19 The Jujitsu Champion #2
“I don’t know…” I said. “I guess not. Me neither, really.”
“I’m not surprised,” Sue said. “Let’s be honest, you’re a little bit of a priss, Jenna.”
“Am not!”
“Are so!”
She made me think about my sister earlier. As we went on arguing about which of us was more of a prude, which of us was more boring, some guy came up next to me. I flinched when I saw him. I hadn’t even realized he was there.
“Do you need something?” I asked, looking around to make sure I wasn’t blocking his access to the keg.
“Yeah. How about your name?”
It wasn’t until then that I realized he wasn’t trying to get past me on his way somewhere.
He was trying to hook up. Amazing. The first time since I’d been to college that a dude had hit on me, and it had to be the day after I started going out with Jack.
I looked over at Sue, hoping she’d help me, but she remained tight-lipped, clearly amused at the situation, before finally telling him, “Her name’s Jenna. ”
I shot daggers out of my eyes at her as the guy repeated, “Jenna, it’s a pleasure.”
“Yeah, uh, same,” I murmured.
He took that as permission to go on the attack, asking if we were alone and why.
Sue’s nasty side came out, and she told him we had come by ourselves and were bored.
I think she wanted to string him along just to embarrass me.
He mentioned that he had a friend for Sue, and that the four of us could hang out if we liked, and Sue told him brusquely, “Yeah, you can leave me out of it.”
“Look,” I told him, “I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I’m here with my boyfriend. He’s over that way with his friend.”
“He must not be that interested in you if he’s off hanging out with some guy instead of dancing with you.”
Finally, Sue stepped in and said, “Listen, dude, I was trying to have some fun making fun of you. But this is getting boring. She’s taken. Go find someone else.”
The guy ignored her, and as he kept flirting, I looked around, trying to find Jack. The guy got angry and shouted, “Hey, what the fuck is your problem?”
“Problem?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’m here trying to talk to you. And let’s be honest, you’re like an eight at best. You should be happy a guy like me wants to show you attention. Instead, you’re fucking ignoring me, and…”
“Why don’t you piss off, you little brat,” Sue said.
“Stupid bitches,” he responded. Maybe I wouldn’t have laughed so much if I hadn’t been so drunk.
Sue was almost turning purple trying to keep herself from giggling and that only pissed the guy off worse.
As he started screaming at us in his ridiculous, high-pitched voice, I heard Will, who had appeared from out of nowhere, asking what was going on.
“Will! Finally! This guy just called us stupid bitches,” I said. Then I told the other one, “Bad news for you, dude. This is my friend Will. He’s a jujitsu champion. Watch out, he’ll grab you in one of those armlocks or whatever…”
By now Sue was cracking up, Will looked completely baffled, and the kid was narrowing his eyes, trying to figure out if what I’d said was true. As he walked off, Will buried his face in his hands before asking me how much I had drunk.
“Less than you, probably.”
“Did you at least eat something,” he said.
“A little, but Mike stole half my part of the pizza.”
Will shook his head. I realized then that he was totally sober.
Will said we should find Jack, and I protested that I was fine, and furthermore, I was a grown-up and didn’t need a babysitter.
“Come on, Sue,” I said, “let’s hang out here and piss off more guys who want to hook up.
” But I think even she realized I’d passed my limit.
Will told me I could come with him on my own or he could find Jack to carry me out of there, and when Sue announced that it was five in the morning, I sighed and let them each put an arm around me so I could walk out without falling and breaking my nose.
We had to walk through the people on the dance floor, and all that heat and the stuffy air made me a little sick at my stomach as I heard a familiar voice say, “Hey, is everything OK?”
“I’m afraid your girlfriend’s had a bit too much to drink,” Will told him.
I felt Jack step in and relieve him, holding me up. How warm he felt, how familiar. I looked up as he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him, and I had to blink to see him clearly. “Jackie!” I shouted. “What’s up?”
“How much did you drink?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s Naya’s fault. She started it.
” Grunting, he crouched, and the next thing I knew, the world was turning upside down as he threw me effortlessly over his shoulder.
People watched us as he walked down the hall and the stairwell.
I was giggling as my hair danced in my face, and then I shouted for him to let me down.
“I’m wearing a skirt!” I said. “I don’t want anyone to see my panties. ”
Ross reached up, felt my butt, and replied, “Don’t worry, no one can see anything.”
I was yawning by the time he deposited me in Will’s car. After buckling me in, Jack settled down next to me. I turned and laid my head in his lap and stretched my legs across Sue, who said, “You better get your legs off of me or we’re going to have a problem.”
“Oh, Sue,” I told her, “stop being such a bitch all the time.”
“Jackie,” I said, as he shook his head in disappointment, “I didn’t tell you, a guy tried to hook up with me. But I scared him off. I told him Will knew jujitsu.”
This provided entertainment for much of the ride home, with Naya proud that the guy had believed me and Jack telling Will he had to start wearing a black belt every time they went out. Sue kept pushing my legs off of her, and finally I had to sit up.
When we got home, Jack dragged me to the bathroom and took off my makeup as best he could.
Fortunately I wasn’t too drunk to take out my contact lenses on my own.
Everything looked like a blur as he carried me back to the bedroom in his arms and dropped me on the bed.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I bounced up and down.
“What now?” I asked.
“I’m going to help you put on your pajamas.”
I frowned as he started untying my boots. “Boooooring!” I shouted. “Did you forget it’s our first night as a real couple?”
“Do you even realize how drunk you are, Jen?”
“I’m not that drunk!”
“Says you,” he replied. “At any rate, there’s not going to be any action tonight.”
“So it’s our first official day as a couple, and you’re already neglecting my needs? What kind of boyfriend does that?”
By now, I was stripped down to my underwear and waiting as he dug around in the closet for something for me to wear to bed.
“The kind of boyfriend who’s not going to take advantage of you when you’re not all there,” he said.
“Lame.”
He smiled and pulled my arms up in the air so he could slide a sweatshirt over my head. Then he walked around to my feet and put the leg holes of his shorts over my ankles.
“You know, it’s nice to be wearing something that smells like you again,” I said, lying back and closing my eyes.
I felt him lift my head to place a pillow beneath it.
I yawned and curled up, looking for his arm to wrap around me, and when I didn’t find it, I opened my eyes and looked over at him.
His back was turned to me as he changed, and I could see his tattoo.
“Jack, what’s the deal with that tattoo?”
He tensed up. “Go to sleep, Jen.”
“I’ve touched it before, Jack. It feels weird. Is there something under it? Is it covering something?”
“I’m not going to tell you. And why bother asking? You probably won’t even remember tomorrow.”
He pulled on a T-shirt and got into bed next to me, pulling me close until my head was on his chest. I tried to move back to look at him, but he held me there.
“Are you really not going to tell me?” I asked.
“No.”
I sighed, and he brushed my hair out of my face. I closed my eyes. I was exhausted.
“OK, I’ll tell you,” he said. “It’s a scar.”
“A scar from what?”
“That’s enough secrets for today, Jen.”
My mind was moving in slow motion, floating out toward my dreams. I yawned, and he moved a little to let me get more comfortable. “Good night, Jen,” he murmured just as I drifted off to sleep.