by C. C. Brown
Jason fell asleep before I did, and while staring at him while he slept, I saw a guy who was relaxed and content, which was gratifying to say the least.
<>
When I woke, courtesy of the bright San Diego sun, I glanced over to Jason and found him still dead to the world. I was shocked. It was nine fourteen in the morning; I never slept in that late. I guess it could have been the horrid day I had the night before, the alcohol, or the mid-night wake-up. Then again, a combination of the three lead to quite the concoction, and I sighed heavily. Had we solved anything, or did I just agree to back off? I think it was the latter, but for the moment, I was content with that. Even though Jason was furious with Jacob for communicating with me, I was heeding his advice, and I would stay on Jason.
I left the room and tip-toed to the kitchen to check my cell phone.
from Chels
*You stayed, so I’m hoping things are better. You deserve the world Cara, don’t forget that.*
That text from Chelsea warmed my heart. As brash, intrusive, and nosy as she could be, Chelsea was always there for me. I wanted to fill her in on our night, but I knew that now wasn’t the time, nor was Jason’s home the place to do it. I settled for a quick text right back to her.
to Chels
*Yes I stayed. Things are better. Long night that I will fill you in on when I get a chance. <3 U!*
My phone rang and startled me. I answered it on the first ring, hoping to avoid waking Jason.
“Hello…” my tone was guarded since I failed to check the caller ID and had no clue who was on the other end.
“Hey Cars, its Dad.”
I relaxed, hearing my dad’s voice was a welcomed sound.
“Hi Dad. What cha up to?”
“On our way to the airport, Ryan’s taking us.”
Guilt overcame me. I had no idea my parents were leaving today. I knew they were leaving over Spring break, but I had been so wrapped up in my own bubble that I didn’t even think to find out what day they would be leaving.
“I’m so sorry Dad. I should have been there. Where’s Mom?”
“Don’t worry about it Cars, I know you have quite a bit going on.” I could feel the warmth in his voice.
My mom got on the phone, excitement level off the Richter scale. “Hey gorgeous,” I really hated that name, “going to miss you. What are you doing for Easter?”
“I really don’t know Mom, I haven’t even thought about it.”
‘Well, promise me you and Ryan will do something together.”
“We’ll try Mom.”
“Okay! Have a good week, and we will try to call periodically. I love you Cara, here’s Dad.”
My dad was laughing as he got back on the phone. No doubt his laughter stemmed from the excitement that my Mom had failed to contain. Ryan was shouting something in the background, but with all of the road noise, it sounded muffled, so I was unable to make out exactly what he was saying.
“I hope things are better for you Cars, remember what I said, you don’t have to take anyone’s crap.”
“I know Dad, I know.”
He kissed me through the phone, told me he loved me, and hung up. My parents were phenomenal, but my dad had been that constant rock for me, more so than anyone else in my life. His words resonated with me, and I knew the way Jason spoke last night was completely unacceptable, and so was the way I responded. If I could say that I was learning anything, it was mutual respect.
Hanging up the phone, I looked up to find Jason, in nothing but his boxer briefs, admiring me from afar. His ripped abs were bulging, begging me to touch him, but I recognized the power of our touch, and it would lead to sex that our fragile union couldn’t withstand at the moment. He walked briskly over to me and planted a kiss on my forehead.
“Who was that?”
“My parents. They’re leaving for the Bahamas today for a week.”
"Awesome.” And he paraded into the kitchen. “You hungry?”
“Actually I am. What are we having?”
“What do you want?”
“Surprise me.”
“Fine, but you can’t be in the kitchen or anywhere near it. Go outside and take a swim, or go back to the room.”
I took his advice and went for the swim. In nothing but my panties, I marched towards the door that led to the back patio.
“Um, you’re going out like that?” Jason asked, peering at my body.
“Yes sir. We have done some pretty crazy things in this pool, so a swim is harmless.”
“Yes, but it was night time. Put a top on, the neighbors will be getting' a free show.” He smiled, wickedly, like the cat that ate the canary.
I grabbed my bikini top out of my bag and put it on, basically running back to the kitchen, where Jason shot me the thumbs up, showing his approval. I swam laps in the pool for at least 20 minutes, killing two birds with one stone: morning workout, and relaxation.
Jason came to the patio with two plates in his hands. He sat them down on the outside table, and scurried back in to grab two champagne flutes. He laid out pigs in a blanket, with bacon and cheese omelets. The flutes were filled with Mimosas and I hopped out of the pool and pranced over to the table. Jason met me with a towel to dry off, and sat me down in my chair, pushing me closer to the table.
We ate, made small talk, but then he ran his hands through his hair, and I knew something heavy was on his mind.
“When are you going to make up with Mila?” He asked, and eyed me curiously.
“I don’t know, haven’t really thought about it. Why?” I asked, and continued shoveling the mouthwatering omelet into my mouth.
“I know you’re pissed at her like you were with me, and yet, you and I have made up. I just want to see the same for you and your friend.”
“Well, Mila and I had our issues before this came about,” I paused to take a sip of the Mimosa, “her and my brother just don’t sit well with me.”
“Is that your choice?”
“No, and I know it’s not, but I know her, and she is unstable in relationships, thus making her jump often.”
“Well, baby, gotta let it be. If Ryan knows about her dating habits, and is okay with it, then he has to deal with her, not you. Make up with your friend.”
“That’s not it. She doesn’t know when to just shut the hell up, so talking to her is like talking to a wall,”
“I doubt that, and I hate to think that part of what set you over the top is this situation involving me. I swear to you, she was just trying to help me. I called her and asked right then and there what we should do. She’s not out to get you.”
“I will give her that, but I know why she went with that plan. She knew Chase would be around and that was her way of being nosy and keeping Chase out of my life. She’s such a hypocrite.”
“Well, I’d like to keep Chase out of your life, but I’m sure my reasoning is entirely different than hers.
Jason shifted in his seat; just enough to reach into his pocket and pull out his cell phone. He looked at the screen and laid it down on the table so that it was visible for me. It was a text message from Mila.
April 6 from Mila
*No Cara at home, hope that means you guys are better!*
Chapter 10
I was blood curdling mad. Was she trying to wreck things for me? What if I wasn’t with Jason, the little prefix to her text would have given him a conniption. I contemplated responding to her text but with Jason within arm’s length, I would never be able to get started. I pushed the phone back over in his direction, and got up to take our plates into the house; I’d suddenly lost my appetite. Upon my return, the phone was in the same position that I’d left it in, and Jason was sitting, staring into the deep blue pool water.
“Did you respond?” I failed miserably at trying to hide the disdain behind that question.
“Yes,” he smiled wide, showing off his beautiful pearly whites.
“What’s so funny?”
“You!” Now, I adde
d a dose of irritation to my anger. Mila condescendingly mentioned yesterday that she would butt out, and yet, here we were, chasing the same train. Why did she feel the incessant urge to interject herself into my affairs? Why wasn’t she busy making sure that my brother was happy? On the other hand, why was Jason getting a kick out of it? I’d never been an overly jealous person, if that’s what he was hoping to accomplish, but I was hotly annoyed with her.
“Don’t know why you’re filled with glee right now, and what did you say to her?”
He sat back in his chair and laughed.
“I just told her we were working on things, and thank you.”
‘Thank you for what?”
“For her kind words. Damn Cara, when did you become the prosecutor for San Diego County?”
“Since when did you and my roommate become best friends?”
He leaned in, staring me in the eyes. “Hey, we had a good night and up until now, a good morning, don’t ruin it.”
I pushed the loose strands of hair out of my face, and took a deep breath. I would deal with Mila my own way, no sense in getting Jason involved because for some strange reason he saw me as the antagonist in this blatantly obvious situation. Jason changed the topic, moving to a far more pleasant subject matter. He told me that we’d be heading to the San Diego Paintball Complex today with some of his buddies from the gym. Excitement surged through me; I’d never been paintballing before and I liked just about anything that had to with physicality. I didn’t know any of Jason’s friends, so therein lay my sole source of apprehension. I didn’t know much about Jason, and his friends were an important step in our relationship. If the friends don’t like you, it makes it difficult to keep it going.
We arrived at the SDPC and there was a group of coeds waiting outside the entrance. My excitement would alleviate the tension that had been building with Mila over the past few days – shooting should definitely release the stress. Jason hopped out of the truck and ran around to my side to open my door and help me out. His friends stood gawking at us, as if they’d never seen him with a girl before.
We walked up to the entrance and the introductions began. Jared was a tall, but rather thin, pale red head, and his girlfriend, Jenny, was just as thin, only shorter with strawberry blond hair. Chris was a tall, husky brunette, with sleeves of tattoos filling both arms. His biceps were bulging from his arms, almost as if they were trying to escape the layer of skin they were trapped under. He was attached to a tall brunette by the name of Becca. She was overly friendly, although her appearance would have made you think otherwise. She was equally tatted, and while she and Chris matched based on appearances alone, there didn’t seem to be much more there. Finally, I meet Devon and Stacey. Devon was a medium built, African American guy, with a low fade. His big brown eyes sparkled as he reached out to shake my hand. Jason eyed him and he quickly went from enamored to reverent, all in a matter of seconds. Stacey, a tall, curvaceous girl, with long brown hair, highlighted with bits of blond and green eyes, looked at me with pure malice in her eyes. Her artificial handshake and tight smile told me that something was amiss with her, or she was just a stuck up bitch. Her reaction to Jason was on the opposite end of the spectrum. She rushed over to him, threw her arms around his neck, while bending her right leg at the knee. She whispered something in his ear, and he smiled, genuinely – making me want to vomit.
We made our way inside and Jason flashed a card that got everyone through. We hurried out to put on our gear, and Jason handed me my face mask, tank, and a ridiculous amount of body pads. There were pads for my elbows, knees, my torso, and gloves. I noticed no one else was wearing them so I refused but Jason, being as persistent as he could be, didn’t relent.
“Cara, you have never been paintballing before so you should wear these.”
I felt ridiculous, being the lone ranger with all of the protective gear. “No! I’m okay. No one else is wearing it, so I should be just fine.” I smiled at him, trying to reassure him that I wouldn’t break. I turned to my left to see Stacey laughing while braiding her long brown hair and tying a bandana around her head. She whispered something in Jenny’s ear, and smirked at me in the most elementary fashion. I didn’t know what her deal was, but I refused to allow pettiness to get in the way of a good time.
We sat through a boring orientation that felt never ending, when in actuality it may have lasted for about 15 minutes. Jason tossed me my gun, and the teams were divvied up.
“Alright, me, Jason, Jenny, and Devon against Jared, Chris, Becca, and Cara,” Stacey said, smiling viciously at me.
I looked to Jason, wanting desperately for him to shift the teams, but he didn’t so I wasn’t going to look like the pathetic, wimpy girlfriend by asking him to. My emotions must have been pretty transparent because Jason made his way over to me, concern etched all over his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Lies! He barks, “tell me, NOW!”
“Nothing, let’s just do this, and have a good time.”
“Stacey?”
“Drop it Jason, let’s have fun.” He stared at me a while longer, searching my face but not finding the answers to any of his thoughts. He prepped me for our match and we made our way over to the group.
A few moments later, the whistle blew and we were off. The adrenaline rush from running around, ducking for cover, and shooting when I saw an open target had plastered a huge smile on my face. I took a shot at Devon and hit him smack in the center of his face mask. I felt accomplished. Jared jumped in front of me and shot at Jenny before she had a chance to take a shot at me, hitting her in her right shoulder. I decided to stalk Jason, and make sure that I got a good shot in on him, when I noticed that I was being stalked. Stacey was trying every angle to get a good shot at me, so I took a few at her, ducking and dodging as I did it. She had rolled and hidden herself so well, that I lost sight of her. Unfortunately, this didn’t feel like a fun game anymore, and instead, I felt like the prey being hunted. I crouched behind a boulder and rolled to my right, seeing Becca, and signaled for her to come near. She made her way over and I whispered to her the last place that I had seen Stacey, and she signaled for me to follow her, taking cover as we moved.
The game continued, and while my team was dropping like flies, I was enjoying the adrenaline packed, yet peaceful time. Jason and Stacey were still in for their team, while Becca and I were still in for ours. I thought I was getting the hang of it all when I turned to my right and was face to face with Stacey. I froze, my heart racing, and I stared into the face of my paintball nemesis. She lowered her gun and shot me, hitting me in the knee and upper thigh, paint exploding all over me. The shots, at such close range hurt with a pain that I couldn’t even describe. She looked at me, unapologetic and murmured, “bitch” as she ran by. I dropped -- knee aching more than anything, and luckily for me, the whistle blew and play was suspended for our break.
We staggered back to our meeting area, and at break, my team was winning. I was wincing from the pain, and while everyone was involved in mindless chatter, I tried to block out this sudden pang of discomfort. Becca noticed and spoke up.
“Hey Cara, you okay?”
I nodded, knowing full well that I wasn’t. Jason was laughing with his buddies, but saw my obvious distress and rushed over to me.
“What happened?”
I looked at him with irritation, and shook my head, signaling that nothing happened that wasn’t acceptable for the game.
“What fucking happened?” he growled, his jaw tensing with each word.
I looked around and saw Stacey staring at me. Her face was set in a scowl that was almost threatening. I turned back to Jason, not wanting to be a baby out here amongst his friends, and nudged him away.
“I’m fine Jason. Got hit, all part of the game.”
He looked at me, swallowed hard, but remained silent. I got up from my seat and my knee was throbbing. I let him know that I was going to restroom and Becca followe
d me inside.
“Cara, I saw what Stacey did.” Becca said, with concern in her voice. Trying not to play the victim, I continued with my crusade of it just being part of the game. “No, Stacey had it out for you. I saw her.”
“What’s her deal anyway? Why doesn’t she like me?”
“Because you have Jason.”
“Did they date? I thought she was with Devon?”
Becca laughed. “Um, no. She leads poor Dev on, and he is so hopelessly into her that he just goes along with it. Stacey and Jason were fuck buddies, like me and Chris.”
Listening to Becca -- so forthcoming with that information made me feel a little queasy. I had no desire to know of the endless sexual escapades that Jason and Stacey shared. Why in the hell would Jason bring me to hang out with her?
“How long ago was this?”
“Had to have been about a year ago, but she’s wanted him since day one. I’m newest to this group, so this is just what I know.”
“What happened?”
“He wanted to remain the way they were, she wanted to be his girlfriend, so he cut it off. And now, somehow, you have him as your boyfriend, which totally pisses her off.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, as I peeled my jeans down, showing only my under armor shorts beneath. My knee was swollen and my thigh already bruising.