feel like he was right and she was just in denial.
She opened her mouth to respond, but those cold gray eyes seemed to catch and crush the words, so she just closed her mouth.
He smiled. "A drink then." He nodded at Jess and led Janine away.
Jess just stood there scowling until Chad came over.
"I hate that guy," Chad said with a sigh.
Jess nodded his agreement. After a second, he said, "He isn't interested in pregnant women, right? Off limits? Not available?"
Chad shrugged. "I don't know, man. Last time Karen was complaining about him, he was carrying on with some married woman. I don't really think he discriminates on who he's 'interested' in, only who he actually dates. If they're taken, he doesn't have to date them." Then he raised an eyebrow and nodded, causing Jess's scowl to darken. "Don't know what to tell you, Rosie," Chad said with another shrug. He walked back over to guard Karen.
Jess felt the urge to follow Janine over to the drinks, but he quelled it, instead opting to watch from where he was. Janine was cocking an eyebrow at Will, her expression showing him clearly she wasn't impressed. Jess half smiled. Of course she wasn't impressed. She was Janine. A little bit flighty and infinitely naïve, yes, but not stupid. And more than that, she was his. He shook his head at his own insecurity and went to mingle with his friends.
Half hour later, Janine still hadn't made it back to his side. Instead, she was standing by Will, only getting a break when Chad would float by them.
It had taken about five minutes for Will to pry a smile out of her, and since then when Jess glanced over at them he would see her nodding, seeming interested in whatever Will happened to be saying, smiling and laughing.
Jess's disposition turned foul quickly, and he started to wonder just how cute Janine's naïveté was. Was she really being naïve, or did she realize that an accomplished player was spending too much time with her?
"Hey, chill out, Rosie," Chad said. "You're looking entirely too ferocious. Just because Paula isn't here doesn't mean you have to work harder on being the group grump."
There was a pause before Chad went on.
"Candace isn't sure if she likes Janine."
Jess glanced over at Chad. "Why?"
Chad grimaced, shaking his head. "She's afraid beyond the shyness lurks something else. I think it isn't helping that she's over there verbally sparring with Will. You know how Candace gets territorial over him."
"Rachel's the one here with him, remember? Janine's here with me."
"Yeah, I remember that. The question is, does she?"
Jess shook his head. "I trust J
anie. She loves me. She would never do anything stupid."
"Does she have any experience with guys like Will?"
"Not that I know of."
Chad raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Might want to keep an eye on her, then. Will's at the top of his game, and if Janine's at the bottom and she gets sucked in, he'll eat her alive."
Jess frowned. "You realize you're talking about my girlfriend, right?"
"Yes, I do, and I'm not trying to offend her or you. I just don't know her. It can be extremely easy for a girl like her to mistake Will's charm for common flirting and shrug it off. Even his best friend says to watch out if you're a moderately attractive female, or if your girlfriend is a moderately attractive female. I personally think Janine's cute, and he wouldn't invest any of his attention in her if he didn't. I'm just suggesting you keep an eye on that."
Jess sighed. "I shouldn't have talked to Rachel. I knew Janine was insecure about her from the beginning, and we did go out a couple times, so I'm sure she saw reason to be. I should have also introduced her as my girlfriend."
Chad's eyes widened. "You didn't introduce Janine to Rachel as your girlfriend?"
Jess shook his head, sighing.
Chad nodded as if it all made sense. "You better get the couch ready when you get home."
Jess nodded. "That was probably a stupid move."
"Incredibly stupid. In fact, I'm gonna go hang out with Karen so your stupidity doesn't rub off on me. Meanwhile, I suggest munching on a slice of humble pie and trying to shove your way between Janine and Will as soon as you can. If you can manage it, it wouldn't hurt to somehow mention to Rachel that Janine's your girlfriend. Of course she already knows now, so it's too late..." Chad shrugged. "Don't know, man. You're screwed. You always introduce your current girlfriend to an ex as your girlfriend. It's just a rule, Jess."
After watching Chad walk away, Jess turned his attention to where Will and Janine were standing. Will said something and Janine's lips curved as she gave him that contained smile again. He looked over at Rachel, who seemed overly concerned with attaching herself to Will and shooting Janine dirty looks. Janine, however, never once even met the girl's gaze. If she wasn't looking at Will she was gazing distractedly over his shoulder, that half smile fixed on her face before rewarding him with her attention again, her lips curving a little more.