Chapter Eighteen
Jayson
I wake up the next morning alone in Chloe’s bed, which I fully expected. I know the things said in the dark aren’t always easy to face in the light of day. Rather than say anything about it to her, I looked around for my clothes, but could only find my jeans. I put them on and follow the smell of a great breakfast cooking.
Now I see where my shirt went to; Chloe is standing at the stove wearing my t-shirt although it could be a long shirt or a short dress on her. As usual, she has her Spotify playlist on and is singing loud enough to wake the dead or at least the neighbors. It makes me laugh, but the scene is so domestic, my heart skips a few beats. I’m starting to wonder who the girl is in this relationship. Knowing I would get a slap on the head for that chauvinistic remark from my mom and probably from Chloe, it still makes me nervous that I am so invested in a relationship with a girl who I’ve known for a few days. A girl I professed to love last night; so what is wrong with me today? It feels like an ice bath is poured over me when I realize she didn’t tell me how she felt and knowing that on top of whatever she has in her past makes me begin to have second thoughts. I feel like I’m standing on the edge of my first real heartbreak. Suddenly, I don’t feel so hungry or happy anymore.
Just as I am about to go and call Connor and ask him to help get me out of here, Chloe turns and says, “Hey sleepyhead, I’ve got breakfast going.”
She looks happy, and once I would have been glad, but now I really want to get the hell away. I know I’ve got to say something so I don’t make her uncomfortable.
I smile weakly and say, “Uh, I see where my shirt went; I wondered where it was.” That’s what I came up with?
She looks at me strangely and says, “Well yeah, it was right there and it smelled good and it made me feel closer to you by wearing it.”
The words sound great and my heart definitely likes it, but my brain is telling me that this needs to end.
At that thought, I feel sick and evidently it shows because she asks, “Are you one of those people that can’t eat right away in the morning? You look pale all of a sudden. I can turn the food off; I just thought you might be hungry.”
The more she talks, the worse I feel. It seems like she is trying, so why am I acting like a jackass?
Without looking directly at her, I tell her I am going to call Connor to bring my stuff that I need for school because I have a class project that I forgot about.
I think I worded that pretty well until she says with a really sarcastic tone, “What project would that be or is that a code word to your brother that you need to escape the premises?”I have never had a good poker face and I know what I’m feeling is apparent for her to see.
Turning around, she dumps pancakes, bacon, and fruit in the sink along with plates, glasses, and silverware. She walks by me and I swear I can feel an arctic blast pointed my way.
When she gets to the doorway of the kitchen, she has one last thing to say, “I’ll go wait in my room so you don’t have to feel uncomfortable about your ‘project’. But, just a hint for you Jayson Reece, when you next tell a girl you love her in the middle of the night, either make sure you’re gone the next morning before she gets up or man up and back up the words. Newsflash, genius, you don't ever say ‘I love you’ to a girl unless you are deathly serious.”
A pained look crosses her face and I see tears welling up in her eyes. “I can’t believe how wrong I was about you. You’re a fucking jerk of the worst kind; you play with girls’ hearts, and then when they finally drop their defenses, you make a break for it. I had my first fucking orgasm with you and now you’ve tainted it! I can’t believe I slept in my bed with you. I’m going to my room. You better get the hell out of here because I don’t want to ever see your goddamned face again. “
Now she’s crying so hard that I’m worried she is going to vomit or hyperventilate. I begin to try to explain why I was so shut down, but there is no getting through to her. I can’t believe what I’ve done. But, still this voice whispers in my mind that she never told me how she felt. Why should I be the one laying out my every emotion and I get nothing in return and now I’m the bad guy?
She quickly walks away from me and I have to almost yell over the crying. “I told you I loved you and you didn’t say anything back; you still haven’t told me how you felt. Obviously, you can communicate your feelings because you’ve had no problem telling me how terrible I am.” She turns towards me and the look on her face is nothing short of pure venom.
Walking towards me, I want to step back, but I hold my ground. She is either going to break through this repressive hold she has on her emotions, well some of them anyway, or I’m about to get slapped across the face. I’m betting on the face slap, but I don’t move as she gets up next to me.
“Lean down here so I can see your eyes, Jayson Matthew Reece.” I bend down towards her and she grabs my face. Looking at me with a tearstained face, she says, “I love you, you prick! Are you happy now? I was going to tell you over the damn breakfast that I slaved over, but you ruined it! Do you know how hard it was for me to get up the courage to say those words? You got to say them in the dark; I was going to do it in the light of day where I could see exactly what you were thinking! I want you to leave….”
I’m fucking ecstatic over the fact that she loves me and yes I do feel like a prick for putting her through this. I only know of one way to shut her up, but I can’t do it because I haven't brushed my teeth yet! Can this day suck anymore?
“I have to go to the restroom...I'll be right back” She looks so puzzled I almost laugh, but I’m not suicidal so I keep a straight face. I walk past her into the bathroom, get my toothbrush, use it, and then get back out there before my future walks away from me.
She is still standing in the same position she was in so I walk up to her and pull her to me. She is super tense and says, “I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work!” I ignore that and start kissing her neck, which I know is a hot zone.
She is trying not to relax into me, but I keep it up until she says, “Just kiss me now before I change my mind!”
I push her up against the wall and pick her up so all of our good parts are lined up. In between kisses, I apologize and say I got scared because she didn’t respond to me the night before. I tell her I know things are going at warp speed for us and I let my stupid man brain tell me that my heart was going to be broken. And even though the kissing is good, Chloe’s crying, and I’m begging her to stop. To make this craptastic day all the more better, the door opens and Madison is home.
She takes one look at the two of us and a tornado lets loose. She can’t be too much over 5 foot tall and yet I'm a little bit afraid of her right now.
Immediately, the screaming starts. “What the hell is going on here? Why is she crying? Why do you look guilty? I told you that if you hurt her I would donate your body to science for experiments while you’re still alive!!”
Jesus, I have never seen anyone go insane like this before! Madison is standing there with her hands on her hips, a red face, and a death ray glare that I’m hoping she doesn’t aim at my crotch since I would like to have children one day.
Chloe starts trying to explain, but I stop her. I’m the one that caused this shit show so I need to be the one to end it. I figure the best tactic with Maddie is honesty. I explained to her that I told Chloe I loved her and she didn’t say it back yet or indicate to me how she felt and I freaked out this morning. We had a small misunderstanding and we were making up when she walked in. I can hear Chloe trying not to laugh because I’m still getting the death ray glare, but the hands on the hips have dropped and the red face is now pink.
She looks at Chloe and asks, “Is that what happened?”
Chloe says for the most part, yes, and I give her a very dirty look. She giggles and says I definitely need to stick to a career in medicine and not one in law where you have to lie diplomatically. I roll my eyes at her, but I’m glad the storm has mostly abated.
The next thing I know Connor is walking through the door holding Madison’s purse.
Before he sees us standing there, he says, “Hey babe, you forgot your purse in my truck. I thought you might need it today.”
Madison makes a noise that sounds like a dying seal and all of us are just staring at Connor. He looks sick to his stomach and I really want to laugh. Staying at her grandmother’s…what bullshit!
Chloe looks at the two of them and asks, “How long has this been going on?”
She gets a “Don’t worry about my business and learn how to say I love you when someone tells you!” from Madison. Then stomping off to her room, she turns and glares at Connor, and asks, “Well, are you coming or not?” He gets a big grin on his face and says, “Always, babe, always!” then follows her leaving us alone.
I can’t say that I saw this day shaping up to be like it has. Chloe still doesn’t look like she has completely forgiven me. And since she’s so shocked about Madison; I know that’s the only reason I am getting a reprieve. I knock on Maddie’s door and Connor answers; a fact of which I am very glad. I tell him that I need for me and Chloe to be alone because we have some talking to do and we don’t need an audience. So, he says for us to go to our house and he will stay away until I tell him it’s ok to come home. He asks what about school and I can’t believe I’m telling him that I’m going to skip, although I do have to work tonight at the hospital. Giving me a fist bump, he says “See you” and when I try to ask about Madison, he shakes his head no and says, “Later.”
After leaving Madison’s room, I go looking for Chloe, I find her in the bathroom putting on makeup and it looks like she is getting ready for school. I walk up behind her and put my arms around her and rest my head on top of hers. She tries not to look at me in the mirror, but when she finally does, I ask her to come to my house so we can talk.
Sighing, she says, “I don’t know, Jayson, I’ve missed school because of you already. And I don’t know that I want to talk to you right now.”
Giving her the face that my mom says gets Connor and I anything we ask for, she starts to cave. I tell her to bring her swimsuit and a change of clothes. She huffs out of the bathroom but at least I didn’t get a no from her. I wait in the living room until she comes in with a bag as well as her laptop and schoolbooks. She hands them all to me, which is quite a load, and slams out the apartment door. It looks like I am still in the doghouse, but I’m hoping that after a swim, some good food, and talking about what happened, we will get back to normal. Of course, my dick makes it known he wouldn’t mind getting in on the action, too, but right now I would say that there’s a greater chance of snow in Houston than that actually happening.