11 Undeniable Chemistry #3
“It makes it easy to remember. By the way, did you get a costume yet?”
“No…why would I?”
“Because of the Halloween party tomorrow, obvs.”
A Halloween party which, as he soon explained, would be taking place at Lana’s sorority house. I was so angry when I heard that, I started to face away from him, but he grabbed my hips and held me. “We don’t have to go,” he said.
“Ross, I can’t keep making you guys avoid your friend because of me. But you can’t expect me to just forgive her for how she’s acted with me.”
“Did I not make it clear to you? She’s not my friend. Besides, we probably won’t even see her there,” Ross said. “And if we do, I’ll just tell her to leave you alone.”
“I’m not going to put you in that position. Anyway, like I said, I don’t have a costume.”
“I could take you to get one.”
But I didn’t have money for one, and I didn’t want him to pay, so I tried to convince him they’d all be sold out already. But he had his counterargument ready: I could borrow one from Naya. Or we didn’t have to dress up. It was no skin off his back.
“Fine,” I conceded, “but if we see Lana…”
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you. Among other things, because I’ll be busy bothering you myself. It’s already been hard for me to leave you in peace with that sexy lipstick you’ve got on tonight.”
I smiled and asked, “What are you waiting for, then?”
He bent down and kissed my lips, and I closed my eyes, letting myself be carried away.
As soon as I wrapped my arms around him, my phone vibrated again.
I reached down and hit the button to silence it.
Before Ross could say anything, I tried to kiss him again.
I was pretty sure he wouldn’t put up much resistance, and I was right.
We stayed that way till we heard the door creak and Will and Sue dragged a very drunk Naya out.
She had sworn earlier she could keep up with Ross, and now it was obvious where that had led.
“Can we?” Will asked. Everyone helped lift Naya into the front seat.
Will drove, and Sue, Ross, and I rode in the back.
My legs were touching his. Our arms were touching, too, but it didn’t matter; it wasn’t enough for me.
My fingertips tingled when we took a curve and Ross’s body slid into mine.
I needed him close. Did he detect it? Because he answered my wishes.
He rested his head on my shoulder, kissed me just under the ear, and put his hand in my lap.
It was as though we’d been that close our entire lives, but at the same time, I felt he was touching me for the first time.
It was all so innocent, but it made me feel so tense, so different. Was it a good or bad feeling? It was hard to say. It depended on how you looked at it.
It was cold when we parked and got out of the car.
Naya was aware enough by then to make it to the elevator on her own with Will’s help.
As soon as we got into the apartment, they shut themselves in their room.
Sue soon did the same, and we decided it was time for bed, too.
I walked ahead of Ross. My feet were killing me, and I needed to get my boots off ASAP.
When he came in, I said, “Happy birthday, by the way. I don’t think I actually said that. ”
“Thanks,” he said with his usual mirthful expression. “But if you want to give me a real present, I’ve got a couple of ideas…” He jumped into bed next to me and lay back with his hands crossed behind his head.
“I’m exhausted,” he continued.
“You shouldn’t be,” I told him. “I’m the one who went running for an hour and a half earlier. What did you do?”
“It’s funny,” he said. “You told me you didn’t like to do anything when we met.
Then I find out you’re one of those masochists who likes to go running and you used to paint.
What else is there I don’t know? Or is any of that even true?
I mean, it is weird. I feel like I’ve seen you hyperventilate walking up the stairs.
Do you actually run, or do you just jog for a few minutes and then grab a coffee? ”
“You should try me,” I said. “I’ll bet I’d smoke your ass.”
He laughed as I tried to hit him in the face with a pillow. He caught it, we struggled over it, and naturally I ended up kissing him again, grabbing the lapels of his jacket and bringing him in tight as he reached under my shirt. And then, of course, my phone buzzed for the umpteenth time.
Ross watched me take it out and set it on the nightstand as I put it on Silent. Monty’s name was on the screen, and since I was pretty sure Ross had seen it, I didn’t try to deny it.
“He’s a pain in the ass,” I said. “Don’t worry about him.”
“I guess he’s the same one who was calling and texting before.”
I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want to tell the truth, either, so I said, “Probably,” and groaned.
“Are you guys fighting or something?”
“Do you honestly want to talk about Monty right now, Ross?”
He sighed and sat up in the bed, taking off his jacket. Before he could get up to change, I stopped him and said, “What’s up?”
“Nothing’s up. I’m just getting ready for bed.”
“But…”
“I’m sorry, Jen, but it’s hard for me to get in the mood with some other dude calling you compulsively.”
He shook me off and stood, pulling off his T-shirt and looking through his drawers. Even the eagle on his back seemed tenser than usual. I cursed Monty in my head and walked up behind him.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked.
“No.” He sounded honest.
I looked at the clock. It was a quarter after eleven. “It’s not going to be your birthday much longer,” I reminded him. “Don’t you want your present?”
He didn’t respond, but I couldn’t just go to bed as if nothing had happened, the way Monty and I used to always argue and never make up before sleeping.
That had been fine for Monty, but Ross was different.
He was so good that you knew there was something wrong if you had a problem with him.
And I wanted to solve it. So I hugged him.
He stiffened a little. I gave him a kiss in the middle of his tattoo, then leaned my head on his warm skin.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” I said.
“I told you, I’m not mad at you.”
“Well, you’re not happy, either. Listen: Things are weird with Monty.
We had an argument. I know it’s stupid. I know Monty and I have only been together a few months, and now that there’s distance between us, honestly, I feel better.
It’s not that he treats me badly. But I’m starting to realize he’s no good for me.
And I’m probably no good for him. It’s funny, Ross.
When he proposed this open-relationship thing, all I was scared of was that he’d meet someone he liked better than me.
And now I’m afraid I’ve met someone I like better than him.
I need to talk to him, OK? But I’m scared.
That’ll probably be the end for us, and I’m putting that conversation off as long as possible.
That’s why I haven’t picked up. And that’s why he won’t stop calling me.
I know it’s stupid. But it’s also the truth. ”
He had listened attentively the whole time, and now that I was done, he grinned softly and asked, “You want to watch a movie?”
“Now?”
“You’re done talking, right?”
“I guess…”
“Then I’ll take that for a yes,” he said.
That was different for me. In my world, arguments went from bad to worse, with screaming and who knows what else. Ross and I had disagreed, and now we were watching a movie. I was confused, but I nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Cool. It’s my birthday, so I get to pick.”
I smiled as I sat next to him in the bed and he scrolled through his enormous library of movies.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Monty,” I said.
“Don’t worry,” he replied, “that’s your business. Plus you were honest with me. You did tell me you had a boyfriend.”
“‘Had’ is right, I think. Because he told me if I even talked to you again, it was over between us.”
“It’s for the best,” he said after squinting a bit and turning back to his computer. “If you hadn’t talked to me, I’m afraid my days would have been pretty boring.”