***Saturday***
Jennifer was up early. She had a full day ahead of her. She was going to have a moving company come and take her furniture to storage and then she had to get ready for her dinner date with Ben. She wasn't really looking forward to it, but she decided to view it as a thank you for him helping her move.
She was up and out of the apartment by 9, since the moving company was supposed to be at her apartment by 11.
She left Kristin a note that she would be in and out all day.
She was back by 3 and completely exhausted.
She headed straight for a bubble bath, and took a 2 hour soak.
Afterwards, she got ready for her date with Ben.
She put on the black strapless dress that he had asked for. It was fitted, and had a textured floral pattern with it. She paired it with some black peep toe stilettos. She curled her hair just right and made sure her makeup was flawless as always.
Ben had told her on Friday he would pick her up at 7 on Saturday.
She came out and made herself a drink, while she waited for him.
Kristin and Jonathan came in with a pizza.
Jonathan headed to the bedroom while Kristin started getting them plates and drinks.
"Hi, what are you guys up to?"
"Well, we couldn't get a table at our favorite place, so we picked up pizza and came back. You look cute".
"Thanks".
"Hot date?"
"Not exactly. More like a thank you for helping me move dinner".
"Those are the best kind. You can sleep with him afterwards and not expect anything in return".
"I guess. That's not really my style, though. I have to be committed to the person first".
"Trust me, no commitment sex is the way to go".
"So how long have you and Jonathan been a thing?"
"Just a few months. He's more into me than I am into him, believe me. He's the best lover I've ever had though, and he's so easy on the eyes and he never says no, so I keep him around".
Kristin picked up the pizza and put the plates on top and then grabbed their drinks and headed to the bedroom.
"See you tomorrow".
Jennifer couldn't help but feel bad for Jonathan. He seemed so nice and she couldn't believe that someone would treat someone else that way.
Ben still hadn't shown up by 7:30, and Jennifer was beginning to get annoyed.
She sat on the couch and sipped her drink while she waited for Ben.
The phone rang a few minutes later.
"Hello?"
"Hi. Can I speak to Kristin please?"
"Sure, one moment".
She put the phone down and walked to Kristin's room.
"Kristin, the phone is for you".
"Take a message please".
Jennifer could hear Kristin and Jonathan being intimate.
She went back to the phone and picked it up.
"Hi, she's not available at the moment, may I take a message?"
"Yeah, this is Keith. Can you tell her I called? I was hoping to see her tonight. Tell her I'm staying at the Hilton on 5th and Watson if she wants to come by".
"Ok, I'll tell her."
She hung up the phone and wrote everything down and took it to the kitchen.
"Oh Jonathan! Oh….Jonathan! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Jennifer crept back to the living room.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
She opened it and found Ben standing there.
"Hi, sorry I'm late. I got hung up with friends. You look sensational".
"Thank you".
"We lost our table at La Cochette, but I managed to get us a reservation at Mama Pietro's, if that's alright".
"It's fine".
She slipped her shoes on and they headed out.
Ben was perfectly charming all through dinner, and even though Jennifer told him it was a thank you dinner, he insisted on picking up the tab. Jennifer had one too many glasses of Chardonnay and was feeling a little tipsy.
Ben brought her home and helped her inside the apartment.
She was carrying her shoes in her hand and giggling.
As soon as they came into the apartment, Kristin and Jonathan came out of her room, holding hands and giggling.
"What were you doing in my room?"
"I just had to show him something on the terrace. Goodnight".
They traipsed back to her room and shut the door.
Jennifer headed to her room and looked out onto the terrace. The chain on her hammock chair was broken.
Jennifer was livid. She decided that tomorrow she was going to get a deadbolt and put it on her door and not give Kristin a key.
"I can fix that for you, tomorrow. I'll bring my tools and if you play your cards right I might even wear my tool belt".
Jennifer giggled.
"I'd like to see that".
She leaned up and gave him a drunken kiss.
He ran his hands up and down her back as he kissed her back.
"Want me to stay the night?"
She nodded.
She went and closed her door and locked it, and then closed and locked the terrace door and drew the curtains.
Ben was getting comfy and taking off his jacket.
He leaned down and kissed her neck and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor.
Jennifer was standing in front of him in a pair of black lace boy short panties and a strapless black lace bra.
She reached forward and started undoing his tie.
Once they were both undressed, she turned out the lights and climbed into bed next to him.
She was definitely still tipsy and more than likely drunk from the chardonnay. However, the minute they started getting intimate, she sobered up. She just simply didn't enjoy having sex with Ben Danvers. She suffered through it, as it wasn't all bad. He just couldn't seem to make any bells or whistles go off for her. She covered it well, though, and as soon as it was over, they fell asleep all wrapped up together.
***Sunday morning***
They woke up around 10, and Jennifer had a splitting headache.
She got up and put a robe on and then went and made some coffee.
She took some Alleve and then took a long, hot shower. When she got out, Ben was awake.
"I'm going to run get my tools and then I'll be back. I can pick us up some breakfast if you want".
"No thanks, I'm not that hungry". He kissed her goodbye and headed out.
She was dressed and looking at the chair when he got back.
The hook was all bent and the chain was broken into pieces.
He managed to get the hook out of the frame and the chain off the chair.
"Ok, who's up for a trip to the hardware store?"
"Me, I guess".
Kristin and Jonathan were still asleep when they left.
About an hour later, they were back with a deadbolt lock, a power drill, and the chain and hook for the hammock chair.
Ben fixed the hammock chair first, and then they got started putting the deadbolt on the door.
As soon as he started drilling, Kristin got up and came out of the bedroom.
"What in the hell are you doing?"
"Putting a lock on my door. Shouldn't take us too long".
"Well knock it off. Some of us are trying to sleep".
She went back to her room and slammed the door.
Jonathan came out and got some water.
Jennifer went to the kitchen to throw something away and almost bumped into him.
"Oh, I'm sorry".
"That's alright. Listen, I'm sorry we were in your room last night. I tried to tell her we shouldn't, but she wouldn't listen to me. And we broke your hammock thing-I'll reimburse you for it".
"Thank you. I'm not mad, but it was pretty inconsiderate".
"I agree. I apologize sincerely".
"Thank you".
She headed back to her bedroom and started putting somethings away in her room.
Ben was finished with the lock in about an hour. They tested it out and it worked perfectly.
"Thank you, so much".
She stepped forward and hugged him for a few moments.
"My pleasure".
She cleaned up the mess and then went and threw it away.
She came back to the terrace and had a seat in her hammock chair. A few minutes later, she fell out of it and landed on the terrace with a thud.
Ben came running and helped her up.
"Oh, see what happened here is the hook that was damaged, it stripped the hole where it screws in. The entire frame will have to be replaced."
"Damn! Ok, thanks for looking at it".
He took the other side of the chair off of the frame and she brought it in and set it in the bottom of her closet.
"I tell you what, let me take this to my apartment. I'll see if it can be salvaged".
"Sure".
She walked him to the door, just as Kristin and Jonathan were coming out of Kristin's room.
"Um, did you have him spend the night?!"
"Yes, he did".
Jennifer kissed Ben goodbye and thanked him for helping her and then turned to head back to her room.
"Maybe next time you'll show some consideration and give a heads up".
Jennifer turned to look at her.
"A heads up about what?"
"Your boyfriend spending the night".
"I don't recall you giving me one about your boyfriend spending the night".
"I don't have to. It's my apartment".
"And I pay to live here too, remember? And I don't suppose you felt it necessary to ask me before you went on my terrace and broke my hammock chair?"
"You weren't here. And that was an accident".
"Accident or not, it was still inconsiderate. It was a gift from my father, that is now permanently damaged".
"I'm sure you can find another one".
"Perhaps your flight to Chicago can take off early? Like tonight?"
Jennifer turned and went to her room and shut the door.
She could hear them talking in the kitchen.
"No I will NOT go apologize! This is my apartment and she should have told me he was going to be staying over last night!"
"You didn't tell her I was staying. What's good for the goose is good for the gander".
"What I do isn't her business".
"And what she does isn't yours".
"I don't care what she does, I just want to know when her boyfriend will be staying here".
"Kristin, I think I'm going to stay at my apartment tonight. I don't feel right staying here if she's upset".
"So now you care more about her feelings than you do mine?"
"No, I didn't say that. I just feel like we are rubbing it in, and I don't want to be a party to that".
"Don't be silly. We aren't rubbing anything in".
"Come stay with me at my place tonight. It's closer to the airport and you can take my limo to the airport in the morning".
"Fine".
She went and packed her suitcase.
He packed up his things and they came out just as Jennifer was heading to the kitchen.
"Ok, so I'm going to be gone for the next two months. A few rules while I'm away. You are going to deposit your share of the bills into my account by the 2nd of the month. I'll call you and give you the account number. Stay out of my room, and don't eat my groceries. If you break it, you better pay to replace it before I return".
Jennifer gave her a surprised look.
"I'll deduct it from what you owe me for my hammock frame".
"You will do no such thing. What happened to your hammock frame was an accident. I don't pay for accidents".
"I'll deduct it from what you owe me. Have a nice trip".
Jennifer returned to her room and shut the door.
She picked up the phone and called Olivia. She vented to her a little.
"Omg! What a bitch! At least you get two months away from her".
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I think, as much as I hate to pack up and move, and this room is pretty incredible, it might be best if I only stay two months and then move out".
"I agree. No point in living with someone who seems intent on making everyone around them miserable."
They chatted a little longer and then Jennifer hung up and ordered dinner.
She ate her dinner on her terrace, and then took a long bubble bath and headed to bed.
***Monday***
Jennifer got to work around 9, and got busy on her article. Around 11, there was a phone message for her.
"Please call 347.862.5449".
She called the number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Jennifer Edwards. I had a message to call this number".
"Hi, it's me. Jonathan".
"Oh. Hi."
"I just wanted to apologize to you for everything-she shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I apologize".
"It's alright, I'm not mad at you. You don't owe me an apology".
"I just feel really bad about how she treated you."
"What was her last roommate like?"
"Well to tell you the truth, she's had 3 since I met her just before Christmas. They were all quiet and polar opposites of her".
"I see. Well, I better get back to work. Thanks for calling me. How did you find me anyhow?"
"Let's just say I have my ways".
"Interesting".
"Bye Jennifer".
"Bye Jonathan".
She hung up and got back to work, but try as she might, she just couldn't keep the smile off her face.